KQED's Forum - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

The Challenges and Dangers Security Guards Face Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

More than 1.3 million people work as security guards in the United States, making the job one of the most commonly-held in the country and one that outnumbers police and sheriff’s patrol officers. Yet new research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center finds security guards tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained, and more likely to be hurt or injured on the job — factors that lead to a high turnover rate. A bill before the California legislature would raise pay and training standards; it has the backing of labor groups but the firms that employ many of the state’s security guards are opposed. We’ll explore the research and potential legislation, and answer your questions about working in security.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons on Why San Jose is a Rich Setting for Horror Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

Kane Parsons, the 21-year-old director of this summer’s hit horror film “Backrooms,” began his career not in film school, but by making short videos on YouTube while attending middle and high school in the North Bay. He stumbled upon an online photo of creepy, yellow-tinted empty rooms being called “the backrooms,” read the accompanying internet lore and contributed to it with his own web series, which garnered him an A24 directing gig at just 17. Now, Parsons’ San Jose-set feature film has been credited with revitalizing Hollywood and with capturing existential, generational fears. We’ll talk with Parsons about why Silicon Valley is such a rich site for horror, and with film professors about how horror films have long documented the key anxieties of every generation.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside America's Largest ICE Camp Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Built in a matter of weeks on the Fort Bliss military base in Texas, Camp East Montana has become the nation’s largest immigrant detention center, housing thousands of people within its sprawling tent complex. In a recent New Yorker investigation, Jonathan Blitzer documents inadequate medical care, prolonged isolation and families suddenly separated after routine ICE appointments or traffic stops. We talk to Blitzer about how Camp East Montana became the centerpiece of the Trump administration’s expanded detention system—and what it reveals about the human cost of mass immigration enforcement.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Alex Padilla on Confronting Presidential Corruption and ICE Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

After recent revelations that President Trump took in more that $2.2 billion during his first year back in the White House, we talk to Democratic Senator Alex Padilla about his new anti-corruption initiative to address Trump’s alleged self-dealing and its costs to taxpayers. We’ll also ask Padilla about the historically high number of deaths in ICE detention, calls for increased oversight and transparency and what he believes must change as immigration detention continues to expand.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who Pays for San Francisco? Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie poured almost $9 million of his personal fortune into getting elected. Now, he is finding an extraordinary amount of private money to pour into city government: His administration has secured more than $120 million in philanthropic dollars for homelessness, addiction and downtown revitalization. Meanwhile, a network of donors, many of them longtime supporters of Lurie’s former nonprofit Tipping Point, has poured millions into the candidates and ballot measures he favors, winning decisively in June. Supporters call it civic generosity. Critics, particularly progressives, worry that the amount of money is pulling the city rightward. We talk about the impact that money can have on local politics.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have We Reached the End of Reading? Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Reading used to be the main way Americans got information, but most of us now turn to our phones, the internet, social media or television for news and entertainment. The share of Americans reading an article daily has plunged by about 40 percent, and according to the National Endowment for the Arts, fewer than half of all adults read a book in 2022. In a new article from The Atlantic, staff writer Rose Horowitch considers the consequences of our shortened attention spans and asks whether the age of reading will ultimately prove a short anomaly in human history. She joins us to talk about the “end of reading.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Investigation Shows SFPD Closes Rape Cases at Half the National Rate Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

In 2025 only 14 percent of rape cases in San Francisco were closed, according to an ongoing investigation from the SF Standard. That’s half the national rate. While the procedures for administering and processing rape kit tests has improved greatly in San Francisco over the past decade, cuts to the special victims unit and other factors have resulted in fewer investigations into alleged rapists, leaving victims waiting as their cases sit inactive. We talk about the challenges of investigating rape cases, where the SFPD is falling short and whether the new scrutiny could lead to reforms inside the police department.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside Silicon Valley's Race to Build a Home Robot Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

When investigative journalist Stephen Witt visited Silicon Valley’s 1X Technologies to meet a new home robot named Neo, he discovered a device full of contradictions: It was elegantly designed, but often struggled to complete even the simplest of tasks, taking longer than a minute to retrieve a bottle of water. Despite its limitations, more than 10,000 people have placed deposits for the $20,000 android, and Neo is just one of a dozen humanoid robots scheduled for release in the next year. We talk to Witt about the appeal – and challenges – of home robots and how quickly the technology is actually advancing.

Guest:

Stephen Witt, investigative journalist; author

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Woman Finds Healing and Beauty by Walking Every Street in Santa Cruz County Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Angelica Glass started taking long walks as a way to exercise and to relieve the stress from her decades as a social worker trying to help families struggling with poverty. She set a goal to walk every street in Santa Cruz County. While trekking the nearly three thousand miles over several
years, she found herself gently working through the grief of her own childhood of abuse and neglect, while absorbing the beauty and community of her county. We talk with Glass about her book, “Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks.”

Guest:

Angelica Glass, author, “Scavenging Beauty: A Memoir in Walks.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Everyone Should Take a Sabbatical Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Americans are notoriously bad at taking time off from work. Once entering the workforce, we expect to be devoutly productive for decades on end, awarded with an extended break only upon retirement. In his new book, “Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One,” Harvard Business School’s DJ DiDonna urges us to step away from our desks to take an extended break from work – something that for many feels culturally, personally or financially impossible. He argues that taking a break from work can lead to powerful self-transformation by making time for the things we often ignore: learning, rest, play, relationships and reflection. Is there a future where we can all step away from our productivity and into the world?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

KQED’s Forum

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected