Bay Curious

Scott has lived all over the Bay Area and he still can't get over how different the weather can be from one place to another. He wants to know why the Bay Area has so many microclimates and where they are. And, as a bonus, we ask people in the know if the heat island affect is at play in Bay Area cities. Additional Reading: Why Does the Bay Area Have So Many Microclimates? Why San Francisco Is So...

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 31 is a referendum on a law California legislators passed in 2020 that would ban the sale of favored tobacco products in retail outlets. Additional Reading: KQED Voter Guide Find a transcript of the episode here Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/...

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 30 is a climate measure meant to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions and fight air pollution. It would do that by taxing people who earn more than $2 million per year and using the revenue for electric vehicle rebates, charging infrastructure and wildfire prevention and suppression programs. Additional Re...

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 29 would require onsite licensed medical professional at kidney dialysis clinics and establishes other state requirements. Proponents say it's aimed at improving care. Opponents say it's an unnecessary and expensive regulation. Additional Reading: KQED Voter Guide You can find a transcript of this episode here Yo...

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 28 would guarantee a set amount of funding from the general fund goes to arts education. Additional Reading: KQED Voter Guide Find a transcript of this episode here Sacramento Bee interview with Austin Beutner Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/po...

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. We're tackling Propositions 26 and 27 in one episode because they overlap in some ways. Propositions 26 and 27 will affect the way sports betting, and some other forms of gambling, are handled in the state of California. Additional Reading: KQED Voter Guide Get a transcript of the episode here Your support makes KQED podcast...

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 1 would solidify abortion and reproductive rights into the state constitution. If you thought abortion was already protected in California, you’re not wrong. But today we’ll learn why the California lawmakers who placed this on our ballot want to take things a step further, and we’ll dig into the details that hav...

Bay Curious listener Katie Talda recently visited San Francisco's only indoor skating rink, the Church of 8 Wheels. The novelty of skating inside an old Catholic church left her wondering how the building went from house of worship to roller disco. We dig into a bit of San Francisco's skating history, and meet the man behind the Church of 8 Wheels, who's known by many as the 'Godfather of Skate.'...

This week we remember two amusement parks that have etched themselves into the imaginations of generations of Bay Area residents: Idora Park in Oakland and San Francisco's Playland at the Beach. Additional Reading: Idora Park and Playland-at-the-Beach: Bay Area Amusement Parks of a Bygone Era Read the transcript here Want more answers to your questions? Sign up for our monthly newsletter! Your sup...

Bay Curious listener Julia Thollaug is a teacher in the coastal town of Montera. She stumbled on the remnants of a little town called Purissima, just south of Half Moon Bay, and wondered what happened to its residents. It's a ghost town now, but what went on there when it was thriving, and why did it die out? Additional Reading: Purissima: The Ghost Town Hidden Near Half Moon Bay Read the transcri...

Bay Curious listener Isabel Guajardo has long wondered what the Bay Area would have looked and felt like before European colonization. Specifically, she's curious to know what animals would have thrived here and what happened to them. It's a story of how attitudes about wildlife and land management practices profoundly influenced habitats. Additional Reading: Wolves, Bears and Jaguars: The Lost An...

Bay Curious listener Erin Al Gwaiz wanted to know more about the time that famous Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera spent in San Francisco. In this episode, which originally aired in December, 2020, reporter Marisol Medina-Cadena immerses us in their world — exploring who they were, how they spent their time here, and ultimately how their legacy still resonates today. Additional Reading...

Russell City used to be a thriving community in the 1940s and 50s. But in the 1960s Alameda County and the city of Hayward used eminent domain to seize the land, evict the residents and build an industrial park. We hear stories from former Russell City residents about what it used to be like there. Additional Reading: Remembering Russell City: A Thriving East Bay Town Razed by Racist Government De...

If you do a lot of walking or hiking in Bay Area, there's a reasonable chance you've stumbled upon a labyrinth—a large, winding, self contained path lined with stones or bricks. Bay Curious listener, Kate, noticed there seemed to be a lot of them in the Bay Area, and wanted to know if there's any connection between them and why there are so many out here. This week, Amanda Font takes us on a journ...

Listener Nick Loey often drives between the Bay Area and Southern California. He's long wondered about the giant paintings that dot many Central Valley highways depicting scenes of farming and Americana. We talk to the artist who made them famous and get reaction from people living and working in agricultural communities about the art. Additional Reading: Is There A Story Behind Those Giant Painti...

Twenty-seven miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Farallon Islands jut out of the Pacific. On the clearest of days, the grouping of 20 islets is visible from shore. We dive into the history of these islands — from their earliest human visitors, to the people who have called them home over the decades. Then, we take a trip to the islands with reporter Izzy Bloom to learn about the animals that...

Bay Curious listener Ken Katz noticed that many of San Francisco's current hospitals used to have names affiliated with ethnic groups, like the French hospital or the German hospital. We wondered why that trend existed and when it changed. Additional Reading: Why Were Many SF Hospitals Once Affiliated With Ethnic Groups? Cast your vote in the next voting round Reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Cur...

Sharp Park in Pacifica was the site of a prison camp during World War II, where residents deemed "highly dangerous" were sent. It's lesser-known than the larger Northern California camps, like Tanforan or Tule Lake. In this episode, we learn what is known about this camp, and get to know some of the people who passed through its gates. Additional Reading: Pacifica’s WWII Prison Camp Has Been Large...

Take any popular dish – pizza, ice cream, hot dogs – and try to trace its origin story. Chances are, you’re going to go on a winding road with conflicting accounts of who actually invented the dish, or whether it was invented by one, single person at all. KQED’s Silicon Valley reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi recently ate a dish so mish-mashed with foods from different countries, that she found herself...

San Francisco has left a mark on American tattoo history. In today's episode, we learn about longtime Bay Area resident Ed Hardy's impact on the industry, and the evolution of tattooing in America. Share photos of your custom tattoo with us on Twitter using the hashtag #BayCurious or tweet them to @oallenprice. Additional Reading: Are You Inked? How a San Francisco Tattoo Artist Changed the Indust...

Monterey Jack cheese get its name from the nearby city of Monterey, but the city of Pacifica alleges it should really be called Pacifica Jack. On this week's episode, we get into the origin story behind this basic pantry cheese. Additional Reading:  Move Over Monterey? Pacifica Lays Claim to Iconic Jack Cheese Reported by Christopher Beale. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwar...

Dawn Linhardt lives near Golden Gate Park and often wanders through the AIDS Memorial Grove at its eastern end. She finds it to be one of the most tranquil and secluded places in the park and wanted to know more about how it came to be. It's the story of a community finding new ways to come together and overcome loss. Additional Reading:  Healing Through Nature at the National AIDS Memorial Grove...

These days, the Golden Gate Park Polo Field in San Francisco is probably best known as the home to music festivals like Outside Lands. But for nearly 3 decades, polo matches were a regular sight on the field. Additional Reading: Does Anyone Play Polo at the Golden Gate Park Polo Field Anymore? Buy Tickets for our Japanese Tea Garden Walking Tour Reported by Ryan Levi. Bay Curious is made by Olivia...

The Murphy Windmill is one of the largest windmills outside of Holland. It, along with the smaller and older Dutch Windmill, once provided essential water for irrigating the park. Though they are no longer used, the park still spins them on special occasions. We take a tour inside! Additional Reading:  Golden Gate Park's Windmills Were Essential, Then Abandoned for Decades Buy Tickets for our Japa...

The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park was originally built as a temporary exhibit for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. But the public loved it so much that it became a permanent fixture of the park. It boasts a tasty claim to fame in the origins of the fortune cookie. Additional Reading: The Japanese Tea Garden: A Beloved S.F. Landmark With A Troubling Past Unwrappi...