Forum (KQED)
| Genre | Talk radio |
|---|---|
| Running time | ca. 105 min. (9 a.m.-11 a.m.) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language | English |
| Home station | KQED-FM |
| Syndicates | KQED-FM Sirius Satellite Radio |
| Hosted by | Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal |
| Created by | Kevin Pursglove[1] |
| Produced by | Marlena Jackson-Retondo Jennifer Ng Mark Nieto Caroline Smith Blanca Torres Grace Won |
| Executive producers | Susan Britton Judy Campbell |
| Senior editor | Daniel Zoll |
| Recording studio | San Francisco, California |
| Original release | 1987[2] – present |
| Audio format | Stereophonic |
| Opening theme | "Peter Pan" by Mike Marshall |
| Website | www |
| Podcast | KQED Podcasts |
Forum is a two-hour live call-in radio program produced by KQED-FM, presenting discussions of local, state, national and international issues, and in-depth interviews.
History
The program[3] began in 1987[2][4] as a politics-oriented talk show, created and hosted by Kevin Pursglove.[1] who left to become spokesman for San Jose's then-mayor Susan Hammer,[5] and later eBay.[6]
From 1993 to 2021, it was hosted by scholar, author, professor, and former KGO Radio host Michael Krasny, who broadened the program's scope to a cross-section of current events.[7][8] After hosting the show for nearly 30 years, Krasny announced his retirement effective February 2021.[4]
Starting in June 2021, after a number of guests hosted the show in the months prior, Alexis Madrigal was selected to be the new host of the 9 am hour along with Mina Kim, who had already hosted the 10 am hour since July 2020.[9][2]
Format
The format of Forum varies from show to show, but generally involves an in-person interview followed by public Q&A via phone or email with one or more subjects, often nationally prominent authors and scholars.[10] The program airs for two hours on weekday mornings, with an hour repeated in the evening.
Online engagement
Listeners can telephone, email, tweet, and Facebook.[11] The station also launched a Discord server, "traditionally a space for online gamers",[12] to improve its engagement with its audience, saying it was the first station to do so and drawing inspiration from Bellingcat and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.[13]
Ask Forum uses large language model and generative AI, in addition to traditional search methods, to find archived Forum episodes, using transcripts as a primary source, and with AI transcription services like Trint, Otter.ai, and Descript.[12]
References
- ^ a b "About KQED:History". KQED. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
- ^ a b c "KQED's Forum Expands: Mina Kim to Share Daily Host Duties". KQED. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Ben Fong-Torres (March 12, 2006). "Radio Waves". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
- ^ a b Whiting, Sam. "'Forum' host Michael Krasny announces his retirement from KQED". SF Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ "Public Eye". Metroactive. December 10, 1998. Archived from the original on January 21, 2026. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
From the December 10-16, 1998 issue of Metro.
- ^ Ina Steiner (October 15, 2003). "eBay Spokesperson Kevin Pursglove Steps Down". Auction Bytes. Archived from the original on December 5, 2003. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
- ^ "The Krasny Show, KQED Forum, is our site of the day". California Progress Report. April 11, 2006. Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
- ^ Selvin, Joel (February 11, 2003). "A voice of calm amid the chatter: Ever erudite, Michael Krasny marks his 10 years as a KQED talk-show host". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 24, 2003. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
- ^ Cavagnaro, Peter. "Alexis Madrigal Joins KQED's Forum as Co-host". KQED. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Liberatore, Paul (October 22, 2007). "Krasny: The thinking person's talk host". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
- ^ "Forum". kqed.org. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ a b Robinson, Lowell (June 12, 2024). "How KQED is enriching its 'Forum' archive with generative AI". Current (newspaper). Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
- ^ Sweeting, Lily (September 28, 2023). "KQED's 'Forum' extends on-air community with Discord server". Current (newspaper). Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2024.