Shows / KQED's Forum
KQED's Forum
Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second hour to chronicle and center Californians’ experience. In an increasingly divided world, Mina and Alexis host conversations that inform, challenge and unify listeners with big ideas and different viewpoints. Want to call/submit your comments during our live Forum program Mon-Fri, 9am-11am? We'd love…
Episodes
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Have You Lost Something That Once Defined You?
Musician Greta Morgan began performing professionally when she was 16, singing for groups like The Hush Sound and Gold Motel before touring with Vampire…
- KQED's Forum
Kaiser Bans Gender-Affirming Surgery For Minors. What's Next for Transgender Healthcare?
Kaiser Permanente will stop providing gender-affirming surgeries for patients under the age of 19, as a result of President Trump’s executive order targeting…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Tijuana River Pollution Reaches Crisis Point in San Diego County, Scientists Warn
The South Bay in San Diego County is the site of one of the nation’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons of untreated sewage and industrial…
- KQED's Forum
Why Your Energy Bill Has Gotten So Expensive (and What Can Be Done About It)
In almost every part of the country, the amount people pay for electricity has gone up faster than the rate of inflation and it will likely continue to rise…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: ‘Twist’ Explores Sabotage, Repair and the Hidden Cables Connecting Us
National Book Award-winning author Colum McCann says he chooses what to write about based on what he most wants to know. His latest novel “Twist” springs from…
- KQED's Forum
Where Mainstream Immigration Reporting Falls Short, Ethnic Media Outlets Step Up
As ICE raids sweep across the country as a part of President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, ethnic media outlets in California are playing an invaluable role…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Is It Time to Rethink Pediatric ADHD?
A record high 7 million U.S. children have received an ADHD diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But journalist Paul Tough…
- KQED's Forum
In Gary Shteyngart’s “Vera, or Faith,” A Child Navigates Family, American Dystopia
In Gary Shteyngart’s new novel, “Vera, or Faith,” a precocious 10-year old Korean-American girl, with a curious mind and exceptional vocabulary, navigates her…
- KQED's Forum
How to Create a Family Archive
The photograph of your grandmother that’s at least a century old, yellowing at the edges. An embroidered handkerchief that’s crossed the globe. The family…
- KQED's Forum
Mariachi San Jose Performs Live in Studio
For people of Mexican descent, mariachi music is synonymous with milestones such as weddings, birthday parties, funerals or maybe just Saturday-morning chores…
- KQED's Forum
What A.I. Means for College Writing
The arrival of tools like ChatGPT has changed how college students write. Some use A.I. to organize ideas or fine-tune phrasing; others rely on it to complete…
- KQED's Forum
Alcatraz’s Cultural Legacy Extends Beyond Its Prison Past
The Trump administration is pushing to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison, requiring the repeal of National Park protections and ending its six-decade…
- KQED's Forum
What California’s Billboards Say About Us
Billboards promoting movies “for your consideration” take over Los Angeles freeways every award season, while San Francisco’s drivers are inundated with tech…
- KQED's Forum
What Happens to the Department of Education After Trump’s Cuts?
The Supreme Court has given the Trump Administration the greenlight to gut the workforce of the Department of Education. The move isn’t just about reducing the…
- KQED's Forum
President Trump Tries, Fails to Stem Epstein Files Controversy
Questions continue to mount about President Trump’s connection to the deceased, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The president’s MAGA base — and now…
- KQED's Forum
Working Yet Homeless in America
What constitutes homelessness? In his new book, “There is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America”, author Brian Goldstone documents the stories of…
- KQED's Forum
ICE’s Budget Just Tripled. What’s Next?
President Trump’s recently passed megabill allocates $75 billion in extra funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tripling its budget and making ICE…
- KQED's Forum
The Threat to California Public Lands
You’ve probably been to a national or state park in California. But have you ever hiked in BLM land? 15% of California – 15 million acres – is public land…
- KQED's Forum
What Does Keanu Reeves Mean to You?
We need to make “Much Ado About Keanu” Reeves. That’s according to pop culture writer Sezín Devi Koehler’s new book about the wildly popular – if sometimes…
KQED's ForumCongress Votes to Defund Public Media
A bill to claw back $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public radio and television, will be voted on by the House…
- KQED's Forum
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Standing Up to the Trump Administration
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a spate of lawsuits against the Trump administration, including challenges to mass terminations of federal…
- KQED's Forum
Amid War, Bay Area Architects Aid Reconstruction in Ukrainian Town
The Ukrainian town of Irpin made international headlines at the outset of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion when local reservists repelled Russian forces…
- KQED's Forum
Does the Label ‘Genius’ Do More Harm than Good?
“You can tell what a culture values by who it labels a genius—and also what it is prepared to tolerate. The Renaissance had its great artists. The Romantics…
- KQED's Forum
The Bay Area is Getting Older — Fast. Are We Ready?
The Bay Area is getting increasingly older at a faster rate than other parts of the country, making it the third oldest region in the U.S. Some neighborhoods…
- KQED's Forum
Adolescence Under Stress: Why Growing Up Today is Harder than Ever
Adolescence has always been turbulent, but what happens when you mix in early puberty, digital information overload and a world that feels increasingly…
- KQED's Forum
Taking Stock of President Trump’s First Six Months
In the first six months of his second term, President Trump has done a lot of what he said he would do, from proposing sweeping tariffs to gutting federal…
- KQED's Forum
Why L.A. is a Model for 'the Future of Water Conservation'
Water conservation is a constant challenge for Californians, but according to the New York Times’s Michael Kimmelman, there’s one city that’s doing it right…
- KQED's Forum
Is Customer Service a Bad Model?
To be a modern consumer is to experience poor customer service at some point in your life. The kind of service that has you in a fever dream of pressing “1”…
- KQED's Forum
E. Jean Carroll on Being 'One Woman vs. a President'
Journalist E. Jean Carroll has won two multimillion-dollar judgments against President Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Her new memoir, “Not My Type: One…
- KQED's Forum
Forum From the Archives: Sly Stone and the ‘Burden of Black Genius’
No band may better reflect the multicultural, gender-expansive exuberance of the Bay Area dream than Sly and the Family Stone. A new documentary “Sly Lives…
- KQED's Forum
Over 100 Dead, Dozens Still Missing As Texas Recovers from Unprecedented Flooding
The flooding in Central Texas over the Fourth of July holiday has claimed more than 100 lives and caused widespread destruction across six counties. Search and…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Mac Barnett on Why Picture Books are Real Literature
As the Library of Congress’s new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Bay Area children’s author Mac Barnett wants to reframe how we think about…
- KQED's Forum
What the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Means for California
President Trump on Friday signed into law a massive tax and spending package: the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which delivers sweeping tax breaks for…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Alison Gopnik and Anne-Marie Slaughter on Why We’re Not Paying Enough Attention to Caregiving
Caregiving is the most universal of human acts. But also one of the most invisible. While caring for a child, parent or loved one can be meaningful, and life…
- KQED's Forum
What Elizabeth Bruenig Witnessed ‘Inside America’s Death Chambers’
Atlantic staff writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Elizabeth Bruenig has attended five death row executions over the past half-decade. “What I witnessed,” she…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Celebrating 40 Years of West Coast Literature with Zyzzyva
When a scrappy San Francisco literary journal launched in 1985 to champion West Coast writers, the dream was to make a lasting imprint. Now, 40 years later, we…
- KQED's Forum
Have You Lost Something That Once Defined You?
Musician Greta Morgan began performing professionally when she was 16, singing for groups like The Hush Sound and Gold Motel before touring with Vampire…
- KQED's Forum
Forum From the Archives: SF MOMA Ruth Asawa Retrospective Celebrates Her Art and Life as Educator
“An artist is an ordinary person who can take ordinary things and make them special,” said San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa. From her studio in her home in Noe…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Rick Steves Reflects on a Life of Travel
Rick Steves is one of the most trusted sources for Americans traveling abroad. But he once dreamed of becoming a piano teacher. That was before he backpacked…
KQED's ForumForum from the Archives: Vallejo’s Breakout Star LaRussell Performs In Studio
LaRussell is known for a lot of things. His prolific music drops. His backyard concerts from his hometown, the “itty bitty city near the Bay,” Vallejo. And…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Liz Pelly on Spotify and the ‘Cost of the Perfect Playlist’
Spotify was originally marketed as a democratic, anti-establishment music streaming platform. But according to journalist Liz Pelly, it has become a system…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus on How She Makes Her Signature Sounds, Live in Studio
Oakland based art-pop band Tune-Yards is widely loved for their complex and funky rhythms, layers of sound, thrillingly dynamic vocals, and thought provoking…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Tommy Orange and Kaveh Akbar Celebrate their Artistic Mind Meld
Have you ever felt so creatively connected to someone that it’s like you share the same brain? That’s how acclaimed writers Tommy Orange and Kaveh Akbar…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Star On the Rise: August Lee Stevens Performs Live In Studio
Hercules native August Lee Stevens dropped her debut album “Better Places” last year earning her a following and praise for her indie soul sound. The…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: What It’s Like to Parent With Your Friends
NPR’s Rhaina Cohen has taken a close look at friend-powered parenting, joining shared households to see how neighbor-and-friend alliances can break the…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Fremont's Sid Sriram Fuses New Genres with Family Legacy of Traditional Indian Singing
Singer Sid Sriram was born in southern India, but his family moved to Fremont when he was just a year old. His voice and his sound are the product of his…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Remembering George Floyd and the Racial Reckoning He Sparked
We remember George Floyd, five years after his murder by a Minneapolis police officer. In the days and months after Floyd’s death, millions of Americans took…
- KQED's Forum
Forum from the Archives: Bay Area Latin Jazz Legend John Santos and Friends Perform Live
Bay Area Latin jazz legend John Santos joins us with a full band for a live in-studio performance. The San Francisco native is a Grammy nominated percussionist…
- KQED's Forum
Is It Time to Rethink Pediatric ADHD?
A record high 7 million U.S. children have received an ADHD diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But journalist Paul Tough…
- KQED's Forum
What’s on Your Summer Reading List?
A warm summer day sitting beneath the shade of a tree or a beach umbrella with a tall cold drink at the ready and a juicy book waiting to be read — what could…
- KQED's Forum
Supreme Court Rulings This Term Impact Immigrants, Transgender Youth, EPA Regulations
So far this term the Supreme Court has allowed states to ban gender transition care for youth, made it easier for white people and other “majority” group…
- KQED's Forum
In Sara Kehaulani Goo’s ‘Kuleana,’ Culture and Capitalism Collide in Hawaii
Author and veteran journalist Sara Kehaulani Goo grew up in Southern California making frequent visits to Hawaii, where her extended family owned a vast and…
- KQED's Forum
Israel and Iran Reach Tentative Ceasefire
A fragile ceasefire is in effect between Israel and Iran, just days after the United States intervened in the war by striking Iranian nuclear sites. President…
- KQED's Forum
Local Media Is Dead. But Not in the Bay Area.
Local media is dying according to headlines. But that is not the case in the Bay Area. Last year the New York Times reported that San Francisco alone had 27…
- KQED's Forum
Gen Z Embraces Trades as the College-to-Career Pipeline Cracks
Today’s young workers are rethinking what makes a good job. A new Resume Builder survey finds that more than a third of Gen Z college grads are working in or…
- KQED's Forum
How Trump's Immigration Crackdown is Playing Out in the Bay Area
The Trump Administration has targeted Southern California for its harshest crackdown on immigrants. For the past few weeks, federal agents have raided…
- KQED's Forum
Molly Jong-Fast on 'How to Lose Your Mother'
“As much as I love my mother, I’ve often found myself regarding her with feelings that are somewhat closer to the opposite of love,” writes political analyst…
- KQED's Forum
As Iran and Israel War Continues, What Does It Mean for the Bay Area Iranian Diaspora?
As the war between Israel and Iran continues, members of the Iranian diaspora in the Bay Area are closely watching as people in Iran are being asked to…
- KQED's Forum
Journalist Barbara Demick Traces Decades of Trauma From China’s One-Child Policy
Nearly a decade after the end of China’s one-child policy, families are still reeling from its traumas. In multiple cases, officials in China forcibly took…
- KQED's Forum
U.S. Weighs Role It Should Play in Escalating Israel-Iran Conflict
President Trump announced on Thursday that in the next two weeks, he would make a decision about the role the U.S. will take in the escalating Israel-Iran…