{"podcast":{"title":"KQED's Forum","slug":"kqed-s-forum-910728","podcast_index_feed_id":910728,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633","website_url":"https://www.kqed.org/forum","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/f7fab6b6-22d6-11eb-9a54-13d0154cc15e/image/KQED_Podcast_tiles_-_NPR_network_Forum.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"KQED","episode_count":3536,"summary":"Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live. In the first hour, Alexis Madrigal convenes the diverse voices of the Bay Area, before turning to Mina Kim for the second hour to chronicle and center Californians’ experience. In an increasingly divided world, Mina and Alexis host conversations that inform, challenge and unify listeners with big ideas and different viewpoints. Want to call/submit your comments during our live Forum program Mon-Fri, 9am-11am? We'd love to hear from you! Please dial 866.SF.FORUM or (866) 733-6786 or email forum@kqed.org, tweet, or post on Facebook.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-30T22:18:30.402859+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728"},"episode":{"title":"Can Anyone Solve America’s $40 Trillion Debt Problem?","slug":"can-anyone-solve-america-s-40-trillion-debt-problem","published_at":"2026-09-03T18:43:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/can-anyone-solve-america-s-40-trillion-debt-problem","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC5624664110.mp3","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC5624664110.mp3","summary":"At this week’s G20 summit in Asheville, N.C., global finance leaders met amid a bond sell-off that threatened to raise the cost of long-term borrowing and upend global economic stability. That comes as the US national debt officially topped $40 trillion — a record high that’s double what it was a decade ago, raising serious concerns for some economists. With the nation’s spiraling debt showing no signs of slowing, is it too late to avoid a U.S. fiscal cliff catastrophe? We talk to economic experts about the current and future impacts, and whether there’s a solution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"At this week’s G20 summit in Asheville, N.C., global finance leaders met amid a bond sell-off that threatened to raise the cost of long-term borrowing and…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3285,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kqed-s-forum-910728/episodes/can-anyone-solve-america-s-40-trillion-debt-problem/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/can-anyone-solve-america-s-40-trillion-debt-problem.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}