KQED's Forum

In a time of uncertainty, the holiday movie offers a world of good cheer, maybe a few good songs, and a reliably predictable happy ending. But what makes a good holiday movie? Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix and other outlets are offering viewers hundreds of titles – nearly all romantic comedies that have resurrected careers of stars from the 90s and which invariably feature snow, hot cocoa and two pe...

As the year ends, we’ll take a moment to look back at books that we loved, couldn’t stop thinking about, and kept telling others to read. As we enter the third year of the pandemic, readers are still gravitating toward dystopian-themed books. Other popular titles explore topics such as white supremacy, identity, and connecting with nature. Some of the top picks from the Forum team include Clint Sm...

As we continued to navigate the pandemic in 2021, music remained a key source of solace and entertainment. We reemerged into public spaces to attend live shows and festivals. Lil Nas X had everyone talking with a very savvy release of his debut album “Montero” and made clear he was no “one hit wonder.” Wizkid and Tems’ infectious Afro-pop song “Essence” got a second life at parties and cookouts, b...

In this hour, we unpack some of the Bay Area’s best songs and biggest musical moments of 2021. Bay Area rapper Stunnaman02 got everyone “Big Steppin” with his song and viral dance move. The band Destroy Boys brought us “cathartic, angst-combating, middle-finger-pointing post-punk” according to KQED contributor Rae Alexandra. Local singer-songwriters weren’t afraid to be their authentic selves and...

Last December, amid news of effective vaccines and a new administration, Atlantic science writer Ed Yong tweeted that he was “gently hopeful” about getting to celebrate his 40th birthday party in person in 2021 with a few dozen friends. A lot can change in a year. With a third wave of Covid looming thanks to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, Yong made the tough call to cancel his party las...

For her new book How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America, Stanford-trained sociologist Priya Fielding-Singh talked to 75 Bay Area families from a variety of backgrounds about their everyday food choices. She joins us to discuss class, race, and nutritional inequity and why, as she writes in the book, “access to healthy food is about more than geography and finan...

For his new book, ‘Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA,’ NPR investigative reporter Tim Mak dove deep into the inner workings of the National Rifle Association. Over the course of three years, Mak interviewed 120 sources and pored through thousands of pages of documents, emails and memos, and in his book, he offers a portrait of an organization wracked by venality, gross mismanagement and fina...

Brazilian jazz guitarist Bola Sete is considered one of the greatest – but also underappreciated – musical talents of his era. A new three-disc compilation, “Samba in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse, 1966-1968,” captures live recordings of Sete, who lived and performed in the Bay Area for decades, at a storied jazz club. Critics say the new album highlights Sete, who died in Marin County in 1987, a...

Of the many Californians who died of COVID , 1 in 8 lived in a nursing home, totaling almost 9400 people.  The high death toll is now prompting legislators to rethink oversight and funding of these institutions. We’ll talk about how the pandemic has exposed systemic problems with the quality of care in nursing homes and what a proposed state budget reform linking nursing home funding to new qualit...

In her celebrated 1999 essay collection "Remembered Rapture" — about the life and craft of a writer — feminist author and educator bell hooks insisted that "[n]o Black woman writer in this culture can write ‘too much’. Indeed, no woman writer can write ‘too much'.... No woman has ever written enough.” hooks, who passed away Wednesday at age 69, published more than 30 books, including the noted wor...

The Food and Drug administration on Thursday permanently lifted a restriction on mailing abortion pills to patients. Previously, the pills had to be physically handed out by physicians, but that rule had been loosened during the pandemic. The decision comes as the US Supreme court is considering limits on abortion rights, and is likely to spark further legal battles. We’ll talk about the FDA’s mov...

The searing images of Afghans desperate to get on to planes leaving Kabul brought the world’s attention to the crisis created in part by the American withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in August. In the four months that have passed, the Taliban have solidified their rule, the international community has responded with sanctions and asset freezes of funds, and a humanitarian crisis of epic propo...

Taking the side of environmental groups and commercial beekeepers, a California judge earlier this month said he would issue a statewide order banning a pesticide called sulfoxaflor. Part of the class of neuro-active insecticides called neonicotinoids, sulfoxaflor protects crops from insects, but scientists say it is toxic to bees. A study by environmental group Earthjustice found that the number...

A new investigation by the Los Angeles Times looks at the cases of California doctors who were barred from practice for sexually abusing patients. And it uncovers an alarming pattern: more than half of those who sought to get their licenses back since 2013 were reinstated by the state Medical Board. That’s a higher rate than for doctors who lost their licenses for all other reasons, the Times foun...

The Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry set a new NBA record for career three-pointers on Tuesday. His career total is now 2,977, surpassing Ray Allen’s record set in 2014. "I never wanted to call myself the greatest shooter until I got this record,” Curry said in a post-game press conference, “So I'm comfortable saying that now." We'll talk about Curry’s historic achievement, his legacy and how...

Cutting up fruit and delivering it to you without asking if you want it. Sending Google alerts about murders in your area. Sitting with you while you do hours of Kumon homework. These are a few of the ways immigrant parents show their love according to comedian Meghana Indurti, who has a recent New Yorker humor piece on the topic. Her TikToks featuring her stoic father, who didn’t say the words “I...

According to a recent Pew study, a rising percentage of adults in the U.S. are living without a spouse or partner. But U.S. social policy still tends to value families over individuals – reflected in the structure of everything from our tax codes to social security and workplace benefits. As a result, according to the same Pew study, unpartnered adults generally have worse economic and social stat...

Laurie Ann Steves drove from Seattle to San Francisco last May to try to reconnect with her daughter, Jessica, who is addicted to fentanyl and lives on and off the streets of San Francisco. Steves joins us to share how she tried to intervene in her daughter’s life, just months after losing her son to addiction, and we’ll hear from the San Francisco Chronicle journalists who documented her efforts....

"These text messages leave no doubt, the White House knew exactly what was happening at the Capitol," said Congresswoman Liz Cheney on Monday night at a meeting of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the Capitol. Cheney, the ranking Republican on the committee, read a series of text messages former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows received on Jan. 6. The comm...

Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News on Sunday that Omicron's apparent ability to evade some protection from COVID vaccines is "sobering". But the good news, he said, is that boosters can dramatically increase the level of defense. We'll get the latest on the new variant from Fauci, including why he thinks we may not need Omicron-specific vaccines. Then, the Atlantic's Sarah Zhang joins us to take your...

An outsourcing loophole in the H-1B visa program has allowed tech companies to get away with underpaying their migrant workers by millions of dollars, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. While the report focuses on the workers under the IT staffing firm HCL Technologies, the tactic of outsourcing labor to migrant workers and paying them less compared to their U.S. born coun...

Following the Supreme Court’s decision last week not to block SB 8, the Texas law that bans abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy and that also gives private citizens a right to sue anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion, an outraged California governor Gavin Newsom responded by stating he would use that law’s framework to address gun violence. “If the most efficient way to keep these devastating...

In a not-so-distant past, kids played with toys like Clackers that could shatter into sharp pieces, or lawn darts that caused serious injuries and deaths, or Suzy Homemaker dolls that reinforced gender stereotypes. “Dangerous Games: Treacherous Toys We Loved As Kids,” an exhibit at the Napa Valley Museum in Yountville, celebrates vintage toys and explores the physical and psychological harms some...

Sea levels are expected to rise by more than three feet before century’s end if meaningful action is not taken against climate change. The resulting flooding could impact more than 400 of California’s hazard sites, including power plants and toxic waste facilities— and expose hazardous pollutants to nearby residents. The neighbors of these sites are five times more likely to be people of color and...

Comedian and storyteller Mike Birbiglia has been called “the king of the one-man show." His first solo piece “Sleepwalk with Me", all about his life as a stand-up comic, was a hit off-Broadway and spawned a book and feature film. And he made it all the way to Broadway with 2019’s award-winning “The New One” in which he riffed on his fear of fatherhood. In January he’ll bring his latest “The Old Ma...