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PODCAST

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.

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

27:28

How to Make Friends in the Bay Area

Bay Curious ·

2026/04/20

It's hard these days to make a good old fashioned friend! Especially here in the Bay Area, where there are so many demands for our time and attention. On today's show, we hear some of your experiences with making friends in the Bay Area, and follow one listener as she tries to meet new friends in San Jose. This episode originally aired on The Bay podcast. Be sure to subscribe!Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want

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22:51

Real Voices From San Francisco's Great Quake of 1906

Bay Curious ·

2026/04/16

Recently uncovered and long forgotten oral histories from Black Americans who survived the 1906 Earthquake and Fire are front and center in this episode all about the stories history forgot. Given the racism of the day, how did the Black community recover from the devastation of the Great Quake? And how do people remember those moments when the earth shook and fire consumed the city? Additional Resources: Stunning Archival Photos of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire Read the transcript for this

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14:05

The Broken Alphabet of SF's Westside Streets

Bay Curious ·

2026/04/13

On the west side of San Francisco, the streets running east-west follow a bit of a pattern. They seem to be alphabetical, starting in the middle of the Richmond and going south, across Golden Gate Park, and into the Sunset District. Except, there are some anomalies in the pattern. Most of the names seem to be Spanish, but not all, and most of the alphabet is represented, but not all. What's going on?Additional Resources: From Anza to Yorba: The Messy History Behind the Richmond and Sunset’s

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17:47

Redevelopment in San Jose is Hard. Cambrian Park...

Bay Curious ·

2026/04/09

Cambrian Park Plaza, a strip mall in San Jose, was once the heart of the neighborhood. Featuring a bowling alley, grocery store, post office, clothing stores and more, it had everything nearby residents might need. But it's faded significantly since it's heyday in the 1960s-1980s. Now the smattering of stores that are there are on short term leases, and may storefronts sit empty. On today's show, we explore the fight to redevelop this space, and the market conditions that have made moving forward a

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14:00

George and Gracie: The Robot Voices of BART

Bay Curious ·

2026/04/06

When BART trains pull into stations, a robotic and antiquated-sounding voice announces its arrival and destination. Bay Curious listener Jimmy Tobin has long been baffled by these voices. They're hard to understand, he says, and why is it that in the cities pioneering AI and synthesized speech models our own trains are nearly unintelligible?Additional Resources: In a Tech Hub Like the Bay Area, Why Do BART Announcements Sound So Ancient? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for

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23:36

Overlogged and Thirsty: Bay Area Redwoods Are Struggling

Bay Curious ·

2026/04/02

Muir Woods National Monument is known for its towering redwoods because some old growth trees have been preserved there. But redwoods used to grow all over the San Francisco Bay Area until they were logged for their timber just after the Gold Rush. Most of what we see in places like Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in Oakland are second growth trees, ones that have grown since that time. After the 1906 earthquake and fire was another period of intense logging. Timbermen worked their way up the coast

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16:14

The Towering Cross in the Middle of San Francisco

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/30

Tucked away on a wooded hillside in the middle of San Francisco sits a big concrete cross. When it was built, it could be seen from miles around. Now, a thick grove of trees partially shields it from view. Over the years, Bay Curious has gotten several questions about the cross that we answer in today's episode, which first aired in 2021.Additional Resources: Why There's a Cross on San Francisco's Highest Peak Read the episode transcript Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you

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22:04

The Mercury Mine That Built a Boomtown Near San Jose

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/26

Before Silicon Valley, before the Valley of Heart’s Delight, the hills south of San Jose were home to one of the world’s richest mercury mines: New Almaden. Its quicksilver powered the California Gold Rush, but today, few traces of those boom boom days remain, other than the toxic legacy still circulating in the San Francisco Bay. In today's episode we answer three listener questions about the mine and it's history.Additional Resources: New Almaden: The Mercury Mine That Built a Boomtown South

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18:30

Unsung Heroines: Rebel Girls of the Bay Area

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/23

Women have dramatically influenced San Francisco Bay Area history since before the Gold Rush, but their stories are often far less well known. Rae Alexandra's new book, Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area shines a light on these untold stories, highlight these women's impact on the social, cultural and political life of the Bay Area. *An earlier version of this episode incorrectly named the District 3 supervisor involved in naming Tien Fuh Wu Way. We regret the error. Additional

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24:43

The Bear on the California Flag

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/19

There's a pervasive story that the bear on California's state flag is modeled on a real California grizzly that was kept in captivity in San Francisco in the late 1800s. But when Bay Curious listener Mark Karn started researching Monarch, the facts weren't lining up for him. He wants to know, is it really Monarch on the state flag? Or, could it be a different bear altogether?Additional Resources: Who Is the Bear on the California Flag? A Story Bigger Than One Legend Read the transcript for

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29:06

Secrets of Golden Gate Park

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/16

San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is at the heart of city life. Created in 1870 when the land was mostly sand dunes, the park is now one of the crown jewels of the city by the bay and is a must-visit for anyone traveling here. World famous institutions like the Conservatory of Flowers, De Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Botanical Gardens and Japanese Tea Gardens are located in the park, but there are just as many hidden trails, magical dells and places to get lost. We

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17:29

The Navy Jet Generations of SF Kids Played On

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/12

One of Aaron Van Lieu's first memories is playing on a real fighter jet in San Francisco's Carl Larsen Park. Located on 19th Avenue at Vicente Street, the jet was a delight to neighborhood children for decades. But towards the end of its residency in the park, the plane began to deteriorate. Aaron wants to know what happened to it.Additional Resources: The Navy Jet Generations of San Francisco Kids Played On Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a

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17:07

Why So Many Legal Courts in S.F.?

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/09

Longtime listener Henry Lie was driving through San Francisco one day when he realized the staggering number of legal courts located in the heart of the city. Upon further investigation, he realized we had all levels of court on the state side, and all except the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal side. Wowsa! How did so many end up here? KQED's Molly Lacob takes us through some legal history.Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a

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17:28

How South San Francisco Went From Industrial City to...

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/05

When scientists began tinkering with DNA in the 1970s, biotechnology was not welcome in leafy residential neighborhoods or many college towns. But it was embraced by an industrial city by the Bay. In today's episode we come to learn how South San Francisco became one of the world's most valuable hubs of biotech. Additional Resources: How South San Francisco Became the Birthplace of Biotechnology Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want

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16:05

The Eccentric Personalities Behind Sunnyside...

Bay Curious ·

2026/03/02

Mary Balmana grew up in San Francisco and has driven down Monterey Boulevard near the Glen Park neighborhood hundreds of times. She often notices a large, beautiful Victorian building tucked between the houses and apartment buildings that dominate the block. And she's wondered, what's the story with it? How did such a grand building end up in such an unassuming spot?Additional Resources: The Eccentric Personalities Behind Sunnyside Conservatory, a 120-Year-Old Garden in San Francisco Read

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17:24

The Case of the Missing Tree Frogs

Bay Curious ·

2026/02/26

Bay Curious listener Dave Ellis lives in the South Bay city of Saratoga. When he was a kid growing up there, he remembers loud tree frogs chorusing almost all the time. But now, even in spring when they should be loudest, he says it's eerily quiet. What's going on?Additional Resources: A South Bay Mystery: What Happened to All the Tree Frogs? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts

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15:04

How Italian Is North Beach? The Surprising Stats

Bay Curious ·

2026/02/23

Bay Curious listener Grant Strother has been visiting San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood his whole life. He loves to get a caprese sandwich at Molinari's Deli, which has been there since the late 1800s. But he wondered, apart from the restaurants, how Italian is North Beach these days? Do Italians still live here? Or, is it all just for tourists?Additional Resources: Ciao Bella: Do Italians Still Live in San Francisco's North Beach? Read the transcript for this episode San

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23:00

The Rise and Fall of Bay Area Streetcars

Bay Curious ·

2026/02/19

Commuting from East Bay cities like Berkeley and Oakland into San Francisco can be dismal. So when people learn there used to be an extensive streetcar system that crisscrossed the East Bay they want to know, what happened to it? The Key System, as it was known, could get a person from Berkeley or Oakland into San Francisco in 35-40 minutes and was a popular way to travel in the early part of the 20th century. What happened to it and were there nefarious forces contributing to its

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19:07

Meet the Duduk Whisperer

Bay Curious ·

2026/02/16

While you might not recognize the name, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the haunting, almost otherworldly sound the duduk makes. This humble shepherd’s flute wandered out of the Armenian countryside and into Hollywood, making cameos on the scores of movies and shows like The Gladiator and The Last Temptation of Christ. The duduk was even recently synthesized on both Dune soundtracks. Audiences in the Bay Area don’t get many chances to hear the instrument live — unless they’re able to catch a

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15:21

The SF Landmark You've Never Heard of...Unless You're...

Bay Curious ·

2026/02/12

There's a blue house in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood that is constantly mobbed by French tour groups. Bay Curious listener Helen Walker wants to know, "why?" This episode first aired in 2023.Additional Resources: The San Francisco Landmark You've Never Heard Of...Unless You're French Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to

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511 results

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