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 ForumCould Prefab Modular Housing Finally Take Off in the Bay Area?
Building homes in factories can save money and time – so why has prefabricated housing struggled to gain traction in the U.S.? Scandinavian countries use it…
KQED's ForumEthical Non-Monogamy Veers (Slightly) Toward the Mainstream
“Ethical non-monogamy isn’t new… and it isn’t exactly mainstream, but it isn’t so fringe either (or reserved for those who live in the Bay Area).” That’s…
KQED's ForumHow Social Media Influencers Market Harmful Products to Youth
Are “Zynfluencers” the new Joe Camel? Joe was the cartoon mascot used by R.J. Reynolds to sell cigarettes in the 1990s, until the government cracked down on…
KQED's Forum'Chowchilla' Reexamines Harrowing 1976 School Bus Kidnapping
In 1976, in the Central Valley town of Chowchilla, 26 children and their school bus driver were kidnapped by three masked men and held captive for twenty-eight…
KQED's ForumHow Nature Shaped the ‘Wild Girls’ Who Changed America
“Girls had rich lives outdoors, but history has largely overlooked them,” writes Harvard professor and National Book award winner Tiya Miles. In her latest…
KQED's ForumNew COVID Guidance, Variants and ‘Common Sense’: Living With the Coronavirus in 2024
The California Department of Public Health issued new COVID-19 guidance last week, advising that people may return to school and work even if they test…
KQED's ForumDoing Democracy: How Ranked-Choice Voting Has Changed Elections
San Francisco and Oakland were some of the first cities in the country to adopt ranked choice voting. It’s now a popular election reform that is being adopted…
KQED's ForumIn a Post-Roe World, Who Safeguards ‘The Life of the Mother?’
Central Texas resident Yeniifer Alvarez-Estrada Glick became pregnant in December 2021, three months after Texas banned virtually all abortions past six weeks…
KQED's ForumCaregivers Need Care Too
53 million Americans provide care for a family member or friend with health or disability issues. While there can be joy and satisfaction found in helping a…
KQED's ForumRebecca Boyle on How the Moon ‘Made Us Who We Are’
Ever since our moon formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago, it has “conduct(ed) the symphony of life on Earth.” That’s according to lifelong moon enthusiast and…
KQED's ForumMayor Matt Mahan and the Year Ahead for San Jose
San Jose mayor Matt Mahan has only been in office about a year but he’s already up for re-election in March. We talk to mayor Mahan in our San Jose studio…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: ‘Black Folk’ Centers History and Activist Legacy of Black Working Class
“Our national mythos,” writes historian Blair LM Kelley, “leaves little room for Black workers, or to glean any lessons from their history.” Kelley’s latest…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: ‘Before the Movement’: The Hidden and Vibrant History of Black Civil Rights
Court cases like the Dred Scott decision and Brown v. Board of Education are among the legal milestones that mark the arduous journey towards civil rights. But…
KQED's ForumIn Transit: What’s the Status of California’s High-Speed Rail Project?
How soon will Californians be able to travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco by high-speed rail? In welcome news, the California High-Speed Rail…
KQED's ForumThe Objects We Keep That Tell Our Stories
The key from your first apartment. An old typewriter you used to write your thesis. Fabric buttons made by your grandmother. We all have objects, big and…
KQED's ForumThe Benefits and Limits of Gentle Parenting
“Gentle parenting” is generally described as parenting your child without shame, blame or punishment. It has gained traction in recent years, driven in large…
KQED's ForumResearchers: San Francisco is the Center of the Tech Solar System and Austin is Just a Satellite
A lot of ink has been spilled about the outflow of workers from San Francisco and the Bay Area but, according to a recent Harvard Business Review article, “In…
KQED's ForumShould Donald Trump Appear on the 2024 Ballot?
In a case with potentially monumental legal and political implications, the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide if former President Donald Trump is ineligible…
KQED's ForumTop 10 Tech Breakthroughs Coming in 2024 with MIT Technology Review
Could 2024 be the year we start wearing computers on our faces en masse? Might scientists cure sickle cell patients and move to geothermal energy? The answer…
KQED's ForumThe Perception Gap in the US Economy
Poll after poll finds Americans believe the economy is getting worse. Yet, indicators such as low unemployment rates, rising wages and declining inflation tell…
KQED's ForumCaitlin Dickerson on the Future of US Immigration Policy
If elected to a second term Donald Trump has promised to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” in addition to other harsh…
KQED's ForumIndustry's Climate Obstructionism Exposed in Guardian's ‘Big Oil Uncovered’
18 California children are suing the EPA for failing to protect them from climate change. The lawsuit is one of many efforts to hold the fossil fuel industry…
KQED's ForumChronic Absenteeism Plagues Bay Area Schools
Last year, nearly a quarter of public school students in California were considered “chronically absent” – more than double what it was before the pandemic…
KQED's ForumJournalist Amy Yee on the ‘Travels Among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents’
Since China’s annexation of Tibet in the 1950s, more than 100,000 Tibetans have fled the mountainous region, known as the rooftop of the world. Most of those…
KQED's ForumSeeking Fellowship without Religion
More than 25% of Americans identify as having no religious affiliation and that number is on the rise according to Pew Research. While atheists –also called…
KQED's ForumHow 'The Year of Ozempic' Transformed Obesity Treatment… and Much More
In a recent piece for the New Yorker called “The Year of Ozempic,” journalist and physician Dhruv Khullar writes that “we may look back on new weight-loss…
KQED's ForumHistoric PG&E Rate Increases Will Hit Hard in 2024
Before you open your next electricity bill, you might want to brace yourself. PG&E is hiking their rates starting this month, and this one is historic. Bills…
KQED's ForumManjula Martin’s ‘The Last Fire Season’ Reflects on Living with Wildfire
When Manjula Martin fled her West Sonoma home in the summer of 2020 with wildfire raging around her, she realized her go bag was packed for an apocalypse, not…
KQED's ForumAll You Can Eat: Best Dishes of the Year
Every year KQED food editor Luke Tsai publishes a list of his favorite dishes that he tried that year, in part to inspire the rest of us to up our culinary…
KQED's ForumHow to Reclaim Our Relationship with Time
Time flies. Time is money. Time waits for no one. There is no shortage of aphorisms about time because we are consumed by the minutes, hours, days and years…
KQED's ForumWhat's Hidden Inside Planets?
“Our experience as humans make it challenging to grasp the conditions that occur inside the planet,” writes scientist Dr. Sabine Stanley. “There’s just nothing…
KQED's ForumTracy K. Smith Mines History and Memory to Find 'Soul-Family'
“I am searching for the soul-family from whom I descend.” That’s how former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith describes the impulse animating her latest book…
KQED's ForumTending Your Winter Garden
You may think that winter is a time when a garden lies fallow, earth upturned and waiting for spring. But there is a lot to do in a winter garden, particularly…
KQED's ForumNew York Times Book Review Editor Shares Best Books of the Year
For almost as long as there’s been a New York Times Book Review — that is, since 1896 — their book editors have named the annual standouts of the many, many…
KQED's ForumWorking on the Frontlines of the Bay Area’s Addiction Crisis
Every day, first responders in the Bay Area are straining to help people struggling with addiction. Firefighters and paramedics respond to emergency calls for…
KQED's ForumAs Ukraine War Nears 2-Year Mark, Funding Stalls in Congress
As the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on without any clear momentum on either side, Republicans in Congress are balking at more U.S. aid to defeat Putin…
KQED's ForumWhat Does the Merger of SF-Based Mother Jones Magazine and CIR Mean for Investigative Journalism?
The magazine Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), which produces the podcast Reveal, will be merging. Based in the Bay Area, the two…
KQED's ForumVatican Says that Priests May Now Bless Queer Couples
The Vatican announced Monday that Catholic priests will be allowed to bless the unions of same sex couples. It’s seen as an important step toward a more…
KQED's ForumUnveiling the Corporate Landlords Behind Home Rentals in California
Large corporations have quietly bought large collections of homes in California, mostly for use as rental properties, often hidden behind complex networks of…
KQED's ForumElection 2024: Why California is Key to Control of Congress
With the Republicans’ majority in the House down to just three votes, control of Congress is very much up in the air next year. And once again the road to a…
KQED's ForumClimate Fix: Artists Imagine the Bay Area’s Future After Sea-Level Rise
Sea-level rise is already causing harm in the Bay Area, but it’s hard to picture what’s yet to come. Some Bay Area artists are using their crafts to imagine…
KQED's ForumArthur C. Brooks on How to 'Build the Life You Want' in 2024
The end of the year is a time of reflection, and for some, a chance to reassess our priorities. But if the goal is greater happiness, says author and Harvard…
KQED's ForumCraftspeople On What It Takes To Be an Artisan in the Bay Area
It’s the season of craft fairs, when artisans come out from their studios, or from a corner of an apartment stuffed with art supplies, and try to sell what…
KQED's ForumWhat COP28 Meant for California — and the Planet
The 28th United Nations climate conference, COP28, ended Wednesday in Dubai with an agreement among nearly 200 nations to transition away from fossil fuels and…
KQED's ForumRintaro Cookbook Brings the Izakaya to Your Kitchen
When he opened his popular and award-winning restaurant Rintaro, Sylvan Mishima Brackett wanted to serve “the kind of food you’d expect if the Bay Area were a…
KQED's ForumThe Year in Movies
What was your movie of the year? Maybe you were one of many who donned hot pink at the theaters. Maybe your movie of the year is one that just came out, or one…
KQED's ForumHate Crimes Against Muslims and Jews on The Rise
Hate crimes against Jews and Muslims in the U.S. are reaching all time highs according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Since the start of…
KQED's ForumWhat Does International Law Say about the Israel-Hamas War?
Health officials in Gaza report that at least 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its bombardment of the region, in retaliation for…
KQED's ForumBest Bay Area Music of 2023
During the past year, Bay Area artists including Chicana songstress La Doña, homegrown rapper and producer Afterthought and Oakland indie singer-songwriter…
KQED's ForumMore Californians Struggling with Food Insecurity
Millions of Californians rely on CalFresh’s benefits to feed their families. But ever since emergency federal contributions to the program ended back in April…
KQED's ForumJulian Castro Steps In to Lead SF-based Latino Community Foundation
Former U.S. housing secretary and presidential candidate Julian Castro joins us to talk about his new role as CEO of the San Francisco-based Latino Community…
KQED's ForumWhat Was Your Favorite Podcast in 2023?
“Tumultuous” is how the New Yorker described the podcast industry this year. “Pretty rough” is how Vulture put it. Amid mass layoffs that forced many beloved…
KQED's Forum‘Down Home Music’ Captures Arhoolie Records’ History in Photos
Legendary Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz transversed the United States and Mexico for decades recording traditional roots music and unknown artists…
KQED's ForumHumanitarian Crisis Deepens as Fighting Intensifies in Southern Gaza
Humanitarian conditions in Gaza have become increasingly desperate as Israeli forces intensified bombardments in the southern part of the region this week, now…
KQED's ForumWhy Do We Elect State Court Judges?
When you get to the part of the ballot that asks you to vote for a local judge, have you ever thought, “am I qualified to make this decision?” While federal…
KQED's ForumHow To Navigate Misinformation Online
Distinguishing facts from unreliable or false information online is difficult for many of us. And the confusion affects all age groups, political parties and…
KQED's ForumMedia Grapples, Once Again, With How to Cover Trump
Former president Trump has been saying very inflammatory things in public speeches and posts lately. He’s advocated violence, praised autocratic leaders and…
KQED's ForumNew Classical Music Stream Highlights the Art of Video Game Music
When was the last time you spent a weekend listening to a piece of music for hours on end? For gamers, that’s not an uncommon practice. Along with story…
KQED's ForumConcord Launches Guaranteed Income Pilot As Programs Gain Traction In The Bay Area
Concord has joined a growing list of Bay Area cities testing guaranteed income programs. The East Bay city’s model will provide 120 families with $500 a month…
KQED's ForumTrailblazing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Dies at 93
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, died on Friday. She was 93. A Ronald Reagan appointee who retired from the high court…