KQED's Forum

It’s no secret that American beauty culture, driven by Hollywood and social media, preys on our insecurities and promotes unattainable standards around the world. But another country is giving the U.S. a run for its money. In her new book Flawless, journalist Elise Hu explores the global rise and influence of K-beauty, or South Korean beauty culture, now a $10 billion industry. Hu, NPR’s former Se...

If Lake Tahoe was a national park, it would be the second-most visited, according to a recent analysis. The area has double the annual visitors of famously crowded Yosemite, but is only about a third of the size. Although outdoor recreation and tourism drive much of Tahoe’s economy, local residents are concerned about a visitor boom that started during the pandemic and is overburdening nearby comm...

The GOP presidential race is heating up, with more than a dozen hopefuls vying to take on former president and frontrunner Donald Trump. On the Democratic side, President Biden is talking up the economy, hoping it will lift his dismal approval ratings. In this hour, we’ll break down the latest on the presidential campaign and how issues like the economy, abortion, the war in Ukraine and Trump’s le...

Thien Pham’s new graphic memoir, “Family Style”, tells the story of his family’s journey, when he was a young kid, from Vietnam, to a refugee camp in Thailand, to making a home in San Jose. It’s a story told through his memories of the meals he ate along the way. In our latest edition of All You Can Eat, our regular series on Bay Area food cultures with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we talk with Thi...

Noise can take years off your life. The louder the environment, the higher the risk of cardiac disease and death. We have long known that loud noises can affect our hearing, but studies have shown that it can impact our mental health, our ability to learn, and our chance to live longer lives. California has made inroads in combating noise pollution — in 2024, gas- powered leaf blowers will be bann...

A bill moving through the California Legislature would require CalSTERS and CalPERS, the nation’s largest pension funds, to pull billions of dollars they have invested in companies that produce fossil fuels. Some experts say divestment is an effective tool to force some of the largest-scale emitters to reduce emissions and move the economy away from fossil fuels. The movement is gaining momentum a...

“If it’s wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen,” it’s an ultra-processed food, writes infectious disease doctor Chris Van Tulleken. Your McDonald’s and cardboard freezer meals also fit the bill — and so do your so-called health foods and your splurge on a $20 vegan chicken sandwich. Addictive by design, widely available and relatively cheap, ultr...

At a United Nations water conference in March, amid increasing global water conflicts and climate crises, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres sounded an urgent alarm. “All of humanity’s hopes for the future depend, in some way, on charting a new course to sustainably manage and conserve water,” he said. But what would a new course look like? Renowned water expert and scientist Peter Gleick see...

The Supreme Court radically changed the country in just three days last June when it eliminated Americans’ constitutional right to an abortion and weakened popular gun laws. That’s according to Brennan Center for Justice president Michael Waldman, who says the Court is poised to do so again this term by employing its own extreme version of originalism. We’ll talk to Waldman about major cases on vo...

“School’s out for the summer!” is a rallying cry for students everywhere. But for working parents, summer poses a whole set of challenges, starting with – who is going to watch the kids during the day? For many, summer camps are the answer. Camps offer the promise of exploration, adventure, and a chance to make new friends and acquire new skills. And if you have a specific hobby or interest – need...

With huge layoffs in sectors like tech and media dominating the headlines, it’s easy to think that jobs are becoming scarce and that the “Great Resignation” is over. But in fact, some economists say it’s workers, not employers, who still hold the power — especially as Baby Boomers retire. We’ll check in on California’s labor market across different industries and hear your experiences finding a jo...

When Martinus Evans began training for marathons, it took “delusional self belief” to keep running. He was over 350 pounds. As a kid, he failed the one-mile physical fitness test. And as a Black man, he didn’t see a lot of people like him training. Even though Evans finished his first marathon at the back of the pack, he says it didn’t bother him one bit. He’s used that mindset to complete eight m...

Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg transfixed the world in 2019 when she condemned global leaders for their inaction on climate change. She’s one of thousands of teen girls who’ve agitated for social change in the past centuries, from Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Alabama bus to Mabel Ping-Hua Lee who led a march for women’s suffrage. In a new...

Earlier this month, amid a sharp rise in book bans across the country, Governor Gavin Newsom called on educators to preserve students’ access to books, including those that “reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of Californians.” Individual book bans in U.S. classrooms and school libraries increased by 28 percent during the first half of this school year compared to the prior six months...

Nursing is a vocation as old as humankind, once practiced by men and women. But for many the word “nurse” conjures up an image of Florence Nightingale or a woman in a starched white uniform and funny cap who defers to the doctor. In her new book, “Taking Care,”journalist Sarah DiGregorio challenges these myths: “If you imagine that nursing arose only in relatively recent times, as a profession ded...

When the Marathon oil refinery in Martinez closed in 2020, more than 300 unionized workers were laid off from jobs they thought they’d retire from. A study from UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education followed many of those workers and found roughly one in four were still out of work a year later, and most of those who had found new jobs took sizable pay cuts. As we make the necessar...

“The first uniquely American suit,” is how Clarissa Esguerra, a Los Angeles County Museum of Art curator of costume and textiles, describes the Zoot suit. Known for its wide-legged pants and long coats, the Zoot suit became infamous in June 1943. That was when servicemen, police officers and white civilians attacked the young Mexican, Filipino and Black Americans who donned the suits in what becam...

After the election of President Obama in 2008, “the world looked and felt different,” writes University of Texas historian Peniel Joseph. That moment also marked the beginning of what Joseph calls America’s Third Reconstruction, a period of racial progress marked by the Black Lives Matter protests and the social justice movements they inspired. But the Third Reconstruction, like the 19th and 20th...

To celebrate Juneteenth we listen back on our interview with Bay Area-based chef and food justice activist Bryant Terry. He’s created “a communal shrine to the shared culinary histories of the African diaspora,” as he writes in the introduction to “Black Food.” Bringing together a number of contributors who share recipes, stories and artwork — plus Terry’s signature playlists to go with the recipe...

One of the largest collections of transgender history sits in a small garage turned archive in Vallejo. The Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive has been open to the public since 2018. With Pride month underway, we’ll explore a few key objects from the collection, talk about what they teach us about trans history, and discuss what the history of the transgender community in the Bay Area can tell us...

Owls have long fascinated humans. They appear in cave art dating back 30,000 years. They are an integral part of the Harry Potter universe. Why are we so enthralled by these creatures, who contrary to popular belief cannot turn their heads 360 degrees? In her new book, “What An Owl Knows,” science writer Jennifer Ackerman tackles this question. Thanks to new technology and decades of research, we...

Until recently Wood Street in West Oakland was the site of the largest homeless encampment in Northern California. To launch our new series on homelessness in the Bay Area, Forum broadcasts live from Wood Street. We’ll talk with people who lived in the encampment before it was cleared by the city in April, and with city and county officials, about alternatives to encampments for unhoused people an...

Friends tracking friends. Parents tracking kids. Spouses tracking each other. Location sharing has become all the rage in our over-connected world. The feature can be especially handy during an emergency, and can foster a sense of safety, community, and connection. But location sharing can also be misused, leading to privacy concerns and risks such as stalking or harassment. And teens report a “fe...

Watery eyes, a runny nose, quick, desperate breaths: all signs of you may have shaken out, purposefully or not, a few too many dashes of hot sauce. Despite the pain that may come, people can’t seem to get enough of fiery sauces. This is particularly true in the Bay Area, where spice is integral to many of our favorite cuisines. In our latest All You Can Eat segment, we’re talking about how hot sau...

From low Earth orbit projects to potential moon landings, a 21st century space race is heating up. Following the lead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a multitude of private companies are now competing to commercialize space and transform the industry, which up until now has largely been dominated by NASA and government contracts. Technology journalist Ashlee Vance follows the trajectories of four of those...