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 ForumOh The Places You'll Go: Travel in 2025
Last year, visitors flocked to the path of the solar eclipse, packed up to visit national parks and headed abroad. While climate change and overtouristing are…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin on Using Music as Medicine
Neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin says we can trace beliefs about music’s power to heal mind, body and spirit back 20,000 years, to the Upper…
KQED's ForumHow the ‘Diploma Divide’ Polarizes the U.S. Electorate
One problem with 2016 polling data indicating that Hillary Clinton would win the presidency was the oversampling of people with college and graduate degrees…
KQED's ForumThe Tech News and Trends That Shaped 2024
Looking back at the year in tech in 2024, generative artificial intelligence dominated headlines, became part of our daily lives and pumped up the Bay Area’s…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Max Boot Unravels Ronald Reagan’s ‘Myriad Contradictions’ in New Biography
Much has been written about Ronald Reagan, but historian Max Boot’s new biography, which draws on new archival sources and interviews with nearly a hundred…
KQED's ForumAuthor Oliver Burkeman Wants You To Embrace Imperfection
A new year holds promise for a new you. But writer Oliver Burkeman says you shouldn’t strive for perfection. Instead, in his latest book, “Meditations for…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Novelist Ann Patchett Rereads 'Bel Canto' in New Annotated Edition
Have you ever reread something you wrote years earlier and cringed? Or maybe you were surprised by the depth, heart and complexity of what your younger self…
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 ForumForum From the Archives: ‘Soldiers and Kings’ Investigates the World of Human Smuggling
Anthropologist Jason De León has spent a career documenting the stories of migrants making their way across the Sonoran Desert at the Southern US border. But…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: SETI Scientists on 40 years of Asking the Universe 'Are We Alone?'
Are we alone? Really, though, in a cosmic sense. 40 years ago the pioneering radio astronomer Jill Tarter co-founded a Bay Area non profit to support humanity…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Finding Awe and Inspiration in the Natural World's ‘Vanishing Treasures’
“The time to fight, with all our ingenuity and tenacity, and love and fury, is now.” That sounds like a rallying cry for democrats after their profound…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Wintersongs From the Vocal Ensemble Kitka, Live in Studio
For 45 years, the Bay Area's vocal ensemble Kitka has entranced audiences with their complex harmonies, breathtaking vocal techniques and vast repertoire of…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Richard Powers’ Novel ‘Playground’ Explores Vastness of Oceans and AI
Novelist Richard Powers has a way of making us see the world, and our place in it, in entirely new ways. His 2019 Pulitzer Prize Winning novel Overstory…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archive: The Best Podcasts of 2024
The past year, more than any other, “demonstrated how podcasts as a whole bleed into the real world and play a huge role in American culture, for better or…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: The Beauty in Finding ‘Other People’s Words’ in Your Own
About ten years ago, two of journalist Lissa Soep’s closest friends died around the same time. In her grieving, she found consolation in the philosophy of a…
KQED's ForumLive on Forum: Esotérica Tropical
Oakland-based musical artist Esotérica Tropical performs a live in-studio concert, playing songs off her new self-titled debut album. Her music is a fusion of…
KQED's ForumHow to Fly Close to the Sun with Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi
The fastest moving human-built object ever, the Parker Solar Probe, will enter the sun’s atmosphere on December 24th. It’s the closest any artificial object…
KQED's ForumWhat’s Your Go-To Holiday Dish?
For New York Times cooking columnist Eric Kim, the holidays are a time to embrace traditional dishes but have fun with the framework – like deviled eggs with…
KQED's ForumThe Books We Loved in 2024
As the year ends, Forum looks back at some of our – and your – favorite books from 2024. What was the book you just couldn’t put down or that you’re still…
KQED's ForumWhat’s your Best Defense of California?
Half of Americans think California is in decline, and almost half of Republicans think it’s “not really America,” according to a poll this year from the Los…
KQED's ForumThe Legacy of U.S. Navy Radiation Experiments in Hunters Point
On the site of what is poised to be a massive housing development in Hunters Point, the U.S. Navy conducted radiation experiments on troops, lab personnel, and…
KQED's ForumUC Davis Coffee Researchers on the Science Behind a Perfect Cup of Coffee
UC Davis is known as one of the best schools to study winemaking. And now it’s becoming a magnet for faculty and students drawn to the study of coffee. What…
KQED's ForumWintersongs From the Vocal Ensemble Kitka, Live in Studio
For 45 years, the Bay Area’s vocal ensemble Kitka has entranced audiences with their complex harmonies, breathtaking vocal techniques and vast repertoire of…
KQED's ForumWhat Pete Hegseth’s Resurrected Bid for Defense Secretary Signals
After president-elect Donald Trump announced his plans to nominate Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, Senate confirmation seemed unlikely. Other…
KQED's ForumStephen Dubner on 20 years of Freakonomics
Why are humans so bad at predicting the future? What exactly is college for? And does expensive wine really taste better? Those are among the many questions…
KQED's ForumWant to Learn to Play a Musical Instrument?
Learning to play piano, saxophone or cello can be intimidating at any age, but adult learners face special challenges such as the time and financial commitment…
KQED's ForumThe Songs and Albums You Played On Repeat in 2024
This past year, the Bay Area’s local music scene continued to cultivate artists as eclectic as our region. KQED Art’s list of the best Bay Area albums from…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Offers Long-Awaited Cash Incentives for E-Bikes
Some California residents could soon be eligible for an e-bike voucher worth up to $2000. State officials say the program will cut pollution and help meet…
KQED's ForumA Guide to Gift Giving This Holiday Season
If buying presents is your kryptonite, the plethora of gift guides that have likely hit your inbox may be the answer. This season, it seems like every media…
KQED's ForumWhat's Next for Syria?
Syrians continue to celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the dictator whose decades-long rule was marked by terror and violence against his own people. But…
KQED's ForumCEO’s Murder Reveals Americans’ Anger Over Healthcare System
The murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO exposed widespread public anger over insurance claim denials and the overall state of medical care in the U.S. And it’s…
KQED's ForumTrump’s Picks for FBI Chief and National Intelligence Director Face Challenges
We look at Donald Trump’s plans to nominate former Hawaii congress member Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence, and Kash Patel as FBI chief…
KQED's ForumInflation Slowed Down, But Will Americans See Lower Prices?
Inflation has driven up the cost of living for most Americans making them feel squeezed every time they go shopping. And while many voters cited inflation and…
KQED's ForumCalifornia’s Unemployment Fund is ‘Broken,’ New Report Finds
“Broken” is how the Legislative Analyst’s Office describes California’s unemployment insurance financing system in a new report. California is already $20…
KQED's ForumWhat We Learned From the Tsunami Scare
Remember that tsunami on Thursday…that didn’t happen? After a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 45 miles southwest of Eureka, a tsunami warning went into effect…
KQED's ForumThe Best Podcasts of 2024
The past year, more than any other, “demonstrated how podcasts as a whole bleed into the real world and play a huge role in American culture, for better or…
KQED's ForumTherapist Sahaj Kaur Kohli on How to Respond to, ‘But What Will People Say?
Growing up in an Indian family, Sahaj Kaur Kohli felt pressured to meet her parents’ high expectations for a “good Sikh girl”. Despite being a top student in…
KQED's ForumHow Could Tariffs Affect California?
Cars, lumber and avocados are just a few items that could see their prices increase if president-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs take effect. Throughout…
KQED's ForumIs Avian Flu the Next Pandemic?
Avian flu has killed 1.5 million chickens and turkeys in California and 100 million birds nationwide since the outbreak began in 2022. And earlier this year…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Tops Nation in Road Rage
Californians are the most confrontational drivers in the country according to a recent survey from Forbes Advisor. Nearly half of California drivers surveyed…
KQED's ForumDACA Recipients Prepare for An Uncertain Future
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, has given more than half a million immigrants protection from deportation since 2012. The program has…
KQED's ForumU.S. Increases Military Aid to Ukraine Ahead of Presidential Transition
The U.S. will send an additional $725 million in military aid to Ukraine, the State Department announced on Monday. That’s on top of more than $7 billion in…
KQED's ForumThe ‘Seductive Promise’ and Peril of Microfinance
For decades microfinance was touted as a novel solution to poverty. The idea is simple – give poor women tiny loans to jumpstart small businesses and create…
KQED's ForumWhy We ‘Love to Hate’ Comic Sans
The quirky, rounded, nominally sans-serif font of Comic Sans became a cultural phenomenon when it first burst onto the scene as a free option in Windows 95…
KQED's ForumHow Should the Media Cover the Next Trump Administration?
On the campaign trail, president-elect Donald Trump said he “wouldn’t mind so much” if journalists were shot, threatened to revoke broadcast licenses of…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Miranda July Wrestles with the Female Midlife Crisis in ‘All Fours’
In Miranda July’s new novel, “All Fours,” a 45-year-old artist embarks on a solo roadtrip to New York from her Los Angeles home. She makes it as far as…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Rebecca Nagle on the Long and Ongoing Battle for Tribal Sovereignty and Land
A truly landmark Supreme Court decision in 2020 resulted in the largest restoration of Native American tribal land in American history. More than half of the…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Pioneering Journalist Connie Chung on a Lifetime of Newsmaking
Connie Chung was the first Asian person to anchor a national network news program in the US and the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News. For decades…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Small and Big Acts of Kindness Shine in New Book from Upworthy
The son who traveled 2,500 miles to save his parents’ dog. The stranger who picked up the tab for a girl who was trying to buy a prom dress at Goodwill. The…
KQED's ForumWhat Role Did the Manosphere Play in the Election?
The majority of male Gen Z voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump, according to exit polling. Some cultural analysts say that’s partly because more young…
KQED's Forumjohn a. powell on Polarization and 'The Power of Bridging'
After the divisive 2016 presidential election, many families cut short Thanksgiving plans with their relatives of different political persuasions, according to…
KQED's ForumParental Burnout is the Latest Public Health Crisis
U.S. surgeon general Dr. Vivek H. Murthy has said that parental burnout is a public health issue on the same level as cigarettes, obesity and gun violence…
KQED's ForumWhat Trump’s First 100 Days Could Look Like
Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, withdrew as a nominee on Thursday amid growing controversy over sexual misconduct accusations. While…
KQED's ForumNovelist Ann Patchett Rereads 'Bel Canto' in New Annotated Edition
Have you ever reread something you wrote years earlier and cringed? Or maybe you were surprised by the depth, heart and complexity of what your younger self…
KQED's ForumVallejo’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 ForumHow Freaked Out Should We Be About Black Plastic?
Should you throw out your black plastic spatula — and any other cookware made of black plastic? Unfortunately, yes, probably. A new study finds that black…
KQED's ForumWhat It Takes to Make It as a Small Business in the Bay Area
Running a small business in the Bay Area is not for the faint of heart. A complex regulatory environment, rising costs, crime, and a sluggish post-COVID…
KQED's ForumWhy X Users are Flocking to Bluesky
Are you one of the 20 million people on Bluesky? The social media platform has nearly doubled its user base since the election as more people migrate away from…
KQED's ForumTrump Rewards Loyalty With Controversial, Extreme Cabinet Picks
A conspiracy-theorist and vaccine denier to run the Department of Health and Human Services. A Russia-friendly intelligence chief. And an attorney general pick…
KQED's ForumCould Donald Trump’s Mass Deportation Proposals Become a Reality?
President-elect Trump and his team want to end DACA and the Temporary Protected Status program – which could make nearly a million people vulnerable to…