Bay Curious

Unwrapping SF's Rich Chocolate History

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When listener Beth Caissie moved to San Francisco she'd heard of Ghirardelli Chocolate, but she was surprised there were so many other fabulous chocol...

Prop 1: Big Changes to Mental Health Funding

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

California's primary is just around the corner, on March 5, 2024. This year, there's a statewide Proposition on your primary ballot, but don't worry w...

Why Piedmont Is A Separate City From Oakland

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Look closely at a map of Oakland and you'll notice an odd spot that seems to have been cut out. That's the city of Piedmont. Bay Curious listener Davi...

Squirrelmania!

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, we invited Bay Curious listeners to submit questions about squirrels, and wow did you deliver! In today's episode KQED's Angela Corral join...

The Hidden History of Fort Scott

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Wander onto the parade ground of Fort Scott, and one of the first questions that comes to mind is: "What is this place?" A large grassy field is borde...

Two Water Temples ... Why?!

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Bay Area's two water temples can be an unexpected finding if you stumble upon one. Stately, round, and featuring tall stone columns, the open-air ...

San Francisco's Sliver of Alameda

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Bay Curious listener Lori Bodenhamer looks at Google Maps, she's always wondered why a small slice of Alameda island is part of San Francisco. Th...

Dialing POP-CORN

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For decades there was a phone service in Northern California that would read you the time and date if you dialed POP-CORN, the letters that represente...

How Italians Were Treated As 'Enemy Aliens' During WWII

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During World War II, 10,000 Italian citizens living in California were forced to leave their homes as part of security measures meant to protect the W...

How Anchor Brewing Started the Craft Beer Craze

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1960s and 70s, American beer drinkers didn't have many options. Large brewers were pumping out beer that was bland, tasteless and characterless...

The Future of Fog

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Foggy days are a fact of life in the Bay Area, but climate change could lead to fewer of them in the coming years. While that might be welcome news to...

Rethinking San Jose's Urban Sprawl

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

San Jose is the most populated Bay Area city with a million residents. Yet, for a city its size, it feels pretty spread out. And that's not great for ...

The Poster Queen of the Fillmore

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Fillmore Auditorium is so chock full of musical history, it feels like the building itself has a soul. Nowhere is that better on display than in t...

The Marijuana Minister of the Castro

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

During the height of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, in a small church a few blocks from the heart of the Castro, one pastor changed the experienc...

The Demon of the Belfry

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One hundred twenty-eight years ago, San Francisco was haunted by a bizarre, brutal murder case. And in terms of macabre ingredients, this story truly ...

Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One chapter in the Bay Area's long tradition of local subcultures is often overlooked: America’s first official satanic church was started right her...

A Spooky Mansion & The Notorious Lone Tree

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second episode in our month-long BOO Curious series! Today we've got a double feature. First, we look at how 19th century estate in Oaklan...

The House Sarah Winchester Built

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the first episode in our October series we're calling BOO Curious! We're kicking off this month of stories about creepy places in the Bay A...

Bay Curious Presents Spooked: Teacher's Pet

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Starting next week, we've got a whole month of stories about creepy, eerie and potentially haunted places in the Bay Area planned for you, as part of ...

Is Our Bottle Recycling System Garbage?

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever looked at your grocery receipt and seen a charge that says "CRV" next to your canned soda or bottled beer? That stands for California Re...

The Burrito. The Myth. The Legend.

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You may have seen articles use "Mission-style" to describe a certain kind of burrito you can find at taquerias in San Francisco's Mission District. Th...

Why The Iconic Claremont Hotel Was Dry For So Long

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Claremont Hotel in Oakland was once the biggest hotel on the West Coast. With it’s castle-like architecture and primo views, it’s been a stomp...

The Original San Mateo-Hayward Bridge

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The San Mateo-Hayward Bridge is the longest bridge in California. But the one you drive across today is not the original bridge — that one was built...

‘Maison Bleue’: The S.F. Landmark You’ve Never Heard Of

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

At 3841 18th Street in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood sits a light blue Victorian, not unlike the countless other homes of that style in the city...

The Rise and Fall of the 'Harlem of the West'

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you were walking down San Francisco’s Fillmore Street in the 1950s, chances are you might run into Billie Holiday stepping out of a restaurant. O...

Can We Turn Ocean Waves into Energy?

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

California is aiming to be powered 100% by clean energy by 2045, but there’s still a long way to go. With 840 miles of coastline, could California t...

Oppenheimer, UC Berkeley and the Atomic Bomb

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If you're like most people, by now you've been inundated by buzz about the new movie, "Oppenheimer," which chronicles the life of the physicist J. Rob...

What's Going on With Pro Women's Sports in the Bay Area?

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our question asker noticed the Bay Area has many professional men's teams but not a single women's or non-binary professional team. What gives? Smalle...

Can Empty Offices Become Homes?

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The office vacancy rate in downtown San Francisco is hovering around 30%. Meanwhile, thousands of people are living without shelter on city streets. B...

The Martini: A Story with a Twist

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The martini is iconic. Not just because of James Bond, but the glass it’s served in, those neon signs in front of old school bars … it even has it...

Mac Dre and Lyrics on Trial

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

One of the first instances of rap lyrics being used during a criminal trial goes back to the early 90s, and the trial of legendary rapper Mac Dre. Dre...

Are the Redwoods Doing Okay?

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

People travel from all over the world to see California's beautiful redwood forests. But some of these spectacularly tall and long lived trees aren't ...

Bay Curious Presents: A Book!

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In May, Bay Curious published the book, "Bay Curious: Exploring the Hidden True Stories of the San Francisco Bay Area." It brings a fresh eye to some ...

The Iron Horse Trail

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Iron Horse Regional Trail runs more than 30 miles through the San Ramon Valley. But many folks who walk or ride their bikes along this paved path ...

Zero Emission Cars and a Golden Gate Lookalike

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week we've got a two-question lightning round for you. First, reporter Pauline Bartolone investigates whether the growing popularity of zero emis...

Bay to Breakers: Half Race, Half Party

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

Crows Everywhere!

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Crows seem to be everywhere these days, noticed listener Kevin Branch. He asked Bay Curious: "Why are there so many? Are crows replacing other familia...

Why Are Stores Locking Up Basic Necessities?

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

A History of Children's Fairyland

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For generations, parents have been taking their young kids to Children's Fairyland, a storybook-themed amusement park next to Oakland's Lake Merritt. ...

Real High Schoolers of the Bay Area

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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, respo...

Is Picking California Poppies Illegal?

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a wet winter, California hillsides are carpeted with wildflowers — especially our glowing, golden orange state flower, the California Poppy. I...

San Francisco's Little Slice of Paris

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 g...

Our Night Skies Are Getting Brighter

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Why Do People Fish off Hwy 101?

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

Farming in the Middle of a City

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The Castro Theatre's Past and Future

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Renaming a State Park

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

How San Francisco Got its Bike Lanes

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 Boat-Shaped Building in Palo Alto

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Runoff, Rivers and Rodents

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 yea...

Endless Winter: The Real Story of the Donner Party

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 sno...

This Old Bay Area House

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

Can Religious Groups Help Build Affordable Housing?

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The East Bay Mystery Walls

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Should There be Cattle in Point Reyes?

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Beth Touchette has lived in Marin County for a long time, and has often seen seen cattle grazing in Point Reyes National Seashore. It's an unusual sig...

Ask Me Anything with the Bay Curious Team

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For our final episode of the year, Olivia Allen-Price and Katrina Schwartz answer the questions we get most often about the show: How do you choose wh...

Iconic Transamerica Pyramid

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Over the years, many Bay Curious listeners have wondered about how the iconic Transamerica Pyramid came to be. So, in the year of its 50th birthday we...

Homes for All: Richmond's 1950s Attempt at Integrated Housing

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A group of Black ministers convinced a local Richmond developer to build homes that would be available to all Americans, including Black Americans, in...

Why Doesn't BART Go More Places?

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

UC Berkeley graduate student Ziad Shafi was surprised when he arrived in the Bay Area and saw that BART trains only have one route through San Francis...

Intoxicating Beats: The Bay Area’s African Music Scene

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Bay Area has a vibrant and eclectic music scene, but when Jessica Kariisa moved here last year she couldn’t find many places playing the African...

Why A Lot of Plastic Isn't Getting Recycled

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Oakland resident Paul Beach cares a lot about recycling. So, he was troubled to hear rumors that all his carefully sorted recyclables might be going i...

Did I Actually Contact a Dead Person? A Science Editor In Search of His Mother’s Ghost

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Can spirits really speak to us from beyond death? That's what science editor and skeptic Jon Brooks has been wondering for 27 years, since he and a fr...

When and Why the Bay Area Became So Liberal

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There’s no question that today, the nine-county Bay Area votes solidly blue. But it hasn’t always been this way. One of the most conservative Repu...

Why Does the Bay Area Have So Many Microclimates?

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Scott has lived all over the Bay Area and he still can't get over how different the weather can be from one place to another. He wants to know why the...

Prop 31: Flavored Tobacco

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 31 is a referendum on a law California legislators passed in 202...

Prop. 30: Taxes For Greener Transit

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 30 is a climate measure meant to reduce the state's greenhouse g...

Prop. 29: Dialysis

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 29 would require onsite licensed medical professional at kidney ...

Prop. 28: Arts Education Funding

03 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 28 would guarantee a set amount of funding from the general fund...

Props. 26 & 27: Sports Betting

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. We're tackling Propositions 26 and 27 in one episode because they overlap in...

Prop 1: Abortion and Reproductive Rights

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 1 would solidify abortion and reproductive rights into the state...

Wanna Try Roller Skating in San Francisco? Better Head to Church

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Katie Talda recently visited San Francisco's only indoor skating rink, the Church of 8 Wheels. The novelty of skating inside an o...

Long Gone Amusement Parks That Captured Bay Area Hearts

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we remember two amusement parks that have etched themselves into the imaginations of generations of Bay Area residents: Idora Park in Oaklan...

Purissima: The Ghost Town Hidden Near Half Moon Bay

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Julia Thollaug is a teacher in the coastal town of Montera. She stumbled on the remnants of a little town called Purissima, just ...

What Animals Lived in the Bay Area Before European Settlement?

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Isabel Guajardo has long wondered what the Bay Area would have looked and felt like before European colonization. Specifically, s...

The San Francisco Years of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Erin Al Gwaiz wanted to know more about the time that famous Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera spent in San Francisco....

The Story of Russell City, the Town that Lost the Blues

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Russell City used to be a thriving community in the 1940s and 50s. But in the 1960s Alameda County and the city of Hayward used eminent domain to seiz...

Labyrinths Everywhere! Why Are There So Many in the Bay Area?

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you do a lot of walking or hiking in Bay Area, there's a reasonable chance you've stumbled upon a labyrinth—a large, winding, self contained path...

The Story Behind Those Giant Paintings Off Central Valley Highways

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Listener Nick Loey often drives between the Bay Area and Southern California. He's long wondered about the giant paintings that dot many Central Valle...

The Farallon Islands: Nice Home For Birds, Less So for Humans

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty-seven miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Farallon Islands jut out of the Pacific. On the clearest of days, the grouping of 20 islets is ...

Why Were Many SF Hospitals Once Affiliated With Ethnic Groups?

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Ken Katz noticed that many of San Francisco's current hospitals used to have names affiliated with ethnic groups, like the French...

The WWII Prison Camp in Pacifica That's Been Largely Erased

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sharp Park in Pacifica was the site of a prison camp during World War II, where residents deemed "highly dangerous" were sent. It's lesser-known than ...

The Sizzler: The California Origin Story Behind One of India’s Flashiest Dishes

23 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Take any popular dish – pizza, ice cream, hot dogs – and try to trace its origin story. Chances are, you’re going to go on a winding road with c...

How San Francisco and Ed Hardy Gave Rise to the Custom Tattoo

16 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

San Francisco has left a mark on American tattoo history. In today's episode, we learn about longtime Bay Area resident Ed Hardy's impact on the indus...

Was Monterey Jack Cheese Created in Pacifica?

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Monterey Jack cheese get its name from the nearby city of Monterey, but the city of Pacifica alleges it should really be called Pacifica Jack. On this...

S.F.’s AIDS Memorial Grove is a Place Like No Other

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dawn Linhardt lives near Golden Gate Park and often wanders through the AIDS Memorial Grove at its eastern end. She finds it to be one of the most tra...

Does Anyone Play Polo at the Golden Gate Park Polo Field Anymore?

02 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

These days, the Golden Gate Park Polo Field in San Francisco is probably best known as the home to music festivals like Outside Lands. But for nearly ...

Golden Gate Park's Windmills Were Essential, Then Abandoned for Decades.

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Murphy Windmill is one of the largest windmills outside of Holland. It, along with the smaller and older Dutch Windmill, once provided essential w...

The Complicated Origins of S.F.'s Beloved Japanese Tea Garden

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park was originally built as a temporary exhibit for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894....

Meet The Bison Herd of Golden Gate Park

30 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bison once roamed the West, but settlers hunted them to the brink of extinction in the 19th century. A captive breeding program operated in Golden Gat...

Golden Gate Park Was Once Miles and Miles of Sand Dunes

26 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Will Kardas heard once that it was a magical combination of spit and manure that allowed early San Franciscans to tame the sand d...

This Bay Area Sex-Loving Commune Is Still Going Strong

12 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sabrina McQueen grew up in Walnut Creek and would often see people driving around in purple limos. The locals call them "Purple People," and she's bee...

Nope, The Stanford Dish Isn’t Listening For Aliens. It Was Built to Spy on Russia

05 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Former Menlo Park resident Jim Timmons remembers the park around the Stanford Dish fondly. It has tons of wildlife and great views. But he wants to kn...

Teens Take Us Inside Bay Area Sneaker Culture

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

If you see someone wearing a pair of pristine, gleaming white sneakers do you ever ask yourself: How do they keep their shoes so clean? We dig into sn...

For Many Tenants, Section 8 Is A Broken Promise. Can It Be Fixed?

21 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Millions of people are evicted each year, often because they can't pay rent. That causes a cascade of problems and makes it harder for many to get bac...

West Oakland's 16th Street Station Was Once A Community Anchor

14 Apr 2022

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...

Why You Might See Wacky Art Cars Rolling Downhill in McLaren Park

07 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Bay Curious listener Rich Wipfler loves cars. So when he read that back in 1975 the museum that would become SFMOMA held a soapbox derby where local a...

What Makes a Street ‘Private’? And Why Does San Francisco Have So Many?

31 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When Victoria Eng did a web search for her Duboce Triangle avenue she learned something curious. “It popped up on a list as an intersection of a pr...

What Happened to the Ohlone Shellmounds?

24 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Shellmounds are man-made mounds of earth and organic matter that were built up by humans over thousands of years. They were created by the people nati...

Latinos in La Misión: A Story of Resistance and Community

17 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Mission District is one of San Francisco’s most famed neighborhoods -- and one of its oldest. It’s lived a lot of lives, from the Yelamu nativ...

What's It Like to Live on the Filbert Steps?

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Eric Johnson has been trying to explore more areas of San Francisco. He discovered the Filbert Steps on Telegraph Hill one beautiful spring day and it...