KPFA

KPFA - UpFront

News EN ↓ 80 episodes

UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. Pitch us at upfront@kpfa.org. Theme Music: Turn It Up by Digital Primitives, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

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KPFA

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News

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kpfa.org

Latest episode

Nov 13, 2026

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Episodes

The National Debt Crisis; Plus, US Resumes Military and Economic Attacks on Iran 03.09.2026

00:08 — Dean Baker is a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. 00:33 — Golnar Nikpour is Associate Professor of modern Iranian history at Dartmouth College. Her scholarship focuses on the history of law, incarceration, revolution, and rights. She is the author of “The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public Life in Iran” (2024) The post The National Debt Crisis; Plus, US...

Communities Left with No Power After Storms Hit Gary; Plus, Amazon Burns Rare Books After Training AI 02.09.2026

00:08 — Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine. 00:33 — Emanuel Maiberg is a reporter for 404 Media.  The post Communities Left with No Power After Storms Hit Gary; Plus, Amazon Burns Rare Books After Training AI appeared first on KPFA.

Massachusetts Primaries; Plus, Unpacking the Trump Oil Deal with Venezuela 01.09.2026

00:08 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation. 00:33 — Miguel R. Tinker Salas is Professor Emeritus of History at Pomona College. He is the author of The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture and Society in Venezuela. The post Massachusetts Primaries; Plus, Unpacking the Trump Oil Deal with Venezuela appeared first on KPFA.

Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Corona Calls 31.08.2026

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Corona Calls appeared first on KPFA.

The Grid Blackout That Could Devastate America; Plus, Attack on Mail Ballots 28.08.2026

00:08 — Christopher Cox is a reporter for the New York Times Magazine. 00:33 — Rick Hasen is Professor of Law and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law. The post The Grid Blackout That Could Devastate America; Plus, Attack on Mail Ballots appeared first on KPFA.

The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home 10.07.2026

00:08 — Bill Hartung is Senior Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His latest book is The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home. The post The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home appeared first on KPFA.

US and Iran Ceasefire Ends, Immediate Strikes Follow; Plus, Graham Platner is Out of Maine Senate Race After Sexual Assault Allegations 09.07.2026

00:08 — Trita Parsi is the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. 00:33 — John Nichols is Executive Editor of the Nation The post US and Iran Ceasefire Ends, Immediate Strikes Follow; Plus, Graham Platner is Out of Maine Senate Race After Sexual Assault Allegations appeared first on KPFA.

Venezuela Earthquake Response & World Cup Politics 08.07.2026

Brian Edwards-Tiekert welcomes Miguel Tinker Salas to discuss the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes in Venezuela and the government’s response. In the second half, Jules Boykoff discusses the politics, corruption, and controversy surrounding FIFA as the World Cup comes to North America.   UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil deb...

Hamas Dissolves Governance of Gaza; Plus, Supreme Court Allows TPS Ending for Syrians and Haitians; And, Revived Push to Municipalize San Francisco Power System 07.07.2026

00:08 — Muhannad Ayyash is Professor of Sociology at Mount Royal University in Calgary and Policy Analyst at Al-Shabaka 00:33 — Ali Tarokh is Director of Development & Communications at Syrian Community Network and adjunct professor at Loyola University. 00:45 — Tim Redmond, founder of 48hills. Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years.  Th...

Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Corona Calls 06.07.2026

00:08 — John Feffer is Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. 00:33 — Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus, Corona Calls appeared first on KPFA.

Kathleen DuVal on Native Nations [repeat] 03.07.2026

00:08 Kathleen DuVal, professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author most recently of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America [originally recorded in September 2024] The post Kathleen DuVal on Native Nations [repeat] appeared first on KPFA.

Robin DG Kelley on the Declaration of Independence 02.07.2026

00:08 Robin DG Kelly, Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA. He’s just authored an article in Hammer and Hope on the Declaration of Independence entitled “Do You Understand Your Own Language?.” His forthcoming book is entitled Making A Killing: Capitalism, Cops, and the War on Black Life (due out January 17) The post Robin DG Kelley on the Declaration of Independence appeared first on...

Lebanon and Israel Ceasefire Framework Sees Protest in Beirut; Plus, Supreme Courts Bans Transgender Athletes from Women’s Sports 01.07.2026

00:08 — Mouin Rabbani is a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, previously principal political affairs officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria. His is also the author of the forthcoming book, Gaza Apocalypse. 00:33 — Shelby Chestnut is Executive Director of Transgender Law Center. The post Lebanon and Israel Ceasefire Framework...

DSA-Backed Candidate Successes in New York; Plus, SFPD Disrupt San Francisco Trans March, Make Arrests 30.06.2026

00:08 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation 00:33 — Niko Storment is co-director of  the San Francisco Trans March The post DSA-Backed Candidate Successes in New York; Plus, SFPD Disrupt San Francisco Trans March, Make Arrests appeared first on KPFA.

UpFront – June 29, 2026 29.06.2026

UpFront delivers a mix of local, state, and international coverage through challenging interviews, civil debates, breaking updates, and in-depth discussions with authors. The post UpFront – June 29, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.

Trans March Kicks Off Pride Weekend; Plus, Boyle Heights Community After the Lineage Warehouse Fire; Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan Exacerbated by International Community’s Normalization of Taliban 26.06.2026

00:08 — Mar Omega is a community organizer and head of the media team for the San Francisco Trans March. She also goes by Mar xoxo, the Bay Area’s finest trans pinay pop princesa. Both her music and social work are intimately intertwined as she creates audiovisual and physical spaces for everyone to be liberated and celebrated. Her song “like this” is out now. 00:20 — Isaac Ceja is a freelance con...

Mariah Blake on Forever Chemicals 25.06.2026

Mariah Blake, investigative journalist and author of They Poisoned the World: life and death in the age of forever chemicals [rebroadcast from 2025] The post Mariah Blake on Forever Chemicals appeared first on KPFA.

The Fight for Accountability on Chemical Waste in Hunters Point Continues; Plus, Federal Cuts Hitting HIV/AIDS Care 24.06.2026

00:08 — Hunter’s Point community members are demanding answers after toxic materials were discovered during the cleanup of the former naval shipyard. We speak with Bradley Angel of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice and journalist Tom Molanphy about the latest developments, community concerns, and the legacy of environmental contamination in Bayview-Hunters Point. 00:33 — Dazon Dixon...

San Francisco’s Budget Battle; Plus SNAP Benefit Cuts and the Fallout from USAID Reductions 23.06.2026

San Francisco is facing difficult budget decisions as city leaders weigh layoffs, service reductions, and competing priorities around homelessness, public safety, and a growing fiscal shortfall. We speak with Anya Worley-Ziegmann of the People’s Budget Coalition about what’s at stake in the city’s budget battle and the changes advocates say are needed. Then, ProPublica reporters Nicole Santa Cruz...

Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus Middle East Roundup with Khury Petersen-Smith 22.06.2026

00:08 — John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, about Russia’s war in Ukraine. 00:33 — Khury Petersen-Smith, Michael Ratner Middle East Fellow and co-director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, joins the program to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.   The post Russia’s War in Ukraine; Plus Middle E...

Robin DG Kelley on Freedom Dreams [rebroadcast] 19.06.2026

[0:08]  Robin D. G. Kelley. Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA. He is the author of seven books, including Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination. [rebroadcast]. The post Robin DG Kelley on Freedom Dreams [rebroadcast] appeared first on KPFA.

Walter Riley on Walter Riley 18.06.2026

00:08 Walter Riley, longtime civil rights attorney, fixture of struggles for justice in the Bay Area, subject of the new book cao-authored byJesse Strauss: Civil Rights and Structural Attacks: Conversations with Walter Riley The post Walter Riley on Walter Riley appeared first on KPFA.

Nekima Levy Armstrong on Minneapolis “Antifa” Charges 17.06.2026

On this episode, we are joined by Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis civil rights attorney, founder of the Racial Justice Network, and former president of the Minneapolis NAACP. Later in the hour we speak with Assemblymember Alex Lee, Democrat representing Silicon Valley’s 24th Assembly District on the California Budget.  Finally, we speak with Dylan Gyauch-Lewis is a senior researcher at the Re...

The Rule of Johns 16.06.2026

Today on Upfront, we are joined by The Nation’s John Nichols and later by John Feffer from Foreign Policy in Focus. Corona Calls with Dr. John Schwartzberg will resume in July. The post The Rule of Johns appeared first on KPFA.

Primary Results in Maine and South Carolina; Plus Trump’s Administration Extension on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ; And Iran-U.S. Peace Framework 15.06.2026

00:08 — John Nichols, Executive Editor of the Nation  00:33 — John Feffer, Director of Foreign Policy in Focus. The post Primary Results in Maine and South Carolina; Plus Trump’s Administration Extension on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ; And Iran-U.S. Peace Framework appeared first on KPFA.

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