Total SF

In Episode 59 of The Big Event, Chronicle fire reporter Lizzie Johnson and Oakland A's beat reporter Susan Slusser join host Peter Hartlaub to talk about their first cars. After a beginning segment interviewing Johnson about her 2018 wildfire coverage - Dairy Queens, fire suits and Guy Fieri are covered - the reporters tell the stories of their 2000s Toyota Corolla, 1973 Plymouth Valiant and 1962...

In Episode 58 of The Big Event - and our fifth Total Muni episode - Chronicle reader Connor Skelly (and his infant son Finn!) talks about his Total Muni project - riding every Muni line with a baby. Inspired by The Big Event host Peter Hartlaub and San Francisco columnist Heather Knight, With baby in tow, Skelly talks about developing immunity by riding Muni, that time on the 38 Geary that a pries...

In Episode 57 of The Big Event, Chronicle science writer emeritus talks about his incredible San Francisco Chronicle career, which began in 1940 and ended with his retirement in 2017 at age 98. Perlman is joined at his San Francisco home by host Peter Hartlaub, and reporters Kevin Fagan and Steve Rubenstein. He gives his thoughts about science deniers, talks about how he became a science writer, h...

In Episode 56 of The Big Event, San Francisco burrito expert and historian Burrito Justice join San Francisco columnist Heather Knight and host Peter Hartlaub, to talk about first burritos, best burritos and Burrito Law. The group also covers some burrito history, and the origin story of Burrito Justice - how he got his name, and why he maintains mostly anonymous (except during his welcome burrito...

In Episode 54 of The Big Event, Paula Poundstone is our first returning celebrity guest - coming to The Big Event archive studio in advance of her New Year's Eve show at the Nourse Auditorium. Poundstone talks about previous New Year's Eve shows in San Francisco, the genius of Dana Carvey, her new podcast "Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone" and her continued enjoyment of S.F., where Poundstone is...

In Episode 53 of The Big Event, TV star and maker Adam Savage joins host Peter Hartlaub to talk about living in San Francisco, his past working in local theater and special effects, and his new Science Channel show "Mythbusters Jr." Savage, who worked on the original "Mythbusters" for 13 seasons, has lived in San Francisco for 30 years, He also talks about his favorite S.F. movie, his first day in...

In Episode 52 of The Big Event, host Peter Hartlaub is joined by San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan and Style reporter Tony Bravo to pay tribute to "The Princess Diaries." The 2001 film, set in San Francisco, features Anne Hathaway as an awkward girl who finds out she's a princess - and Julie Andrews as her grandmother and queen. The Garry Marshall film was not embraced by critics, but B...

In Episode 51 of The Big Event, "Moonlight" and "If Beale Street Could Talk" director Barry Jenkins comes to the San Francisco Chronicle to speak with host Peter Hartlaub about his new movie - and the eight years he spent living in San Francisco. Jenkins worked in telemarketing before making "Medicine for Melancholy," his debut film shot in San Francisco. After a Best Picture Academy Award win for...

In Episode 50 of The Big Event, "Check, Please! Bay Area" host Leslie Sbrocco joins host Peter Hartlaub to talk about the show's origins, why they ply guests with wine before a show, her sparkling wine-themed tattoo and the new "Check, Please! Bay Area Kids" four-part special. The KQED show is in the middle of its 13th season. Produced by Peter Hartlaub. Theme music is "The Tide Will Rise" by the...

In Episode 49 of The Big Event, host Peter Hartlaub and San Francisco columnist Heather Knight are joined by their cable car friends from Total Muni 2018 - Val Lupiz, Jeremy Whiteman and Frank Zepeda. Peter and Heather announce their latest Total SF project, sponsoring an S.F. cable car for a charity event. And they interview Lupiz, a 20-year gripman who met his wife on a cable car, and has other...

Episode 48 of The Big Event is an interview with San Francisco 49ers great Jerry Rice, who appears in the new documentary "In Search of Greatness." The wide receiver talks to host Peter Hartlaub about the little things that set him apart, his "nerdy" childhood and the reason why he decided not to celebrate in the end zone. They also look through the San Francisco Chronicle "Jerry Rice" photo file,...

Episode 47 of The Big Event is a discussion of burritos in San Francisco, including the history of the Mission-style burrito, discussions about Chipotle and the Pacifica Taco Bell - the most beautiful Taco Bell in the world. Host Peter Hartlaub welcomes San Francisco Chronicle food editor Paolo Lucchesi and editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper to discuss the best burritos they've ever eaten, and burrito...

Episode 46 of The Big Event features "Bohemian Rhapsody" stars Rami Malek, Joseph Mazzello and Gwilym Lee drop by The Big Event archive studio to talk about what it was like to play Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon in the new biopic. They also talk with host Peter Hartlaub about California earthquakesm the 1985 Live Aid concert and make a dramatic reading of the San Francisco Chronicle's...

On the latest episode of "The Big Event," host Peter Hartlaub is joined by Tony Bravo, Heather Knight and Jill Tucker to talk about their best and worst Halloween costumes over the years - and discuss Night of the Living Deadline, a Chronicle costume build chosen by readers and executed by Chronicle staff. The group argues whether to include Laughing Sal, the Vaillancourt Fountain and Millennium T...

Episode 43 of The Big Event podcast inducts “Inside Out” in the SF Cinema Greatest of All Time. Host Peter Hartlaub is joined by Chronicle editor-in-chief Audrey Cooper and columnist Heather Knight, who talk about the subtle genius of the 2015 Pete Docter film, what it’s like to raise kids in San Francisco (where Riley moves to in “Inside Out”) and why this qualifies as one of the greatest S.F. fi...

Episode 42 of The Big Event celebrates the best tourist traps in San Francisco, with reader feedback from our first episode, and a brutal rundown of our journey to Hard Rock Café at Pier 39 after the first tourist traps episode. Hosted by Peter Hartlaub. We also prepare for Sept. 26, which will be the first Tourist Trap Day in San Francisco, where readers and listeners are invited to visit their f...

Episode 41 of The Big Event podcast is a tribute to the original “Evening Magazine,” the innovative TV newsmagazine that began in 1976 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hosts Jan Yanehiro (1976 to 1990) and Richard Hart (1979 to 1989) worked together for a decade during the show’s original run, and continue as colleagues at the Academy of Art University, where Yanehiro is the director of the School o...

In a bonus episode of The Big Event, host Peter Hartlaub is happy to announce the podcast is back after our Apple Podcasts near-death experience, and ready to finish September strong. Heather Knight joins the conversation to talk about how her podcast City Insider benefited from the disaster, the triumphant return, and what’s up next on The Big Event. Recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle’s base...

"A River of Stars" author Vanessa Hua joins host Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight to induct "The Joy Luck Club" in the SF Cinema Greatest of All Time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Slusser joins host Peter Hartlaub to talk about the bands they follow, including Paul Weller/The Jam and hard rock band Y&T. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco columnist Heather Knight and food editor Paolo Lucchesi join host Peter Hartlaub to talk about the S.F. tourist traps they tolerate and even like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian Greg Proops joins host Peter Hartlaub to talk San Francisco comedy and Bay Area nostalgia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Bravo and Beth Spotswood join host Peter Hartlaub to induct "Sister Act" into the SF Cinema Greatest of All Time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Blindspotting" co-writers and stars Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal join host Peter Hartlaub to talk about the new film set in Oakland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chronicle style reporter Tony Bravo and education reporter Jill Tucker join host Peter Hartlaub to pay tribute to drive-in movie culture in the Bay Area. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices