Bay Curious

This week we've got a two-question lightning round for you. First, reporter Pauline Bartolone investigates whether the growing popularity of zero emission vehicles is making a noticeable difference in Bay Area air quality. Then, video producer Anna Vignet looks into the history of a bridge with a strikingly similar appearance to the Golden Gate Bridge... in Portugal. Additional Reading: Are Zero-Emission Vehicles Making a Dent in California's Air Pollution? What's With the Golden Gate Bridge Lookalike in Lisbon? Read a transcript of this episode Take our audience survey Check out our new Bay Curious book Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts These stories was reported by Pauline Bartolone and Anna Vignet. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale, Brendan Willard and Jim Bennett. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Ho

Bay to Breakers in San Francisco is much more than just an annual race. The event has become notorious for its party-like atmosphere, with thousands of people running the 7.5 mile route in wild costumes, or wearing absolutely nothing at all. With its 110+ year history in the city, how did Bay to Breakers go from an ordinary race to a kind of festival-on-foot? Reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman chases down the answer and explores the event's highs and lows on this week's episode. Additional Reading: Bay to Breakers Is Part Race, Part Parade and Classic San Francisco Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our newsletter Take our audience survey Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Check out our new Bay Curious book Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additi

Crows seem to be everywhere these days, noticed listener Kevin Branch. He asked Bay Curious: "Why are there so many? Are crows replacing other familiar birds, such as mockingbirds, blue jays and red-winged blackbirds? Is there a plan to reduce crow populations?" KQED's Dan Brekke takes us on a journey to find those answers in this updated episode which first ran in 2019. Additional Reading: Crows Are Crowding Your Bay Area Skies. Why? Read a transcript of this episode Take our audience survey Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Katie McMurran. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

You may have noticed that your local chain big box or drugstore has locked certain items behind plexiglass, requiring you to hail an employee to grab things like deodorant or laundry detergent. Companies say know this is annoying, but that it's necessary to prevent theft. So does it actually work? How big of a problem is retail theft anyway? Reporter Katherine Monahan went shopping for the answer. Additional Reading: Why Are Retail Stores Locking Up Basic Necessities? Read a transcript of this episode Fill out our audience survey Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Katherine Monahan. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

For generations, parents have been taking their young kids to Children's Fairyland, a storybook-themed amusement park next to Oakland's Lake Merritt. So what's the 'Once upon a time...' of this beloved East Bay cultural gem, which may even have inspired Walt Disney? Reporter Pauline Bartolone takes a journey with her own little one to learn about Fairyland's 72-year history. Additional Reading: The Future Looks Bright for Children's Fairyland, as It Seeks to Better Reflect Oakland's Cultural Rainbow Read a transcript of this episode The Bay Curious book is out now! Get your copy. Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Pauline Bartolone. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett

High School—It's a pretty wild time in our lives. You're still growing and figuring out who you are, while juggling schoolwork, relationships, responsibilities, and rapidly-approaching adulthood. As part of KQED's Youth Takeover week, four high school students have been sharing audio diaries with us over the past few months. They let us into what's happening in their lives, and all the joys and heartbreaks of being a teenager. Additional Reading: Inside the Lives of Four Bay Area Teens Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts Thank you to our youth contributors: Emiliano Mejia, Yulieth Aguilar, Carlos Escala and Finn McDonald. And thanks to KQED Youth Media Program Manager Amanda Vigil and Specialist Emiliano Villa. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Additional support

After a wet winter, California hillsides are carpeted with wildflowers — especially our glowing, golden orange state flower, the California Poppy. In honor of this super-bloom, we're reprising our episode from 2017 about a rumor concerning these little beauties: that it's illegal to pick them. Reporter Jessica Placzek helps us answer that question, and discovers more about them and their use by indigenous peoples. Additional Reading: Can You Go To Jail For Picking California's State Flower? Read a transcript of this episode Hear our episode about how 420 became synonymous with smoking weed Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest This episode was reported by Jessica Placzek. Bay Curious is made at KQED by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Brendan Willard and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

During California's Gold Rush when miners flocked to the Bay Area, so too did people selling goods to those fortune seekers. One of these businesses grew to become a historic Union Square department store that brought a taste of French finery to those San Franciscans who could afford it. Reporter Christopher Beale explores the origins and legacy of the 100+ year run of 'City of Paris.' Additional Reading: How the City of Paris Department Store Once Embodied 'All Things French' for San Franciscans Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Christopher Beale. Special thanks this week to Raphaël Timmons. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett

If you live in a city, you've likely noticed that it's kind of difficult to see the stars at night through the glow of artificial lighting. That urban lighting bubble is getting brighter every year. So what can we do about it? KQED Science reporter Sarah Mohamad shines the light on light pollution, and where you can still go connect with the cosmos. Additional Reading: In Search of Bright Stars: Can the Bay Area Reduce its Worsening Light Pollution? Read a transcript of this episode here Get tickets to our Bay Curious book launch variety show! Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest This episode was reported by Sarah Mohamad. Bay Curious is made at member-supported KQED by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Special thanks to Paul Lancour and Kevin Stark. Additional support from Carly Severn, Cesar Saldaña, Jen Chien, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

There’s a stretch of Highway 101 between South San Francisco and Candlestick Park where the road gets very straight and runs right next to the Bay. Even though there are lot of 'No Parking' signs in the area, some people are willing to risk a ticket for the good fishing in that particular spot. What are they catching, and what other treasures are fisher folk pulling out of San Francisco Bay and beyond? We sent producer Katrina Schwartz out to reel in the answer, and dip her own toes into the water. Additional Reading: Why Do People Fish off Highway 101 Near Brisbane? Read a transcript of this episode Get tickets for the Bay Curious book launch! This episode was reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Olivia-Allen Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Cesar Saldaña, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

The greater Bay Area is surrounded by a lot of commercial farmland, whether it's vineyards in Napa or strawberries in Watsonville. But there are also a number of urban farms—plots of land, or even rooftop gardens, that lie within big cities. With land at a premium, how can these small growers afford to grow food in an urban environment? Reporter Dana Cronin visits a few to find out.  Additional Reading: Bay Area Land Is So Expensive. How Do Urban Farms Survive?  Read a transcript of this episode here Get tickets for the Bay Curious book launch! This episode was reported by Dana Cronin. Bay Curious is made by Olivia-Allen Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale, Katherine Monahan and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Cesar Saldaña, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

The iconic Castro Theatre in San Francisco's historic LGBTQ+ neighborhood is more than just a movie theatre — it's a movie palace. No one denies its cultural importance and landmark status, but there has been debate over the fate of its interior, specifically its seats, after management was taken over by Bay Area-based Another Planet Entertainment. Reporter Christopher Beale takes us back through the history of this famous theatre, and the fight over its future. Additional Reading: San Francisco’s Castro Theatre: A Cultural ‘Temple’ Facing a Fight for its Future  Read a transcript of this episode Play the monthly trivia contest Sign up for our newsletter This episode was reported by Christopher Beale. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Cesar Saldaña, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan. Audio for this episode has be updated to reflect rescheduling of the final landmarking decision dat

Today we’re getting a little outside the Bay Area because we’re headed to Folsom, just east of Sacramento. There, you’ll find a state park whose name caught the attention of Pendarvis Harshaw, host of KQED's Rightnowish podcast. On a stretch of shoreline, where the northern end of Lake Natoma meets the American River, is Black Miners Bar. Before June 2022 this spot was called by a different name: Negro Bar. This week on Bay Curious, we're featuring an episode of Rightnowish from their series on land in Northern California, 'From the Soil.' Links to check out: From the Soil: Unfolding the Story of Black Miners Bar Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our email newsletter Enter our Monthly Trivia Contest, Sponsored by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company This story originally aired on Rightnowish, whose team includes Pendarvis Harshaw, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Chris Hambrick, Ceil Muller and Ryce Stoughtenborough. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Brendan Willard and Katherine Mona

There are hundreds of miles of bike lanes in San Francisco, making it one of the most bike friendly cities in America. But that wasn't the case until the 90s. The transformation was due, in large part, to two groups working without coordination: The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition – an advocacy organization, and Critical Mass – the name of a regular group bike ride. This week, reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman tells the story of how these two groups changed the way people cycle in San Francisco, whether the city liked it or not. Additional Reading: The Night That Changed San Francisco Cycling Forever (KQED) Read a transcript of this episode This story was reported by Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Special thanks to Scott Shafer, Paul Lancour and Dan Brekke for their help with this story, and to Ted White who shared archival audio from his documentaries “We Are Traffic” and “Return of the Scorcher.” Your support makes KQED podcasts possible.

In the Palo Alto Baylands, right on the edge of a marsh, sits a building with a strong resemblance to a boat. Who built it, and why did they go with the nautical theme? KQED's Silicon Valley Editor, Rachael Myrow, hops aboard to find out. Additional Reading: The Building That Looks Like A Boat Off The Coast of Palo Alto Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our newsletter This story was reported by Rachael Myrow. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Christopher Beale, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan. Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

You may have noticed that it has rained a LOT so far this year. All that water got us thinking about some of your water-related questions over the years. Where does all the rain water go? Are there really underground rivers in San Francisco? What happens to the ground squirrels when it rains? Do they… drown? This week on the show, it's a three-question lightning round with producer Amanda Font. Additional Reading: Rodents, Rivers and Runoff: Why Parts of the Bay Area Flood, Where the Water Goes and How Animals Adapt Read a transcript of this episode Submit your squirrel questions to Olivia on Instagram or Twitter Sign up for our newsletter These stories were reported by Amanda Font. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Christopher Beale, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan. Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to htt

You probably know the broad strokes of the Donner Party Saga: In 1846, a group of migrants traveling to California got stuck in a surprise October snow storm. After exhausting all their resources, they turn to cannibalism to survive. It's a grisly tale ... but the way it's often told is incomplete. We’ll delve into the details many leave behind, and explore what happened to the Donner Party survivors after they escaped the snowy Sierra. This notorious disaster struck deep at the heart of everything California held dear — and came to represent everything it wanted to forget. This story originally aired in 2020 in two parts. This version has been cut and condensed into one part. Additional Reading: Endless Winter: A Fresh Look at the Donner Party Saga, Part 1 Surviving the Donner Party: California, Gold and Lifelong Secrets, Part 2 Read a transcript of this episode Experience the saga as an immersive storytelling event from KQED Live! This story was reported by Carly Severn. Featuring the voices of: Li

Why would a house have a garage if it was built before cars were available? How come some Bay Area homes have a front door that's technically on the second floor? When did everyone decide to paint their Victorian houses in bright, vivid colors? This week on the show, we answer multiple questions about some of the Bay Area's architectural curiosities. Additional Reading: Why Are There Garages on Bay Area Homes Built Before Cars Existed? Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for the Bay Curious Newsletter This story was reported by Katherine Monahan and Darren Tu. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Christopher Beale, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

A UC Berkeley study estimates there are about 38,000 acres of land owned by faith groups in California, an area roughly the size of Stockton, that are largely going unused. Some churches want to build affordable housing on that extra land— but building any kind of housing in California means jumping through a lot of hoops. Reporter Adhiti Bandlamudi finds out what it would take for houses of worship to house people in God's backyard. Additional Reading: California Churches Want to Build Affordable Housing on Their Land, So Why Is It So Hard? Transcript of this episode Preorder the Bay Curious Book! Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org  Chronicle Books. International buyers go here! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Adhiti Bandlamudi. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Special thanks to Erika Kelly, Christopher Beale and Paul Lancour for their

For more than a century, people in the Bay Area — and especially the East Bay — have puzzled over the existence of stone walls scattered on ridges from near San Jose north through the Berkeley Hills. Sometimes the walls are built in long straight lines. Sometimes they form angles. Occasionally you’ll find rectangular or circular constructions. "Who built these things? How long ago? And why?" asked listener Eric Haven. It's a tougher question to answer than you might imagine, but reporter Dan Brekke does his best. Learn more Uncovering the Real Story Behind the 'East Bay Mystery Walls' Video: The Real, True Story of the Mystery of the East Bay Walls (YouTube) Sign up for the Bay Curious newsletter Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Christopher Beale, Cesar Saldan