KQED's Forum

The son of a sheet metal worker and a hairdresser, San Francisco's new superintendent Richard Carranza entered the public school system knowing no English and was the first in his family to graduate from college. He now leads a district with a huge "achievement gap" between white, black and Latino students. We'll talk to him about plans for narrowing that gap -- and discuss his vision for improving public education in an era of shrinking budgets.

Oakland's Glynn Washington beat out more than 1,000 competitors five years ago in an "American Idol"-type national talent search for a new public radio host. Washington created and hosts the NPR/PRX program "Snap Judgment" out of Oakland. He joins us as part of our First Person series on the leaders, innovators and other compelling characters that make the Bay Area unique.

California must reduce the barriers to success for youth of color, according to a new report assessing the bleak prospects facing Latino and African-American boys and young men in the state. These groups make up a disproportionate share of prisoners, school dropouts and the unemployed. We'll discuss the report, which offers policy ideas for improving the lives of young people of color.

In 2007, Oakland's Beth Terry decided to give up plastic after seeing a picture of a dead seabird, its stomach filled with plastic bottle caps. Her decision spawned a blog, a book and a movement to make people aware of how much plastic they consume. We'll talk to Terry about how, and why, people should reduce their plastic use, from changes obvious (carry your own reusable water bottle) to the surprising (kick that chewing gum habit).

We discuss the latest on the high-stakes patent infringement trial between Apple and Samsung. See show highlights below.

Later this year, the Diocese of Oakland's bishop will become archbishop of the San Francisco Diocese, which covers nearly 500,000 Catholics from Marin County to San Mateo. Incoming Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, a San Diego native, has been a prominent leader in the opposition to same-sex marriage. He joins us to talk about his vision for the Catholic Church.

On Monday, an explosion and fire at Chevron's Richmond refinery released plumes of smokes across Bay Area skies, closing BART stations and sending local residents to emergency rooms with breathing problems. The fire has now been contained, and there were no major injuries. We'll discuss the incident and the response.

As new details about Sunday's Wisconsin temple shooting emerge, two local Sikh leaders join us to discuss the impact of the killings on the Bay Area Sikh community, which just last year experienced the killing of two Sikh men in Elk Grove.

With just over three months to go before the 2012 presidential election, there is still a vice presidential candidate to be named, two national conventions to be held and multiple debates to watch. This hour, we discuss what to expect in the months ahead.

Some children dream of running away and joining the circus -- actor Lorenzo Pisoni was actually born into one. Pisoni's parents founded San Francisco's beloved Pickle Family Circus, and he spent his childhood as the troupe's youngest performer. Pisoni's acclaimed one-man show "Humor Abuse," which tells the story of his unusual upbringing, is returning to American Conservatory Theater for a two-week run.

Fridays in August just became a bike commuter's dream -- bicycles are allowed on BART trains all day long, even during rush hour, as part of a new pilot program. Evaluation of the program from bike riders and passengers alike will determine whether the program continues past August. How was your commute on BART this morning?

A 25-year-old woman was killed on Highway 17 near Los Gatos after being ejected from a party bus last Friday. The buses have drawn criticism recently for allegedly ignoring underage drinking on board and for dropping their rowdy passengers at nightclubs or suburban neighborhoods that don't want them. Should party buses be more strictly regulated?

Following in the footsteps of its older siblings, Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Curiosity rover is scheduled to land on the red planet Sunday. Sporting six wheels and carrying ten science instruments, the one-ton rover will seek to answer the perennial question about Mars: whether Earth's neighbor is, or ever was, able to support life. We'll discuss what's at stake for Curiosity, the heart of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission.

For the past several years, heartfelt, sometimes tormented emails have been pouring into the inbox of Dear Sugar, the advice columnist for the online literary magazine "The Rumpus." Sugar, recently revealed as best-selling memoirist and novelist Cheryl Strayed, answers the calls for help with deep empathy, honesty and often with toughness. Cheryl Strayed joins us to talk about giving advice and her golden rule -- trust yourself.

More than ever before, political campaigns and interest groups from both parties are using the latest direct marketing and data mining tools to target and mobilize potential supporters. We'll discuss so-called microtargeting. How do you feel about political advertisements personally tailored to your habits and preferences?