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 ForumWhat DOJ’s Landmark Antitrust Case Against Google Could Mean for Consumers…and Big Tech
Google spends more than $10 billion per year to maintain its monopoly control over internet search, a U.S. government lawyer alleged in a Washington, D.C…
KQED's ForumAll You Can Eat: Unique Ice Cream Flavors Flourishing in the Bay
Summer may be over, but the Bay Area’s hottest days may still be ahead. To manage the heat (and let’s be honest, the fog), two scoops of your favorite local…
KQED's ForumWhat Do You Collect?
Why do we collect things like Pokémon cards, old tea sets and comic books? According to Daniel Krawczyk, a behavioral and brain scientist — and pinball machine…
KQED's ForumWhy Pharmacists Say Working Conditions Threaten Patient Safety
Pharmacies in California make about 5 million errors every year, according to state regulators. That’s just an estimate, since pharmacies aren’t required to…
KQED's ForumSome School Boards Argue that Parents Should Know if Their Children are Trans. California Says That’s Wrong.
Several California school districts, mostly in more conservative pockets of the state, have recently passed policies requiring that schools notify parents if…
KQED's ForumHow to Say Goodbye to the Dying
In 2017, illustrator Wendy McNaughton completed an artist-in-residency at the Zen Hospice Guest House in San Francisco. She got to know families, caregivers…
KQED's ForumHow Would You Change California’s Referendum Process?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering whether to sign a bill that would change some of the language you see on the referendum portion of your 2024…
KQED's ForumWhat This Year’s Muddy Mess Means for Burning Man’s Future
For decades, it seems, people have been complaining that Burning Man has sold out, lost touch with its original values, or simply jumped the shark. The annual…
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What Does ‘Utopia’ Mean to You?
Amid the climate crisis, growing isolation and increasing economic disparities, many of us feel trapped in a doom loop — one where it feels more natural to…
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Doing Democracy: Pride, Reckoning and Reimagining Our Nearly 250 Year Old System of Democracy
As we march toward another long frenzied election season, we at Forum have launched a new series, Doing Democracy, to step away from the fray and consider what…
KQED's ForumTrump Faces Four Concurrent Lawsuits. Will They Impact His Presidential Aspirations?
For a conventional candidate, facing a criminal indictment might preclude a run for public office. But for Donald Trump, at least up until now, litigation…
KQED's ForumFeature Film ‘Fremont’ Captures an Afghan Refugee’s Efforts to Make a New Life in the Bay
Fremont is home to the largest Afghan population in the United States, with over 66,000 people of Afghan descent in the city according to 2019 census figures…
KQED's ForumHow California’s Cities are Addressing Homeless Encampments
An estimated 172,000 people are homeless in California, according to a study this year by UCSF, and the most visible symbols of the state’s homelessness crisis…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Expands Program That Pays People to Stop Using Drugs
California is the first state in the country to use federal funding for a controversial approach to reducing drug addiction: paying people to stop using. The…
KQED's Forum‘Never Enough’ Examines the Toxic Achievement Culture Overtaking Kids’ Lives and What to Do About It
In a national survey conducted by journalist Jennifer Wallace, a vast majority of parents responded that getting their child into a selective college was the…
KQED's ForumHow Journaling Can Help Us Make Sense of Our Lives
Keeping a written account of your thoughts, feelings and observations can be a powerful habit – a source of healing, growth, and even creativity. We explore…
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‘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…
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Bernie Krause’s 'The Great Animal Orchestra' Showcases the Sound – and Growing Silence – of Ecosystems
Bernie Krause has spent more than 50 years capturing the sounds of nature and examining how animals make harmonious ecosystem soundscapes. His art…
KQED's ForumHow Safe is California’s Tap Water?
The tap water in Southern and Central California’s urban areas are among the U.S. regions most exposed to PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” according to…
KQED's ForumSan Francisco Catholic Diocese Bankruptcy Filing Leaves Clergy Abuse Survivors in Limbo
Faced with more than 500 lawsuits stemming from clergy sexual abuse, the San Francisco Catholic diocese last week said it had no choice but to seek Chapter 11…
KQED's ForumHow Do We Live in an Ever More Fire-Prone World?
Every wildfire has at least two stories, according to writers Justin Angle and Nick Mott. One story is about the devastation exacted on humans, their lives and…
KQED's ForumNovelist Cristina García’s 'Vanishing Maps' Revisits the Cuban Diaspora in Sequel to 'Dreaming in Cuban'
Cristina García’s new novel, “Vanishing Maps,” is a sequel to her widely acclaimed debut, “Dreaming in Cuban,” published 30 years ago. The novels follow the…
KQED's ForumWhat 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 ForumHow Scientists are Decoding Brain Activity to Help People Regain the Ability to Speak
Researchers at UCSF have developed a digital avatar to convey the words and facial expressions of a woman with severe paralysis by transmitting her brain…
KQED's ForumHow Intergenerational Friendships Improve Our Lives
For many Californians, developing meaningful relationships with people significantly older or younger than them can be difficult. We live in age-segregated…
KQED's ForumBreakup Songs Aren’t Just For Breakups
A good breakup song can offer you catharsis and a good, long cry. They can help you mediate the feelings caused by a long lost love, a messy goodbye, or a…
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New COVID Subvariant? New Boosters? Answering Your COVID Questions with UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong
COVID cases nationwide and in California are increasing at summer’s end. The state’s positivity rate from PCR tests is almost 12% as of mid-August, and…
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Oakland Program Turns Bay Area Youth into Video Game Developers
The Bay Area is home to a thriving video game industry, but many local kids, especially those of color, don’t see career opportunities in it. Several years…
KQED's ForumAdam Schiff on His Run for U.S. Senate
Southern California Democrat Adam Schiff has served in the U.S. Congress since 2001, and he’s now running to succeed Dianne Feinstein in the Senate. A former…
KQED's ForumEvictions Cases Skyrocket as Pandemic-Era Moratoriums End
As pandemic-era eviction moratoriums have ended, Bay Area counties are seeing a surge of eviction cases coming to court. Some tenants owe tens of thousands of…
KQED's ForumHow to Navigate A World Filled with Plastic And An Update on What We Can Learn From California’s First Tropical Storm in Decades
Plastics are everywhere, but L.A. Times environment reporter Susanne Rust thought she was doing a pretty good job avoiding them. That was until she spent a…
KQED's ForumWhat 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 ForumExploring Our Complex Relationship with Bears
There are only eight bear species remaining on the planet — six of which are endangered. Environmental journalist Gloria Dickie, author of the new book “Eight…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Indigenous Communities Reclaim Stolen Territory Amid Growing Calls for Land Back
In July, members of the Coast Miwok Tribal Council of Marin purchased 26 acres of land, part of what was once the tribe’s territory. The fundraising effort to…
KQED's Forum'The Underworld' Illuminates Marvels of Deep Sea
The deep sea is nature’s motherboard, according to author and aquatic explorer Susan Casey. It absorbs heat, buffers excess carbon, drives our climate and…
KQED's ForumAre TikTok and Social Media Making Us Better Cooks? And An Update on Antioch and Pittsburg Police Officers Arrested in FBI Raids
Antioch and Pittsburg police officers were arrested Thursday morning in a series of FBI raids, after an 18-month investigation into an alleged criminal…
KQED's ForumHow Chance, Timing and Cognitive Bias Shape Our Health
You wouldn’t think that the month in which you’re born has much to do with your medical outcomes. In fact, kids who have summer birthdays are more likely to…
KQED's ForumCalifornia Rolls Out Hotly-Debated Math Guidelines
Public schools across California are rolling out new state math guidelines after years of development, revision, and controversy. State education leaders…
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CA’s Teacher Shortage Hits Rural Schools Hardest
California has not been spared from the national teacher shortage. The state Department of Education reported more than 10,000 teacher vacancies during the…
KQED's ForumHow AI Could Transform Mental Health Care
Artificial intelligence is being put to work across various fields in the hopes that it can solve some of our most pressing problems. Among them: a growing…
KQED's ForumWould You Want Congestion Pricing in Your City?
To ease crushing urban traffic, London, Stockholm and Singapore all use congestion pricing, charging drivers to use busy roads in city centers or in certain…
KQED's ForumVenture Capital Still Largely Leaves Out Women-led Companies
Women start roughly two out of five businesses in America, but have mostly been shut out of the venture capital ecosphere. Companies funded solely by women…
KQED's ForumWhen A Pet Dies, How Can You Find Comfort?
“Mourning her absence was breathtaking in a literal sense; it took the wind out of me,” writes Sara Bader about the grief she felt with the death of her best…
KQED's Forum‘Moonshot for Biology’ Aims to Sequence a Genome of Every Type of Plant and Animal on Earth
A group of scientists is racing to sequence genes from every plant, animal, and fungus on Earth for a global database of DNA. The organizers of the global…
KQED's ForumDeadly Wildfires Devastate Maui
At least 53 people are dead after wildfires whipped through neighborhoods in Maui, destroying the historic town of Lahaina and prompting the evacuation of…
KQED's ForumCreators of Fashion Newsletter "Blackbird Spyplane" Explain Bay Area Style
Starting in 2020, the newsletter Blackbird Spy Plane has served readers what’s billed as “unbeatable recon” on style and culture. Journalist Jonah Weiner and…
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What Does AM Radio Mean to You?
More than 82 million Americans listen to AM radio monthly, and most do so in their cars, according to recent Nielsen data. But many automakers have been…
KQED's ForumForum is Launching a New Digital Community! How Can We Make the Internet Feel Like Your Bay Area?
For many of us, the internet has two faces. It can be a place where we’re bombarded by disinformation and polarized viewpoints, subjected to rage and…
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What Happens to Cal and Stanford as the Pac-12 Collapses?
Last year, UCLA and USC announced their coming departure from the historic college sports conference of the West Coast: the Pac-12. Last week, the Pac-12…
KQED's ForumAll You Can Eat: Cafes We Love, Cafes We’ve Lost
Berkeley landmark coffee shop and diner Au Coquelet closed recently, joining other iconic East Bay cafe closures, including Berkeley’s iconic Caffe…
KQED's ForumWhy Aren’t There More Public Pools in California?
Public pools serve as community gathering spaces, havens from the heat and safe and affordable places for people to learn to swim. But public pools in the…
KQED's Forum‘When Crack Was King’ Dives into the People, and the Myths, of the Crack Epidemic
The crack epidemic of the 1980s and 90s had a devastating and lasting effect on black communities and the criminal justice system. But Donovan X Ramsey writes…
KQED's ForumJennifer Senior Contemplates ‘The Ones We Sent Away’
“It is remarkable,” writes the Atlantic’s Jennifer Senior, “how many Americans have relations who were, at some point during the past century, sequestered from…
KQED's ForumClimate Fix: Another Algae Bloom Is Taking Over San Francisco Bay
A perfect recipe of summer weather, climate-warmed waters and excess nutrient pollution has brought the red tide back to the San Francisco Bay shoreline. The…
KQED's ForumBarbara Lee on Her Run for U.S. Senate
Democrat Barbara Lee has represented Oakland and the East Bay in Congress since 1998, and she’s now running to replace U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is…
KQED's ForumThe 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 ForumCalifornia’s Food Pop-Up Scene Gets a Boost from New State Law
The pop-up whose Instagram you DM the moment orders reopen. The chef who makes the best dish you’ve ever tasted on a compostable plate. The baker whose vegan…
KQED's ForumSavanah Leaf’s Film ‘Earth Mama’ Navigates Race, Class and Motherhood in Oakland
Savanah Leaf’s debut feature-length film “Earth Mama” follows Gia, a pregnant 24-year-old single mother of two who is struggling to get her kids back from the…
KQED's ForumParlez-Vous Duolingo? How Apps Can Help You Learn A Language
Apps like Duolingo offer the tantalizing promise that learning a language will be easy. And fun! And fast! The playfulness of the apps turns language learning…
KQED's ForumLydia Kiesling’s Novel 'Mobility' Explores Ethical Dilemmas; And A Quick Update on the Trump Indictments
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on four counts related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. We check in with KQED senior…