KQED's Forum

Epizody

• 
  How Social Media is Shaping How We Experience Our Lives IRL 01.10.2026 54min

  What we choose to post (or not post) to social media — the moments we highlight, the wording of our captions — tells a story about who we are. Those stories, says author Kathryn Jezer-Morton, then shape key parts of our offline lives, like the milestones we value and who we maintain relationships with. Jezer-Morton joins us to talk about her new book: “The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  How Data Center Backlash is Reshaping Politics 01.10.2026 54min

  Opposition to data centers could play a role in who gets elected in November, especially in local races. Hundreds of new data centers have been popping up across the country, sparking backlash from residents who are worried about everything from water usage to machines destroying the economy. We’ll talk about the intensifying opposition to data centers and AI and how the issue could play out in the upcoming election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Xavier Becerra Keeps Low Profile – and Solid Lead – in Race for Governor 30.09.2026 54min

  In the race to be California’s next governor, Democrat and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has maintained a sizable lead despite keeping a low public profile. Meanwhile, Republican Steve Hilton has been pressing his case as an outsider who will cut taxes and support the working class. Ahead of their debate on CNN on Wednesday evening, we’ll look at why enthusiasm for the Democratic front-runner is lagging. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Golden State Valkyries Push into the Playoffs, Ready to ‘Put Their V’s Up’ 30.09.2026 54min

  As the crowd in Ballhalla roared, the Golden State Valkyries crushed the Dallas Wings in game 1 of their playoff series Sunday night. Led by coach Natalie Nakase, the team features veteran stars like forwards Gabby Williams and Kayla Thornton but it might be the passionate fan base that sets the team apart.  Though only in their second year in the WNBA, the Valkyries have drawn sellout crowds ready to “put their V’s up.” But as the playoffs unfold, the WNBA’s record growth collides with old problems: pay disputes, online harassment and the misogyny that still shadows women’s sports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  How High School Became an Academic Pressure Cooker 29.09.2026 54min

  Extreme academic workloads and relentless achievement culture are driving a youth mental health crisis in classrooms nationwide — especially among students trying to get into top colleges. That’s according to Stuart Slavin, a pediatrician who researches how to improve student mental health and the author of “The Success Trap.” We’ll hear from Slavin, a former school administrator and a high school journalist about how to escape “The Success Trap” and how parents can help their kids navigate this pressure. Guests: Stuart Slavin, author, The Success Trap: How the Pressure to Stand Out Is Fueling Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout in Teens—And the Fundamental Fix They Deserve; pediatrician, medical educator, researcher Ananya Kota, student journalist, Los Altos High School – published an article in May in student paper detailing the pressures students face Chris Funk, former superintendent, Dublin Unified School District – initiated policy limiting the number of AP/honors courses students can take yearly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Bay Area Legends: W. Kamau Bell Asks ‘Who’s With Me? 29.09.2026 54min

  Oakland-based comedian, filmmaker, author and activist W. Kamau Bell is best known for his award-winning series “United Shades of America,” “1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed,” and “We Need To Talk About Cosby.” His touring stand-up set — coming to Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium on Oct. 1 — as well as his Substack and new podcast are all titled with the same question: “Who’s with Me?” Bell says the question “is an invitation to connect, a call to action, and a reassuring pat on the shoulder in these increasingly hectic times.” As part of our Bay Area Legends series, we’ll talk with Bell about forming community and celebrating Oakland. Guest: W. Kamau Bell, comedian, filmmaker, author and activist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Whistleblower Frances Haugen on Facebook's 'Social Reckoning' 28.09.2026 54min

  Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked tens of thousands of pages of internal documents that were published in a 2021 Wall Street Journal exposé, now the basis of the forthcoming film “The Social Reckoning.” The documents revealed that the tech giant knew its engagement-driven algorithms accelerated political polarization, increased teenage mental health issues and incited ethnic violence abroad, and Haugen argued that Mark Zuckerberg routinely prioritized user growth and corporate profits over public safety. In her memoir “The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook,” Haugen details the personal and professional cost of exposing Meta and going public. Guest: Frances Haugen, data scientist and author of “The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Record-Setting Diesel Prices Put Pressure On Bay Area Businesses and Consumers 28.09.2026 54min

  Diesel prices are now well above $8 a gallon in California –  higher than they’ve ever been and 63 percent more than a year ago. While most consumers don’t purchase diesel, most of the goods we buy rely on it for transportation.  Diesel powers tractors that work farms, trucks that transport the food to a manufacturing facility and trains that distribute products across the country.  The steep rise in diesel prices is already putting pressure on businesses and the economy as a whole. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is talking about banning diesel exports as a way to increase domestic supply and lower prices. We’ll talk about why diesel prices have skyrocketed, how that will affect consumers and what could happen next. Guests: Severin Borenstein, Professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a faculty director of The Energy Institute at Haas; member, Board of Governors of the California Independent System Operator Kyle Cameron, president, Cameron and Co. Trucking, Inc. Shaun Crook, co-owner and vice president, Crook Logging Inc. – He also serves as first vice president for the California Farm Bureau Federation. John Coletta, CEO, Clover Sonoma – a maker of dairy products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  How Biden's Gaza Policy Reverberates Today 25.09.2026 54min

  Why did President Biden stay the course in Gaza even as some of his own advisers pushed for change? In his new book, “Crossing the Red Line,” journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed reconstructs the decisions behind U.S. support for Israel’s war in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. We talk to him about President Biden’s reluctance to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his abandoned “red line” over Israel’s invasion of Rafah and the legacy of those decisions today. Guest: Akbar Shahid Ahmed, diplomatic correspondent, The Washington Sun, author, “Crossing the Red Line: Biden, His Advisors, and Israel’s War in Gaza” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Singer and Local Influencer Tasha Malan Performs Live in Studio 25.09.2026 54min

  Tasha Malan describes herself as a “chill bay area guy.” The musician and content creator posts hyper-niche San Francisco TikToks and Instagram reels: showing off her Mission district lifestyle, impersonating Mayor Lurie and reading poetry dedicated to Redwood City. Malan soundtracks many of these videos with her own songs, which recall early aughts pop and R&B. She joins us to perform acoustic versions of her forthcoming debut album and to talk about why she says the Bay Area not only has an unparalleled local music scene, it’s “leading the pop renaissance.” Guests: Tasha Malan, musician and content creator, their new single, “Sagitaria,” drops next month Christian Tumalan, Pianist & Co-Founder & Co-Director, Pacific Mambo Orchestra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Trump’s Monuments to Himself 24.09.2026 54min

  From the White House ballroom to the Kennedy Center to a proposed triumphal arch along the Potomac, President Trump has taken a special interest in creating physical markers of his legacy. We’ll look at how he’s largely escaped oversight, including by designating these projects as central to national security. Why are monuments such a priority for Trump, and what does this tell us about the growing reach of executive power? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Regional Ballot Measure is a $14 Billion Bet on Bay Area Transit 24.09.2026 54min

  Years after the pandemic emptied trains and buses, Bay Area transit agencies still face anemic ridership and rising costs. A new regional transit measure that voters put on the November ballot aims to shift the tides. It would add a 0.5% sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and 1% in San Francisco, to raise an estimated $14 billion over 14 years. Supporters hope it will fund BART, Muni, Caltrain, SamTrans, VTA and AC Transit and better connect the systems, while critics call it a regressive tax that hits lower-income residents hardest. We’ll talk about how we got here and the future of public transit with – or without – these funds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  The Speaker: How Nancy Pelosi Changed the Face of Power 23.09.2026 54min

  Rep. Nancy Pelosi will retire following the 2026 midterm elections, bringing to end her almost 40-year career in Congress. In a new five-part podcast series, “The Speaker,” KQED’s Scott Shafer embarked on an ambitious reporting project to capture the story of the first woman Speaker of the House. Shafer traces how Pelosi rose from unlikely Congressional candidate to one of the most powerful women in American politics. Shafer and Pelosi biographer Susan Page joins us to talk about Pelosi’s political legacy and where the Democratic Party goes from here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Bay Area's Largest 200 Public Companies Reflect the Region's Changing Economy 23.09.2026 54min

  When the San Francisco Chronicle last published its list of the Bay Area’s 200 largest public companies 17 years ago, oil behemoth Chevron ranked no. 1. The company has since left for Houston and now Apple Inc. has seized the top spot. Tech companies now make up 21 of the top 25 companies, with AI and social media companies like Nvidia and Meta joining veterans like Intel and Hewlett Packard in the top 10. This concentration of heavy hitters helped make the Bay Area the largest regional economy in the country, but experts warn our reliance on tech could be a disadvantage in the long term. We’ll dig into how the Bay Area’s business landscape has shifted and what it could mean for jobs and our regional economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Ke Huy Quan’s Hollywood Comeback 22.09.2026 54min

  Actor Ke Huy Quan’s family fled post-war Vietnam and lived in a Hong Kong refugee camp before his unlikely turn as an iconic 1980s child star. He stumbled into a casting call for “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” at 12 years old, then rolled right into “The Goonies.” But as he transitioned into adulthood, roles started drying up. After decades of rejection, Quan made an Oscar-winning comeback in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” In his new memoir, “Never Say Die,” Quan shares his forty-year journey of perseverance and self-discovery. Guests: Ke Huy Quan, Academy Award-winning actor; author, “Never Say Die” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on How to Resist ‘End Times Fascism’ 22.09.2026 54min

  Authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor say that not only is fascism here, but this 21st century version wants apocalyptic collapse. In their new book “End Times Fascism,” Klein and Taylor examine how politicians, religious prophets and Silicon Valley billionaires are trying to wipe out flora and fauna, undermine human solidarity and block our ability to imagine a future on Earth. But they also say that it’s not too late for us to fight this “end times fascism” — for the sake of our world. Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join us on Forum. Guests: Naomi Klein, columnist; The Guardian; documentary filmmaker; associate professor of geography and codirector of the Centre for Climate Justic, University of British Columbia; author, “Doppelganger,” “No Logo,” “The Shock Doctrine” among others; co-author, “End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World” Astra Taylor, writer, activist, and documentarian; cofounder, Debt Collective, a debtors’ union that came out of the Occupy Movement; co-author, “End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  The Whistleblowers Who Exposed a ‘No-Kill’ Shelter 21.09.2026 54min

  When animal advocates in Humboldt County unearthed dog carcasses on the property of Miranda’s Rescue, they exposed an alleged cruelty and fraud operation that has shocked animal welfare groups across the state. A sprawling multi-agency investigation has since revealed mass graves, dozens of canine skulls and records for hundreds of unaccounted-for dogs transferred from municipal shelters to a sanctuary that marketed itself as a “no-kill” refuge. We’ll look at the latest findings in the investigation, explore why prior warnings were overlooked and discuss what it will take to reform California’s strained animal rescue system. Guests: Sukey Lewis, criminal justice reporter, KQED; host and reporter; “On Our Watch”; co-founder, the California Reporting Project Jennifer Raymond, founder of Humboldt Spay/Neuter Clinic; founder of Humboldt Critters without Litters Jenna Moore, animal advocate; whistleblower who kicked off the Miranda’s Rescue investigation Shannon Miranda, owner, Miranda’s Rescue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  A Changing Mission District and Intergenerational Friendship Center Tomas Moniz’s Novel ‘The King of Aloe Vera’ 21.09.2026 54min

  In Tomas Moniz’s new novel “The King of Aloe Vera,” seventy-five-year-old Rey has one month left in his longtime Mission District home when he befriends Q, a young woman on probation who is about to lose her housing. The novel unspools as a love letter to the Mission District of San Francisco and its longtime residents—housed and unhoused alike— as they find themselves in a neighborhood that’s changing in so many ways. We’ll talk with Moniz about the Mission and Latinos, housing activism, and intergenerational friendship. Guest: Tomas Moniz, author, “King of Aloe Vera” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  What the Lindsay Clancy Case Teaches Us About Postpartum Psychosis 18.09.2026 54min

  In the Massachusetts trial of Lindsay Clancy, one detail was not disputed in court: Clancy admitted to killing her three young children before attempting suicide in January 2023. But over the multi-week trial, Clancy’s defense argued she could not be held criminally responsible by reason of insanity, attributing her actions to postpartum psychosis. This case left a jury split and the public divided as it highlights major questions about insanity pleas, mental health care and similar cases involving postpartum psychosis. We’ll explore the complicated issue, and look at how it plays out here in California. Guests: April Dembosky, health correspondent, KQED News Dr. Nirmaljit Dhami, perinatal psychiatrist, El Camino Hospital, medical director of the Inpatient Perinatal Psychiatry Unit Michelle Oberman, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law, Author of Mothers Who Kill Their Children Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  “The Oldest Person In the World” Documentary Explores What It Means to Live and Age 18.09.2026 54min

  Last month, Ethel Caterham turned 117 in England making her the world’s oldest person. In his new documentary “The Oldest Person In the World,” director Sam Green takes viewers through his decade-long journey across the globe to meet people like Caterham as they were bestowed with the “oldest living person” title. As humans are living longer and longer, the film explores our fascination with the “oldest person” and what it means to keep living well beyond the average lifespan. We’ll talk with Green about the people he met, the celebrity surrounding them, and his own personal journey that forced him to grapple with aging and longevity. Guests: Sam Green, filmmaker of “The Oldest Person in the World”, directed “32 Sounds,” The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller,” and “The Weather Underground,” among other documentaries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices