Bay Curious

A Spirited Debate Over the Best Movies Filmed in SF

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

San Francisco is an iconic looking city, so it's a little surprising that more movies aren't shot here. There are a lot of reasons for that -- cost be...

SFO's One-of-a-Kind Art Museum

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Barry Asin flies through SFO about once a month and often stops to take a look at the art exhibits dotted throughout the terminals. He particularly lo...

The Historic Mansion Hidden Under the Bay Bridge

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tucked under the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge is a once-grand mansion known as the Nimitz House. Bay Curious listener Ben Kaiser wants to know n...

Were Chain Stores Once Banned in San Francisco?

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

San Francisco is known for its distinct neighborhoods, each with its own shopping street, full of local businesses. Listener Sarah Soule grew up in th...

The Girl in the Fishbowl at Bimbo's 365 Club

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rita Hayworth, Robin Williams, Adele — these are just a few of the huge stars that have graced the stage of Bimbo’s 365 Club over its 94 years in ...

When Biological Weapons Were Secretly Tested in San Francisco

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1950, the U.S. military sprayed bacteria over San Francisco as part of a biological weapons test. The test team thought the bacteria it used was ha...

Who Killed Jane Stanford? Inside A 120-Year-Old Mystery

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Stanford University on the San Francisco peninsula is a rarified place, so its intriguing that even 120 years after her death, there's still a mystery...

Proposition 50, Thoroughly Explained

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

California voters have one proposition on the ballot this November: Proposition 50. It's supporters want California to adopt a new congressional map t...

The Punk Club That Changed San Francisco

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In San Francisco, Mabuhay Gardens was the epicenter of punk. Located on Broadway at the edge of North Beach and Chinatown, it was ground zero for the ...

Why So Many Motels on Lombard Street?

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lombard Street is famous for its winding brick lane, but beyond that iconic block lies something unexpected: a stretch of old-school motels. Why so ma...

La Llorona: Ghost or Protector? You Decide

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the popular telling, La Llorona is a ghost. She’s the spirit of a woman who haunts watery places, wailing for her lost children. But as with all ...

Bears, Coyotes, Mountain Lions While Hiking or Camping? What You Should Do

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As we go about our lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and explore this beautiful state, it's not uncommon to encounter wild animals. Whether you're h...

SF Stairways: Shortest, Longest, and Steepest

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are over 900 stairways in San Franciso. Some are simple wooden stairs, others beautiful climbs covered in mosaics, or utilitarian concrete steps...

The Bay Area’s Got A Wild Pig Problem

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Originally imported to Monterey County for sport by a wealthy landowner in the 1920s, wild boars now number in the hundreds of thousands, and they are...

Amusement Parks of Yore: Playland-at-the-Beach and Idora Park

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Summer is coming to an end, so we're taking a journey back in time to remember two amusement parks that have etched themselves into the imaginations o...

Reversing Extinction? Sea Otters and Butterflies Hold Clues

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Bay Area is a biodiversity hotspot, home to species found nowhere else on Earth. But decades of urbanization have pushed many of these animals —...

Are Seagulls Native to the Bay Area?

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Seagulls are everywhere in the Bay Area — flocking to Giant's games in San Francisco and crowding South Bay salt ponds. But are they actually native...

How Fremont Became Known As 'Little Kabul'

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Over the past 40 years, Afghans have steadily immigrated to the East Bay town of Fremont, hoping to start new lives close to others who share their l...

Julia Morgan: A Thoroughly Bay Area Architect

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Julia Morgan, the pioneering female architect, was born in San Francisco, raised in Oakland and educated at UC Berkeley and the the Ecole des Beaux-Ar...

How Daly City Became A Filipino Hub

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly one in three Daly City residents identify as Filipino, according to 2019 Census data. Bay Curious listener Ricky Tjandra wondered what makes th...

What Does It Mean to Live In an Unincorporated Area?

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Alameda is the second most populous county in the Bay Area, after Santa Clara. Oakland is the biggest city, but the county stretches all the way out t...

A Summer Trip on the Rails

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Train travel isn't as common as it used to be, but there's one Amtrak route that train enthusiasts love because it's so beautiful -- the California Ze...

The Legacy of Alameda's Japanese-American Baseball Team

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The island of Alameda has produced some great baseball players. Hall of Fame hitter Willie Stargell even has a street named after him! Some of those b...

Transamerica Pyramid: From 'Architectural Butchery' to Icon

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Transamerica Pyramid, located in downtown San Francisco, is a skyline staple. But when it was proposed, people hated the idea of a towering symbol...

What Is That Massive Tunnel on the Beach South of Fort Funston?

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On a Daly City beach just south of Fort Funston there's a large tunnel carved into the cliff. Bay Curious listener Francisco Alvarado noticed it one d...

What Is the PayPal Mafia?

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have been popping up in political circles. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been advising President Trump; bi...

How Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs Became Iconic Bay Area Street Food

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you've ever walked around Pier 39 in San Francisco or made a late-night exit from a concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, you're probably famil...

A Ford Factory Changed Milpitas, Then it Became a Mall

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Great Mall of Milpitas wasn't always a mall; it used to be a massive Ford factory. Bay Curious listener Brandon Choy wanted to know more about it...

San Francisco Businesses That Date Back to the Gold Rush

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Several Bay Area businesses have been around for a really long time. Normandin's car dealership in San Jose opened in 1875 and first sold horses and b...

Why Are Private Schools So Popular In San Francisco?

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to private school enrollment, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Marin counties are all well above the state average. But why? In...

Check Out KQED's New Show Hyphenación

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Join host Xorje Andrés Olivares and guests to explore what it means to live within a hyphenation. Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated ...

A Peek Into The Lives Of Four Bay Area Teens

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As part of Youth Takeover Week at KQED The Bay and Bay Curious have teamed up to collaborate with four high school students who live in San Pablo, F...

Olivia's Out On Maternity Leave

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Olivia Allen-Price will be taking a step back from the show for a few months to give birth to her second child. Bay Curious producer and editor Katrin...

Who is the 'Stevens' of Stevens Creek?

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A lot of things in the South Bay, specifically around Cupertino and Mountain View, are named after somebody called Stevens. There’s Stevens Creek Bo...

How Canned Salmon Became Big Business in San Francisco

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Starting in the mid-1800s, salmon canneries were big business along the West Coast, stretching all the way up to Alaska. San Francisco played an outsi...

The Berkeley Park That Was Once All Trash

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Tom Rauch grew up in Berkeley in the 1960s. Some of his most vivid memories from that time are of the old Berkeley dump. “It re...

Behind the Fillmore's Iconic Music Posters

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

These days, when you see a show at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, you might be lucky enough to get your very own poster for free. They’re...

Your Bay Area Transit Questions, Answered: Bridge Tolls, Lane Closures and Vanity Plates Too

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

One of the topics we get the most questions about from our audience is transportation. Today we round up answers to a handful of your questions, inclu...

Fairy Houses And A Very Green Waterfall

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A Bay Area artist in Richmond has been stealthily building and placing fairy houses around his neighborhood. His creations bring ‘endless fun and fa...

San Francisco's Oldest Lesbian Bar: Wild Side West

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

San Francisco's oldest lesbian bar, The Wild Side West, is in the Bernal Heights neighborhood. It's been open since 1962 and has a long history of off...

It’s Back! A Full 'Close All Tabs' Season Is Here!

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ever wonder where the internet stops and IRL begins? Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and i...

What is a Frisco Biscuit?

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A British sailor named Charles Lightoller visited San Francisco in the late 1800s and raved about the "'Frisco biscuit" he ate there. Carl Merritt rea...

Dating in the Bay Area: Your Stories

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it's on the apps or in real life it can be hard to meet romantic partners. We explore what it's like to be dating right now in the Bay Area. T...

A Fallen Gem: Oakland’s 16th Street Train Station

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Listener Tadd Williams often sees the 16th Street Station from I-880. It's a huge, stately building in the Beaux-Arts style. It's looking a little run...

Tips and Tricks to Snag California Campsites

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reserving camp sites in California can feel sometimes feel as hard as scoring Taylor Swift concert tickets. KQED's Senior Editor for Audience News, Ca...

Journey to a Lonely Island in San Francisco Bay

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just off the coast of Richmond is a small island that's home to over a hundred bird species, lots of field mice, one dog and one man. The singular hum...

What it Takes to Redevelop Old Military Bases

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mare Island, Alameda Naval Air Station, Treasure Island — San Francisco Bay is surrounded by former military bases that look largely abandoned and f...

Why Are There so Many Abandoned Military Bases?

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

All around the edges of San Francisco Bay you'll find reminders of a once robust military presence in this area. The Presidio, Alameda Naval Air Stati...

Is it Safe to Swim in San Francisco Bay?

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you can brave the cold and get over your worries about sharks, is it a good idea to swim in the bay's somewhat murky depths? This week, reporter Da...

Chinese Food and Donuts: A Classic Bay Area Combo

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever finish a big plate of lo mein and suddenly think, 'Boy, I could really go for a Boston cream'? If you're in the Bay Area, you're in luck! ...

How Fernet-Branca Became San Francisco's Favorite Spirit

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

About 25 years ago, Fernet-Branca went from a somewhat eclectic drink, shared among the city's old school bartenders, to one of the most iconic spirit...

Which San Francisco Sounds Are Lost to Time?

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our lives are full of sounds. The rumble of car engines, a particular birdsong, the 'ding' of phone alerts, even the voices of our friends and family ...

Is Monterey Jack Cheese ... Not From Monterey?

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Most people believe that Monterey Jack Cheese originated in ... Monterey. And while the name 'Monterey Jack' establishes a clear claim, this week we'r...

An Instrument Played by the Waves

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Wave Organ is an environmental sculpture that goes below the surface of the bay to create a unique sonic experience for visitors. Listener Robbie ...

Bay Curious Presents Mindshift: The Black Panther Legacy and Oakland Community Schools

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When people think of the Black Panthers, most imagine militant Black men in berets carrying guns. While that's not an inaccurate picture, the Black Pa...

The Explosive History Hidden in Glen Canyon Park

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

These days, Glen Canyon Park is a tranquil urban park with hiking trails, soccer fields and a playground, which makes it all that more difficult to im...

An Eerie Night on the USS Hornet

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are plenty of 'haunted' places in the Bay Area. But some locations are said to attract ghosts, even if they don't have a connection to the place...

Bay Curious Presents Close All Tabs: Stan Wars, The Fandom Menace

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We're presenting an episode of Close All Tabs, a new miniseries from KQED that explores the intersection of internet culture and politics. In this epi...

How Often Should our Wild Lands Burn?

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

California has over 33 million acres of forest land, about a third of the state's total area, as well as other wild land areas. For decades we've done...

A Final Resting Spot for Furry Friends

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Burying the dead in San Francisco has long been banned, but at the Presidio pet cemetery hundreds of dogs, cats, fish, iguanas, and turtles have been ...

The Secret History of Mary Ellen Pleasant

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of San Francisco's purported “ghosts,” has a remarkable real-life story often left out of San Francisco's history books. Today we bring back a...

Proposition 36: Increasing Penalties for Drug and Theft Crimes

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014, Californians passed Prop 47, a criminal justice reform measure aimed at sending fewer low-level offenders for drug and theft crimes to prison...

Proposition 35: Funding Medi-Cal

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As our Prop Fest series continues, KQED Health Correspondent Lesley McClurg joins us to explain Prop. 35, which aims to improve Medi-Cal access by mak...

Proposition 34: Prescription Drug Spending (But Also ... Rent Control?)

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we take a closer look at Prop 34, which takes aim at how revenues earned through a federal drug pricing program are spent by a very specific nu...

Proposition 33: Removing State Limits on Rent Control

01 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For nearly 30 years, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act has limited how far local governments can take rent control policies. This year, Proposition...

Proposition 32: Minimum Wage Increase

30 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As you know, California is already an expensive state to live in. When you add up rent, gas, and groceries, things get expensive real fast. Propositio...

Proposition 6: Ending Forced Labor for Prisoners

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 1865, the U.S. ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude — except as punishment for con...

Proposition 5: Lower the Voting Threshold to Pass Some Local Bonds

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bonds are a way for state and local governments raise money for projects—things like schools, infrastructure, or transportation. In part 4 of our Pr...

Proposition 4: Climate-Related Programs Bond

25 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Prop Fest continues we tackle Proposition 4, which asks voters to approve $10 billion in bonds to fund conservation and climate change related prog...

Proposition 3: Marriage Equality Amendment

24 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the second installment of our Prop Fest series we'll dig into Prop 3, which would enshrine the right to marriage for all couples into California's ...

Proposition 2: School Facilities Bond

23 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first episode of our Prop Fest series, a collaboration from Bay Curious and The Bay podcasts, where we break down each of the 10 statewide...

The Hunters Point Crane

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It looks sort of like a gigantic table...or a huge metal space dog...or maybe even an Imperial Walker from Star Wars. Whatever you imagine the Hunters...

Does Mount Diablo Have the Biggest View in the World?

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listener Mark Isaak heard that from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro you can see the most land in every direction of any spot on Earth. But that the summi...

Port Costa: Quirky, Historic, Cool

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Port Costa is a tiny, funky town on the Carquinez Strait that looks and feels like a time capsule. We've received several questions about it over the ...

The Low Down on Lowriders

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Candy colored paint jobs, tons of artistic details, with bodies slammed almost to the ground or bouncing on hydraulics—lowriders definitely turn hea...

Ice Plant is Pretty but Pernicious

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you've been anywhere along the California coast, you've seen it—ice plant. It's a low, spreading succulent with finger-like leaves and bright pin...

It's Electric! But Car Charging Infrastructure Could Use a Jolt

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

California plans to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035. But does the state have enough charging stations to support them? Today, ...

Scarlot Harlot Made Sex Worker Rights Her Life's Work

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It has been called "the world's oldest profession," but it's not one that's often discussed openly. Of course, we're talking about sex work. Attitudes...

Which Dinosaurs Roamed the Bay Area?

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Before the rise of Silicon Valley, long before the 1906 quake, way before indigenous peoples settled in the Bay Area—actually way, WAY before humans...

Roses Are Red, Glitter is Plastic

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While strolling through the beautiful Morcom Rose Garden, Bay Curious listener Julia Fogelson noticed something peculiar. All over the garden are sign...

San Francisco's Equine Officers

11 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gone are the days of the Old West with sheriffs sitting astride their horses and star shaped badges gleaming in the dusty sunshine. But the idea of po...

Is There Treasure At the Bottom of the Bay?

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 wa...

How Activists Stopped Developers From Filling in the Bay

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

Why the Name Brotherhood Way in SF?

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 KZ...

Is the Water in the Bay Getting Greener?

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 gett...

Ever Seen A Koi Fish on the Sidewalk?

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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, report...

The Homes BART Tore Apart

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 acqu...

History of Sutro Baths

09 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Exploring San Francisco's Hidden Tunnels

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Behind the Scenes (and Underground) with Carly Severn

01 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Alameda: The Island That Almost Wasn't

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

1906 Earthquake: Oral Histories from Black San Franciscans

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Listener Allison Pennell recently saw a museum booklet featuring archival photos of Black residents watching the fire that consumed the city after the...

How Eucalyptus Got Here, and Why It Burns

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Abalone: The Treasured Sea Snails Disappearing Off California's Coast

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 say...

Where Are All the School Buses?

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Queer, Fabulous and Proud: SF’s Drag History

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe at SLAC

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Why Is It So Hard to Fix Our Own Stuff Now?

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 thin...

Hidden in the Oakland Hills Is An Outdoor Gallery of Murals

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 trans...

Has Aggressive Driving Gotten Worse? And Two Other Transit Qs

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Fra...