Best KQED Science Podcasts (2025)

1
How Ember Stomp Is Helping Marin Get Fire-Ready, 1 Go Bag at a Time

Play Pause

9d ago

—

At Marin’s Ember Stomp festival, thousands gathered for hands-on wildfire safety demos, go-bag tips, and live burn tests — part of a growing, community-powered effort to prepare for fire season.By Danielle Venton

1
A Look at Prop 50; Meet the Duduk Whisperer; Altadena Homeowners Resettling in RVs 33:09

4d ago33:09

33:09

Election Day is almost here, and in most of California, there's just one measure on the ballot: Proposition 50. Backed by Governor Gavin Newsom, Prop 50 aims to create more Democratic-leaning districts. It's a move to counter Texas's redistricting plans favoring Republicans. And some heavy hitters are lining up on both sides, including former Presi…

1
Celebrating 30 Years of The California Report with Kishi Bashi and California Foodways 30:09

11d ago30:09

30:09

The California Report just turned 30! On November 4, we’re throwing a party to celebrate, at KQED in San Francisco, with special guests whose stories we’ve featured on our show. This week we’re reprising two of those stories. ⁠How Experimental Composer and Performer Kishi Bashi Brings New Ideas to Life⁠⁠ Kishi Bashi has been releasing music for ove…

1
Finding Diwali Outfits In A Suburban Garage; Making Whiskey On Mare Island 30:08

18d ago30:08

30:08

Need a Gorgeous Diwali Outfit? Nimisha Aunty Will Take Care of You On a recent weekend, a Morgan Hill home’s two-car garage was transformed into something dazzling. Shoppers tried on embroidered Indian outfits and excitedly chatted in Hindi and Gujarati. This is Nivy’s Nook, the homegrown boutique Nimisha Jadav runs out of her garage. As part of ou…

1
30 Years of The California Report; The Chinese Laundrymen Who Shaped US Civil Rights 30:02

25d ago30:02

30:02

On October 6, 1995, The California Report’s first weekly show went on the air. Today we’re celebrating our birthday with a look back at that first show, which explored issues we’re still grappling with today, and featured a soundscape that created a roadmap for covering this huge, diverse state. How a Chinese Laundryman Shaped US Civil Rights From …

1
A Tiny Plot: New Podcast Follows an Unhoused Community in Oakland Fighting for Self-Determination 30:02

1M ago30:02

30:02

Today we’re bringing you an excerpt from the first episode of a new podcast called A Tiny Plot, from our friends at KQED’s Snap Studios. About one third of our nation’s homeless population is here in California – with close to 6,000 people on the streets each night in Oakland alone. Producer Shaina Shealy spent more than a year following a group of…

1
California Cuts Tax for Legal Weed, Youth Groups Cry Foul

1M ago

—

State lawmakers say lowering the state cannabis tax is the only way to save the legal market, but youth groups funded by the tax call it a betrayal.By April Dembosky

1
California Is Considering Returning Stolen Land. Here's How It Played Out In Germany. 30:02

1M ago30:02

30:02

Located near Hayward in Alameda County, Russell City was once home to mostly Black, Latino and poor white families boxed out of other Bay Area neighborhoods by redlining and the cost of living. But in the 1960s, after the county refused to extend water and sewer service to Russell City, it declared it a “blight,” and used eminent domain laws to bul…

1
The Hidden Health Risk Behind Bay Area Homeless Encampment Sweeps

1M ago

—

Cities have accelerated the clearing of tent cities as leaders press for cleaner neighborhoods. But are they pushing people out of sight and into danger?By Lesley McClurg

1
Oakland Comedian Jackie Keliiaa on Pain, Punchlines, and Her ‘Good Medicine’ 30:02

2M ago30:02

30:02

This week, our series on Californians and resilience continues with Oakland comedian Jackie Keliiaa. She’s a stand-up, writer, actor, and producer whose work not only reflects on her everyday life, but also her Native heritage. She’s been featured on Comedy Central, Team Coco, Netflix and IllumiNative's list of 25 Native American Comedians to Follo…

1
A New Musical Revisits the Bay Area’s Apocalyptic Orange Sky Day

2M ago

—

A new musical, running this month at Z Space in San Francisco, uses hip hop, R&B and soul to ease us back to a day we’d like to forget.By Laura Klivans

1
Meet One of the OGs of Tech; The National Landmark 100 Feet Underground 30:05

2M ago30:05

30:05

This week, we’re bringing you an excerpt of the KQED podcast Close All Tabs, which features stories about how digital culture shapes our lives. Their new occasional series, OGs of Tech, looks beyond the billionaires to spotlight the often-overlooked innovators who helped build the digital world we live in today. One of these OGs is Felidoro Cueva, …

1
Encore-"Wired For Connection': The Science of Kindness 30:13

2M ago30:13

30:13

This Labor Day weekend, we’re bringing you some of our favorite stories from the California Report Magazine archive. You may have seen these viral stories on your social media feeds: a frightened shelter dog bonding with their foster; a good samaritan helping a street vendor by buying all their merchandise; an artist drawing a portrait of a strange…

1
A New Sonoma Facility Wants to Recycle Plastics. Residents Are Pushing Back

2M ago

—

Rohnert Park residents worry the new Resynergi plastic recycling facility will degrade air quality and pose safety concerns.By Dana Cronin

1
A Teenager, a Journalist and a Construction Worker Caught Up in Trump Immigration Crackdown 30:12

2M ago30:12

30:12

The Independent Journalist Covering Immigration Raids In Her Own Community Earlier this summer, 17-year-old Kevin Robles was in his friend's car driving through their neighborhood in Oceanside when he noticed vehicles with tinted windows and nearby, masked men taking someone out of a red car. He started live streaming on Instagram and it went viral…

1
Rebuilding a Lost Home, a Beloved Garment, and a Treasured Radio 27:58

2M ago27:58

27:58

How a Pasadena Church is Helping One Senior Through Wildfire Recovery It’s been more than seven months since the Eaton Fire tore across Altadena, just east of Los Angeles. Rebuilding homes and neighborhoods could take years – a daunting timeline, especially for seniors. Local advocates worry that many elders within Altadena’s historic Black communi…

1
How An Unhoused Person Navigates San Francisco Streets; Life With a Partner in Prison 27:57

3M ago27:57

27:57

Recently, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at fundamentally changing how the country addresses homelessness. The order promises to crack down on street homelessness across the country, in part by institutionalizing people with mental illness. Here in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has criticized Trump’s recent order, while at the …

1
Therapists Confront Wildfire Trauma; Deadly Scandal in California Wine Country 30:15

3M ago30:15

30:15

It’s been nearly seven months since the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, killing 30 people and hollowing out a once vibrant community. For many survivors, the fire has impacted their mental health, as many try to navigate rebuilding their homes and their lives. Reporter Steven Cuevas lives in Altadena, and he’s been talking to therapists who are f…

1
From the Barrio to the Bookstore: LA’s Former Poet Laureate on Survival and Storytelling 30:15

3M ago30:15

30:15

Luis Rodriguez credits reading and writing for keeping him resilient his whole life. He’s best known for his 1993 memoir Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A., which chronicles how he joined a gang at age 11, found himself homeless and using heroin, and wound up in the juvenile justice system. He went on to write 17 books of poetry, ficti…

1
The Legacy of a WNBA Trailblazer; Community Care in the Castro 30:15

3M ago30:15

30:15

In May, the Golden State Valkyries kicked off their inaugural season. Even though they just started playing games in front of Bay Area fans, the team is said to be valued at $500 million dollars, the most of any franchise in the WNBA. And the team just had their first player named to the All-Star team: Forward Kayla Thornton was named as a reserve.…

1
"The Network" from NPR's Embedded 42:06

3M ago42:06

42:06

New from NPR's Embedded: Hosts Victoria Estrada and Marta Martinez travel across Latin America and within the U.S. to understand how women in Brazil discovered one of the medications that's used for self-managed abortions, the spread of this method across the world, and how this approach is shaping the future of abortion in the U.S. Learn more abou…

1
Tokimonsta’s ‘Eternal Reverie’; Oakland's 100-Year-Old Produce Market 32:43

4M ago32:43

32:43

You can hear elements of hip-hop, R&B and even jazz in Tokimonsta’s intricate drum loops, synths and bass lines. On her latest album, Eternal Reverie, the Grammy-nominated producer found inspiration in a Brazilian record, and created music tinged with the memories of a close friend. For our series on California composers, Reporter Clare Wiley bring…

1
Keeping Baseball Players' Minds In Shape; Battle Over Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs 30:07

4M ago30:07

30:07

Summer is the heart of the baseball season. But recently the country’s oldest professional sport has been going through some changes. It’s not just the moves to speed up the pace of play. These days, along with training in the weight room or the bullpen, players are also spending time with their team’s sports psychologist. KQED’s health corresponde…

1
She Survived Transphobic Backlash and Made History; How AI Saved One Woman's Voice 30:07

4M ago30:07

30:07

88-Year-Old Audio Engineer Sandy Stone Survived Transphobic Backlash and Made History Audio engineer Sandy Stone got her start working alongside Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills & Nash. When she joined the California lesbian music label Olivia Records, some feminists wanted to kick her, and all trans women, out of women’s spaces. …

1
Encore: How These Wine and Cheesemakers Fold Music Into Their Recipes 30:07

4M ago30:07

30:07

In California, music and winemaking seem to go together. Visit any of the state’s countless wineries and you can hear all kinds of music, from jazz and folk, to classical and Americana. But one artist on the Central Coast takes that connection especially seriously: he spent years making an album full of sounds from a vineyard. Reporter Benjamin Pur…

1
Altadena's Lost Treasures Returned; Gathering at the Grange 30:06

5M ago30:06

30:06

Meet the Woman Reuniting Eaton Fire Survivors With Lost Treasures The fierce Santa Ana winds that whipped the Palisades and Eaton fires into deadly infernos also spared precious things you’d think would have been the first to burn: old family photos, children’s art work, postcards, even pages of old sheet music. Those things sometimes blew across n…

1
How the Impact of Proposition 13 Lives On Nearly 50 Years After It Passed 30:07

5M ago30:07

30:07

In the 1960s and early 1970s, California was at the forefront of movements for racial justice, LGBTQ and women’s rights, and protests against the Vietnam War. But at the same time an anti-tax revolution began to take shape, led by an unlikely political figure: Howard Jarvis. This week, as we mark the 47th anniversary of the passage of Proposition 1…

1
How a Ford Plant Changed Milpitas; AstraLogik's Music For Healing 30:08

5M ago30:08

30:08

A Ford Factory Changed Milpitas, Then It Bacame a Mall The Great Mall of Milpitas, in Santa Clara County, wasn't always a mall; it used to be a massive Ford auto factory. The San Jose Assembly Plant opened in 1955, after relocating from Ford's outdated Richmond location. The new factory put Milpitas on the map, transforming a sleepy agricultural to…