KQED's Forum

Los Angeles and Oakland take starring roles in the television shows “Insecure,” “Gentefied” and “Blindspotting,” which bring audiences new takes on those cities and the people who live there. The shows follow Black and Latino characters trying to navigate adulthood, life choices, relationships– all amid rapidly changing neighborhoods. We talk about how those shows broke Hollywood norms, celebrate...

The violent attack on the capitol a year ago was a jolt to the American consciousness that our revered democracy had broken. Now, with the anniversary of the attacks behind us, we look ahead and consider paths to strengthen democracy and governance with journalist James Fallows. We’ll consider: What is working in our democracy? How do we nurture it? And how can we reverse the streams of disinforma...

One year ago today, as the nation watched in disbelief, Trump supporters trampled barricades and stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of President Biden’s election. Insurrectionists scaled walls, occupied Congressional offices, and took over the Senate floor. Meanwhile as police officers battled to bring order, some suffering grievous injuries as a result, staffers and lawmakers sheltered...

We’ll bring you live NPR coverage of the Jan. 6 anniversary events at the White House and in Congress, followed by expert analysis co-hosted by Alexis Madrigal and Ariana Proehl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The day after the January 6 insurrection, pundits and politicians predicted that this unprecedented breach of the Capitol would be the pivot point that brought American democracy back from the brink. But has it? With a country consumed by a pandemic, chronic inequality, and polarized political parties, nothing much seems to have changed in the last year. As the nation begins to reflect on the one...

This holiday season, many of us gave and received houseplants as gifts. But what do you do if you aren’t quite sure how to take care of those plants… or even what they are, exactly? Bay Area plant sellers join to provide advice on how to care for your new snake plant, or bring your early-pandemic philodendron back to life. We’ll answer your questions on watering, repotting and how to optimize sunl...

A year ago this week, far-right extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol, an insurrection spurred by the false accusations from President Trump that the “election was stolen.” The events of Jan. 6 led to multiple deaths and wounded more than 100. Frontline, in partnership with ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program, has been tracking the rise of far right extremist groups...

Yard waste and food scraps take up half of California’s landfills and produce one fifth of methane emissions in the state. That’s according to CalRecycle, the state agency that oversees waste management. A new state law seeks to lower those greenhouse gas emissions, requiring businesses and residents to separate green waste from other trash. We’ll get the details on the new law and how it will be...

California’s oral history archives is a treasure trove of first person accounts by politicians, staffers and others who've kept our state government running. Now, thanks to Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office, those archives are more accessible to the public than ever. We’ll hear about her plans for new oral histories focused on tribal and Latino leaders, Black history and the LGBTQ communit...

The Bay Area’s rainy season is in full force and with it comes the fungi. For mycology enthusiasts, that means gearing up with hiking boots and identification guides and tromping through damp soil in search of mushrooms. We’ll talk about the best local spots for foraging, as well as the roles mushrooms play in cuisine, health and sustainability. And we want to hear from you: Are you a Bay Area myc...

A federal jury in San Jose found Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes guilty on 4 of 11 charges in a widely watched fraud trail that was seen as an indictment of a Silicon Valley 'fake it till you make it' startup culture. We'll talk about the trial and what it may mean for Silicon Valley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most American do not meet physical activity guidelines for their age group. So for some folks, the new year will bring renewed resolve to exercise more. But how do you stick with your resolution, and how do you get fit without injuring yourself? Whether your goal is to just sit less and move more, or participate in a triathlon, we’ll get expert guidance for getting fit in 2022. Learn more about yo...

At the World Health Organization coronavirus briefing last month, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the COVID-19 pandemic “must” end in 2022, stating that there will be enough vaccines to protect the world's entire adult population in the first three months of the year. But concern remains, he added, over successful implementation and equitable distribution of the vaccines. We'...

In his new book “Major Labels,” journalist and music critic Kelefa Sanneh takes on the history of popular music through seven genres that have defined it: rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance and pop. The book not only highlights key artists and events in music’s evolution over the last 50 years, but reveals how music is a tool to build and mold identity. In his chapter on punk music, Sanneh s...

Pendarvis Harshaw, host of the KQED Arts podcast Rightnowish, joins us to talk about some of his favorite episodes of the year. We'll also hear about his editorial philosophy and get his insider take on the history of the hyphy movement in hip hop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can't actually revisit your elementary school years. But, writes Jude Stewart, your nose can transport you there with a mere whiff of dry chalk, wet wool or the stale waft of cafeteria lunch. We'll talk to Stewart about why we smell, how we smell and the power of our olfactory sense to shape our perceptions of the people and world around us. Her new book is "Revelations in Air: A Guidebook to...

“I write about people who do extraordinary things,” observed the pioneering science fiction writer Octavia Butler, “it just turned out that it was called science fiction.” This month, Forum’s book club discusses Butler’s 1993 novel “Parable of the Sower." In it, 15-year-old Lauren Olamina navigates a California in the early 2020s that has been beset by climate change, grotesque income inequality,...

"It is 2020 and the City of Flint Says, / 'Don't boil the water' / And I refuse to drink a single drop / from any tap or bottle now. I've stopped / bathing completely, waiting for rain to slick / my skin back on. So begins Jonah Mixon-Webster's poem "Incubation," featured in his debut poetry collection, Stereo(TYPE). Initially published by Ahsahta Press in 2018 and re-published by Knopf Doubleday...

Rita Dove, winner of a Pulitzer Prize for poetry and the nation’s first Black poet laureate, has returned with a new volume of poems titled “Playlist for the Apocalypse.” It’s Dove’s first book in 12 years -- in part due to a health battle with multiple sclerosis that she reveals and poignantly reflects on in a sequence called “Little Book of Woe.” Both personal and political, Dove’s poems also me...

When asked to name some of the Bay Area’s signature foods, many would jump to name Mission burritos, It’s-It ice cream sandwiches or — especially for tourists visiting San Francisco piers — clam chowder. KQED food editor Luke Tsai is adding another food to that list: garlic noodles. “Here in the Bay Area, Asian Americans love garlic noodles. Black and Latino folks love garlic noodles. Indeed, once...

Two California scientists, David Julius from UCSF and Ardem Patapoutian from San Diego's Scripps Research, have won the 2021 Nobel Prize for medicine. In their work, which focuses on the biology of our senses, Julius and Patapoutian identified receptors that allow the cells in your body to sense touch and temperature. Their findings hold potential medical applications for better treatment of chron...

As Sam Quinones was researching America's opiate epidemic for his award-winning 2015 book "Dreamland," he watched a troubling phenomenon emerge. As pain-pill prescribing fell, drug traffickers with unfettered access to the world's chemical markets began to fill the void with dangerous synthetic drugs. Opiate addicts began to switch to fentanyl and particularly potent forms of methamphetamine, ulti...

Nearly 227 million Americans across all ages play video games, according to an Entertainment Software Association report. And the world of video games is more than just franchise titles and big-name companies like Sony and Nintendo -- there’s a diverse and growing cohort of gamers, designers, developers and executives driving innovation in the art, tech, and narrative of a changing industry. We ta...

Have you ever felt "slipfast" (a longing to melt into a crowd and become invisible)? Or "scabulous" (proud of a certain scar on your body)? Those are some of the many words John Koenig has created for emotions  we've felt all our lives but lacked words to describe. We talk to Koenig about why he says there are vast holes in our emotional lexicon and why it's important for humans to develop a riche...

This beautiful Bay Area of ours contains stories and secrets, histories and futures — and if you know where to look and what questions to ask, you will find them. Imbibe enough of those and that’s how you become a person of this place. That can be hard work OR you can listen to the KQED podcast Bay Curious. Host Olivia Allen-Price joins us as we revisit Bay Curious episodes about Frida Kahlo, sayi...