Bay Curious

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 today's episode, we'll explore the many reasons San Francisco families choose to send their kids to private schools. It's a trend rooted in the history of desegregation that's been hard to reverse. Additional Resources: Why Is Private Schooling So Popular in the San Francisco Bay Area? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! 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 Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

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 Latinos to have easy conversations about hard things: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. Hyphenación—where conversation and cultura meet!

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, Fremont, Walnut Creek and San Jose. For several months, these teenagers — two juniors and two seniors — have shared what’s going on in their lives, what’s got them worried, what’s making them excited and what they're passionate about. Additional Resources Read the transcript for this episode Check out more from Youth Takeover Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This episode was produced by Alan Montecillo, Jessica Kariisa, Ericka Cruz Guevarra and Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Mel Velasquez, Kyana Moghadam, Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

A few sentences here that talk about the question asker and give listeners a brief synopsis of what they can expect in the episode. Try to include geographic keywords as much as possible. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode The Future Looks Bright For Fairyland, as It Seeks to Better Reflect Oakland's Cultural Rainbow Fairy Houses Enchant Point Richmond With Miniature Worlds of Whimsy Where To Take Kids in the Bay Area New Parent? Ideas For Exploring With a Little Kid Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

A lot of things in the South Bay, specifically around Cupertino and Mountain View, are named after somebody called Stevens. There’s Stevens Creek Boulevard, the Stevens Creek watershed, and Stevens Creek Reservoir, to name a few. Our question asker, Pete Smoot, wants to know: Who exactly was Stevens? Turns out we should really be asking: "Who was Stephens?" with a P-H! We've been misspelling the name of Elisha Stephens for decades. In this episode we learn more about the man behind the name, and his adventurous pioneer life in early California. Additional Resources: The South Bay Is All 'Stevens Creek' This and 'Stevens Creek' That. So Who Is This Stevens Anyway? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! 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 Katrina Schwartz, Olivia Allen-Price and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Gabriela Glueck, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

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 outsized role in the industry — especially in providing the workers who did the tough, dirty, low-paid work in the canneries. We trace the salmon connections between San Francisco and Alaska and learn about the early workers who made the industry possible. Additional Resources: How Canned Salmon Became Big Business in Gold Rush San Francisco Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! 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 Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

Bay Curious listener Tom Rausch grew up in Berkeley in the 1960s. Some of his most vivid memories from that time are of the old Berkeley dump. “It really was just this big, giant pit where you backed up your car, opened up your trunk and just shoveled whatever you had into this open pit,” he said. Fast forward to today, and the dump is long gone. In its place is César Chávez Park, a big grassy expanse with sweeping views of the entire San Francisco Bay. Rausch recently started to wonder about the old dump, and submitted some questions to Bay Curious. How did it go from a squalid mass of junk to a beautiful shoreline park where people go to walk their dogs, fly kites and have picnics? And what are some of the challenges of turning a big pile of trash into a recreational space? Reporter Dana Cronin takes us on the journey to find out. Additional Reading: The 'Trashy' History of Berkeley’s César Chávez Park Read the transcript of 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 and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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 a highly anticipated parting gift given out at the biggest shows. “The posters are artifacts, pieces of time,” says this week's question asker ,Ben Kaiser. “They’re as much [a part] of the concert as the concert.” That got him wondering: the posters of the Fillmore are so legendary, who is the person behind them? From 1985 to 2019, the answer was Arlene Owseichik. In this episode, we meet the woman behind the posters, and learn about the creative process that went into the creation of each one. Bay Curious answers your questions about the San Francisco Bay Area each week. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, submit it at baycurious.org. Additional Reading: Meet the Woman Behind Thousands of Famous Fillmore Posters Read the transcript of 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 Bianca Taylor. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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, including: Where does all that toll money from Bay Area bridges go? Why has one toll booth on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge been closed for years? Why are do so many of our interstates end in "80"? And: Are there more vanity plates in the Bay Area? Plus a few more! We're joined by KQED's Dan Brekke, who has been covering transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 20 years. Additional reading: You're Really, Really Curious About BART Why Doesn't BART Go More Places? When BART Was Built, People — and Houses — Had to Go The Tale of the Bay Bridge Troll Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest You can submit a question to Bay Curious. 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. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

A Bay Area artist in Richmond has been stealthily building and placing fairy houses around his neighborhood. His creations bring ‘endless fun and fascination’ to the East Bay town. And, across the Bay Bridge, a waterfall in Golden Gate Park is sometimes an "alarming shade of green." What's going on with the water there? Additional Reading Point Richmond's Fairy Houses: Miniature Worlds of Whimsy Ever Wondered Why Some Water in Golden Gate Park is Bright Green? Join us for trivia on April 1st! Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Read the transcript for this episode. 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 and Chris Hambrick. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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 offering sanctuary to a community that hasn't always felt welcome elsewhere. As lesbian bars around the Bay Area have been closing, the Wild Side West has survived in part because of dedicated regulars, like Timotha Doane, who has been going there for over fifty years. She just celebrated her 80th birthday at the bar! Read the transcript for this episode. Additional Reading: San Francisco's Oldest Lesbian Bar Has Been A Safe Space For More Than 60 Years 5 Historic Lesbian Bars We Wish Still Existed 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 Ana de Almeida Amaral. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Ever wonder where the internet stops and IRL begins? Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor. From internet trends to AI slop to the politics of memes, Close All Tabs covers it all. How will AI change our jobs and lives? Is the government watching what I post? Is there life beyond TikTok? Host Morgan Sung pulls from experts, the audience, and history to add context to the trends and depth to the memes. And she’ll wrestle with as many browser tabs as it takes to explain the cultural moment we’re all collectively living.

A British sailor named Charles Lightoller visited San Francisco in the late 1800s and raved about the "'Frisco biscuit" he ate there. Carl Merrit read that in a book and wondered: "What is a Frisco biscuit?" That little question took us on a long journey for the answer. Additional Reading: Include a link to the web post for this very episode Is There Treasure At the Bottom Of San Francisco Bay 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 Gabriela Glueck. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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. This episode is brought to you by the team over on KQED's The Bay podcast. Additional Reading: 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 Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale, with support this week from Brian Douglas. The Bay episode was produced by Jessica Kariisa and Dana Cronin. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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 rundown now, but it was clearly once dazzling. In today's episode, we explore how this spot was important to West Oakland's Black community and the Civil Rights Movement. And we get a promising update on it's future. Additional Reading How Oakland's 16th Street Station Helped Build West Oakland and the Modern Civil Rights Movement Transcript of this episode Legacy of the Pullman Car Porters 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 and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Reserving camp sites in California can feel sometimes feel as hard as scoring Taylor Swift concert tickets. KQED's Senior Editor for Audience News, Carly Severn, breaks down some tips and tricks so you can score a great spot this summer. Additional Reading: Episode Transcript How to Find a Camping Spot in California (When They Always Seem to Be Booked) Want to Go Camping in the Bay Area This Summer? Get Your Reservations Now (Seriously) Camping in California? If A Bear Show Up, Here's What to Do 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 Kelly O'Mara and Carly Severn. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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 human resident is caretaker for Brooks Island, which is actually a nature preserve run by the East Bay Regional Parks District. This week, reporter Katherine Monahan paddles out on a special kayak tour to discover the rich history of this lonely little island in the bay. Additional Reading Discovering Brooks Island, a Scenic Surprise in San Francisco Bay Read a transcript of this episode Book a kayak tour to Brooks Island 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, Amanda Font and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

Mare Island, Alameda Naval Air Station, Treasure Island — San Francisco Bay is surrounded by former military bases that look largely abandoned and forgotten. Some businesses and artists are already making use of these spaces, but as reporter Pauline Bartolone finds out, redeveloping old military sites can be challenging, especially if the idea is to build much needed housing. This is the second installment in a two part series on shuttered military bases. You can listen to part one about why they closed in the first place here. Additional reading: 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, Amanda Font and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Paul Lancour, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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 Station, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Fort Baker and a slew of others—all of them closed. The Bay was once considered a strategic military stronghold, the 'Gateway to the Pacific,' but at some point that changed. This week, in the first installment of a two part story, Pauline Bartolone digs into the history of why the Bay Area's military presence has mostly disappeared. Additional Reading: Read a transcript of 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 Pauline Bartolone. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Paul Lancour, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

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 Dana Cronin dives into this question about whether it's safe to swim in the bay and when it might not be such a good idea. Additional Reading: Is it Safe to Swim in the Bay? Braving the Cold (and Sometimes Dirty) Water Read a transcript of the 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, Amanda Font, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.