Alexis Madrigal

The Bay Area has a storied hip-hop legacy. We’ve also got a legendary food scene. Maybe it’s natural that these two core components of the Bay Area would find each other. In our latest edition of All You Can Eat, our series on Bay Area food cultures with KQED food editor Luke Tsai, we’ll talk

Last year, poet and writer Clint Smith wrote the book, “How the World is Passed,” exploring how the US has failed to come to terms with the reality and legacy of slavery. Now, for an Atlantic cover story, “Monuments to the Unthinkable” he’s traveled to Germany to see how that country has grappled with memorializing

For centuries, America has lured millions of immigrants here with dreams of rising from rags to riches in a short amount of time. But the authors of “Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success,” say that story is mostly a myth. The authors, Stanford professor Ran Abramitzky and Pr…

Sonoma native Ada Limón sees her work as the nation’s new poet laureate as “elevating and promoting the expansiveness of poetry.” Limón’s poems cover a huge range of subjects, from groundhogs to grief. “Poetry allows us to breathe,” she said in an interview after being selected as poet laureate. “I…

Mexican singer Silvana Estrada and the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest have at least one thing in common: they both defy genre. The 25-year-old singer from the coastal Mexican state of Veracruz is now on tour promoting her latest album, “Marchita.” Estrada’s music is rooted in jazz, but spans a fusion of musical styles. The

Summer travel is on the rebound after a steep decline in 2020. But, as more people indulge the urge to travel this year, prices for gas, hotels and plane tickets have soared. That, along with ongoing concerns about the pandemic are forcing some travelers to rethink how and where they travel. Many pe…

On April 1st 1950, about 144,000 census takers fanned out across the United States to count the population. Each conversation they had was reduced to a handwritten entry on a census form. Now, 72 years later, the National Archives has released those manuscripts. You can find Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and maybe a

The San Francisco Art Institute and the University of San Francisco announced this month that they’re planning to merge. Under the agreement, USF will acquire the cash-strapped 151-year old arts college and offer a program called SFAI@USF in the fall. The move is reminiscent of Northeastern Universi…

Early results of an ongoing clinical trial found that cash aid to low-income mothers increases brain activity in babies – a finding that could help shape social policy. Called “Baby’s First Years,” it’s the first study in the U.S. to look at the impact of poverty reduction on early childhood develop…

Laurie Ann Steves drove from Seattle to San Francisco last May to try to reconnect with her daughter, Jessica, who is addicted to fentanyl and lives on and off the streets of San Francisco. Steves joins us to share how she tried to intervene in her daughter’s life, just months after losing her …

Albert Samaha is the son of immigrants from the Philippines, a country molded by centuries of Spanish and American colonization and imperialism. His new book “Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes” is part memoir, part family history. Samaha reflects on his Filipino American identity and his family’s immigration experience, comparing the America he grew up in

Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in the country. It’s also one of the most unequal. Architectural and Urban Historian Mitchell Schwarzer dives into the politics and decisions that helped make it that way in his new book, Hella Town: Oakland’s History of Development and Disruption. Schwarze…

For 46 years, the San Francisco-based American Indian Film Festival has showcased features, documentaries and animated works from Native filmmakers. This year’s festival kicks off Friday with more than a hundred films at a time when filmmakers and audiences are clamoring for more representation of N…

College dropout Elizabeth Holmes once claimed her start-up Theranos would transform blood tests and modern medicine. At its peak in 2015, the company was worth $9 billion and was set to roll out its products across the country. But that came crashing down when investigations revealing that the techn…

The Forum Book Club pick for August 2021 is Nawaaz Ahmed’s debut novel “Radiant Fugitives.” Set in San Francisco in and around 2010, it tells the story of Seema, a lesbian and political organizer with doubts about the efficacy of politics even as she works on the campaigns of President Obama, Distri…