Bay Curious is a show about your questions – and the adventures you find when you go looking for the answers. Join host Olivia Allen-Price to explore all aspects of the San Francisco Bay Area – from the debate over "Frisco", to the dinosaurs that once roamed California, to the causes of homelessness. Whether you lived here your whole life, or just arrived, Bay Curious will deepen your understanding of this place you call home.
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In the heart of San Francisco, near the Castro Theater and Corona Heights, there's a rock wall with a striking appearance. Listener Ravi Bhoraskar stumbled on it and wondered why the rock has a shiny, almost wet-looking appearance. And as a new convert to rock climbing, he also wondered if he could climb it. We dig into the history of urban climbs like this one and how they helped put the Bay Area…
San Francisco’s trash cans have problems. From debris littering the streets around them, to the — more often than not — broken recycling compartments, these green garbage receptacles are past their intended life span. Replacing them has been a saga that Bay Curious started following in 2022, but at last the new cans are popping up on city streets. This is a refreshed version of our 2022 episode…
Stephanie Rolfs, like many Bay Area residents, has spent a lot of time looking out over the bay, watching as ships come and go. The cargo ships in particular are so big and obvious as they sit out in the middle of the bay, south of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge and north of the San Mateo bridge. She wondered, how do those ships know where to park? Are there invisible parking "spots" they're…
Olivia shares the trailer for a new show. "Life, Automated" explores how to live, work, and make decisions in a world increasingly shaped by machines. What does the economy look like if AI can do much of what humans can? Will AI tools isolate us further, or steer us back toward community and common ground? Can the average person expect to be better off a decade from now? And what the heck should…
Bruce Lee was one of the first Asian stars in Hollywood. His path to fame wasn’t easy but it paved the way for other Asian Americans to do the same today. Bruce was a disruptor in the kung fu world -- a young upstart who wanted to do things differently. Though he would eventually become this legendary figure in American culture, it took him years to hone his own style and philosophy. And many of…
When Ishi walked into Oroville, Calif. in 1911, newspapers around the country trumpeted the news with headlines like "Last Wild Indian." He was the last of the Yahi, a tribe of indigenous Californians, who had been decimated by genocide, disease and loss of food sources. Ishi was taken to San Francisco, where he was studied by anthropologists, given housing and a job. Today his story raises…
If you ask mariners, they’ll tell you, navigating a boat from the open ocean into the San Francisco Bay is notoriously treacherous. There’s the dense fog that can make it hard to see. Strong currents constantly rearrange the sea floor and can quickly throw a vessel off course. And finally – our bridges! If a boat were to strike a pillar it could be catastrophic. That’s why captains of big ships…
The first Yemeni cafe opened in the Bay Area in 2022, and since then nearly 20 have opened their doors around the region. Inside you'll find coffee drinks built around flavors like cardamom and cinnamon, and a warm, friendly atmosphere. Many have become late-night hangouts, and for singles, a place to see and be seen. KQED's Maha Sanad walks us through the history of Yemeni migration to the U.S.,…
In the 1960s and 70s the San Francisco Bay Area was home to many intentional communities and co-ops. A lot of people were interested in living situations that went counter to how they'd grown up, often in separated, single family homes. As time passed, many of those communities have broken up or morphed. But Lafayette Morehouse, in Contra Costa County, is still going strong. Bay Curious listener…
The San Francisco Bay Area has two major public ferry agencies serving the north and east bay. Together, they carried 4 million people last year. Bay Curious listener Kristen Breck often sees the ferries as they crisscross the bay waters and she wondered, what happens if one breaks down? Where do they go to be repaired? And who does that work? Today, we take you behind the scenes and show what it…
If you aren't the type of person to wake up at 6:30am six months before you want to go camping to reserve a spot, you might be interested in dispersed camping. It's a free way to get outside and into nature that takes a little more preparation, but can yield big rewards. We break it down for you with KQED's Sarah Wright. Additional Resources: Dispersed Camping 101: How to Find Free Campsites Near…
Jack O'Neill is often credited with inventing the first wetsuit and selling it out of one of the nation's first surf shops near San Francisco's Ocean Beach. But many people don't know that a UC Berkeley physicist had a big role in the wetsuit's early invention too. It's an invention that changed the sport of surfing forever. Now, people surf all kinds of cold locations due to the availability of…
Since it was first unveiled in 1971, the 710-ton brutalist-style Vaillancourt Fountain has been a divisive piece of public art. The tangle of concrete square tubes once fit in seamlessly with the Embarcadero Freeway, a double-decker road which once ran right next to it. But nowadays it stands out against the charming waterfront. On today's episode, we explore the life of this piece of public art,…
Jess Garcia loves perusing San Francisco thrift stores for treasures. One day, she came across a vinyl record titled "In Baghdad By the Bay: Cora and Santos Beloy," which piqued her curiosity. She rushed home to listen and was amazed at the sweet nostalgic quality of the voices she heard. When she looked for more information on the couple she couldn't find much, but had this feeling there must be…
Sarah Reid noticed a control booth attached to one of Alameda's many drawbridges, and wondered if people are inside, working the bridge. Turns out they are, and it's a round-the-clock job. This week, Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman takes us into the life of a bridge tender, and explores the history of crossing the Oakland Estuary. Additional Resources: Alameda Relies on Bridge Tenders for Safety on Land and…
Suzanne Howard was playing around with Google Maps one day and zoomed in on Concord, in the east bay. She noticed a large open space near Concord High School that wasn't labeled, but had some mysterious looking mounds in a grid pattern. What are those things, she wondered? And, what's being done with this space? Could housing be built there? In fact, a massive redevelopment project is in the works…
The Pacifica Taco Bell, just outside of San Francisco, is legendary for its beachfront views and retro architecture. But it could never be built today. How did a fast food chain end up with such prime real estate? In this episode we explore it's origins, and how policy about California's coastline has evolved. Additional Resources: It’s the Most Beautiful Taco Bell in the World. Here’s Why It…
It's hard these days to make a good old fashioned friend! Especially here in the Bay Area, where there are so many demands for our time and attention. On today's show, we hear some of your experiences with making friends in the Bay Area, and follow one listener as she tries to meet new friends in San Jose. This episode originally aired on The Bay podcast. Be sure to subscribe! Additional…
Recently uncovered and long forgotten oral histories from Black Americans who survived the 1906 Earthquake and Fire are front and center in this episode all about the stories history forgot. Given the racism of the day, how did the Black community recover from the devastation of the Great Quake? And how do people remember those moments when the earth shook and fire consumed the city? Additional…
On the west side of San Francisco, the streets running east-west follow a bit of a pattern. They seem to be alphabetical, starting in the middle of the Richmond and going south, across Golden Gate Park, and into the Sunset District. Except, there are some anomalies in the pattern. Most of the names seem to be Spanish, but not all, and most of the alphabet is represented, but not all. What's going…
Cambrian Park Plaza, a strip mall in San Jose, was once the heart of the neighborhood. Featuring a bowling alley, grocery store, post office, clothing stores and more, it had everything nearby residents might need. But it's faded significantly since it's heyday in the 1960s-1980s. Now the smattering of stores that are there are on short term leases, and may storefronts sit empty. On today's show,…
When BART trains pull into stations, a robotic and antiquated-sounding voice announces its arrival and destination. Bay Curious listener Jimmy Tobin has long been baffled by these voices. They're hard to understand, he says, and why is it that in the cities pioneering AI and synthesized speech models our own trains are nearly unintelligible? Additional Resources: In a Tech Hub Like the Bay Area,…
Muir Woods National Monument is known for its towering redwoods because some old growth trees have been preserved there. But redwoods used to grow all over the San Francisco Bay Area until they were logged for their timber just after the Gold Rush. Most of what we see in places like Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland are second growth trees, ones that have grown since that time. After the…
Tucked away on a wooded hillside in the middle of San Francisco sits a big concrete cross. When it was built, it could be seen from miles around. Now, a thick grove of trees partially shields it from view. Over the years, Bay Curious has gotten several questions about the cross that we answer in today's episode, which first aired in 2021. Additional Resources: Why There's a Cross on San…
Before Silicon Valley, before the Valley of Heart’s Delight, the hills south of San Jose were home to one of the world’s richest mercury mines: New Almaden. Its quicksilver powered the California Gold Rush, but today, few traces of those boom boom days remain, other than the toxic legacy still circulating in the San Francisco Bay. In today's episode we answer three listener questions about the…
Women have dramatically influenced San Francisco Bay Area history since before the Gold Rush, but their stories are often far less well known. Rae Alexandra's new book, Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area shines a light on these untold stories, highlight these women's impact on the social, cultural and political life of the Bay Area. *An earlier version of this episode incorrectly…
There's a pervasive story that the bear on California's state flag is modeled on a real California grizzly that was kept in captivity in San Francisco in the late 1800s. But when Bay Curious listener Mark Karn started researching Monarch, the facts weren't lining up for him. He wants to know, is it really Monarch on the state flag? Or, could it be a different bear altogether? Additional Resources:…
San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is at the heart of city life. Created in 1870 when the land was mostly sand dunes, the park is now one of the crown jewels of the city by the bay and is a must-visit for anyone traveling here. World famous institutions like the Conservatory of Flowers, De Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Botanical Gardens and Japanese Tea Gardens are…
One of Aaron Van Lieu's first memories is playing on a real fighter jet in San Francisco's Carl Larsen Park. Located on 19th Avenue at Vicente Street, the jet was a delight to neighborhood children for decades. But towards the end of its residency in the park, the plane began to deteriorate. Aaron wants to know what happened to it. Additional Resources: The Navy Jet Generations of San Francisco…
Longtime listener Henry Lie was driving through San Francisco one day when he realized the staggering number of legal courts located in the heart of the city. Upon further investigation, he realized we had all levels of court on the state side, and all except the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal side. Wowsa! How did so many end up here? KQED's Molly Lacob takes us through some legal history.…
When scientists began tinkering with DNA in the 1970s, biotechnology was not welcome in leafy residential neighborhoods or many college towns. But it was embraced by an industrial city by the Bay. In today's episode we come to learn how South San Francisco became one of the world's most valuable hubs of biotech. Additional Resources: How South San Francisco Became the Birthplace of Biotechnology…
Mary Balmana grew up in San Francisco and has driven down Monterey Boulevard near the Glen Park neighborhood hundreds of times. She often notices a large, beautiful Victorian building tucked between the houses and apartment buildings that dominate the block. And she's wondered, what's the story with it? How did such a grand building end up in such an unassuming spot? Additional Resources: The…
Bay Curious listener Dave Ellis lives in the South Bay city of Saratoga. When he was a kid growing up there, he remembers loud tree frogs chorusing almost all the time. But now, even in spring when they should be loudest, he says it's eerily quiet. What's going on? Additional Resources: A South Bay Mystery: What Happened to All the Tree Frogs? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our…
Bay Curious listener Grant Strother has been visiting San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood his whole life. He loves to get a caprese sandwich at Molinari's Deli, which has been there since the late 1800s. But he wondered, apart from the restaurants, how Italian is North Beach these days? Do Italians still live here? Or, is it all just for tourists? Additional Resources: Ciao Bella: Do Italians…
Commuting from East Bay cities like Berkeley and Oakland into San Francisco can be dismal. So when people learn there used to be an extensive streetcar system that crisscrossed the East Bay they want to know, what happened to it? The Key System, as it was known, could get a person from Berkeley or Oakland into San Francisco in 35-40 minutes and was a popular way to travel in the early part of the…
While you might not recognize the name, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the haunting, almost otherworldly sound the duduk makes. This humble shepherd’s flute wandered out of the Armenian countryside and into Hollywood, making cameos on the scores of movies and shows like The Gladiator and The Last Temptation of Christ. The duduk was even recently synthesized on both Dune soundtracks. Audiences…
There's a blue house in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood that is constantly mobbed by French tour groups. Bay Curious listener Helen Walker wants to know, "why?" This episode first aired in 2023. Additional Resources: The San Francisco Landmark You've Never Heard Of...Unless You're French Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your…
Recently, several listeners have written to us wondering about the large flocks of crows they see darkening the skies over the Bay Area at sunset each night. The crows are like clockwork, swarming to the same locations night after night, often hundreds of them at a time. What's going on? We get answers and along the way explore why we're seeing more crows in the Bay Area in recent years and if…
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan start tomorrow and there are a lot of Bay Area athletes representing our region at the games. We sit down with other Olympics super fans to get you amped up about who to root for and hear from some of the athletes themselves. Additional reading Meet the Bay Area Athletes Competing at the Winter Olympics Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our…
High in the Hayward Hills, Ukraina marks the farm and grave of Ukrainian dissident priest Agapius Honcharenko, who fled Russian authorities and settled here with his wife, Albina. These days, his farmstead is marked by a historical placard that caught the eye of our question asker, Tony. Today on the show, we explore the thrilling and noble life of Honcharenko, who life is still celebrated with an…
There's a church in San Francisco where John Coltrane's music is more than jazz -- it's doctrine. The Coltrane Church, as it’s often called, is the oldest Black jazz organization in San Francisco now. We talk to its founders about the "sound baptism" that jumpstarted the church and learn how it has adapted to a changing San Francisco. Additional Resources: Inside the San Francisco Church Where…
Henry Lie grew up in Pacifica and thought he knew everything there was to know about his hometown, just a few minutes south of San Francisco. So he was shocked to learn about a police raid in the 1950s that targeted LGBTQ+ identifying people. He had never heard of the bar, Hazel's Inn, or that Pacifica had a moment when it was a safe gathering spot for the queer community. He wanted to know more.…
After the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, thousands of San Franciscans were homeless. City leaders needed them to stay in the city to help rebuild, so they built tiny homes and set up villages in neighborhood parks. These earthquake cottages gave many people their first shot at homeownership and helped the city recover. You can still find a few of them dotted around the city if you know what to look…
San Francisco is an iconic looking city, so it's a little surprising that more movies aren't shot here. There are a lot of reasons for that -- cost being a main one -- but there are some very cool movies both set and filmed here. Olivia discusses some of the best ones with San Francisco Chronicle writer Peter Hartlaub and resident KQED movie obsessive, Carly Severn. Additional Resources: The Best…
Barry Asin flies through SFO about once a month and often stops to take a look at the art exhibits dotted throughout the terminals. He particularly loves the history exhibits that showcase what makes the Bay Area unique, seeing it as a nice welcome to travelers visiting the area. He wants to know more about who curates the exhibits, how they decide what to bring in and what we can expect in the…
Tucked under the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge is a once-grand mansion known as the Nimitz House. Bay Curious listener Ben Kaiser wants to know nearly everything about it from who lived in it, to what it might become in the future. Turns out, this weathered home in the middle of San Francisco Bay used to be the quarters of the top Navy commander on Yerba Buena Island and is named for a…
San Francisco is known for its distinct neighborhoods, each with its own shopping street, full of local businesses. Listener Sarah Soule grew up in the city and remembers hearing that San Francisco didn't allow big box stores or chains to open within city limits. But recently she's seen more chains and wonders if that was true. We trace the history of San Francisco's regulation of chain stores and…
Rita Hayworth, Robin Williams, Adele — these are just a few of the huge stars that have graced the stage of Bimbo’s 365 Club over its 94 years in San Francisco. But the act the club is most famous for is Dolphina — or the “Girl in the Fishbowl.” Dolphina isn’t a person, though; she’s a character who’s been played by many different women since 1931. When Dolphina performs, it looks like there is a…
In 1950, the U.S. military sprayed bacteria over San Francisco as part of a biological weapons test. The test team thought the bacteria it used was harmless, but several people got sick and one person died. We explore the history and impacts of this clandestine operation, now known as Operation Seaspray, on U.S. military policy and one man's family. Additional Resources: The True Story of the…
Stanford University on the San Francisco peninsula is a rarified place, so its intriguing that even 120 years after her death, there's still a mystery surrounding the death of Jane Stanford, the university's co-founder. It's a story full of tyrants, frenemies, poisoning and cover-ups that you won't want to miss. Additional Resources: Who Killed Jane Stanford? Inside the 120-Year-Old Mystery Read…