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Spark is about San Francisco Bay Area artists and arts organizations -- it is a weekly television show on KQED 9, an educational outreach program and a Web site at www.kqed.org/spark. The Spark Podcast includes segments from the show and is released weekly.
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Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second hour to chronicle and center Californians’ experience. In an increasingly divided world, Mina and Alexis host conversations that inform, challenge and unify listeners with big ideas and different viewpoints. Want to call/submit your comments during our live Forum program Mon-Fri, 9am-11am? We'd lo ...
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JD Vance Comments on Childless Americans Spark Outrage
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After a video of republican vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance resurfaced that features him mocking “childless cat ladies,” child-free Americans erupted with outrage. A growing percentage of Americans under 50 — 47%, according to a new study from Pew — say they are unlikely to have kids because they simply don’t want them. Vance’s comments also…
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Multiple Wildfires Threaten Communities Throughout California
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Firefighters are battling the massive Park Fire near Chico which has already burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles – making it the fifth largest wildfire in state history. Meanwhile, the Borel fire, which last weekend destroyed the town of Havilah, continues to burn in Kern County, and parts of Riverside county remain under evacuation …
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How Eight Sci-Fi Movies from 1982 Changed Filmmaking
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The summer of 1982 was a blockbuster for sci-fi movies. Over the course of six consecutive weekends, eight movies in that genre premiered: E.T. Poltergeist. Tron. Blade Runner. Mad Max: Road Warrior. Conan the Barbarian. The Thing. Some were hits. Others were bombs. But all changed the course of filmmaking according to film critic Chris Nashawaty. …
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Feminist Bookstores, Queer Run Clubs and Lesbian Bars: The Power of Third Spaces for Queer Women
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“My own life has been defined by a search for lesbian spaces.” So says journalist June Thomas, whose new book “A Place of Our Own” explores third spaces for queer women, places that are not work or home. Tracing the history of lesbian bars, coffee shops, bookstores, communes, sex stores, vacations and softball teams, Thomas argues for their importa…
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Nathan Thrall Lays Bare Everyday Reality of Life Under Occupation
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Nathan Thrall won a 2024 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction for “A Day in the Life of Abed Salama.” It tells the story of a school bus crash in 2012 outside of Jerusalem; the bus was carrying a group of Palestinian kindergartners when it collided with a truck, killing 6 children and their teacher. Thrall follows the accident’s aftermath and one …
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Kamala Harris’s Candidacy Puts a Spotlight on Mixed-Raced Identity
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Vice President Kamala Harris’s racial and ethnic identity is either an asset or a liability on the campaign trail — it depends on whom you ask. Many voters say they’re ready to elect the nation’s first Black and Asian female president, while some worry that racist backlash will impede her chances. Still others claim she’s “not Black enough.” But, a…
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Sean Wang and Joan Chen Reflect on 'Dìdi (弟弟)' Their Coming-of-Age Film Set in Fremont
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Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical new film “Dìdi (弟弟)” follows a 13-year-old skater in 2008 Fremont, California, the summer before he starts high school. Called “Dìdi” by his family, “WangWang” by his Fremont friends and crush, and “Chris” by the skaters he wants to befriend, the protagonist blunders through an adolescence set among real-life Fremo…
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Can Biden Get Supreme Court Reforms Passed Before End of Term?
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In keeping with his vow to reform the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden issued a plan calling for term limits for justices, a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity, and a “binding code of conduct” to replace the voluntary ethics guidelines established last year by the court. Biden assailed recent Supreme Court decisions and ethic…
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To Solve the Climate Crisis, Focus on Methane
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Most climate action today focuses on zeroing out carbon emissions, but Stanford climate scientist Rob Jackson wants us to take a hard look at methane. It’s a byproduct of animal agriculture and fossil fuel extraction, and pound for pound it’s a greenhouse gas 80 to 90 times more potent than carbon dioxide. That means the upside of reducing methane …
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How to Know When It’s Time to Go: Retiring on Your Own Terms
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President Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race put a spotlight on a vexing question: when is the right time to call it quits and retire? Whether or not you’re president of the United States, stepping away from a job you love – or just sort of like – can be a terrifying decision. The transition can be filled with unknowns and unexpe…
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When we imagine an autocracy, writes Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, we tend to conjure a cartoon image: a malevolent dictator at the top who controls the police and army, evil collaborators and a few brave dissidents. But 21st century autocracies are not that. They’re run instead by “sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic …
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The Convoluted History of Sex Testing in Elite Women’s Sports
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Who gets to compete in women’s sports? Since the very conception of elite athletics, there has been controversy over who qualifies for the women’s category. Rose Eveleth is the host of “Tested,” a new podcast from NPR’s Embedded and CBC radio that explores the practice and history of sex testing in women’s sports. Eveleth follows the stories of a h…
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Who do you think Vice President Kamala Harris should pick as her running mate? The VP has a strong bench to choose from, including Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear and Arizona senator Mark Kelly — all of whom are reportedly being vetted. Each potentially could bring strengths — or swing state voters — to Harris’ ca…
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Governor Newsom Orders Clearing of Homeless Encampments
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In an executive order Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered California officials to dismantle homeless encampments across the state today. It will be the biggest action nationwide, expected to affect tens of thousands of people, since the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Grants Pass v. Johnson case has made it easier for cities to clear out ho…
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John Vaillant on How Fossil Fuel Extraction Intensifies Wildfire
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John Vaillant’s book “Fire Weather” chronicles a devastating wildfire that struck Fort McMurray, Alberta in May 2016. It forced more than 85,000 people to flee their homes, inflicted billions of dollars in damage to the Canadian oil industry and continues to serve as a warning in our increasingly flammable world. Vaillant lays out the linked histor…
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Doing Democracy: The Groundgame. Harris and Trump Have Raised Millions. What Will They Do With It?
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The Kamala Harris campaign announced that in the 36 hours since President Biden dropped out of the presidential race, it had raised a record-breaking $100 million dollars. Republicans have numbers to match: after his conviction in May on fraud charges, Donald Trump’s campaign hauled in $141 million. But how will this money be used by the campaigns?…
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Edward Wong Traces China's Evolution Through Father's Eyes
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New York Times diplomatic correspondent Edward Wong says that he is the “son of two empires.” He grew up outside of Washington, D.C. during the Cold War when the containment of communism undergirded all of U.S. foreign policy. But his parents grew up in rural China, where his father became a follower of Mao Zedong and joined soldiers, workers and s…
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