Beyond The Fog Radio

Erick Recinos– or better known to The Bay as DJ Mind Motion– is a legendary San Francisco Bay Area Hip Hop DJ. He and his partner Chuy Gomez started DJing in high school for parties, weddings and community events, and when hip hop influence started to spread, Mind Motion and the Pirate DJ’s played a huge role in its success in the Bay Area. This spread was in part influenced by Mind Motion and oth...

This week’s musical guest has been a San Francisco Bay Area-based artist for many years. Jazz singer Paula West began her successful career singing at the York Hotel in the city. Her career grew by word of mouth and excellent reviews from the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. Since her early years, Paula has had a lot of success nationally, with performances in Philadelphia, Baltimor...

The history of music in the Bay Area could not be a larger or more exciting topic for us to explore. Music is the life blood of our city and it may be one of the biggest reasons why so many people have found themselves here over the years. It colors our world and is what keeps San Francisco going. In the 1950’s, Jazz was everywhere. San Francisco became known as the Harlem of the West as musicians...

Whatever your idea is of Chinese food, throw it out. This week’s episode will have you astonished by the executive chef and owner of China Live, Eight Tables, Shanghai 1939 and the Betelnut restaurants–– George Chen. Together with his wife Cindy Wong, Chen runs 16 restaurants in the United States and China, boasting culinary experiences that are award-winning and one of a kind. TIME Magazine named...

This week’s guest is a walking encyclopedia for the history of San Francisco, with expertise that extends far before humans ever inhabited this area. Carl Nolte–– a 4th generation San Franciscian–– has served as both a writer and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle for 60 years. He has a weekly column called Native Son. Though he mostly scribes stories of the city and the western coast, he has...

We have a very special guest this week on the Beyond the Fog Podcast: the Honorable John L. Burton. John was kind enough to let us interview him this week to talk about San Francisco’s Waterfront, and how fitting, as he was just recently appointed to the San Francisco Port Commission. Mr. Burton was the Chairman for the Democratic Party for 8 years, as well as a twice-elected State Assemblyman for...

Our exploration of the San Francisco Waterfront begins with Kimberly Brandon, the current President of the San Francisco Port Commission. She is the first African-American woman to serve on the Commission and is the initiator of the Southern Waterfront Advisory Committee through which she engages the SF waterfront communities with development planning in their neighborhoods. Brandon likewise engag...

Welcome to Season 2 of Beyond the Fog Radio! To start us off we decided to explore the history of San Francisco’s Waterfront. It is in many ways the main event here, and is often why so many have come to visit our beautiful city even before the construction of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges! Since the Gold Rush era when the population boomed, San Francisco has been a vital destination for ships o...

Our guest this week is a chef, restaurant and two-time bar owner, a baker, a cheesemaker, and a beloved San Francisco native. Arnold Eric Wong has been a leading revolutionary in San Francisco culinary innovation for more than two decades. He studied at the California Culinary Academy, and after opening his first restaurant EOS Restaurant and Wine Bar in Cole Valley, Wong went on to be rated as on...

This week Susan and Michaela sit down with native San Franciscan Marc Capelle to talk about his artistic career and the city’s sunny Mission District. A musician, composer, producer, educator and entertainer, Capelle has performed with the American Music Club, Tommy Guerrero and The West Coast Spiritual Corinthians for decades. He’s even had guest performances with artists like The Plastic Ono Ban...

In the beloved Italian North Beach neighborhood, three San Francisco natives Nina Clima, Charles Farruggia, and Don Di Basilio join Susan and Jae to reminisce on the rich cultural history North Beach offers the city. Nina, Charles, and Don grew up together in North Beach and are all 2nd or 3rd generation Californians. Now 80 years young, the three friends boast healthy, independent, and active lif...

The best way to describe GRAMMY-nominated producer and San Francisco native David Katznelson is “larger than life.” The 30-plus-year music industry veteran is the Executive Director of Reboot, founder of the independent Birdman Records label, and board member of the Stern Grove Music Festival. David worked for Bill Graham Presents in high school and was former Vice President of A&R at Warner B...

Sheila Von Driska is the owner and founder of White Space, a full service creative design and advertising agency located in SOMA in San Francisco. SOMA, or South of Market, was historically an industrial neighborhood, full of almost exclusively warehouse buildings. During the 90s it became a hotspot for boutique design and advertising agencies to set up shop. Sheila moved into an industrial loft s...

This week we bring you our conversation with Rob Zaborny, long time San Francisco resident, and celebrated chef. Originally from New York, Rob moved to San Francisco in 1980 and never looked back. Although he has a great love of traveling all over the world, he especially loves to call the Bay Area home. Rob has been with the Hayes Street Grill, in Hayes Valley, for 27 years of its 40 year history...

David Lei worked in Chinatown as a social worker for at-risk youth before starting his business in 1981; in 2003 Lei sold his business, retiring to indulge his passions for community building, youth education, and the arts. He is an active participant with several nonprofit organizations including The Chinese Performing Arts Foundation, the Asian Art Museum, the Chinese American Community Fund, Ac...

This week we are honored to bring you our conversation with Dr. Jay Xu, the CEO and Director of the Asian Art Museum! Dr. Xu spoke to us about the Museum, located directly across from San Francisco’s City Hall, as well as the surrounding neighborhood, Civic Center. Civic Center is in the center of the city, and host to many important arts buildings as well as civic ones. In addition to City Hall a...

This week we are pleased to bring you our conversation with Claudine Cheng, a lawyer, community leader, community rights activist, and civil rights advocate; born in Hong Kong, Claudine Cheng is a graduate of University of Southern California and the University of California Hastings College of Law. Ms. Cheng was the first person from the West Coast elected to serve as the National President of OC...

Many people, tourists and San Franciscans alike, think of Chinatown as restaurants and knickknacks, and don’t recognize Chinatown for the culturally rich, deeply historical, and close knit community it is. It is a neighborhood as resilient as its people, both of which have faced turmoil and struggle in their histories. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak to David Lei, who sha...

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month, and BtFR is celebrating by bringing you interviews from some incredible AAPI San Franciscans. With the rise of racism, xenophobia, and hate that AAPI people are facing in this country right now, and have for decades, we know that it is more important that ever to highlight the stories and voices of our AAPI brothers and sisters. This diverse c...

Our hosts are excited to share with you their lovely long lunch on Battery Street at Piperade with Chef David Lawrence. Chef Lawrence is the co-owner and Chef at the famed 1300 Fillmore, now located at the San Francisco International Airport, and closed temporarily due to Covid. Prior to making his culinary mark in the Bay Area, Chef David Lawrence received formal training in his native London, wh...

The Haight-Ashbury district is a neighborhood in San Francisco that was aptly-named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. Running from Masonic Avenue to Stanyan Street, the beloved neighborhood is residential as well as commercial; famous for its connection to hippies and counterculture in the 1960s, it has long been one of the most dynamic, lively, and interesting neighborhoods in S...

Treasure Island, the artificial island built in 1936 and attached to Yerba Buena Island, is located between San Francisco and Oakland, is only accessible by car or bus from the San Francisco Bay Bridge.  The island is currently under new development, to become primarily luxury housing, however the nonprofit “Five Keys” (a restorative justice program and charter school),  is housing formerly incarc...

The Western Addition, better known as the Fillmore, is one of the most vibrant and unique neighborhoods in San Francisco. Historically, it was one of the three predominantly African-American San Francisco neighborhoods, and from the 1950s to the 1970s it was known nationally as “the Harlem of the West” — reflected in its music, food, and culture. Third Baptist Church has been, and still remains, t...