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
The Demon of the Belfry
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 had it…
- Bay Curious
Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan
One chapter in the Bay Area's long tradition of local subcultures is often overlooked: America’s first official satanic church was started right here in San…
Bay CuriousA Spooky Mansion & The Notorious Lone Tree
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 Oakland became…
Bay CuriousThe House Sarah Winchester Built
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 Area with…
- Bay Curious
Bay Curious Presents Spooked: Teacher's Pet
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 a series…
- Bay Curious
Is Our Bottle Recycling System Garbage?
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 Redemption…
- Bay Curious
The Burrito. The Myth. The Legend.
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. They're…
- Bay Curious
Why The Iconic Claremont Hotel Was Dry For So Long
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 stomping grounds…
- Bay Curious
The Original San Mateo-Hayward Bridge
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 in 1929…
- Bay Curious
‘Maison Bleue’: The S.F. Landmark You’ve Never Heard Of
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. Except…
- Bay Curious
The Rise and Fall of the 'Harlem of the West'
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. Or Ella…
- Bay Curious
Can We Turn Ocean Waves into Energy?
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 turn to the…
- Bay Curious
Oppenheimer, UC Berkeley and the Atomic Bomb
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. Robert…
- Bay Curious
What's Going on With Pro Women's Sports in the Bay Area?
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? Smaller cities…
- Bay Curious
Can Empty Offices Become Homes?
The office vacancy rate in downtown San Francisco is hovering around 30%. Meanwhile, thousands of people are living without shelter on city streets. Bay…
- Bay Curious
The Martini: A Story with a Twist
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 its own emoji…
- Bay Curious
Mac Dre and Lyrics on Trial
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 is best…
- Bay Curious
Are the Redwoods Doing Okay?
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 doing as…
- Bay Curious
Bay Curious Presents: A Book!
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 of our…
- Bay Curious
The Iron Horse Trail
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 may not…
- Bay Curious
Zero Emission Cars and a Golden Gate Lookalike
This week we've got a two-question lightning round for you. First, reporter Pauline Bartolone investigates whether the growing popularity of zero emission…
- Bay Curious
Bay to Breakers: Half Race, Half Party
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…
- Bay Curious
Crows Everywhere!
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…
- Bay Curious
Why Are Stores Locking Up Basic Necessities?
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…
- Bay Curious
A History of Children's Fairyland
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…
- Bay Curious
Real High Schoolers of the Bay Area
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…
- Bay Curious
Is Picking California Poppies Illegal?
After a wet winter, California hillsides are carpeted with wildflowers — especially our glowing, golden orange state flower, the California Poppy. In honor of…
- Bay Curious
San Francisco's Little Slice of Paris
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…
- Bay Curious
Our Night Skies Are Getting Brighter
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…
- Bay Curious
Why Do People Fish off Hwy 101?
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…
- Bay Curious
Farming in the Middle of a City
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…
- Bay Curious
The Castro Theatre's Past and Future
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…
- Bay Curious
Renaming a State Park
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…
- Bay Curious
How San Francisco Got its Bike Lanes
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…
- Bay Curious
The Boat-Shaped Building in Palo Alto
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…
- Bay Curious
Runoff, Rivers and Rodents
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…
- Bay Curious
Endless Winter: The Real Story of the Donner Party
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…
- Bay Curious
This Old Bay Area House
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…
- Bay Curious
Can Religious Groups Help Build Affordable Housing?
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…
- Bay Curious
The East Bay Mystery Walls
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…
- Bay Curious
Should There be Cattle in Point Reyes?
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 sight, one…
- Bay Curious
Ask Me Anything with the Bay Curious Team
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 which…
Bay CuriousIconic Transamerica Pyramid
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 bring…
Bay CuriousHomes for All: Richmond's 1950s Attempt at Integrated Housing
A group of Black ministers convinced a local Richmond developer to build homes that would be available to all Americans, including Black Americans, in the…
Bay CuriousWhy Doesn't BART Go More Places?
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 Francisco. He'd…
Bay CuriousIntoxicating Beats: The Bay Area’s African Music Scene
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 dance hits…
Bay CuriousWhy A Lot of Plastic Isn't Getting Recycled
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 into the…
- Bay Curious
Did I Actually Contact a Dead Person? A Science Editor In Search of His Mother’s Ghost
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 friend had…
Bay CuriousWhen and Why the Bay Area Became So Liberal
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 Republican…
Bay CuriousWhy Does the Bay Area Have So Many Microclimates?
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 Bay Area…
Bay CuriousProp 31: Flavored Tobacco
Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 31 is a referendum on a law California legislators passed in 2020 that…
Bay CuriousProp. 30: Taxes For Greener Transit
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 gas…
Bay CuriousProp. 29: Dialysis
Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 29 would require onsite licensed medical professional at kidney dialysis…
Bay CuriousProp. 28: Arts Education Funding
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 goes to…
Bay CuriousProps. 26 & 27: Sports Betting
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 some…
Bay CuriousProp 1: Abortion and Reproductive Rights
Prop Fest 2022 breaks down all the statewide propositions on your ballot. Proposition 1 would solidify abortion and reproductive rights into the state…
- Bay Curious
Wanna Try Roller Skating in San Francisco? Better Head to Church
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 old…
Bay CuriousLong Gone Amusement Parks That Captured Bay Area Hearts
This week we remember two amusement parks that have etched themselves into the imaginations of generations of Bay Area residents: Idora Park in Oakland and San…
Bay CuriousPurissima: The Ghost Town Hidden Near Half Moon Bay
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 south of…
Bay CuriousWhat Animals Lived in the Bay Area Before European Settlement?
Bay Curious listener Isabel Guajardo has long wondered what the Bay Area would have looked and felt like before European colonization. Specifically, she's…