394 episodes

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.

Bay Curious KQED

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.8 • 944 Ratings

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.

    1906 Earthquake: Oral Histories from Black San Franciscans

    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 got her wondering how this specific community fared after the quake, especially given the entrenched racism of the time.
    Additional Reading:

    Stunning Archival Photos Of the 1906 Earthquake And Fire

    tanea lunsford lynx's We Were Here project

    Entire set of Afro-American Oral Histories, Pre-WWII

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    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, Christopher Beale, Brendan Willard and Katherine Monahan. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

    • 23 min
    How Eucalyptus Got Here, and Why It Burns

    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 journey through how this non-native tree came to the state. We'll learn why it was planted in such large numbers in the first place. Then we explore why some Eucalyptus groves have become a concerning wildfire threat.
    Additional Reading:

    Eucalyptus: How California's Most Hated Tree Took Root

    Read the transcript for this episode

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    Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts
    This story was reported by Daniel Potter. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

    • 16 min
    Abalone: The Treasured Sea Snails Disappearing Off California's Coast

    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 last ten years she hasn't seen any. She wants to know: what happened to all the abalone?
    Additional Reading:

    Climate Change-Induced Heatwaves Are Decimating California's Kelp and Abalone

    Bay Curious Podcast Garage Event April 11

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    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, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

    • 20 min
    Where Are All the School Buses?

    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 immediately noticed there weren't as many of those big yellow buses taking kids to school. She wants to know why.

    Additional Reading:

    Why Doesn't California Have More School Buses?

    How the San Francisco School Lottery Works, And How It Doesn't

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    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 Erika Kelly, Dan Brekke, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

    • 22 min
    Queer, Fabulous and Proud: SF’s Drag History

    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. Today we’re taking a crash course through decades of drag herstory to better understand it’s larger impact on San Francisco, and the country.
    Additional Reading:

    How SF's Drag Queens Shaped the City (and the World)

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    Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. This story was reported by Christopher Beale. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

    • 24 min
    Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe at SLAC

    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 Eric Nelson has wondered what that building is for years. Turns out, scientists are unraveling the mysteries of the universe inside SLAC. We take you on a tour.
    Additional Reading:

    Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe Inside SLAC

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    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 Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Joshua Ling, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED family.

    • 19 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
944 Ratings

944 Ratings

94kat ,

There’s no place like home..

I’ve been a listener for a few years now and absolutely love the podcast. I grew up in the Bay Area and enjoy learning about the region’s secrets and mysteries, and enchanting stories from community members that really make listening worthwhile. Excellent reporting from the entire team, whose work really makes me feel nostalgia for the Bay Area while being miles away from home.

Burrows2 ,

Bay Area love!

Always fun to learn more about where I live!

tangier73 ,

Old clothing

I just discovered you as I was looking for what to do with our old clothes. Thank you sooooo much for covering this important issue. I wish more were aware of the problem of our overconsumption of cheap clothing. I try the buy second hand.
Thank you so much from NW
Oregon. 🌲💚🌲♻️

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