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 ForumThe Outlook for Bay Area Transit Post-Election
Bay Area transit agencies have struggled to recover ever since the pandemic decimated ridership and revenue. Several measures on the ballot aimed to shore up…
KQED's Forum‘Power Metal’ Examines the Cost of Our Battery-Powered Lives
The push to harness renewable energy sources like wind and solar has sparked a massive demand for critical metals such as cobalt, nickel, and lithium…
KQED's ForumSETI 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: Daveed Diggs Live at KQED Fest
We’ll listen back to Mina Kim’s live, on-stage conversation last month at KQED Fest with actor, producer, rapper Daveed Diggs. Diggs won a Tony for his roles…
KQED's ForumReflecting on the Role of Art in Times of Uncertainty
Art is a mode of expression, a vehicle for processing thoughts and feelings, and a way to connect. Regardless of your political leanings, it’s fair to say we…
KQED's ForumTrump to Nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz to Head the DOJ
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he will nominate Matt Gaetz as U.S. Attorney General. The polarizing MAGA congressman from Florida…
KQED's ForumWhere Do Bay Area Progressives Go From Here?
Across the Bay Area, voters signaled a move away from progressive politics. A progressive mayor and DA were recalled in Oakland. A Levi’s heir was elected as…
KQED's ForumWill Americans Ever Elect a Woman President?
Many factors contributed to Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 election. But for those hoping that Americans would elect the country’s first woman…
KQED's ForumOakland Recalled Its Mayor. Now What?
More than 60% of Oakland voters chose to recall mayor Sheng Thao last week, making her the first mayor to be recalled in the city’s history. Soon after the…
KQED's ForumFinding 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 ForumThe Future of Trans Rights in a Trump Presidency
Transgender kids and their families have become a frequent target of president-elect Donald Trump and other conservative politicians. While the Bay Area and…
KQED's ForumWhat Trump 2.0 Means for Silicon Valley
Donald Trump had a rocky relationship with Silicon Valley during his 2016 presidential campaign, and he clashed with Big Tech during his first term. This time…
KQED's ForumWhat the Trump Administration Could Mean for Our Climate
Donald Trump has called climate change a “hoax”, opined that sea level rise caused by melting glaciers “could create more oceanfront property,” and has said…
KQED's ForumHow Trump Made Huge Gains Among Latino Voters
Political strategist Mike Madrid says that democrats are in for a “long overdue reckoning” following an election where Trump support among self-identifying…
KQED's ForumSpeaking Blue State to Red, Red to Blue: A Conversation with Florida
On the face of it, California and Florida – the homestates of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – are polar opposites. The divisions between the states came to…
KQED's ForumWhat Will a Second Trump Presidency Mean for California?
Donald Trump has long had it in for California. He’s threatened to withhold federal aid for wildfire recovery, tried to revoke the state’s Clean Air Act waiver…
KQED's ForumMaking Sense of the Election with James Fallows
In a recent post on Substack, writer and longtime political observer James Fallows wrote, “By the standards of any presidential race in modern times, Kamala…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: How California and the Nation Voted
On the day after the election, we’ll bring you the latest results in the presidential race and the battle for Congress as well as key California contests and…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: How the Bay Area Voted On Local Candidates, Issues
Bay Area voters were faced with pivotal decisions in Tuesday’s election that could have major impacts on our region. KQED reporters join us to talk about…
KQED's ForumHow Are You Navigating Political Differences With Your Family and Friends?
For many Americans, the 2024 election has caused rifts between family members, created animosity among friends and made civil political debate all but…
KQED's ForumFinding Beauty and Meaning on an Anxiety-Fraught Election Day
After a grueling campaign season, Election Day has arrived. Here at Forum, we asked ourselves what we would want to hear on an anxiety-inducing day. To that…
KQED's ForumTrump Escalates Threatening Rhetoric in Campaign’s Final Days
Donald Trump on Thursday called former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney a “radical war hawk” who should have guns “trained on her face.” This has become increasingly…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: The Key Congressional Races That will Decide Congress
For most of us the presidential race is top of mind. But voters on Tuesday will also decide which party controls Congress. Across the country, 34 Senate seats…
KQED's ForumWhat Are Your Audio Ofrendas for Día de los Muertos?
Dia de los Muertos gives us a yearly opportunity to remember loved ones who have passed away. In honor of the holiday, we provide our listeners with a radio…
KQED's ForumThe Modern Witch Wants You to be Self-Empowered
The modern witch is more than a character from “Harry Potter.” She, he or they could be a co-worker, a neighbor or a friend who uses spells, spirituality and…
KQED's ForumCelebrating 20 Years of ‘Modern Love’
The New York Times’ Modern Love column debuted on Halloween 20 years ago, “three years before iPhones, eight years before Tinder, and 11 years before same-sex…
KQED's ForumRichard 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 ForumYour Last Minute Voting Questions, Answered
Did you make a mistake filling out your ballot? Need a refresher on how ranked choice voting works? Wondering how to find your polling place? Kim Alexander…
KQED's ForumWashington Post, LA Times Pulling Harris Endorsements Spark Outrage
Two major newspapers, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, will not publish planned endorsements for Kamala Harris for president. Those decisions…
KQED's ForumHow Silicon Valley Became the ‘New Lobbying Monster’
Big Tech-funded super PACs have spent hundreds of millions of dollars this election cycle to protect their interests in crypto and AI. In a piece for the New…
KQED's ForumHow Much Do We Need to Worry About the Election Being Overturned?
Since Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the election in 2020, laws have been passed to protect our election results. But there has also been a concerted…
KQED's Forum‘Band People’ Highlights the Working Musicians Behind the Scenes
You see them on stage every night – the musicians whose names are buried in the liner notes and driven by passion rather than by rockstar-dom. Franz Nicolay…
KQED's ForumIs Social Media Activating or Repelling Voters This Election Cycle?
The latest stars of TikTok and social media are not just influencers, they are presidential candidates. The campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have…
KQED's ForumEdie Falco and Tony Shalhoub Star in New Radio Play 'It Happened Here 2024'
What happens if fascism takes root in the United States? Actors Edie Falco and Tony Shalhoub have teamed up to voice a new radio play called “It Happened Here…
KQED's ForumNeuroscientist 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 ForumShould You Be Giving Your DNA to Consumer Health Companies?
It’s been nearly twenty years since 23andMe, the consumer health company was founded. Since then, other companies have emerged, and in exchange for a tube of…
KQED's ForumR.L. Stine on the Stories that Give Us ‘Goosebumps’
“Living Dummy.” “The Haunted Mask.” “Welcome to Dead House.” For ’90s kids, R.L. Stine, author of the “Goosebumps” series, is synonymous with spooky. The…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: How the Demographics of American Voters Are Changing
In the final weeks before election day, candidates are scrambling to win over groups of voters who could tip the results. American voters have shifted…
KQED's ForumElizabeth Kolbert on What Happens "When the Arctic Melts"
As the Greenland ice sheet melts, more freshwater is pouring into the oceans and that’s triggering feedback loops that could mean disastrous coastal sea level…
KQED's ForumCoexisting with California’s Urban Coyotes
Native to California, coyotes are common in urban green spaces up and down the state. Once eradicated from San Francisco, they’ve made a comeback in the city…
KQED's ForumSonoma’s Contentious Measure J Aims to Disrupt Meat Production
Measure J in Sonoma County wants to ban “factory farms” and force major poultry and dairy farms to downsize or shut down by limiting the number of animals a…
KQED's ForumHow Harris and Trump Would Differ on Foreign Policy
The Middle East crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine are among the critical foreign policy issues the next U.S. president will have to confront on day one. The…
KQED's ForumOakland Mayor Sheng Thao on Why Voters Should Reject the Recall
In the first mayoral recall vote in Oakland in more than a century, voters will decide in the November election whether mayor Sheng Thao should be removed from…
KQED's ForumSynthesized Voices Just Got More Realistic
When ChatGPT launched advanced voice mode last month – inserting accents and ‘umms’, even taking breaths – some users called it surreal. Humans have been…
KQED's ForumHow to Design a Park That Brings a Community Together
Parks are meant for everyone, but they don’t always feel that way. A lack of transportation, paths that are not easily navigated, or elements that are not…
KQED's ForumMore American Workers are Calling in Sick – Especially Gen Z
Thirty percent of all employees working in the professional services industries with an active PTO policy took sick leave in the first 10 months of 2023 — up…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: What Will Our Economy Look Like Under Trump or Harris?
The economy is the top issue influencing voters’ choice for president in this election, according to a recent Gallup poll. But “the economy” can mean many…
KQED's ForumKamala Harris Zones in on Ground Game in Final Weeks Campaign
Vice President Kamala Harris is in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin this week as part of a battleground state campaign blitz to turn out the vote and to…
KQED's ForumOakland’s Schools Are Contaminated With Lead. What's the District Doing About It?
The Oakland school district is looking for ways to fund lead contamination cleanup, after tests earlier this year revealed that at least 30 schools have…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Bans Legacy Admissions
Starting next fall, public and private universities in California will no longer be allowed to consider an applicant’s relationship to alumni or donors in…
KQED's ForumSupreme Court’s New Term Will Decide on Trans Rights, Guns
As the new Supreme Court term begins, the decisions and conduct of its last term have put a cloud over the judicial institution. Opinions extending the…
KQED's ForumLawsuits Against National Labor Relations Board Could Cloud Future of Organized Labor
The National Labor Relations Board is facing legal challenges from SpaceX, Amazon, Starbucks and other companies that argue that the nearly 90-year old agency…
KQED's ForumSF Zoo is “Unsafe for Visitors and Animals” According to City Report
At the San Francisco Zoo, the kangaroo pen lacks running water, the gorilla habitat area floods during heavy rainfall and the jaguars are depressed and live in…
KQED's ForumSecond Deadly Hurricane in Two Weeks Devastates Florida
At least 12 people are dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night. The death toll is expected to rise as local officials assess the…
KQED's ForumThe Natural World is Queerer Than You Think
When a female clownfish dies, a male clownfish can switch sexes and reproduce with other females. Some morpho butterflies have one male wing, and one female…
KQED's ForumFifty Years of Saturday Night Live
When Saturday Night Live asked Dana Carvey to play Joe Biden for this season, few anticipated that the president would drop out of the race over concerns about…
KQED's ForumDaniel Lurie Tried to End Poverty in the City. Now He Wants to Be Mayor.
Daniel Lurie founded and was the CEO of the antipoverty nonprofit, Tipping Point. He’s also heir to the Levi Strauss fortune and has put more than six million…
KQED's ForumMax 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 ForumWhy Ahsha Safaí Thinks an Urban Planner, Like Himself, Should be SF Mayor
When Ahsha Safaí applied to MIT for his masters degree in urban planning, he wrote that one day he hoped to be a city mayor. Since getting his degree, he’s…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: California Propositions 33 and 34
We take a look at Propositions 33 and 34 on California’s November ballot and how they’re connected. Prop 33 would remove limits on cities’ ability to enact…