Mychal Threets on Reviving 'Reading Rainbow' And Tech Titans and Trump Want National Guard in SF

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a news conference Wednesday, President Trump said he will be “strongly recommending” his administration look into sending troops to the city, which he called “a mess.” The comments come after Elon Musk and Mark Benioff said they’d like to see the National Guard in San Francisco. We discuss what may come next, but first we talk with the new host of “Reading Rainbow.” Almost 20 years since it went off air, the beloved kids’ literacy show is back. The reboot is hosted by Mychal Threets who, until last year, was a librarian at the same Fairfield library he grew up frequenting. Guests: Mychal Threets, librarian and literacy advocate; new host of "Reading Rainbow" Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent, KQED; co-host, KQED's "Political Breakdown" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQED Podcasts comes from Star One Credit Union.
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0:19.2	Adults 18 Plus discover mind-bending programs and grab a drink every Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m.
0:25.9	Tickets at Exploratorium.edu slash after dark.
0:31.0	From KQED.
0:33.7	Welcome to Forum.
0:35.1	I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:36.5	This morning, we're talking with a homegrown Bay Area Star librarian.
0:42.3	Yes, Michael Threatz is from Fairfield, grew up a library kid, and now he's a San Jose State degree-toting librarian.
0:51.3	He started working back home in Fairfield, in the library, and then some years ago, he started to post videos brimming with enthusiasm and support for all kinds of readers and the books they love.
1:04.1	Videos that sounded like this.
1:07.0	I believe that books aren't just words and pages.
1:12.4	Their freedom, their belonging, their reminder that you matter just the way that you are.
1:20.0	His realness and his gentle intensity hit.
1:24.2	He became a social media sensation.
1:26.7	And now he's been named the new host of a rebooted
1:30.4	Reading Rainbow, the childhood defining show for many a nerd like myself.
1:35.9	Welcome to Forum, Michael.
1:37.8	Thank you so much for having.
	...

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