Shows / Bay Curious
Bay Curious
Bay Curious is a show about your questions – and the adventures you find when you go looking for the answers. Join host Olivia Allen-Price to explore all aspects of the San Francisco Bay Area – from the debate over "Frisco", to the dinosaurs that once roamed California, to the causes of homelessness. Whether you lived here your whole life, or just arrived, Bay Curious will deepen your understanding of this place you call home.
Episodes
- Bay Curious
Bay Curious Presents Mindshift: The Black Panther Legacy and Oakland Community Schools
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 Panthers…
- Bay Curious
The Explosive History Hidden in Glen Canyon Park
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 imagine…
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An Eerie Night on the USS Hornet
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. Ghost…
Bay CuriousBay Curious Presents Close All Tabs: Stan Wars, The Fandom Menace
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 episode…
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How Often Should our Wild Lands Burn?
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…
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A Final Resting Spot for Furry Friends
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 laid to…
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The Secret History of Mary Ellen Pleasant
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 an episode…
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Proposition 36: Increasing Penalties for Drug and Theft Crimes
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. Now…
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Proposition 35: Funding Medi-Cal
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 making an…
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Proposition 34: Prescription Drug Spending (But Also ... Rent Control?)
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 number of…
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Proposition 33: Removing State Limits on Rent Control
For nearly 30 years, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act has limited how far local governments can take rent control policies. This year, Proposition 33 asks…
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Proposition 32: Minimum Wage Increase
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. Proposition 32…
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Proposition 6: Ending Forced Labor for Prisoners
In 1865, the U.S. ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude — except as punishment for convicted…
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Proposition 5: Lower the Voting Threshold to Pass Some Local Bonds
Bonds are a way for state and local governments raise money for projects—things like schools, infrastructure, or transportation. In part 4 of our Prop Fest…
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Proposition 4: Climate-Related Programs Bond
As Prop Fest continues we tackle Proposition 4, which asks voters to approve $10 billion in bonds to fund conservation and climate change related programs…
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Proposition 3: Marriage Equality Amendment
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…
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Proposition 2: School Facilities Bond
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…
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The Hunters Point Crane
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 Point…
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Does Mount Diablo Have the Biggest View in the World?
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 summit of…
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Port Costa: Quirky, Historic, Cool
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 years…
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The Low Down on Lowriders
Candy colored paint jobs, tons of artistic details, with bodies slammed almost to the ground or bouncing on hydraulics—lowriders definitely turn heads wherever…
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Ice Plant is Pretty but Pernicious
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 pink or yellow…
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It's Electric! But Car Charging Infrastructure Could Use a Jolt
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, some…
- Bay Curious
Scarlot Harlot Made Sex Worker Rights Her Life's Work
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 about…
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Which Dinosaurs Roamed the Bay Area?
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 even…
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Roses Are Red, Glitter is Plastic
While strolling through the beautiful Morcom Rose Garden, Bay Curious listener Julia Fogelson noticed something peculiar. All over the garden are signs banning…
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San Francisco's Equine Officers
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 police on…
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Is There Treasure At the Bottom of the Bay?
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…
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How Activists Stopped Developers From Filling in the Bay
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…
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Why the Name Brotherhood Way in SF?
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…
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Is the Water in the Bay Getting Greener?
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…
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Ever Seen A Koi Fish on the Sidewalk?
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…
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The Homes BART Tore Apart
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…
Bay CuriousHistory of Sutro Baths
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…
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Exploring San Francisco's Hidden Tunnels
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…
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Behind the Scenes (and Underground) with Carly Severn
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…
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Alameda: The Island That Almost Wasn't
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…
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1906 Earthquake: Oral Histories from Black San Franciscans
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…
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How Eucalyptus Got Here, and Why It Burns
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…
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Abalone: The Treasured Sea Snails Disappearing Off California's Coast
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…
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Where Are All the School Buses?
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…
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Queer, Fabulous and Proud: SF’s Drag History
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…
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Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe at SLAC
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…
Bay CuriousWhy Is It So Hard to Fix Our Own Stuff Now?
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…
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Hidden in the Oakland Hills Is An Outdoor Gallery of Murals
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…
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Has Aggressive Driving Gotten Worse? And Two Other Transit Qs
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…
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Unwrapping SF's Rich Chocolate History
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…
Bay CuriousProp 1: Big Changes to Mental Health Funding
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 we've got…
Bay CuriousWhy Piedmont Is A Separate City From Oakland
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 David Levine…
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Squirrelmania!
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 joins in as…
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The Hidden History of Fort Scott
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 bordered by…
Bay CuriousTwo Water Temples ... Why?!
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…
Bay CuriousSan Francisco's Sliver of Alameda
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. The answer…
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Dialing POP-CORN
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 represented…
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How Italians Were Treated As 'Enemy Aliens' During WWII
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 West Coast…
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How Anchor Brewing Started the Craft Beer Craze
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. But in…
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The Future of Fog
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 some…
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Rethinking San Jose's Urban Sprawl
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 climate…
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The Poster Queen of the Fillmore
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 the…
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The Marijuana Minister of the Castro
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 experience of…