Bay Curious

There are dozens of shipwrecks in and around San Francisco Bay. And Bay Curious listener Brian Teaff wonders: Is there treasure down there? In some ways yes, but it may not be the type of treasure you're imagining. Additional Reading Is There Treasure At The Bottom Of The Bay? Read episode transcript 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 Anna Marie Yanny. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Kevin Stark, Chris Egusa, Paul Lancour, César Saldaña, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

In the early 1960s, cities around the San Francisco Bay Area proposed plans to fill in the bay waters and expand. At the time, there was no regional agency looking at what all those projects together would do to the bay as whole. That's where three Berkeley women stepped in to save the bay. Additional Reading Read episode transcript EXHIBIT: Voices For the Environment: A Century of Bay Area Activism 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 adapted from the Voices for the Environment podcast. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Sasha Khokha, Dan Brekke, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Which came first: the churches or the street named Brotherhood Way? That's what Bay Curious listener Noor Moughamian wants to know. She attends the KZV Armenian School located on the San Francisco street and has always wondered about the origin of the name. Additional Reading: Which Came First, San Francisco's Brotherhood Way Or The Churches On It? Read the transcript for 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 Katherine Monahan. This episode of Bay Curious was made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Xorje Oliveras, Bianca Taylor, Paul Lancour, Katie Fruit, Jasmine Garnett, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Bay Curious listener Justin Hartung grew up here, and remembers the waters of the bay being more blue than they are today. He wonders: Is the bay getting greener? Bay Curious producer Amanda Font gives us the answer, and takes us into the science behind it. Additional Reading: Feel Like the SF Bay Used to Be Bluer? You're Not Imagining It Read the transcript for 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 Amanda Font. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from César Saldaña, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

There's a hidden meaning behind the koi fish stencils, which can be found all over the Bay Area, and in some other cities too. In this episode, reporter Tamuna Chkareuli introduces us to artist Jeremy Novy's, the artist behind the koi, and we learn how to decode the hidden message within each design.  Additional Reading: Web post: Ever Seen A Koi Fish on the Sidewalk? Artist Explains Hidden Meaning Read the transcript for this episode $1.99 e-book deal available during May at: Amazon. Apple. Barnes & Noble. Google Play. Kobo. 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 Tamuna Chkareuli. This episode of Bay Curious was made by Olivia Allen-Price, Tamuna Chkareul, Pauline Bartolone, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Xorje Oliveras, Paul La

Back in the early 1960’s, when BART was just a sketch on a map, planners with the young transit agency had a task in front of them. BART had to acquire some 2,200 parcels of land in order to build the future transportation system in the Bay Area. In this week's episode, Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman explores what happened next, and how decades later, memories of the homes and communities that were destroyed remain strong. Additional Reading: When BART Was Built, People — and Houses — Had to Go Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest $1.99 e-book deal available at: Amazon. Apple. Barnes & Noble. Google Play. Kobo. 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. This episode of Bay Curious was made by Katrina Schwartz, Olivia Allen-Price, Pauline Bartolone and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Tamuna Chkareu

The ruins of Sutro Baths, at the far western edge of San Francisco, are mysterious. Clearly something big used to stand here. Today we take you back in time to what visiting this grand swimming facility would have been like. Additional Reading: Inside Sutro Baths, San Francisco's Once Grand Bathing Palace $1.99 e-book deal available at: Amazon. Apple. Barnes & Noble. Google Play. Kobo. 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 Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, and Christopher Beale Additional support from Tamuna Chkareuli, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

San Francisco is 49 square miles, but contains more than 1,000 miles of sewer mains, running under every block. Take a trip with Bay Curious reporter Carly Severn into the depths of the city, and discover an otherworldly cave that has reached legendary status with some urban explorers. This story first aired in 2019. Additional Reading: Exploring San Francisco's Hidden Tunnels (YouTube) Tunnels Under San Francisco? Inside the Dark, Dangerous World of the Sewers Read the transcript for 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 Carly Severn. The episode was also made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Tamuna Chkareuli, Jessica Placzek and Rob Speight. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQE

Reporter Carly Severn gives Olivia Allen-Price a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to get under the streets of San Francisco for her 2019 story. If you value the work Bay Curious does, we’re asking for your financial support. Give at donate.kqed.org/podcasts.

Nate Puckett lives, works and raises his kids on Alameda. In fact, he rarely leaves it. So he was surprised to learn that Alameda hasn't always been an island. We dig into a history with so many twists and turns it's make your head spin. Additional Reading: Alameda -- The Island That Almost Wasn't Why Is Part of Alameda Island in San Francisco? Bay Curious at Green Apple Books Event 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 Pauline Bartolone. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Katherine Monahan. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Listener Allison Pennell recently saw a museum booklet featuring archival photos of Black residents watching the fire that consumed the city after the 1906. It got her wondering how this specific community fared after the quake, especially given the entrenched racism of the time. Additional Reading: Stunning Archival Photos Of the 1906 Earthquake And Fire tanea lunsford lynx's We Were Here project Entire set of Afro-American Oral Histories, Pre-WWII 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 Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale, Brendan Willard and Katherine Monahan. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Depending on whom you ask, eucalyptus trees are either an icon in California or a fire-prone scourge. In today's episode, reporter Daniel Potter takes us on a journey through how this non-native tree came to the state. We'll learn why it was planted in such large numbers in the first place. Then we explore why some Eucalyptus groves have become a concerning wildfire threat. Additional Reading: Eucalyptus: How California's Most Hated Tree Took Root Read the transcript for 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 Daniel Potter. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Bay Curious listener Lorraine Page likes to comb the Pescadero beaches for treasures in her spare time. She used to find abalone shells often, but says in the last ten years she hasn't seen any. She wants to know: what happened to all the abalone? Additional Reading: Climate Change-Induced Heatwaves Are Decimating California's Kelp and Abalone Bay Curious Podcast Garage Event April 11 Read the transcript for 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 Dana Cronin. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Bay Curious listener Jules Winters has great memories of riding the school bus as a kid in suburban Philadelphia. When she moved to the Bay Area, she immediately noticed there weren't as many of those big yellow buses taking kids to school. She wants to know why. Additional Reading: Why Doesn't California Have More School Buses? How the San Francisco School Lottery Works, And How It Doesn't 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 Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Erika Kelly, Dan Brekke, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Love it or hate, drag is a hot topic of conversation now. And you really can’t understand how we got to this point nationally without heading to San Francisco. Today we’re taking a crash course through decades of drag herstory to better understand it’s larger impact on San Francisco, and the country. Additional Reading: How SF's Drag Queens Shaped the City (and the World) Show your love by donating!  Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. This story was reported by Christopher Beale. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

On Interstate 280, just south of the Sand Hill Road exit, near Stanford, there is this overpass that crosses over a long, skinny building. Bay Curious listener Eric Nelson has wondered what that building is for years. Turns out, scientists are unraveling the mysteries of the universe inside SLAC. We take you on a tour. Additional Reading: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe Inside SLAC 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 Rachael Myrow. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Ever wonder why it can be so hard to fix your own appliances, laptops and other gadgets? Well, you're not alone. And there's a reason why so many things head to the landfill these days, rather than getting fixed. Bay Area "Fix It" advocates are taking matters into their own hands, while they wait for state laws to catch up. Additional Reading: Bay Area's 'Fix It' Culture Thrives Amid State's Forthcoming Right to Repair Law March 14 Sustainable Fashion Event: Mend, Fix, Style 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 Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Hike near Leona Heights in Oakland, and you might come across vibrant graffiti art painted on the concrete remnants of an old conveyor tram that transported rock down the hill. This week on the show, reporter Katherine Monahan reveals the history of this place, and talks to artists who have transformed it into an art gallery hidden in the woods. Additional Reading: Read the transcript for this episode Web story: Hidden in the Oakland Hills Is An Outdoor Gallery of Murals 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, Katrina Schwartz, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Alex Gonzalez, Dan Brekke, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

It's a three-part transit lightning round! First we look at if aggressive driving has gotten worse in recent years. Then we take a trip on the San Francisco Water Taxi, and discover a low-cost way to get out on the San Francisco Bay. Finally, we crunch on the numbers on if the SMART Train in Sonoma and Marin is easing traffic along the 101 corridor. Buckle up, the answers are coming fast and furious this week. Additional Reading: Read the transcript for this episode Is the SMART Train Easing Highway 101 Traffic in Marin and Sonoma? Scooting Along the San Francisco Bay Front in a Water Taxi 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, Katrina Schwartz and Paul Lancour. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Spre

When listener Beth Caissie moved to San Francisco she'd heard of Ghirardelli Chocolate, but she was surprised there were so many other fabulous chocolate shops around. She wondered if the lineage stretches all the way back to the Gold Rush. It does! And because high quality chocolate was produced here, innovative chocolate makers from all over the world have put their own cultural twist on the sweet treat. Additional Reading: From Ghirardelli to Socola: Unwrapping S.F's Chocolate History Why Burlingame Smells Like Chocolate Transcript 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 Adhiti Bandlamudi. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Ker