Not Your Century

San Francisco Chronicle

4.6 (112)
HISTORY
UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

On hiatus as of March 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis. Get unlimited access to the Chronicle. | A daily celebration of the news — and the news media — of years gone by. King Kaufman takes you on a quick tour of the Bay Area and the world as it used to be, which often colors the world of your century.

03/16/2020

1959: The Dalai Lama Escapes

The 23-year-old religious and spiritual leader of Tibet gets an invitation from the occupying Chinese to come to a dance performance. Without bodyguards. Sensing a trap, he flees on foot over the Himalayas to India, where he remains in exile. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 min
03/13/2020

1922: Fatty Arbuckle's Third Trial

He's a giant of silent comedies, in more ways than one. Hollywood's first million-dollar star is a baby-faced man-mountain with the grace of a dancer. But a sensational rape and manslaughter case has derailed his life and career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 min
03/11/2020

1918: The Flu Pandemic

A century before the COVID-19 coronavirus, the United States, like all combatants in the Great War, wants to keep the exploding flu crisis quiet to protect morale and prevent the enemy from seeing weakness. Sound familiar? | (Correction: An earlier version of this episode contained an error. Some 675,000 AIDS deaths occurred in the United States.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 min
03/09/2020

1964: The Palace Hotel Protest Leader

As an 18-year-old, Tracy Sims was the leader of civil rights protests that forced San Francisco hotels to end hiring discrimination. Now Tamam Tracy Moncur, the retired schoolteacher remembers a time when "the whole country was on fire for civil rights." | See also: 1964: Civil Rights at the Palace Hotel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 min
03/06/2020

1981: Walter Cronkite Signs Off

"That's the way it is," says the Most Trusted Man in America — for the last time, as he retires from anchoring the CBS Evening News. It's like a presidential changeover. | Get unlimited Chronicle access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 min
03/04/2020

1946: Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech

In a college gym in small-town Missouri, former Prime Minister Winston Churchill tries to shake Americans out of their postwar bliss by saying their old ally "Uncle Joe" Stalin has dropped an "Iron Curtain" across Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 min
03/02/2020

1991: The Rodney King Beating

When a commotion outside his apartment woke George Holliday up at 1 a.m., the plumber grabbed his new camcorder and went out to his balcony. He saw a police beating, and within a few days, everyone would see it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 min
02/28/2020

1991: Murder in Porn's First Family

The Mitchell Brothers, Jim and "Party Artie," revolutionized the adult entertainment business, first with their O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, then with movies like "Behind the Green Door." They were close. Then Jim killed Artie. Why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 min

See All (253)

4.6

out of 5

112 Ratings

Great way to start your day!

03/12/2020

MMeadows

King Kaufman of the SF Chronicle does a great job of taking yesterday’s news and making it relevant for today’s audience.
J Wallender

09/29/2019

Jdw alaska

Great stories. Quick and accurate. Love it
Entertaining and educational

05/23/2019

giantsbook

King Kaufman finds such interesting nuggets from the past and tells the stories in such an engaging fashion. The episode on Randy Shilts was a real treat - a deep dive into a little remembered story of a real titan of journalism who plied his trade at the Chronicle.
For all history lovers, local or not

05/13/2019

tuesdayrecipe

These are short and fun to listen to, and you will learn something every time you spin back in this audible time machine whether or not you are from the Bay Area. King Kaufman has the perfect century-spanning voice and great tidbits of historical detail, plus archival material from the Chronicle. I love the one on the Golden Spike.

On hiatus as of March 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis. Get unlimited access to the Chronicle. | A daily celebration of the news — and the news media — of years gone by. King Kaufman takes you on a quick tour of the Bay Area and the world as it used to be, which often colors the world of your century.