KQED's Forum - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

What Does Keanu Reeves Mean to You? Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

We need to make “Much Ado About Keanu” Reeves. That’s according to pop culture writer Sezín Devi Koehler’s new book about the wildly popular – if sometimes underestimated – Hollywood star. Besides acting in eighty films over his 40-year career, from “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” to “The Matrix,” Reeves’ roles have challenged stereotypes of masculinity, provided representation of Asian American and native Hawaiian communities— and he’s known for stepping aside to let his costars shine. We’ll talk about what makes Reeves’ career “most excellent.” What’s your favorite Keanu role?

Guests:

Carly Severn, senior editor of audience news, KQED

Sezín Devi Koehler, pop culture writer; author, "Much Ado About Keanu: A Critical Reeves Theory"

Angelica Jade Bastién, critic covering film and pop culture, New York Magazine's Vulture

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

Congress Votes to Defund Public Media Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

A bill to claw back $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public radio and television, will be voted on by the House on Thursday evening. The legislation has already passed the Senate, on a largely partisan vote. We’ll talk to the president of KQED and representatives from other public radio and television outlets about the impacts these cuts will have on their mission to provide free public programming to their communities.

Guests:

Michael Isip, president and CEO, KQED

David Folkenflik, media correspondent, NPR News

Brian Duggan, general manager, KUNR and KNCC

Kate Riley, president and CEO, America's Public Television Stations

Andre de Channes, general manager and director of operations, KZYX

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

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Standing Up to the Trump Administration Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a spate of lawsuits against the Trump administration, including challenges to mass terminations of federal employees, the sharing of Medicaid data with immigration authorities and the federal government’s takeover of the California National Guard. His office is also involved in lawsuits related to public health funding cuts and stalled clean energy projects. We’ll talk to the state’s top prosecutor about what’s at stake in the cases and what it’s been like to fight a president he says has an “endless desire to seize more power.”

Guests:

Rob Bonta, California Attorney General

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

Amid War, Bay Area Architects Aid Reconstruction in Ukrainian Town Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

The Ukrainian town of Irpin made international headlines at the outset of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion when local reservists repelled Russian forces advancing toward Kyiv. But the toll was severe for the town Ukraine has now designated a “hero city.” Hundreds of civilians were killed during Russia’s month-long occupation of Irpin, and thousands of buildings were destroyed. Among those was the main campus building of the State Tax University. Now a Bay Area organization is helping to rebuild the university, bringing design and construction ideas that it hopes will be a model for other sites. We’ll talk about the project and the multilayered challenges Ukraine faces as it seeks to rebuild while still at war.

The reporting for this episode was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Women on the Ground: Reporting from Ukraine’s Unseen Frontlines Initiative in partnership with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

Guests:

Zhanna Bezpiatchuk, reporter, BBC Ukraine

Margie O'Driscoll, executive director, Center for Innovation

Eugene Chumakov, design and project architect, Stantec - a sustainable engineering and architecture firm

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, professor of economics, UC Berkeley

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

Does the Label ‘Genius’ Do More Harm than Good? Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

“You can tell what a culture values by who it labels a genius—and also what it is prepared to tolerate. The Renaissance had its great artists. The Romantics lionized androgynous, tubercular poets. Today we are in thrall to tech innovators and brilliant jerks in Silicon Valley.” So writes Atlantic staff writer Helen Lewis in her new book, “The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea.” Lewis analyzes how the “genius” label is disproportionately applied to white men, often acting as an excuse for antisocial behavior. She joins us to share why she thinks we could all be more honest about the role history and collaboration play in any individual’s accomplishments—and the good that comes from allowing fewer lone wolves to make decisions on our collective behalf.

Guests:

Helen Lewis, staff writer, The Atlantic - author, "The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea"

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

The Bay Area is Getting Older — Fast. Are We Ready? Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

The Bay Area is getting increasingly older at a faster rate than other parts of the country, making it the third oldest region in the U.S. Some neighborhoods in Berkeley have a median age of 60. What will it take for our infrastructures to be well set up for our aging population? We talk through the latest data, hear from aging experts and learn from local organizations who have been meeting the ‘silver tsunami’ head on.

Guests:

Stacy Torres, assistant professor of social behavioral sciences, UCSF

Danielle Echeverria, data reporter, San Francisco Chronicle

Shakirah Simley, executive director, Booker T. Washington Community Center

Diane Wong, executive director, J-Sei Community Center

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

Adolescence Under Stress: Why Growing Up Today is Harder than Ever Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

Adolescence has always been turbulent, but what happens when you mix in early puberty, digital information overload and a world that feels increasingly unsteady? Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Matt Richtel says we’re living through a radical shift in how we come of age. In his new book “How We Grow Up,” Richtel draws on neuroscience and conversations with youth and their families to explore what’s behind a rising adolescent mental health crisis — and why it’s not just about the phones. He joins us.

Guests:

Matt Richtel, health and science reporter, New York Times; author, "How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence"

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

Taking Stock of President Trump’s First Six Months Jul 15, 2025

Show notes

In the first six months of his second term, President Trump has done a lot of what he said he would do, from proposing sweeping tariffs to gutting federal agencies and their workers to deporting thousands of immigrants. And Americans now await the effects of Republicans’ massive bill cutting taxes and expanding immigration enforcement while slashing popular programs. We check in on Trump’s ambitions and the ways Congress and the courts are expanding, or checking, his presidential power.

Guests:

Philip Bump, national columnist, Washington Post; author of "The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America"

Claudia Grisales, congressional correspondent, NPR

David Graham, staff writer, The Atlantic

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

Why L.A. is a Model for 'the Future of Water Conservation' Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

Water conservation is a constant challenge for Californians, but according to the New York Times’s Michael Kimmelman, there’s one city that’s doing it right: Los Angeles. Kimmelman found that L.A. has consumed less water in total since 1990 even as the city gained millions of residents. We talk with Kimmelman and California water officials about the strategies L.A. is using and what other states can learn from its example.

Guests:

Michael Kimmelman, architecture critic, New York Times

Liz Crosson, chief sustainability, resiliency and innovation officer, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Mark Gold, board member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; adjunct professor at UCLA’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability; former director of Water Scarcity Solutions for the Natural Resources Defense Council

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

Is Customer Service a Bad Model? Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

To be a modern consumer is to experience poor customer service at some point in your life. The kind of service that has you in a fever dream of pressing “1” for “representative,” getting your call dropped, calling back again, and then asking to speak to a manager who can’t solve your problem. Experts call this kind of service “sludge,” an administrative morass meant to deter, not help, consumers. And for some businesses, it’s a feature not a bug. We’ll talk to journalist Chris Colin about the practice and hear from you: what’s your sludge story?

Guests:

Chris Colin, journalist, The Atlantic

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