Muni Diaries

Muni is the backdrop for so much of our lives, but few of us have documented its familiar presence over years of personal change as vividly as photojournalist Jessica Christian. Trains and buses doubled as transportation and a training ground for Jessica as she developed her eye for "photography that makes you feel something"—first as a student, then a budding photographer, and later as a San Fran...

Like so many Muni riders, comedienne Julia Jackson has perfected the art of sizing up her fellow bus passengers in a glance, and she takes more than a little satisfaction in how often her assessments turn out to be right. But she worries about the distance her snap judgments can create between her and other riders, and she knows firsthand how isolating it feels to be on the receiving end. It's the...

One day in 2013, Luisa Isbell—newly minted San Franciscan and tech worker—found herself on the wrong side of a stranger's crisis on the 19 Polk, and went from enthusiastic bus rider to bus avoider. Trading freedom for safety seemed logical after such a scary encounter, but several years of gloomy commutes and thousands of dollars in parking fines later, something had to give. Now Luisa finds herse...

We all know the feeling of sitting down on the J Church or the 38 Geary after an especially hard day and wishing we could just disappear into that red seat, alone with our misery, not smushed between 30 strangers. Other times, public transit surrounds us with our fellow riders when we need them the most. At our Wayfinding Show in April 2025, writer and performer Roman Rimer shared a moving reflect...

Dewayne Deams was born and raised in San Francisco and caught the transit bug early. You might say it's in his blood: his great-grandfather Curtis E. Green was the General Manager of Muni—the first Black GM of a major U.S. transit agency—and both of his parents worked for Muni, too. But despite his own deep knowledge and love of Muni, Dewayne was determined to take the track less traveled. In this...

This is the final installment from our pop-up story booth at the San Francisco Public Libary's 2024 Night of Ideas! In this episode, we share a selection of bite-sized stories from everyday Muni riders about whimsical transit rides they've taken in our beloved San Francisco.  Check out Part 1—Everyday Heroes on the Bus (ep. 152) and Part 2—The Friends We Made along the Way (ep. 155) for more short...

Meaghan Mitchell returned to the Muni Diaries stage at our "Thank You, Driver" show with a loving tribute to her dad, 35-year Muni veteran Ronald Mitchell. She shares what it was like being raised by a Muni driver in '90s San Francisco, and what makes Muni more than a transit agency—and then invites Ronald to join her on stage.  Meaghan and Ronald remind us that our Muni operators are human, that...

Getting stuck on a stalled Muni train is every rider's worst nightmare. But what's it like being one of the mechanics with the daunting task of getting that train and its frustrated riders moving again?  Rory O'Neill understands both sides of that coin. He spent many years working as a mechanic on the mobile response unit and the emergency response unit for Muni's light rail fleet—and he's also an...

Back in March 2024, Muni Diaries had the pleasure of attending the Night of Ideas, a program organized by the San Francisco Public Library. This installment paid homage to our favorite transit system, and we'd be remiss if we didn't tap into the wealth of Muni-riffic experiences (good, bad, great, somewhere in between) for our popup story booth.  It was a huge success. We collected so many stories...

Kristee Ono knows her fellow 6 Haight-Parnassus riders well — even though they're technically strangers. When she decided to write about one of them for the Muni Diaries Live Haiku Battle, she had no idea he was local transit icon Kurt Schwartzmann. Kristee tells the heartwarming story of what followed, and how two beloved Muni Diaries storytellers went from strangers on the bus to cherished frien...

Veteran operator Charles Haletky walks us through the highs of "pure, exquisite joy of public humiliation" and the lows of, well...the lowest you can imagine. He reminds us that, as someone who trains the next generation of operators, he needs to be cruel on occasion—not to be kind, but for the greater good.

This is the first part in a series showcasing short Muni stories we collected from attendees at the Night of Ideas at the San Francisco Public Library on March 2, 2024. In this episode we focus on everyday heroes on the bus: situations where a small gesture or act of kindness by a transit rider or operator turned a tense situation around, made someone feel seen or appreciated, or just brightened t...

Where most people see a desolate street, Katy Birnbaum sees a celebration and the regeneration of community waiting to happen. But it didn't start out that way. Katy grew up in a car-dependent suburb where the streets isolated her and her family. In this story from our November 2023 live show, Katy shares how moving to San Francisco transformed her relationship to streets, how Muni connected her t...

It's not every day you're swept off your feet by a handsome stranger on the subway. But when Baruch Porras-Hernandez rides Muni, anything can happen. We were thrilled to have Baruch back on the Muni Diaries Live stage in November with the story of a fleeting romance from his past, and the unexpected turn it takes. Baruch is a writer, performer, and standup comedian who's done storytelling shows al...

Happy New Year, Muni Diaries fam! We've got stories from our November live show, exciting in-person podcasting events, and more already queued up for you in 2024. Here's a sneak peek of what's on deck. A heartfelt thanks from all of us at Muni Diaries to everyone who shared your Muni stories with us in 2023, sent us your bus photos, tuned in to the podcast, attended our live shows and art market,...

Tanea Lunsford Lynx , an artist and educator, joined us at Muni Diaries Live in April 2023 to perform her poem, I Used to Live Here,  a piece evoking the magic of relatives living a mere Muni ride away, the otherworldly dimension between West Portal and Van Ness stations, and the soothing something about 24-hour Church Street Safeway light. She was one of the San Francisco-born-and-raised artists...

Have you been to the Legion of Honor at night? We haven't. And we definitely won't be going after this story. Muni operator and Muni Haiku Battle champion Mc Allen reminds us of what can go bump (and wrong) on a late-night run. Originally shared at Muni Diaries Live in April 2023, it's the perfect accompaniment to the seasonal festivities.  Mc will be back at the Muni Diaries Live 15th anniversary...

Jill Sutherlin didn't set out to become the caretaker of a beloved Mission barbershop, but life is funny that way. Her story takes us and The Refinery Grooming Club through the pandemic, the ups and downs of recovery, and the sacred spaces we cultivate for our communities. Jill performed this story at Muni Diaries Live in April 2023. Hear stories like these and more at the Muni Diaries Live 15th a...

What lies beneath the streets of San Francisco? In some cases, the history of how those streets and infrastructure we know and love (or at least use and tolerate) came to be. San Francisco's Forgotten Cemeteries: A Buried History , the newest book from local author Beth Winegarner , is out now. Beth stopped by the podcast to discuss the role the city's dead have on infrastructure (which includes p...

Muni is San Francisco's deep end: immediate and immersive exposure to strangers, testing our tolerance for other people's music, aromas, food, volume, attitude, or public habits. Meymey Lee, a born-and-raised San Franciscan, was exposed to all of it since they were a baby. At Muni Diaries Live in April 2023, they shared how Muni not only spawned a best-friendship, but also an unwavering sense of c...

Storyteller Adrianna Tan is an enthusiastic bus rider who has ridden buses in more than 30 countries worldwide. But when she finally moves to San Francisco five years ago, she quickly finds out that in many ways, our Muni is not like all the rest. This story was recorded at Muni Diaries Live in April, 2023 at Rickshaw Stop. If you have your own Muni tale to share on our podcast, pitch your story b...

We first got to know storyteller Kurt Schwartzmann when he shared the story of how Muni and Muni drivers gave him shelter while he was homeless. He went on to become a professional artist, with a series of paintings dedicated to Muni drivers. In this episode, he shares the story of searching for a long lost Muni operator. You can find Kurt's art at Yellow Line Art . To pitch your own Muni story, w...

Last time, we heard from  Tanea Lunsford Lynx, one of the artists behind Muni Raised Me : a multimedia exhibition by San Francisco born-and-raised artists exploring what Muni means to the people who grow up riding it. An educator, Tanea brought their students to the show and we were lucky enough to experience some of their own original spoken-word artistry. We had so much material, we invite you t...

Tanea Lunsford Lynx is Chair of the Spoken Arts Department at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and one of the artists behind Muni Raised Me , a multimedia exhibition by San Francisco born-and-raised artists exploring a central question: What does Muni mean to the people who grow up riding it? Tanea brought their students to the  Muni Raised Me exhibit to perform their own original poetry about Muni i...

In today's episode, public transit advocate, designer, and illustrator Chris Arvin shares the dramatic story of how Muni became the first public transit system in a major U.S. city.  Complaining about the bus might be San Francisco's unofficial favorite pastime, but few know about the true origins of our transit system. You can find Chris at @chrisarvinsf on Twitter, and you can also shop their tr...