KQED's Forum

Soaring energy prices are the leading factor behind rising inflation across the United States, where consumer prices are up 3.7 percent over last year. In California, where energy costs have become an issue in the governor’s race, electricity prices are surging to a rate of about double the national average. We’ll look at what’s driving the rise here in California and across the U.S., and hear abo...

Fresh off its Broadway run, “Liberation,” which won this year’s Tony Award for best play andPulitzer Prize for drama, opens its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep. The play features amodern-day narrator trying to imagine her mother’s 1970s consciousness-raising group. Forplaywright Bess Wohl, her research involved asking a question to her mother: “Do you regrethaving me?” Wohl and director, Whitn...

Last week, a man on the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia died when he was ejected from the ride — a death that follows a pattern of apparent safety incidents on Six Flags roller coasters nationwide. A recent CNN investigation into Six Flags Magic Mountain, located just north of Los Angeles in Valencia, exposed serious safety concerns surrounding X2, one of the park’s most popular r...

Twelve days from the midterms, election officials and teams of lawyers are preparing for what has become a depressingly familiar American tradition: challenges to voting. The Trump administration has been focused on voter integrity, including filing suits to take purported noncitizens off voter rolls, and attempting to collect sensitive voter data from states. Meanwhile, legal teams are gearing up...

Southern California is facing a potential economic crisis as film and television productions increasingly migrate to rival states and international cities. More favorable tax incentives, expanding soundstage infrastructure and industry-friendly policies are pulling billions in production away from Hollywood. With New York poised to become the nation’s biggest production hub, local crews and lawmak...

Communities up and down California are bracing for what experts are calling a “Super El Niño” that could bring an unusually wet winter. El Niño is a cyclical climate pattern during which a huge swath of Pacific Ocean waters heat up. The warmer water has long-ranging effects such as higher sea levels and a robust storm season. Some low-lying areas of the state are expecting heavy flooding and some...

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center, an immigration detention facility located northeast of Los Angeles, has been riddled with allegations of abuse, unsafe drinking water and detainees being denied medical care. In 2025, a detainee at Adelanto, Ismael Ayala Uribe, died in ICE custody after repeatedly requesting medical attention. What is happening behind the locked doors of ICE detention centers in...

The long-awaited federal corruption trial of former Oakland mayor Sheng Thao kicked off last week, with prosecutors arguing that Thao put her power up for sale and defense attorneys attacking the credibility of key government witnesses. It’s been nearly two years since a federal grand jury indicted Thao and three codefendants in an alleged “pay to play” scheme. Thao — alongside her former romantic...

This November, Californians will elect their next insurance commissioner. The role is charged with regulating property and casualty insurance rates and with consumer advocacy. California’s insurance market — the fourth-largest in the world —  is increasingly in the spotlight as disasters caused by climate change prompt private insurers to hike policy rates and decrease coverage. We’ll speak w...

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie joins us to talk about the ballot measures he’s supporting in this year’s election. He’s backing Prop. A, which would reduce the number of city boards and commissions, and Prop. D, which would increase requirements for placing measures on the ballot. San Francisco voters have numerous other propositions and races to decide on such as Prop. B, which asks voters to a...

Fish farming was supposed to relieve pressure on the world’s oceans. Instead, the burgeoningindustry is contributing to overfishing, environmental destruction and human rights abuses. That’s according to Ian Urbina, director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, whose five-year investigation into the farmed seafood supply chain – from fishing vessels to fishmeal plants to aquaculture farms reveals costs th...

In the late 1960s and 70s, nearly a million Americans went back to the land. Seeking a simpler life, free from government intervention and the era’s strict social mores, they gathered in communes or built on their own plots of land. The lives they led and the homes they built – geodesic domes, psychedelic stained glass hideaways, and homes from chicken coops and recycled lumber – are documented in...

Mary Todd Lincoln served as first lady from 1861 until President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865. 144 years later, comedian Cole Escola sent themself an email asking: What if Lincoln’s death had been “a good thing” for Mary Todd? That tongue-in-cheek question became the basis for the smash-hit Broadway comedy “Oh, Mary!”, which has now won two Tonys and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Priz...

“Poems are not mere breadcrumbs left behind,” writes the acclaimed poet Elizabeth Alexander in her new book “Signals Across Vast Distances: Essays and Talks.” “They are fireflies, a path of light, a way to find our way to each other and know what we have lived.” Alexander, who drew national attention for the poem she read for President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, is a longtime educator, sc...

This November, Californians will vote on Proposition 40, a measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on those whose net worth exceeded $1 billion at the beginning of 2026. While advocates argue it is time for the ultrawealthy to pay a larger share of taxes, opponents argue that Prop. 40 could drive billionaires out of the state and decrease future tax revenue. In this hour we’ll speak with KQED’...

For more than five decades, renowned nutritionist, molecular biologist and food activist Marion Nestle has worked to expose the connections between Americans’ health and the powerful agendas  shaping what we eat. Her newest book, co-authored with Dr. Lisa Sutherland, “Sugar Coated: Unboxing the Hidden Forces Shaping America’s Favorite Breakfast Food” examines the politics of our morning meal....

Amid the news of Tennessee’s botched execution of Christa Pike and the Pentagon saying it will live-stream its execution of an army psychiatrist convicted of a mass shooting, Gov. Gavin Newsom is said to be considering commuting the sentences of the 563 people currently on death row in California. The state is home to a quarter of all American prisoners awaiting the death penalty, though a morator...

Oakland is home to dozens of houses of worship, and the “Oakland Faith Project,” aims to document these spaces and their leaders at a time when many are turning away from religion. Photographer and documentarian Nicolò Sertorio’s website includes stark black and white photography and interviews with religious leaders who represent various walks of life, identity and beliefs. We’ll talk with Sertor...

Much like her acclaimed novel “Pachinko,” author Min Jin Lee’s new book, “American Hagwon,” is a multi-generational story that spans decades and continents. This one, set in South Korea, Australia and Southern California, focuses on education — and the sacrifices families make for their children to succeed in a fast-changing and increasingly competitive global economy. We’ll talk to Lee about what...

Fraternities and sororities – but mostly fraternities – have faced decades of scandal nationwide: hazing deaths, binge drinking, sexual assault, among other problems. Colleges respond with suspensions, alcohol bans and reforms, yet problems keep resurfacing like the recent allegation of a gang rape by fraternity members at Cornell. Members and alumni argue that frats and sororities offer frie...

Youth sports once gave opportunities for all kids to play, but the rise of club teams — which come with higher costs and are often backed by private equity — are pricing out many participants. California families spend some $2,000 dollars a year for just one child to play a club sport, and nearly 60 percent of families nationwide say the costs have caused financial strain. What will it take to kee...

In his new book, “Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State” author Michael Lewis profiles seven civil servants who tried to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, as it took a chainsaw to the inner workings of the federal government. As Musk slashed departments and jobs claiming he could cut 2 trillion of the almost 7 trillion dollars of federal spending, Lewis found dedicated feder...

Californians in this fall’s election will consider Proposition 39, which asks whether voters should be required to show ID when they cast a ballot. Supporters argue the rules are common-sense safeguards essential for restoring public confidence in elections, while opponents contend they pose identity theft risks and disproportionately disenfranchise low-income, minority, and young voters. We’ll un...

San Francisco’s Other Minds Festival turns 30 this weekend, with four days of music from world renowned experimental composers. There will be improvisation, chord repetition, electronic manipulation, 18th century Armenian music — and a grand piano surrounded by teddy bears. We’ll talk with co-founder and retiring executive and artistic director Charles Amirkhanian and with musicians about why the...

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which requires most proposed public and private development projects to go through a thorough environmental impact review process, has long been blamed for slowing or stopping the development of new construction in the state. This November, Californians will vote on Proposition 45, which attempts to streamline CEQA review for certain “essential” pro...