KQED's Forum - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Forum from the Archives: Rick Steves Reflects on a Life of Travel Jul 04, 2025

Show notes

Rick Steves is one of the most trusted sources for Americans traveling abroad. But he once dreamed of becoming a piano teacher. That was before he backpacked along the Hippie Trail from Istanbul to Kathmandu in 1978, a trip that made him want to help others experience life-altering travel. We talk to him about his new book called “On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer” about a life spent away from home. What would you like to ask or tell Rick Steves?

Guests:

Rich Steves, travel writer, TV host

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

Forum from the Archives: Vallejo’s Breakout Star LaRussell Performs In Studio Jul 04, 2025

Show notes

LaRussell is known for a lot of things. His prolific music drops. His backyard concerts from his hometown, the “itty bitty city near the Bay,” Vallejo. And, for making a name in the world of hip hop on his own – no record deal needed. LaRussell is one of the Bay Area’s hottest musicians not just because of his talent and artistry, but also his business savvy. He is the founder of Good Compenny, a collective of independent artists. LaRussell joins us in studio for a special musical performance and to talk about growing up in Vallejo, what it means to “leave empty” and how he’s forged a career on his own terms.

Guests:

LaRussell, artist and founder, Good Compenny - an organization that promotes rising Bay Area artists.

Michael Prince, violin, Good Compenny

Kenivah Bockari, dj, Good Compenny

Simon Ajero, piano, Good Compenny

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

Forum from the Archives: Liz Pelly on Spotify and the ‘Cost of the Perfect Playlist’ Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

Spotify was originally marketed as a democratic, anti-establishment music streaming platform. But according to journalist Liz Pelly, it has become a system favoring major labels and its own algorithmic playlists featuring “ghost artists,” all while underpaying independent artists. Pelly draws on interviews with former employees, music industry veterans and artists to pull back the curtain on the music streaming giant in her new book, “Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist."

Guests:

Liz Pelly, writer; contributing editor to The Baffler

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

Forum from the Archives: Tune-Yards’ Merrill Garbus on How She Makes Her Signature Sounds, Live in Studio Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

Oakland based art-pop band Tune-Yards is widely loved for their complex and funky rhythms, layers of sound, thrillingly dynamic vocals, and thought provoking lyrics. The duo, Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, have just released a new album, “Better Dreaming,” praised by critics as highly danceable and jubilant while, as always, grappling with the state of the world. Merrill Garbus joins us in the studio for a new album listening party and to demonstrate how she creates her powerhouse sound.

Guests:

Merrill Garbus, singer, musician, Tune-Yards - newest album is "Better Dreaming"

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

Forum from the Archives: Tommy Orange and Kaveh Akbar Celebrate their Artistic Mind Meld Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

Have you ever felt so creatively connected to someone that it’s like you share the same brain? That’s how acclaimed writers Tommy Orange and Kaveh Akbar describe their relationship. They’re best friends who wrote their recent novels “Wandering Stars” and “Martyr” by sending each other “cheernotes” in which they “waved [their] pom poms with genuine excitement at what the other’d just wrought from the ether,” as Akbar puts it. The two are embarking on a Bay Area driving tour to celebrate their friendship and art, and they join us on Forum.

Guests:

Tommy Orange, novelist, his books include "Wandering Stars" and "There There," which was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize.

Kaveh Akbar, poet and novelist, his books include "Martyr!," a National Book Award finalist

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

Forum from the Archives: Star On the Rise: August Lee Stevens Performs Live In Studio Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

Hercules native August Lee Stevens dropped her debut album “Better Places” last year earning her a following and praise for her indie soul sound. The 25-year-old singer and songwriter started classical piano when she was in elementary school and continued her study at the Oakland School of the Arts. In her senior year, she picked up singing – a decision that changed her life. She is now part of a wave of emerging musicians from the East Bay. Stevens joins us for a special live performance, and to talk about her musical roots and journey.

Guests:

August Lee Stevens, Bay Area-based musician and singer-songwriter; her debut album “Better Places” came out in 2024

Frankie Maston, vocalist

Ash Stallard, vocalist

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

Forum from the Archives: What It’s Like to Parent With Your Friends Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

NPR’s Rhaina Cohen has taken a close look at friend-powered parenting, joining shared households to see how neighbor-and-friend alliances can break the isolation of modern parenthood. We’ll talk about the challenges of communal living and what parents gain—emotionally, practically, even financially—when they raise their kids with their friends. Cohen’s recent piece for the Atlantic is “A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship.” Would you raise your kids with your best pals?

Guests:

Rhaina Cohen, producer and editor for the NPR Documentary podcast Embedded; author of "The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center" and the Atlantic piece, "A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship"

Phil Levin, founder, Live Near Friends - helps people live right next door to friends and family

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

Forum from the Archives: Fremont's Sid Sriram Fuses New Genres with Family Legacy of Traditional Indian Singing Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Singer Sid Sriram was born in southern India, but his family moved to Fremont when he was just a year old. His voice and his sound are the product of his family’s legacy as carnatic traditional signers and of a childhood in the Bay Area suburbs, listening to jazz and hip hop. Sriram has already achieved fame in India, his career expanded globally after singing for Grammy-Award winning composer A.R. Rahman, and he was recently featured in an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. He joins us in our studio to sing from his new album and talk about growing up Indian-American in the Fremont and what it’s like to be more famous halfway across the world than where you went to high school.

Guests:

Sid Sriram, musician, his forthcoming album is Sidharth

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

Forum from the Archives: Remembering George Floyd and the Racial Reckoning He Sparked Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

We remember George Floyd, five years after his murder by a Minneapolis police officer. In the days and months after Floyd’s death, millions of Americans took to the streets to protest racism and police violence, ushering in a new era of racial reckoning. Robert Samuels, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography “His Name is George Floyd,” wonders however if “the backlash feels more enduring than the reckoning itself.” We’ll talk about who George Floyd was and where the struggle for racial justice is headed.

Guests:

Robert Samuels, national political enterprise reporter, The Washington Post - co-author, "His Name is George Floyd: One Man's Life and them Struggle for Racial Justice"

Clyde McGrady, national correspondent covering race, The New York Times

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

Forum from the Archives: Bay Area Latin Jazz Legend John Santos and Friends Perform Live Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

Bay Area Latin jazz legend John Santos joins us with a full band for a live in-studio performance. The San Francisco native is a Grammy nominated percussionist and composer influenced by classic rhythms and traditions of the Caribbean. He founded his own label, Machete Records, 40 years ago to avoid mainstream platforms and maintain his creative freedom. Santos joins us to talk about his San Francisco roots, the rhythms of his Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean heritage, and his latest album, Horizontes.

Guests:

Saul Sierra, musician, bass, vocals

John Santos, Latin Jazz percussionist, leader of the John Santos Sextet

Marco Diaz, musician, keyboard, trumpet, vocals

John Calloway, musician, flute, keyboard

Charlie Gurke, musician, saxes

Anthony Blea, musician, violin

Javier Navarrette, musician, congas

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