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 ForumDr. Fei-Fei Li, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, on Creating Human-Centered AI
Dr. Fei-Fei Li is a literal visionary. Her groundbreaking work on ImageNet, a vast visual recognition database, helped propel artificial intelligence at a…
KQED's ForumGovernors Newsom, DeSantis to Meet in Fox News Debate
It might be the most unusual event of this campaign season: California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to face off Thursday night against Governor – and GOP…
KQED's ForumWhat Makes San Francisco Government Vulnerable to Corruption?
Earlier this month, the FBI indicted a major local real estate developer for bribing three San Francisco officials to obtain permits and expedite inspections…
KQED's Forum‘From Spices to Vices’: Evolutionary Biologist Noah Whiteman on Nature's Toxins
Beneath the surface of a coffee bean or a red pepper flake or a nutmeg seed — or any of the plants we rely on for medicine, food and drink — lie a “bevy of…
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Why Cults Fascinate Us With UC Berkeley Professor Poulomi Saha
In the last several years, a cult industrial complex has emerged to capitalize on Americans’ fascination with groups such as Jonestown, the Manson Family, the…
KQED's ForumCan California’s Animal Shelters Support Pets and Their People?
California’s stray animals face a slew of challenges that might sound familiar to human residents of the state: a lack of affordable housing, prohibitive…
KQED's ForumWhat the Failed Oslo Accords Can Teach Us About Prospects for Middle East Peace
Thirty years ago, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands on the White House lawn and pledged to work together…
KQED's Forum15 Years Ago, Prop 8 Banned Gay Marriage in California. What Do You Remember?
Proposition 8 passed 15 years ago this month, banning same-gender marriage in California. Two couples — one lesbian, one gay — sued to overturn the proposition…
KQED's ForumSan Francisco Foundation Celebrates 75 Years of Tackling Some of the Bay Area's Biggest Challenges
With $1.6 billion in assets, the San Francisco Foundation is one of the largest community foundations in the country. The organization is now in its 75th year…
KQED's ForumHow to Use Math to Win the Games We Love — and Learn More About Ourselves
University of Oxford mathematician Marcus du Sautoy loves games. He’s spent much of his career popularizing math — and for him, games are a way to “play…
KQED's Forum'Lost Landscapes' Spotlights Bay Area History with Found Footage
The New York Times has called Rick Prelinger “one of the great, undersung historians of 20th century cinema.” But the Bay Area-based archivist isn’t known for…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: What Happens to our Online Shopping Returns?
Americans are doing a lot more of their shopping online, and thanks to generous return policies we’re also sending back more of the stuff that doesn’t fit…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: The Bay Area We See Through Windows of Public Transit
What do you notice out the window from your seat on BART, or Muni, or the Golden Gate Ferry? When you ride public transit, you’re free to look around, and…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: Bettina Love on How Black Students are 'Punished for Dreaming'
Brown v Board of Education, the landmark civil rights decision banning racial segregation in public schools, was supposed to give Black children greater…
KQED's ForumForum From the Archives: What a Racist Instagram Account Did to the Town of Albany
In 2017 students at Albany High School in the East Bay became aware of a private instagram account created by a student, and followed by just over a dozen…
KQED's ForumNew York Times Cooking Helps Us Get Ready for Thanksgiving
Whether you’re a seasoned chef or first-time cook preparing a casual dinner with friends, Thanksgiving can be a stressful time in the kitchen. Many of us are…
KQED's ForumWhat the Ferry Building Tells Us About San Francisco’s History of Reinvention
San Francisco is a city of survivors. For all the talk of doom loops, the city has reinvented itself many times, and if it had an architectural mascot, it…
KQED's ForumZahra Hankir Traces Eyeliner’s History, Politics and Culture
People of all genders have rimmed their eyes with pigment for thousands of years. But as Zahra Hankir explains in her new book on the history of eyeliner, its…
KQED's ForumRethinking our Way Out of the Affordable Housing Crisis
The astronomical price of housing is the root source of so many of the Bay Area’s most pressing problems and bitter battles. A problem so big begs for big…
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FORUM IN FOCUS: Lol Tolhurst & Pendarvis Harshaw
Explore your inner Goth with Mina's interview with co-founder of The Cure Lol Tolhurst and dive into the Hyphy movement with Pendarvis Harshaw, host of KQED's…
KQED's ForumHow Abortion is Reshaping American Elections After Dobbs
Last week, Ohio voters approved Issue 1, a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to protect abortion access. The vote was the latest in a string of…
KQED's ForumWhy Are There So Few Lesbian Bars?
By the late 1980s, there were more than 200 lesbian bars in the U.S. Today, only a few dozen are still operating. In San Francisco, lesbians, queer women and…
KQED's ForumWhat Was it Like to Be a Roman Emperor?
Roman emperors have long provided a template for autocrats and a warning for politicians, according to acclaimed historian Mary Beard. But not all emperors…
KQED's ForumClimate Fix: How Climate Change Is Disrupting Our Concept of Home
The latest season of KQED’s podcast Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America examines how Californians are grappling with the concept of home as climate change…
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How Collectives Are Changing College Sports
Since the NCAA’s decision to allow student athletes to participate in name, image and likeness deals, wealthy alumni across the country have been starting…
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Why Brian Merchant, a Tech Columnist, Says He’s a Luddite
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist for the L.A. Times. He’s also a self-professed Luddite. In his new book “Blood in the Machine” Merchant explains…
KQED's ForumHollywood Actors and Studios Reach Deal to End Historic Strike
The longest strike by TV and film actors against studios in history concluded Thursday when SAG-AFTRA leadership agreed to a new contract with major studios…
KQED's Forum‘Hyphy Kids Got Trauma’ Podcast Series Explores the Pain Behind the Music
Two of the biggest songs to come out of the Bay Area’s hip hop scene – Too Short’s “Blow The Whistle” and E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” – dropped in 2006. That…
KQED's ForumNew Investigation Looks at Causes of EDD’s Pandemic Meltdown
California’s Employment Development Department paid out up to $30 billion in fraudulent claims during the Covid pandemic. Meanwhile, some six million…
KQED's ForumBiden and Xi Jinping to Meet During APEC in San Francisco. What’s on the Agenda?
Starting on November 11, leaders from around the Pacific Rim descend on San Francisco for APEC, and one of the most anticipated meetings is a conversation…
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FORUM IN FOCUS: Heather Cox Richardson & Rob Bonta
The week's most compelling interviews in 30 minutes or less! Get a historical perspective on the news with history professor and author of "Democracy…
KQED's ForumDr. Joy Buolamwini on Preserving the Humanity in AI
Many of us are familiar with the biases baked into modern technology, but these are heightened with AI, warns Dr. Joy Buolamwini, who has been called the…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Lifts Ban on Lowrider Cruising
Lowriders defy convention: they lean, they hop, they bounce. Their paint jobs are works of art, sometimes with museum-worthy images or a melding of colors that…
KQED's ForumThe Cure’s Lol Tolhurst on the Origins of ‘Goth’
You might know The Cure’s song “A Strange Day,” defined by its spooky guitar licks, eerie drone loops and funeral march drum beats. But Lol Tolhurst, the…
KQED's ForumYour Neighbor Might Have a Painting in the de Young
The de Young museum has opened its doors and cleared walls to feature the work of Bay Area artists. On exhibit through January, the 2023 de Young Open features…
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The Serial Abuse Women Face in California's Prison System
Since 2014, inmates inside California’s womens’ prisons have filed hundreds of complaints of sexual abuse carried out by guards, yet just four officers have…
KQED's ForumAll You Can Eat: Why We Love Friendsgiving
Friendsgiving can take many forms. Sometimes it’s a replacement for a more traditional Thanksgiving when gathering with family isn’t possible. For others, it’s…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Attorney General Rob Bonta
Last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued tech giant Meta, arguing that its Instagram and Facebook platforms use psychologically manipulative…
KQED's ForumHeather Cox Richardson on How To Preserve Democracy
In her daily politics newsletter, “Letters from an American,” Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson offers her two million readers a…
KQED's ForumComedy Critic Jesse David Fox on the Cultural Role of Comedy
Jesse David Fox works as Vulture’s comedy critic and hosts the podcast “Good One,” where each episode features comedians like John Mulaney and Sasheer Zamata…
KQED's ForumWhat the APEC Summit Could Mean for S.F.…and the World
President Joe Biden is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month in San Francisco. They’ll be here during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation…
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FORUM IN FOCUS: Viet Thanh Nguyen + Kishi Bashi
Forum in Focus brings you the most compelling interviews in under 30 minutes! This week, professor and novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen on his new memoir, "A Man of…
KQED's ForumC Pam Zhang’s Novel ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ Explores Politics of Food and Desire Amid Climate Crisis
Acclaimed author C Pam Zhang’s latest novel, “Land of Milk and Honey,” is set after smog blocks the sun, killing 98% of commercial crops and 12% of the human…
KQED's ForumSkates, Blades and Hot Tracks: Roller Culture in the Bay Area
Roller culture in the bay area has lived many lives – from the roller discos of the 1970s, to the inline skate competitions of the 2000s and a quad-skating…
KQED's Forum2023 California 'Genius' Grantees On Art, Community, and Place
Manuel Muñoz is the son of immigrant farm laborers from California’s Central Valley whose four works of fiction center the lives of Mexican-American…
KQED's ForumDoing Democracy: Jennifer Pahlka on How to 'Recode America'
During the height of the pandemic, the agency that handles California’s unemployment benefits had an epic meltdown. Not only could its computers not handle the…
KQED's ForumWildfire Smoke Increasingly Getting Clean Air Act Exemption, Investigation Finds
More than 21 million Americans are breathing air that’s dirtier than official records indicate. That’s according to a new investigation from the California…
KQED's ForumCalifornia’s Reparations Program for Survivors of Forced Sterilization Falls Short As Deadline Nears
California’s use of forced sterilizations represents a dark chapter in the state’s history. Up until the 1970s, state hospitals and institutions implemented a…
KQED's ForumChancellor Sonya Christian Has Big Plans for California Community Colleges
Earlier this year Sonya Christian became the first woman chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the largest higher education system in the country…
KQED's ForumMusician, Songwriter Kishi Bashi in Studio
Kishi Bashi is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, filmmaker and Japanese-American. That identity and the liminal space between being Japanese and being…
KQED's ForumOrgan Transplant Recipients Share Their Stories
Every day in hospitals around the country, while one family is grieving the loss of a family member, another family is given news that will offer them hope…
KQED's Forum‘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…
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FORUM IN FOCUS: Professor Debbie Chachra + Rukmini Callimachi
This week's Forum in Focus takes on rethinking infrastructure with engineering professor Debbie Chachra and the true toll of vehicular homelessness with New…
KQED's ForumWhat Have Your Mistakes Taught You?
“Make one mistake each day.” “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying.” These adages might feel cliché. But mistakes, though often embarrassing…
KQED's ForumThe “Boo Curious” Guide to the Bay Area’s Creepiest Places
A black Victorian that once housed a Satanic church in San Francisco. The legend of star-crossed young lovers, murdered long ago in what is now Hayward. And of…
KQED's ForumViet Thanh Nguyen Explores Memory, Family and Selfhood in ‘A Man of Two Faces’
When does memory begin? That’s the question Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen poses in the first lines of his new book “A Man of Two Faces,”…
KQED's ForumIt’s Got Pockets! The Complicated History of the Humble Pocket
Pockets. They are something you don’t notice, until you don’t have one to stash your phone, wallet, keys, or the random Walgreens receipt. Invented in the 16th…
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Is California 'Warehousing' the Seriously Mentally Ill in Nursing Homes?
Nursing homes aren’t generally equipped to care for the seriously mentally ill, who require specialized treatment and services. But a new investigation by…
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How Manga and Anime Influence Food Culture
Broc Cellars, an under the radar Berkeley winery, had a solid Japanese following. But when its Zinfandel “Vine Starr” was featured in the beloved manga “Drops…
KQED's ForumSarah Lohman on Saving America’s Endangered Foods
The Empress date. The Burbank tomato. The Sebastopol Gravenstein apple. Halali’i sugar cane. These are among hundreds of foods grown in the United States on…