KQED's Forum

"My ideas about the Inland Empire have always been seeded with a prickly skepticism" writes Tyrone Beason in the latest installment of his L.A. Times series, "My Country." But as Beason immersed himself in the vast region, he discovered a bygone California of orange trees and wild burros that's drawing more and more people of color who are escaping expensive and predominantly white coastal cities....

Mexican singer Silvana Estrada and the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest have at least one thing in common: they both defy genre. The 25-year-old singer from the coastal Mexican state of Veracruz is now on tour promoting her latest album, “Marchita.” Estrada’s music is rooted in jazz, but spans a fusion of musical styles. The summer jazz fest takes a similar approach by making jazz the base, but layering...

Forty-eight million Americans use Medicare Part D to access their prescription medications, and according to a Department of Health and Human Services study from January of this year, more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries are struggling to afford those prescriptions. But if enacted, the Inflation Reduction Act could soon bring those prices down. The legislation would give the federal governme...

It’s estimated that over 8% of adults in the U.S. have ADHD, also known as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. For many adults, life during the pandemic, with its shifts in schedule and intense demand for multi-tasking, made them more aware of disordered feelings, leading them to an ADHD diagnosis. In other instances, parents who are in the process of getting their child diagnosed with ADHD...

The FBI executed a search of Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, FL residence on Monday, suggesting that the Department of Justice could be edging closer to bringing criminal charges against the former president. News of the raid prompted house minority leader Kevin McCarthy to issue a statement accusing the DOJ of “weaponized politicization” and warning Attorney General Merrick Garland to “preserve your d...

Temperatures have been reaching what passes as warm in and around San Francisco, and in other parts of the Bay Area it’s legitimately hot. We’ll talk about what we eat and drink when the temperatures soar. Do you sweat it out with a spicy hot soup or cool down with a block of cold tofu? Do you seek out halo-halo, Italian ice or a bomb pop? We’re talking about hot weather foods in a summer edition...

“Top Gun: Maverick,” the Tom Cruise-starring sequel to the 1986 Tom Cruise-starring classic, is topping this summer’s domestic box office — and it’s now the U.S.’ seventh highest-grossing film, ever. “Nope,” the third movie from horror visionary Jordan Peele, has friends swapping interpretations around the campfire. And “Minions: The Rise of Gru” wasn’t just a big hit with little kids, but also wi...

After decades of attempts to enact climate change legislation, the Senate passed a massive bill this weekend. The Inflation Reduction Act directs nearly $370 billion dollars in new spending to slash carbon emissions in the next eight years by giving Americans more access to clean energy. Robinson Meyer, staff writer at The Atlantic, will join us to break down what’s in the largest federal clean en...

Americans of Asian descent are commonly lumped together under the broad identifier of “Asian American.” But such a general term can overlook powerful histories and distinctions among ethnicities. In her new book “Asian American Histories of the United States,” author Catherine Ceniza Choy reminds us that Asian Americans are not a monolith. “Like a galaxy of stars,” she writes, “the multiple origin...

In her new memoir, “The Man Who Could Move Clouds,” Ingrid Rojas Contreras tells the story of a journey she took with her mother to her native Colombia to exhume her grandfather’s remains. She intricately weaves family histories involving her curandero grandfather, her mother who could appear in two places at once and her own magical inheritance sparked by a bout of amnesia. Rojas Contreras, who n...

The Oakland Museum’s new exhibit, Hella Feminist, was scheduled to open two years ago to mark the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. The pandemic pushed the opening into a drastically changed climate for women after the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion. Through the works of contemporary artists responding to our current moment and an examination of histo...

Adoption is frequently cited, particularly among those opposed to abortion, as a solution to an unwanted pregnancy. But in fact, fewer than one in ten people denied abortion care chooses to put their child up for adoption, according to UCSF studies. We’ll explore why, and we’ll hear from women who did choose adoption about their experiences. Guests: Angie Swanson-Kyriaco, birth mother; executive d...

California reported more than 1,100 probable or confirmed cases of monkeypox on Tuesday, a day after Governor Newsom declared a public health state of emergency to address the rapid spread of the disease in the state. Monkeypox, which spreads through close physical contact, has disproportionately affected gay and bisexual men, and LGBTQ activists are protesting the long wait times and limited avai...

Inflation has driven prices skyward for all kinds of goods from gas to home goods. Even grocery store staples like cereal, milk and eggs have seen price hikes. While big chain brands might be able to weather these increases better, independent retailers are feeling these costs much more sharply. We’ll talk to local grocers from around the Bay Area to hear how they are dealing with the impact of in...

Landscape irrigation accounts for about half of residential water use in California, according to state data. That’s leading some drought-conscious residents to consider tearing up their lawns in favor of less water-intensive gardens. We’ll talk about how to embark on removing your lawn and the plants, grasses and trees you might consider replacing it with. Guests: Flora Grubb, owner, Flora Grubb...

A violent civil war has raged in Ethiopia for nearly two years, claiming 500,000 lives and displacing millions. Despite the current ceasefire, humanitarian aid is struggling to reach those who need it, leaving millions more at risk of starvation. Watching from afar, the Bay Area community of Ethiopians are trying to raise awareness about the crisis abroad. But the divisions between ethnic groups i...

Popular cryptocurrencies have plunged in 2022: both Bitcoin and Ethereum have lost about half their value since the first of the year, and Dogecoin has fallen by more 90% since its peak in 2021. But while wealthy and early crypto investors have weathered the downturn, smaller players have fared less well, revealing what New York Times fintech reporter David Yaffe-Bellany calls "a yawning divide."...

Polls show that roughly a quarter of Americans are dieting. That’s despite research showing that very few people succeed in losing weight and keeping it off over time. A new Bloomberg podcast, Losing It, investigates the myths and realities of nutritional science and the power of the dieting industry. Forum talks with the podcast creators about the invention of the calorie as a weight loss tool, t...

Researchers estimate that as many as half of pregnancies in the United States were not planned and roughly one in five pregnancies ends in an abortion. With the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade and the end of the federal right to an abortion, many sexual health educators and advocates are calling to enhance reproductive education – for people of all ages. Advocates say prevention and e...

Even as we’re seeing more on-screen depictions of disability in films like “CODA” and “Sound of Metal,” the number of disabled people behind the camera remains low. That affects what stories are told — and their accuracy. As disabled artists push for more opportunities to tell their stories — on film, in visual art and through dance — we’ll talk with some in California who are advancing the cultur...

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang together with dozens of other Democratic and Republican politicians announced on Wednesday that they're launching Forward, a new political party designed to appeal to centrists. But historically, third political parties have gained little traction in the United States. We'll talk about why and what could be different this time. And we'll hear from you: Wou...

While the concept of spectators packing an arena to watch competitive video gaming at a college level may be perplexing to more traditional sports fans, the popularity of collegiate esports is growing in the Bay Area. in the Bay Area. In 2018 the streaming platform Twitch, which hosts esports competitions, moved their headquarters to San Francisco. In 2021, San Jose State University’s Bay Area Van...

For New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu, they’re cardboard cutouts that decorated his parents’ wedding, “each the size of a 45-r.p.m. single: an orange Snoopy and two Woodstocks, one white and one light blue.” For artist Ari Bird, it’s a tree pompom that her grandfather painted gold and gave to her as a child. Whether it's a portrait, a wedding dress, an album or a Snoopy cutout, the objects we inheri...

After seeing yet another ‘30 under 30’ and ‘40 under 40’ list celebrating the achievements of young people, San Francisco geriatric doctor Anna Chodos decided it was time people started hearing about the remarkable achievement of living into old age. She started the 80 over 80 project to share the stories and experiences of San Franciscans over the age of 80. Forum talks with Chodos and participan...

A study published in the journal Nature this week documented yet more symptoms – including hair loss and sexual dysfunction – associated with long covid, a syndrome the CDC reports afflicts roughly a fifth of people who contract Covid-19. The Nature study also found that long covid sufferers are more likely to be young, members of ethnic minority groups, and economically disadvantaged. We’ll talk...