KQED's Forum

Updated: 29 May 2025 • 2856 episodes
www.kqed.org/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 to hear from you! Please dial 866.SF.FORUM or (866) 733-6786 or email forum@kqed.org, tweet, or post on Facebook.

Show episodes

The Trump administration’s budget and staffing cuts to national parks could mean longer lines, closed visitor centers and fewer search and rescue workers this summer, according to former parks staff and advocates. The cuts are also compromising scientific research and environmental protection, creating what the Nationa

57 min
00:00
57:45
No file found

Chinese American literary pioneer Maxine Hong Kingston revolutionized storytelling with her groundbreaking 1976 book ‘The Woman Warrior,’ which blended reality and myth to capture the immigrant experience. As part of our Bay Area Legends series, we talk with Kingston – who grew up working in her parent’s Stockton laund

57 min
00:00
57:50
No file found

More than half of Californians think Gov. Gavin Newsom is more focused on winning the presidency than governing the state, according to a poll this month from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies. The results come as Newsom proposes controversial healthcare cuts to close a projected $12 billion budget shor

57 min
00:00
57:45
No file found

Retailers are now facing a lot of headwinds, including tariffs and a drop in consumer confidence. But for Target, once affectionately known by customers as Tar-jay, a consumer boycott in response to the company’s decision to drop some DEI initiatives has been an added drag. In its most recent earnings call, the retaile

57 min
00:00
57:52
No file found

It has been a tough month for Bay Area transit. BART had two major meltdowns this month, stranding and frustrating commuters, all while the agency plans to raise fares. System wide, Bay Area transit agencies continue to struggle with funding challenges and luring back riders after the pandemic fundamentally altered our

57 min
00:00
57:50
No file found

Perhaps you’ve been following Alison Bechdel’s work since her comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” which invented the now ubiquitous Bechdel test (does a movie have two women who speak to each other about something other than a man?). Maybe you came to know her through her graphic memoir “Fun Home,” which was adapted

57 min
00:00
57:40
No file found