Civil conversation with public stakes.
The Forum with Jim Falk treats public radio conversation as a place for context, not spectacle. Its episodes move from Santa Fe water planning and mayoral priorities to sleep science, immigration fears, Holocaust remembrance, food history, and war.
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The Forum with Jim Falk is a measured public-affairs interview program with a strong sense of place and a wide field of concern. Santa Fe and New Mexico give the show much of its immediate texture. The conversations, however, do not stop at city limits. Episodes move from a governor’s race to Holocaust remembrance, from water scarcity to war, from immigration enforcement to brain health and sleep science. The show is patient by design. Guests are given time to define terms, explain timelines, and describe the stakes in ordinary life. That makes the program feel less like a panel argument than a civic briefing with room for human detail. A discussion with a mayor can sit beside a conversation with a sleep scientist. A segment on French cooking can become a story about rebellion, taste, influence, and backlash. A local immigration episode can connect policy, school life, family fear, housing insecurity, language access, and grief without collapsing them into one slogan. The questions tend to clarify rather than corner. They also keep returning to public consequence. Who is carrying the burden. What is changing. Which institutions are responsible. Which assumptions need history behind them. The show’s political episodes are attentive to elections and candidates, but its larger interest is civic comprehension. Its health episodes take research seriously while keeping an eye on daily habits, veterans, children, and long-term well-being. Its historical and cultural episodes have a warmer grain, especially when books, food, memory, and community enter the frame. The result is a show for listeners who value seriousness without theatrical outrage. It can be grave when discussing war, antisemitism, immigration fear, or trauma. It can also be curious, dry, and generous when the subject allows. Across topics, The Forum with Jim Falk keeps its core rhythm: establish the background, ask what matters now, and let informed guests carry the explanation far enough to be useful.
Made for: For listeners who want thoughtful public affairs grounded in New Mexico, with enough historical, scientific, and policy context to understand complicated issues. It especially suits people who prefer patient interviews over argument-driven commentary.
What sets it apart: The show’s range is unusually broad while its manner stays consistent: local politics, international conflict, health research, cultural history, and community life all receive the same careful questioning. Its strength is translating expertise into practical civic stakes.
Where important issues of the day are discussed in a hard hitting but civilized manner.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Jim Falk connects public memory and changing traditions to the policy, research, and community experience shaping life in New Mexico.
Jim Falk builds each conversation around a practical question, then keeps pressing until policy or research reaches ordinary life. One program pairs a New Mexico governor's race interview with Holocaust remembrance; another lets an immigration attorney and community organization…
From Santa Fe school fears to salmon with sorrel sauce, your curiosity gets a bigger table.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A focused conversation on how nouvelle cuisine turned one salmon dish into a marker of modern restaurant food.
Forum Plus uses Luke Barr's The Secret History of French Cooking to frame nouvelle cuisine as both a rebellion and a route into modern restaurant culture.
A steady hour that moves from New Mexico politics to Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The hour opens with Duke Rodriguez and stays mostly in policy territory: a late entry into the race, fundraising, oil and gas, climate, and the hard balance between extraction and diversification. It feels grounded and unsentimental, which suits the interview format.
A measured sleep conversation that turns a daily habit into a health question.
Matthew Walker treats sleep as a practical health issue rather than a vague wellness talking point, and Jim Falk keeps the conversation grounded in questions that matter: what sleep does for the brain and body, why so many people struggle with it, and how those problems can sit…
A steady case for lifelong brain change, with practical research and clear takeaways.
The episode challenges the old idea that brain function begins a steady decline in the mid-20s and makes a steady case that the brain can keep adapting, strengthening, and performing well across life.
A grounded look at how immigration fear reaches into homes, schools, and daily routines.
This Forum episode frames immigration as part of ordinary life, linking ICE presence and policy uncertainty to fear in errands, work, school, and the choices families make to stay safe. Jim Falk and Rev.
A calm cross-faith conversation about fasting, renewal, and the public life of belief.
The episode treats Ramadan and Lent as closely related seasons of fasting, prayer, and spiritual renewal. Jim Falk and Rev. Talitha Arnold guide a discussion of what fasting is for, how it can sharpen attention, and why communal discipline can matter alongside private devotion.
Dramatized deep dives into American history, from the Galveston hurricane to Harper Lee's Mockingbird.
Curious facts, kid-sized and quiz-ready.
Luke Barr talks with Jim Falk about The Secret History of French Cooking, a book centered on nouvelle cuisine, Paul Bocuse, and the women chefs who formed the ARC after being shut out of the French culinary establishment.
Jim Falk opens The Forum with New Mexico politics.
This episode explores water scarcity in Santa Fe and New Mexico, examining preparedness measures and featuring experts to discuss long-term solutions.
This episode features an interview with Santa Fe Mayor Michael Garcia discussing his early experiences in office, including plans for a 4th of July fireworks and drone show to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.
This episode features a pre-recorded interview with New Mexico Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Turner discussing his political approach, followed by a live discussion with anthropologist David Vine on the human and financial costs of America's war on Iran.
Jim Falk puts sleep at the center of the hour.
Jim Falk opens by challenging the old belief that the brain peaks in the 20s.
Jim Falk opens the program by asking how ICE activity is affecting families in Santa Fe and beyond.
Jim Falk opens the program by placing Ramadan and Lent side by side as seasons of fasting and spiritual renewal.
KSFR's The Forum, hosted by Jim Falk, airs two Black History Month interviews by Rev.
This episode features an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Karen Elliott House about her book on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Arabia's transformation, exploring the kingdom's complex relationship with the United States and its global influence.
This episode features an interview with historian and author John Lawrence about his new book 'Sherlock Holmes, The Case of the Revolutionary's Daughter', which imagines Sherlock Holmes investigating the mysterious suicide of Eleanor Marx, daughter of Karl Marx.
This episode features an interview with historian Paul Andrew Hutton about his new book on the American West, discussing its significance and his career.
This episode discusses efforts to make financial literacy a required course in New Mexico high schools, featuring interviews with education leaders and advocates.
This episode features interviews with Maestro Harry Bicket of the Santa Fe Opera and Ian Derrer of the Dallas Opera, discussing their companies' distinctive qualities, upcoming seasons, and efforts to attract new audiences.