KQED's Forum

There’s about to be a new sheriff in Santa Clara county, for the first time in about a quarter century. Oakland and San Jose are getting new mayors, San Francisco is deciding whether the interim District Attorney should stay in the job. Voters are deciding on housing, crime, abortion, kidneys and a whole lot more. We’ll pore over those Bay Area and State election results with the help of KQED’s po...

This midterm election is a nail-biter. Very tight congressional races across California could determine which party takes control of the House and Senate. California voters are also choosing a governor and an attorney general as well as other statewide officers, and deciding whether to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution. As the results come in, we review the outcomes of...

Scientists have yet to discover evidence of life beyond earth, but according to NASA researchers that doesn't mean the universe is lifeless. Where does the scientific search for life beyond our planet stand? From the possibility of extraterrestrial microbial life to the radiowave search for “intelligent” life, we’ll talk about what modern science tells us about whether we’re alone in the universe....

In the past week, reports of major layoffs at tech employers including Twitter, Meta and online payments company Stripe are fueling fears of a tech bust 2.0. Earlier this year, electric vehicle makers Tesla and Rivian, software maker Autodesk and fintech company Robinhood also cut hundreds of workers. The news is sending jolts through the Bay Area, which has enjoyed historically low unemployment f...

Federal tax law prohibits churches and other nonprofit religious organizations from endorsing candidates and otherwise engaging in political campaigns. But a new ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigation finds violations by churches across multiple states, including California. We'll learn more about the report, and we'll hear how your places of worship handle political matters. Guests: Jeremy Schwar...

“Not everyone should get a say” seems counterintuitive to the idea of democracy. But according to Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas, when it comes to new housing or infrastructure projects, sometimes community input can be undemocratic. Often a vocal and persistent minority is able to stymie much-needed proposals. We’ll talk with Demsas and experts about how participatory democracy can get in the w...

When last week’s 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit near San Jose, more than two million people received an alert — up to 19 seconds before they felt shaking. But how do earthquake early warning systems work, exactly? And what should we do when we get an alert? From how to “drop, cover, and hold on” to how to evaluate your home’s seismic resiliency, we’ll answer your earthquake questions with seismologi...

Next week San Francisco voters will decide whether to approve a new parcel tax to fund City College, which has faced severe financial struggles for the past decade. City College, and almost all of California’s community colleges, have seen enrollment dip since 2020 despite an infusion of state money systemwide aimed at bringing students back. Forum talks about the future of community colleges in a...

Nearly a third of Americans -- and nearly 60% of MAGA Republicans -- say that resorting to violence to achieve political objectives is usually or always justified, according to new research from U.C. Davis. The findings come as prosecutors charge the man who last week violently attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, and as threats against members of Congress continue to surge, having incre...

When New Yorker writer Hua Hsu was growing up in Cupertino in the 1990s as the only child of Taiwanese immigrants, he created mixtapes and zines – homemade Xerox pastiches of writing, photos and collages – as a “way to find a tribe.” Hsu’s search for his people eventually led him to UC Berkeley where he, a lover of esoteric and undiscovered bands, forged an unlikely friendship with Ken, a Japanese...

When LA Times associate editor Jessica Roy had her wallet stolen, she braced for the worst: She froze her credit, filed a federal identity theft complaint and requested a police report. But when thieves began using her name to obtain bank accounts, car loans and bail bonds, she wasn't prepared for the bureaucratic nightmare that followed as she tried to recover her money and restore her credit. He...

Elon Musk took ownership of the San Francisco based social media network Twitter less than a week ago and he’s already overhauling the company. Musk immediately fired several executives and board members and news organizations have reported that mass layoffs could be imminent. He also tweeted he wants to charge a monthly fee for users to retain verified status. We dive into what this new era at Tw...

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical of race-conscious admission policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard University throughout five hours of oral arguments on Monday. If the Court decides against the universities, it could issue a ruling broad enough to overturn decades of precedent permitting the limited use of race in college admissions and even, accordin...

George Saunders is widely considered one of the greatest fiction writers alive, attested to by all the prizes, the respect of other writers, and even book sales. He’s got his first book of short stories in a decade. It’s called Liberation Day, and it will surprise no one that it is a brilliant work filled with generosity, pain, and characters who can’t quite answer the door when honesty comes knoc...

No one knows you like your sibling. They are the keepers of family secrets. They know how to push your buttons. They are probably the longest-lasting relationship you’ll have in your life. Why is it that the outside world considers you a functioning adult, but your siblings still treat you like the family crybaby? What happens when parents pass and siblings drift apart? We look at sibling relation...

Terms such as artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning bring to mind computers processing loads of data into uses for the real world. But the authors of a recent essay published in the magazine Noema say the truth is much uglier, and often ignored. “Far from the sophisticated, sentient machines portrayed in media and pop culture, so-called AI systems are fueled by millions of underpa...

Michael Gillespie is a cancer survivor and cat lover who used to work for Nerds On Call in Illinois. Fabian Wosar is a high school dropout from Germany who became obsessed with computer viruses at age 11. Sarah White is a computer science prodigy who became a malware expert as a teenager. They’re all members of the Ransomware Hunting Team, an invitation-only group of elite coders who crack ransomw...

What has the Democratic Party become under Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, and how is it changing? How does the government actually function, as viewed from the inside? We’ll ask a man with a front-row seat: John Lawrence, who was Pelosi’s chief of staff during some of the tensest and most pivotal decisions in recent American history. Guests: John Lawrence, former chief of staff for Speaker Nan...

Plastic is designed to last. And last it does. Often composed of “forever chemicals” which take thousands of years to break down, it flakes throughout its life into microplastics — fragments, fibers and films less than 5 millimeters long. Microplastics are everywhere: they’re in our air, our water and our food, and they’re in our own bodies. And their effect on human health is still largely unknow...

Crime in Oakland is up. The problem of homelessness seems intractable. And the A’s may or may not be leaving for Las Vegas. These are only some of the issues facing Oakland’s next mayor. Ten candidates are vying for the spot, and ranked choice voting will play a role in who comes out ahead. We’ll talk to reporters about who is running, the candidates’ positions, and we’ll hear from you: What do yo...

Rants by rap artist Kanye West put antisemitism front and center over the weekend as a hate group amplified West’s remarks on banners hung from a Southern California freeway overpass. According to the Anti-Defamation League, a record number of antisemitic incidents were reported from 2019 to 2020. Corporations from Adidas to Facebook plus celebrities and politicians have come out strongly against...

Wednesday, by actual Congressional decree, is Public Radio Music Day. We’re celebrating by listening to some of our favorite live music performances from Forum and from the KQED Live series, which hosts performances, discussions, food experiences and live storytelling in our beautiful KQED building. We’ll listen back to Mexican musician Silvana Estrada – who was in town earlier this year for the S...

2022 MacArthur fellow Martha Gonzalez describes herself as an ‘artivista’ – at once an artist and an activist. The frontwoman of the East Los Angeles band Quetzal, Gonzalez focuses on the ways communities of color use music and creative expression as political tools toward social justice. From community fandango workshops to recording projects between women in L.A. and Veracruz, Mexico, Gonzalez m...

In 2021, Khristian Rabut bought a gas station along Interstate 205 in Tracy. Instead of just offering customers the usual gas station fare, he and his wife Marie added a Filipino-themed ice cream shop and bakery. “It’s an unexpected but deliciously welcome surprise,” wrote KQED food writer Alan Chazaro about the gas station-creamery-bakery. He and KQED food editor Luke Tsai share a love of unusual...

Citing dramatically reduced Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths, Governor Gavin Newsom announced this week that he's lifting California's Covid-19 state of emergency at the end of February. But as uptake of the new bivalent booster remains low, there may be reason for caution as winter approaches. That's according to UCSF's Dr. Bob Wachter, who joins us to answer your questions about case ra...