Storied: San Francisco

Ed Wolf  worked for three years on San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 5A, where AIDS patients came when the epidemic first hit. Part 2 of Ed's podcast details two stories from his time in Ward 5A. One is a story of an unexpected kindness Ed experienced after crossing a line he wasn't supposed to cross. The second is a tale of survival and heroism that should surprise you. Check back tomorrow fo...

Ed Wolf  is an educator. He's a writer, a storyteller, and a trainer. And he loves public transportation.  ​Three rides on mass transit serve as the settings for Ed's first podcast. It was there that he learned about people and the city he lives in and loves—San Francisco. Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of 3, when Ed will tell stories from San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 5A: The AIDS ward. T...

Every podcast has an origin story. In this episode, Lily Sloane, the creator and producer of  A Therapist Walks into a Bar , talks about how she got started and how podcasting came to be the first thing she tells people when they ask, "What do you do?" If you missed Part 1, click  here . We recorded this podcast at The Sycamore in June 2018. Film photography by  Michelle Kilfeather

Lily Sloane is a podcaster, a radio producer, a music composer, and a psychotherapist, in that order. But it hasn't always been that way. Lily's family moved to Petaluma from the East Coast when she was 8. She moved herself to San Francisco to go to college. But, having never stayed anywhere too long, and despite being here for a reason, it took a little time for the city to become her home. In th...

George Downes is a San Francisco County Sheriff's deputy by day. Woo Woo Monroe is George's drag persona by night. In this podcast, George shares the story of one of his first New Year's Eves in San Francisco. A walk down to the Embarcadero to see the fireworks gave way to a chance meeting he had with two San Francisco icons—the Brown Twins, Marian and Vivian. In the second half of the podcast, Ge...

To help elevate the voices and stories of Black San Franciscans, we'll be rerunning those episodes over the next few weeks. We'll be back with new stories from your neighbors down the road a bit. Yeva Johnson is a musician, a poet, and a physician. She works with patients at end of life, doing what she can make to make that transition as peaceful and harmonious as possible. In this podcast, Yeva t...

One-hundred-year-old Alyce Murphy walked across the Golden Gate Bridge when it opened in 1937. She worked as a toll taker on the Bay Bridge shortly after it opened. In this podcast, Part 2 of 2, Alyce talks about the bridges, meeting her husband, raising her family, other jobs she had, and the 1989 earthquake. She also reflects on living all 100 of her years in San Francisco, and talks about why s...

Alyce Murphy turned 100 this May. The third-generation San Franciscan spent her early life in a tiny, crowded house behind St. Luke's Hospital with her grandmother after her mom died when she was very young. It was from that home that Alyce experienced the Great Depression and got into her fair share of mischief, as young kids tend to do. In this very special podcast, Alyce talks about the Mission...

In Part 1 of Adair Lara's podcast, she talked about moving to San Francisco from her childhood home in Marin. She has lived in the same beautiful Queen Anne Victorian house, at the corner of Waller and Scott in Duboce Triangle, since 1973. In Part 2, Adair will take us through her experience as a young writer who ended up with a column in the San Francisco Chronicle, where she met many notable wri...

Adair Lara moved to San Francisco from her childhood home in Marin in 1973. Today, she still lives in the same Victorian house she moved into back then, a beautiful and expansive Queen Anne in Duboce Park. In this podcast, Adair, a writer and former columnist for the Chronicle , talks about that house, the living room of which we recorded in. Check back Thursday, when Adair will share the story of...

In Part 1 of this episode, Stephen talked about working at Nopa restaurant and how that job led to his involvement with students at Ida B. Wells High School. In Part 2, he shares the story of helping Nopa to tell their own stories through Nopalize . The work he did getting Nopalize going provided a framework for Stephen's current project— Whetstone Magazine . Whetstone will be having an issue laun...

To help elevate the voices and stories of Black San Franciscans, we'll be rerunning those episodes for the rest of this week. In this podcast, Stephen shares the serendipitous story of getting a job at Nopa. He talks about how his work there lead to his involvement with Alice Cravens's program Heat of the Kitchen  at Ida B. Wells High School. Restaurants, food, gardens, education ... what's not to...

In Part 1 of this podcast, entertainment lawyer Michael Aczon talked about growing up in the Bayview in the 1970s. In this episode, he'll share what it was like living next to a patron of the San Francisco jazz scene. He'll talk about his brother's band, H.P. Riot, and some old SF music venues. He'll end the podcast with his thoughts on what makes music in San Francisco so special. ​We recorded th...

Entertainment lawyer Michael Aczon has music running through his veins. In this podcast, Michael will talk about his father's arrival in San Francisco in 1931 (including, he later found out, lots of time at the International Hotel), his family's return to San Francisco in the 1960s, growing up in the Bayview, and learning to navigate the city on Muni and his bicycle. He and his friend Marcos once...

To help elevate the voices and stories of Black San Franciscans, we'll be rerunning those episodes over the next few weeks. We'll be back with new stories from your neighbors down the road a bit. San Francisco artist and poet Mason J. is a survivor. They were born in the city in the late 1980s into two epidemics that were wiping out entire communities—AIDS and crack. In this podcast, Mason J. shar...

After an on-again/off-again stint in New York City, Chris Ohnesorge came to San Francisco in 2003. Through people he knew via music boards, he quickly found friends and fellow musicians. In this podcast, Chris talks about his first band in SF: The Ex-Boyfriends. The band was excited when local label Absolutely Kosher Records signed them to release two albums. The first one,  Dear John , was a hit....

Musician and hair stylist ChrisO moved to San Francisco in 2003. Among the odd jobs he had before he learned to style hair, he took a job at mayoral candidate, ex-supervisor, and ex-state senator Mark Leno's sign shop in the Castro. In this episode, Chris will talk about working in that shop. Then he'll share observations on San Franciscans' odd relationship with their appearances. We recorded thi...

SF State Associate Professor of Journalism Venise Wagner loves ice skating. When she's not writing books like  Love in the Time of Pinochet  and  Reporting Inequality: Tools and Methods for Covering Race and Ethnicity , teaching journalism to a new generation, or spending time with her friends, family, and her dog, Cici, Venise likes to relieve all the pressures of life at the rink. In this episod...

In Part 1 of this podcast, San Francisco Giants VP of Business Operations Mario Alioto shared stories from his days with the team when their home was Candlestick Park. In this episode, Mario talks about being part of the effort that moved the team north to the South of Market area. That new ballpark, which began its life at PacBell Park and is now known as AT&T Park, has already seen four World Se...

In 1973, Mario Alioto got lucky. After his older brother moved on from being a bat boy for the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, it was Mario's turn. In this episode, Mario, now VP of Business Operations for the Giants, shares stories from his days with the team before they moved north to their current home. He talks about being a bat boy for visiting teams, managing the visiting clubhouse...

Photojournalist Jessica Christian got her start in the newsroom while she was still in journalism school at SF State. After graduation, she got a job at the SF Examiner, where she covered the separate stories of two homeless men. In this podcast, Jessica shares those stories, stories that have two very different endings. We recorded this podcast at the Java Trading Company cafe in the Chronicle Bu...

In  Part 1 , SF Chronicle photographer Jessica Christian shared stories of two homeless men that had two very different endings. In this episode, Jessica takes us through the early days of her career as a photojournalist, through protests, riots, and eventually the funeral of Stephon Clark. By her count, since 2013, she has had seven full days when she didn't have a job or internship. We recorded...

In this episode, Misisipi Mike Wolf talks about old music venues as a set up to some stories about  Jonathan Richman . He ends the podcast with a string of celebrity sightings he's had with a legendary San Francisco band. The voice you hear in the background is Episode 22 storyteller John Binder. We recorded this podcast as part of Tighten Up Your Wig, John's show on  Radio Valencia . Film photogr...

Misisipi Mike Wolf  has been making music and poster art in San Francisco for decades. In this episode, Mike talks about the Mission and tells the story of a gigantic statue he saw being built on Bartlett Street. We recorded this podcast on Ep. 22 storyteller John Binder's show, Tighten Up Your Wig in March 2018 Check back Thursday for Part 2. Film photography by  Michelle Kilfeather

In Part 1, Josh talked about being there to shoot Barry Bonds's record-setting 73rd home of the 2001 baseball season. The baseball landed in the stands mere feet from where Josh was with his camera. And so he inadvertently captured what turned out to be a contentious event. Two fans argued over which one of them owned the home-run ball; they ended up going to court over the matter. In this episode...