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
California Braces for Decline in International Tourists
President Trump may have taken a softer tone in his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney this week, but whether that will quell the anger and bring…
- KQED's Forum
What Trump’s Massive Cuts Mean for Science and Research
Five former directors of the National Weather Service released a joint letter on Friday warning about the impact of major cuts to the National Oceanic and…
- KQED's Forum
What Has a Wild Animal Taught You?
When political advisor Chloe Dalton found an injured newborn hare near her home in the countryside, she decided to nurse it back to health. The two quickly…
- KQED's Forum
A View from DC: How California Leaders are Navigating the Trump Administration
Trump has never hid his disdain for California. In his first hundred days in office, the President has gone on offense against the state on a number of key…
- KQED's Forum
California Public Media Reacts to Trump Administration's Attempt to Cut CPB Funds
Public media outlets say they will fight President Trump’s executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end its financial support for…
- KQED's Forum
Agustin Fuentes on Why Sex is a Spectrum
In his new book “Sex is a Spectrum: The Biological Limits of the Binary,” Princeton biological anthropologist Agustin Fuentes makes the case that among…
- KQED's Forum
Trump's Tariff Strategy Risks Long-Term Damage to US-China Relationship
Tariffs on many of China’s imports into the United States now stand at 145%; most U.S. imports into China face tariffs of 125%. While President Trump and…
- KQED's Forum
Benicia Contends With Valero Refinery Closure
Last month, Oil Giant Valero announced it would “restructure, or cease operations” at its Benicia refinery by the end of April 2026, as California transitions…
- KQED's Forum
Night of Ideas: Author Laila Lalami on her Dystopian 'Dream Hotel'
Laila Lalami’s new novel, “The Dream Hotel,” imagines a dystopian future where even our dreams are under surveillance. AI tools can scan our dreams to…
- KQED's Forum
The Joys — and Rules — of Baking
For seasoned and beginner bakers alike, there are always new techniques to learn when it comes to baking that perfect chocolate chip cookie or pie crust…
- KQED's Forum
CalMatters Investigates Why Dangerous California Drivers Are Still Behind the Wheel
Why do California drivers often get to keep a valid license, even after they kill someone on the road? A new CalMatters investigation studied tens of thousands…
- KQED's Forum
How a 45 foot Nude Has SF Debating Public Art
For the past several weeks a 45-foot tall wire sculpture of a nude woman has loomed over San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza. “R-Evolution,” which first appeared…
- KQED's Forum
Vietnamese Diaspora Reflects on 50 Years Since Vietnam War
On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured South Vietnam’s capital of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War. With 50 years now passed, those who left Vietnam…
- KQED's Forum
Trump’s First 100 Days: How DOGE Has Changed Government
Donald Trump has given Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency far-reaching authority to fire federal workers without cause and gain…
- KQED's Forum
How Have You Been Affected by Trump’s First 100 Days?
How have you been affected by Trump’s first 100 days in office? Whether you rushed to buy a car before the tariffs set in, changed your travel plans or cut out…
- KQED's Forum
How Increased Autism Diagnoses Are Changing the Way We Think About Neurodiversity
Autism spectrum disorder can be found in 2.2% of the population, but for women and girls, as well as many adults, autism is a diagnosis that is often missed…
- KQED's Forum
What’s a Photograph That Stands Out in Your Mind?
Kathy Ryan was the longtime director of photography at the New York Times Magazine. For nearly four decades, Ryan shaped the way we witnessed history: January…
- KQED's Forum
Clint Smith on Telling the Truth About America’s History
In an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” President Trump targeted the Smithsonian, demanding that “improper ideology” be…
- KQED's Forum
What Are Your Hopes for the Next Pope?
Funeral rites are underway for Pope Francis, who died this week at age 88 after leading the Roman Catholic Church for 12 years. Hundreds of thousands of people…
- KQED's Forum
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
Are We Facing a Constitutional Crisis?
Is the United States in the talked-about and feared constitutional crisis? President Trump and his administration are increasingly ignoring federal court…
- KQED's Forum
KQED Youth Takeover: Oakland Ballet Explores Immigrant Stories From Angel Island
Ellis Island might have been a welcoming place for many immigrants to the United States, but Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay tells a more troubling…
- KQED's Forum
Fetal Personhood as 'The New Civil War over Reproduction'
Overturning Roe v. Wade was never the end goal of the anti-abortion movement, says UC Davis law professor and leading abortion historian Mary Ziegler. It was…
- KQED's Forum
Trump Targets California International Students and Higher Ed
More than a thousand international college students – scores of them in California – have had their visas terminated without explanation under new Trump…
- KQED's Forum
Bonnie Tsui on the Science, Symbolism and Strength of Muscle
We often take our muscles for granted, rarely stopping to consider just how complex and essential they are. From the powerful beat of our hearts to the tiny…
- KQED's Forum
KQED Youth Takeover: Deliberative Democracy Puts Dialogue and Reason at Center of Decision Making
In today’s intensely polarized climate, political conversations can quickly devolve into heated arguments. But a process called deliberative democracy has…
- KQED's Forum
How Project 2025 Can Help Us Understand What Trump is Doing – and What’s Next
Many of President Trump’s first policies in office — including removing Temporary Protected Status for migrants, walking back climate protections and denying…
- KQED's Forum
How Did the Pandemic Change Work for You?
As part of our series looking back on how the pandemic changed us, 5 years on, we examine the way we work. From working remotely to handling childcare needs to…
- KQED's Forum
'The Chaplain and the Doctor' Centers Empathy and Spirituality in Health Care
A new documentary, “The Chaplain and the Doctor,” offers an intimate glimpse into the palliative care unit of an Oakland hospital, where two women — an…
- KQED's Forum
The Home Insurance Crisis: A Conversation with Florida
California and Florida have been the epicenter of the home insurance crisis, with insurers jacking up prices, refusing coverage or fleeing the states entirely…
- KQED's Forum
Artificial Intelligence’s Promises and Perils with Gary Rivlin
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Rivlin spent more than a year in the Bay Area shadowing the founders and venture capitalists vying to make big money off…
- KQED's Forum
Oakland Voters Await Results in Close Mayoral Election
Votes are still being tallied for Oakland’s Special Election that will determine who will finish out the term left vacant after former mayor Sheng Thao was…
- KQED's Forum
Democrats Call for Investigations into Trades Surrounding Tariff Pause
President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs caused chaos in financial markets and left investors scrambling. But who’s profiting from the turmoil? Democrats…
- KQED's Forum
How President Trump Aims to Dismantle Environmental Protections
In a sweeping executive order, Donald Trump has taken aim at efforts by states, including California, to set their own environmental policies. At risk are key…
- KQED's Forum
The Trump Administration’s Crackdown on Legal Migrants
Tens of thousands of immigrants received notices last week from the Department of Homeland Security that their temporary legal statuses would be terminated in…
- KQED's Forum
Vauhini Vara’s Examines Selfhood with Assistance from ChatGPT
When tech writer Vauhini Vara was struggling to process her sister’s death in 2021, she asked an early version of ChatGPT to write about it through an…
- KQED's Forum
‘Lost at Sea’ Profiles Sausalito’s ‘Anchor-out’ Community
Off the coast of Sausalito lies one of the nation’s oldest unhoused communities. Known as “anchor-outs,” residents live aboard makeshift boats moored in the…
- KQED's Forum
What Economic Uncertainty Means for Your Finances
The U.S. economy has been rattled by back-and-forth tariff policies, a seesawing stock market, and concerns about inflation continuing to rise. Americans are…
- KQED's Forum
‘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
SFMOMA 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
How Tariffs and a Trade War with China Could Affect CA Farmers
Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday when President Trump backtracked and announced a 90-day pause on the sweeping tariffs he unveiled last week…
- KQED's Forum
Viet Thanh Nguyen on the Lasting Impact of the Vietnam War 50 Years Later
Viet Thanh Nguyen came to the United States as a 4-year-old refugee after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. His family eventually settled in San Jose. Nguyen…
- KQED's Forum
SF Chronicle Investigates Broken Home Insurance System
Four of California’s largest home insurers are knowingly using faulty data to set coverage limits, according to a new San Francisco Chronicle investigation. It…
- KQED's Forum
San Francisco Scales Back Harm Reduction Policy
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is scaling back a key part of the city’s harm reduction strategy: the free distribution of clean foil pipes and plastic straws…
- KQED's Forum
Sudan's Brutal Civil War, 2 Years In
It’s been two years this month since fighting broke out between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, leading to a devastating…
- KQED's Forum
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurants List is Back
After six long years, The San Francisco Chronicle has revived its annual Top 100 Restaurants list. Critics MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez join us to…
- KQED's Forum
Federal Funding Cuts Hit Cancer Research
Clinicians and scientists are sounding alarms as the Trump administration slashes budgets at federal health agencies, including the NIH, which is the largest…
- KQED's Forum
The Fallout of Trump’s Expansive Tariffs
The global economy and U.S. markets have been reeling since President Trump announced a sweeping package of tariffs on Wednesday. China retaliated late Friday…
- KQED's Forum
Zach Mack on Trying to Rescue His Father from ‘Alternate Realities’
Has someone you love ever been enmeshed in online conspiracy theories? Podcast host Zach Mack’s father fell deep into a rabbit hole and wagered Mack $10,000…
- KQED's Forum
Movie “Freaky Tales” Is a Love Letter to 1980s Oakland
“Oakland in ‘87 was hella wild.” So begins the new movie “Freaky Tales,” which establishes its bonafides by having rap legend Too $hort as its narrator. Told…
- KQED's Forum
How Poetry Serves Civic Life
Three California poet laureates, Fresno’s Joseph Rios, El Cerrito’s Tess Taylor and San Francisco’s former poet laureate Tongo Eisen-Martin, received $50,000…
- KQED's Forum
To Fold or Fight: Law Firms Weigh Risks of Trump Resistance
Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the law firm that employs former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is among the latest to cut a deal with the Trump administration…
- KQED's Forum
Is ‘The Nerd Reich’ Taking Over the Government?
A group of Silicon Valley billionaires is causing chaos in the federal government by shuttering agencies, firing workers en masse and flouting legal and…
- KQED's Forum
Omar El Akkad’s New Book Critiques American Hypocrisy On the Gaza War
Journalist and writer Omar El Akkad has won acclaim for his novels “American War” and “What Strange Paradise,” and he’s now published his first non-fiction…
- KQED's Forum
Immigration Reporter Nick Miroff on Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign
A Tufts University PhD student from Turkey remains in detention in Louisiana after masked, plainclothes ICE officers arrested her last week, as she was walking…
- KQED's Forum
How Countries Fall Into Autocracy
Since taking office, President Trump has taken aim at the constitutional order. By conducting mass firings of civil servants, investigating and prosecuting…
- KQED's Forum
California Universities Grapple with Trump Threats, Investigations
The Department of Justice announced Thursday it will investigate “illegal DEI” in admissions at UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford and UC Irvine. Meantime, the UC system…
- KQED's Forum
Oakland Mayor’s Race: Former Congresswoman Barbara Lee on Why Leadership Matters
In a special election on April 15, Oakland voters will choose a candidate to finish the term of recalled mayor Sheng Thao. In the second of our interviews with…
- KQED's Forum
Joan Didion and How Hollywood Shaped American Politics
Joan Didion famously chronicled California’s culture and mythology in works like “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” and “The White Album.” And it’s Didion’s…
- KQED's Forum
How to Get Your Kids Cooking
Cooking is a basic survival skill and yet many kids reach adulthood without knowing how to prepare even a simple meal. Meanwhile, other Bay Area kids are…