KQED's QUEST Science Radio
KQED's QUEST Science Radio
QUEST is a TV, radio, web, and education series by KQED that explores the most important trends and issues in science, environment and nature in Northern California.
KQED's most ambitious local offering ever, QUEST includes a half-hour weekly HD television program, weekly radio segments, an ...
Getting Paid to Go Solar
If you have solar panels on your house, you can count on reducing your electricity bill. Maybe you’ll pay nothing at all. But what if you produce more than you use? Well, until recently in California, you could consider it a gift to the local utility. ...
Saving Our Parks
It may seem that California's parks dodged a bullet recently when the Governor announced that all of the state's financially strapped parks will remain open, but state parks still have to cut $14 million in spending this year. This may lead to rolling ...
Catching the Drift - Part Two
Conflicts over pesticide use have increased as new suburbs push up against farming areas in California. In the part of our series, Sasha Khokha looks at how community residents are looking to document the impact of pesticides on their own health when ...
Catching the Drift
Every year California farmers spray more than 150 million pounds of pesticides to keep insects from ravaging crops like almonds, oranges, and grapes. But when those toxins drift onto nearby farmworkers and communities, they sicken hundreds of people each ...
Predicting the Next Big One
It's been twenty years since the Loma Prieta Earthquake ravaged downtown Santa Cruz and damaged San Francisco's Marina District and the Bay Bridge. QUEST looks at the dramatic improvements in earthquake prediction technology since 1989. But what can be ...
How to Identify a Bullet
Last month, the FBI released a report showing violent crime has dropped for the year in a row... down nearly two percent in 2008, from a year earlier. Still, many homicide cases go unsolved. A new technology called "bullet microstamping" aims to help ...
Soundscapes of National Parks
This week, conservationists will issue a list of the most endangered national parks, including some in California. There are many ways to measure the health of a park, including the air and the water. This week, Craig Miller looks at an often overlooked ...
Predicting Swine Flu
Why do some people get severely sick from swine flu and others barely feel it? As flu season ramps up, scientists at UCSF's Viral Discovery Center are racing to learn more about the 2009 H1N1 virus, including how it's evolving, and whether our current ...
Personalized Medicine
We all know that, thanks to our DNA, each of us is a little bit different. Some of those differences are obvious, like eye and hair color, but others are not so obvious, like how our bodies react to medication. Researchers are beginning to look at how to ...
The Politics of Green Wine
Wine grapes are one of the most sprayed crops in California. A growing number of farmers are choosing not to spray and are doing other things for the environment, too. The challenge is there are now so many choices when it comes to green wines, it can be ...
Getting to Zero Waste
A few weeks from now, San Francisco residents will start facing warnings, and even fines, if they fail to recycle, as the city – like many in California – aims to keep ever more garbage out of its landfills. But, after twenty years of curbside ...
New Nuclear
In California, nuclear power has long been a subject that's "radioactive." But recent polls suggest that Californians may finally be warming up to the idea and a new study suggests that a clean energy future may not happen without it. Craig Miller ...
Playing with Lead - Part 2
Months after the federal government enacted stricter standards intended to keep lead out of children's toys, a KQED investigation found merchandise that violates the law still sitting on many Bay Area store shelves. In part two of the series, QUEST looks ...
Playing with Lead - Part 1
Congress recently passed tougher limits on lead levels due to the large number of recalls of imported toys. But the new law, which went into effect in February, doesn't seem to be keeping dangerous items off store shelves, as reporter Oanh Ha found out.
The Economics of Household Recycling
Once they leave your driveway, your discarded bottles, newspapers, and other recyclables become part of a multi-billion dollar global commodities market. Last month's phone bill, for example, might be sent to China to be reincarnated as next month's ...
Journey to the Farallones
They've been called "California's Galapagos." Nearly 30 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge lie the Farallon Islands. This year marks their 100th anniversary as a national wildlife refuge. While the islands are off limits to tourists, reporter Lauren ...
Depression Advancements
One in six Americans will experience a major episode of depression at some point in their lives. And yet the drugs commonly used to treat the disease have been described as "blunt instruments" by researchers in the field. One newer, FDA-approved approach ...
Museum 2.0
Call it Museum 2.0. One of our most traditional institutions is undergoing a 21st century re-design. In an effort to keep up with changing times, more and more museums are turning to Twitter, Wikis and online communities to ask for the public's help in ...
Where's my Hydrogen Highway?
Five years ago, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his vision for the Hydrogen Highway, a bold and ambitious program that promised to launch an alternative energy revolution in California. Right now, that highway is not as smooth as its planners ...