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 Forum
How Do You Get By In the Pricey Bay Area?
“How We Get By,” a new series from KQED News, looks at how people in the Bay Area make due with the sky-high cost of living. Prices for necessities from…
- KQED's Forum
Why Are American Kids Such Picky Eaters?
Is your kid a fussy eater? A lot of us have come to accept that there’s a period where children can only stomach dino nuggets, buttered noodles and PB&J’s. But…
- KQED's Forum
What Does It Take to Be a ‘Good Woman’?
“All my life I have tried to be a good woman,” writes Savala Nolan. Being “good” meant not rocking the boat. It meant following the rules and fitting herself…
- KQED's Forum
The Vast Reach of Jeffrey Epstein's Network
Weeks after the Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, new questions are emerging…
- KQED's Forum
US and Israel Bomb Iran, Kill Khamenei. What Comes Next?
The United States and Israel’s strikes against Iran continued throughout the weekend, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, top officials and civilians…
KQED's ForumWho Runs the World? Fanfiction Writers!
Fan fiction, where fans reimagine their favorite characters in new – often steamy – stories, is reshaping mainstream literature, television and film. This year…
KQED's ForumReal Life Couple Jimmy Smits and Wanda De Jesús, Play Husband and Wife in Berkeley Rep’s ‘All My Sons’
Arthur Miller’s classic play “All My Sons” tells the story of a father who attains the American Dream, but at a high cost to himself and everyone around him…
- KQED's Forum
Ethical Questions Arise from CA’s Commercial Surrogacy Industry
Commercial surrogacy has long been life-changing for LGBTQ+ and infertile couples wishing to have children. Even though the practice is banned or highly…
- KQED's Forum
AI is Changing Fast. How Are You Using It Now?
Newer AI tools have begun to act less like “a souped up search engine and more of a junior staffer” observes one industry watcher. Software developers are…
- KQED's Forum
Michael Pollan Explores Labyrinth of Consciousness in 'A World Appears'
What is consciousness for, and why did it evolve? Can we change our “default” consciousness? These are some of the questions that Michael Pollan says began to…
- KQED's Forum
Mexico Braces for More Violence After Killing of Cartel Leader
Violence erupted across Mexico after the killing of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartel leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, on Sunday. Cervantes, known as “El…
- KQED's Forum
California Businesses Thrown Into Uncertainty Again After Supreme Court Blocks Trump Tariffs
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that President Trump does not have the authority to impose his sweeping tariffs — a major setback for his trade agenda. Studies…
- KQED's Forum
Pilot of Experimental Aircraft Asks ‘Why Fly?”
Writer Caroline Paul learned to fly a Cessna when she was 20, a paraglider in her 30s, a motorized hang glider in her 40s, and then at 58 years old, as her…
- KQED's Forum
Daisy Hernández Rethinks Citizenship and the Meaning of Belonging
Citizenship allows you to vote, get a passport and run for office – and it’s supposed to be a promise of protection, equality and belonging. But as immigration…
- KQED's Forum
Are Democrats Well-Positioned for the Midterms?
With midterm elections a mere eight months away, are Democrats ready? Maybe not, according to journalist Mark Leibovich who traveled the country talking to…
KQED's Forum‘The Yips’ Are Real and They Can Happen to Anyone
Figure skater Ilia Malinin’s shocking 8th place finish at the Winter Olympics is reigniting conversation about “the yips” or “the twisties.” Whatever you call…
KQED's ForumYou Say You Don’t Have a Favorite Child. But Do You?
If you ask a parent, they are likely to deny they have a favorite child. But ask a kid, and they will tell you that is not true. And researchers agree. They…
- KQED's Forum
Do You Love Nintendo?
Super Mario Bros. The Legend of Zelda. Pokémon. Animal Crossing. Video games from the Japanese company Nintendo have been surprising, delighting and…
- KQED's Forum
Documentary Filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir on Seeking Justice Through ‘The Perfect Neighbor’
Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary, “The Perfect Neighbor” was a massive hit on Netflix last year. Told mostly through police body camera and security footage, the…
- KQED's Forum
Concerns Build for Election Interference in Midterms
California senator Adam Schiff says that President Donald Trump will try to “subvert” the midterm elections this year by attempting to overturn any result that…
- KQED's Forum
BART Proposes Station Closures and Fare Hikes to Deal with Massive Budget Shortfall
Facing a $376 million deficit, BART announced that without more funding, it will consider drastic cuts including closing one-third of its 50 stations and…
- KQED's Forum
Inside Animal Testing Labs With Larry Carbone
Breakthrough treatments for high blood pressure, HIV infection and obesity: they’re all available in part because of studies done on animals. And though the…
- KQED's Forum
How ‘Tiny Gardens Everywhere’ Can Sustain Us
In her new book, “Tiny Gardens Everywhere,” MIT environmental historian Kate Brown uses the global history of gardening to help us imagine cities that are…
- KQED's Forum
Conservative Media's Expanding Influence
From The Washington Post to CBS, mass layoffs, shifts in editorial direction and even direct interference in coverage are raising questions about whether the…
KQED's ForumIt's Elon Musk's World. We're Just Living In It.
Elon Musk’s merger of SpaceX with his AI start-up xAI has created what the New York Times calls “the most valuable private company on earth,” allowing Musk to…
KQED's ForumLooking for a Valentine? You May Need Better Dating Skills
Despite an explosion of dating apps and social media that seemingly make it easier to meet people, rates of marriage and couples living together have steadily…
- KQED's Forum
Kaiser Permanente Strike Enters Third Week as Talks Stall
Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers are on strike across California over stalled contract talks, staffing…
- KQED's Forum
How the Reopening of SF’s Castro Theater Could Revitalize Nightlife
When the marquee lights of the Castro Theater dimmed two years ago, many worried that this grande dame of cinema would never be the same. Now after a $41…
- KQED's Forum
Ray Madoff on 'How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy'
“After the US Constitution, the tax code is the single most important document affecting Americans’ lives. But because it is a deeply opaque…
- KQED's Forum
Mother Jones Marks 50 Years of Holding the Powerful Accountable
In 1977, a fledgling magazine startup in San Francisco published a searing story about the Ford Pinto, a car model that executives put on the market knowing…
- KQED's Forum
A Hate Murder in Orange County Exposes Growth of Neo-Nazism
Since Donald Trump broke into the political scene in 2015, the United States has seen a surge in white supremacist hate groups. Investigative journalist Eric…
- KQED's Forum
Why Are Oakland Rents Suddenly So Much Cheaper Than SF’s?
Amid a ballooning rental housing market across the Bay Area, Oakland rents are mostly staying flat. Today, the median San Francisco rent for a one-bedroom home…
- KQED's Forum
You Can Get a Prenup for Your Labubu Collection. Should You?
Prenuptial agreements are no longer just for the wealthy. They’re being pitched as smart financial planning for ordinary couples, and now more than 40% of…
- KQED's Forum
A Public Defender’s Blueprint For How To Fix Our Criminal Justice System
The shortcomings and inequities of the American criminal justice system are painfully clear to those who have worked in it. Former public defender and legal…
KQED's ForumCA Chocolatiers Adapt to Climate Change
Chocolate is changing — and not just in flavor. As the planet warms, cacao is becoming harder to grow, reshaping how chocolate is made and who gets to make it…
KQED's ForumHow Bad Bunny Fuses Activism and Global Superstardom
One week ahead of his much-anticipated Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny made history when he won the first Grammy for album of the year for a Spanish-language…
- KQED's Forum
UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter on AI's Healthcare Transformation
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Bob Wachter was one of the nation’s trusted voices, helping us better understand the disease that upended our world and…
- KQED's Forum
Iran and US Tensions Escalate
Against a backdrop of threats made by President Trump to attack Iran with “speed and violence,” talks between the two nations are set to resume this Friday…
- KQED's Forum
Federal Agents Deploy High Tech to Track Protesters
As protests against federal immigration agents’ use of deadly force in Minneapolis spread nationwide, privacy experts are raising alarms. Immigration agencies…
- KQED's Forum
SF Public School Teachers Ready for First Strike Since 1979
Over the weekend, San Francisco’s public school teachers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. The dispute is centered on pay, health benefits, and…
- KQED's Forum
Yewande Komolafe on Disability, Cooking and the Restorative Power of a Good Meal
New York Times cooking writer and columnist Yewande Komolafe has long loved the solitary, meditative act of crafting intricate meals and comfort foods in the…
- KQED's Forum
George Saunders Takes on Mortality, Morality and Climate, Comically, in New Novel ‘Vigil’
George Saunders is one of America’s most celebrated writers. His worlds and characters often live in a reality just beyond or behind our own, and his latest…
- KQED's Forum
Historian Jarvis Givens on Who Made Black History
This February marks 100 years of celebrating Black History month, which began as just a week in 1926. Now, as political efforts to scrub Black history from…
- KQED's Forum
Hearing Aids Work. So Why Don’t More People Wear Them?
Stigma. Discomfort. High pitched feedback. These are some reasons that people opt out of wearing hearing aids. Yet, hearing loss has been linked to dementia…
KQED's ForumHow Do You Friction-Maxx?
“Friction-maxxing,” a term coined by The Cut columnist Kathryn Jezer-Morton, is the art of adding more inconvenience to our lives —as technology pushes us to…
KQED's ForumAre Social Media Companies Responsible for Screen Addiction in Kids?
For years, experts, educators and parents have sounded alarms about the dangers of kids spending too much time on screens and now, artificial intelligence…
- KQED's Forum
How Prop 50 and Governor’s Race Are Shaping Early Midterm Projections
The 2026 midterm elections may be in November, but they’re top of mind for California voters who will elect a new governor this year and who passed Proposition…
- KQED's Forum
Are We 'Overinvested' in Our Kids?
There is near consensus on one facet of American life these days: parenting is hard. In surveys, most parents report being exhausted. Parenting is central to…
- KQED's Forum
What's the Endgame in DHS Brutality?
The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday, the second U.S. citizen killed by federal agents in Minneapolis this month, is drawing bipartisan outrage. Many…
- KQED's Forum
China’s Push for Renewable Energy is Good for the Planet, but Maybe Not for the U.S.
At Davos, Donald Trump claimed that China doesn’t use wind energy, or in his words, “windmills.” He could not be more wrong. In 2024, China accounted for 40%…
- KQED's Forum
California ER Doctors Reflect on ‘The Pitt’ Effect
The popular HBO drama “The Pitt,” set in a Pittsburgh emergency trauma center, is having an impact on real-world healthcare. Doctors across California say the…
- KQED's Forum
What Should Replace San Francisco Centre?
After years of being known as a defunct mall, San Francisco Centre officially closed last weekend leaving 1.2 million square feet of vacant space. The mall was…
- KQED's Forum
With Rare Candor, FBI Employees Sound Alarms about Kash Patel’s Leadership
It’s been nearly a year since Kash Patel took the helm of the FBI, a period New York Times reporter Emily Bazelon says has been “marred by vendettas…
- KQED's Forum
Heather Cox Richardson on Trump's Impact on Democracy
Calling out ICE and the National Guard to police Los Angeles, Portland and Minneapolis. DOGE and the evisceration of government institutions. Invading…
KQED's ForumPhilosopher C. Thi Nguyen on Freeing Ourselves from Metrics
Have you ever achieved a high GPA, crushed your Duolingo streak, or seen a surge of likes on social media… only to feel weirdly empty? Philosopher C. Thi…
KQED's ForumMeklit Hadero Reimagines Ethiopian Folk Songs: Live in Studio
San Francisco-based, Ethiopian-born singer-songwriter Meklit Hadero and her band join us live in the studio to play from her new album, “A Piece of Infinity.”…
- KQED's Forum
Orphaned Ukrainian Children Navigate Loss and Recovery Amid War
Russia’s war in Ukraine has orphaned some 2000 Ukrainian children, leaving them with physical and psychological wounds and adult responsibilities beyond their…
- KQED's Forum
Could Greenland Become the 51st State?
Donald Trump has made clear that he wants Greenland, and is willing to upset allies to get it. After escalating threats, on Tuesday, Trump said on Truth Social…
- KQED's Forum
Should California Impose a Tax on Billionaires?
A California health care union is campaigning for a ballot measure that would impose a one-time “wealth tax” on the state’s roughly estimated 200 billionaires…
- KQED's Forum
What the Closure of California College of the Arts and Vanderbilt Expansion Mean for the Bay Area
California College of the Arts’ announcement last week that it would close by the end of the next academic year stunned many in the Bay Area arts community…