KQED's Forum

Updated: 26 Aug 2025 • 2982 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.

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Roommate relationships are increasingly common, with a record-high 6.8 million households in America reporting that they share space with roommates and boarders. Sharing a home can be wonderful, but it also creates questions like how should you negotiate fridge space – and whether it’s okay that your romantic partner s

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When we talk about households led by single parents, we often think about mothers. But a rising number of families are led by single fathers: men who are parenting alone by choice – whether through adoption or surrogacy – or because of divorce, separation or widowhood. Single dads often have the same challenges as sing

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Imagine approaching a wildfire with nothing but a bandana to protect you. That’s how U.S. Forest Service firefighters typically battle blazes – with no masks or other respiratory protection. New York Times reporter Hannah Dreier recently headed into the field to find out why. We’ll talk to Dreier and a California firef

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California now has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.5%. While the Bay Area’s rate is a bit lower than the state’s, it is still higher than the national average, and continued tech company layoffs and threats to jobs from AI, have workers worried. We look at the shifting Bay Area labor market. Where are

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Remember owning your movies and music on tape, CD or DVD? Physical media is having a moment again as frustration mounts with streaming platforms that can remove beloved shows at a moment’s notice while charging endless subscription fees. More people report feeling nostalgic for a time when we could truly hold onto the

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This weekend kicks off the start of the college football season and for the first time ever, players coming on the field can expect a payment from their schools. While college sports is a multibillion business in the United States, schools were barred from giving direct compensation until a landmark court ruling in Jun

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