Episodios

  • La Llorona: Ghost or Protector? You Decide

    La Llorona: Ghost or Protector? You Decide
    Oct 2 2025
    In the popular telling, La Llorona is a ghost. She’s the spirit of a woman who haunts watery places, wailing for her lost children. But as with all stories, the meaning of the myth has changed over time and many people now see La Llorona as a protector. For spooky October, we explore the ghostly myth that frightens children and the more empowering version of the legend. Additional Resources: La Llorona, Legend and Protector, In the Streets of 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 Sebastian Miño-Bucheli. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    18 m
  • Bears, Coyotes, Mountain Lions While Hiking or Camping? What You Should Do

    Bears, Coyotes, Mountain Lions While Hiking or Camping? What You Should Do
    Sep 25 2025
    As we go about our lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and explore this beautiful state, it's not uncommon to encounter wild animals. Whether you're hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains and see warnings about mountain lions, or camping in Tahoe where bears have learned human ways, there are some things to know about how to stay safe. KQED's audience desk reporters Sarah Wright and Carly Severn join us with helpful tips about how to coexist in nature with the animals that also call it home. Additional Resources: ⁠Camping in California? If A Bear Shows Up, Here's What to Do⁠ ⁠What to Do If You See A Mountain Lion While Hiking in the Bay Area⁠ ⁠Coexisting With California's Urban Coyotes⁠ ⁠You've Found A Sick Or Lost Animal In the Bay Area. What Should You Do?⁠ Episode transcript ⁠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 Carly Severn and Sarah Wright. 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, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    22 m
  • SF Stairways: Shortest, Longest, and Steepest

    SF Stairways: Shortest, Longest, and Steepest
    Sep 18 2025
    There are over 900 stairways in San Franciso. Some are simple wooden stairs, others beautiful climbs covered in mosaics, or utilitarian concrete steps. It’s incredibly charming and a delightful surprise to many visitors. Bay Curious listener George Krause fell in love withe stairways between photo shoots and wanted to know which are the shortest, longest and steepest stairways in the city. Many of you are stair-curious too! Additional Resources: Stairways Crisscross the Hills of San Francisco. Here's Why People Love Them Read the transcript for this episode How the Filbert Steps Came to Be an Oasis in San Francisco Where Did the Wild Parrots of San Francisco Come From? 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 Gabriela Glueck. 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.
    Más Menos
    21 m
  • The Bay Area’s Got A Wild Pig Problem

    The Bay Area’s Got A Wild Pig Problem
    Sep 11 2025
    Originally imported to Monterey County for sport by a wealthy landowner in the 1920s, wild boars now number in the hundreds of thousands, and they are destroying sensitive habitats and suburban lawns all over the state, including Morgan Hill, Lafayette and San Jose. Bay Curious listener Travis Mowbray wondered if there were any creative solutions to the problem. Additional Resources: Invasion of the Grub Snatchers: How One Rich Guy's Boars Colonized California 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, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    16 m
  • Amusement Parks of Yore: Playland-at-the-Beach and Idora Park

    Amusement Parks of Yore: Playland-at-the-Beach and Idora Park
    Aug 28 2025
    Summer is coming to an end, so we're taking a journey back in time to remember two amusement parks that have etched themselves into the imaginations of generations of Bay Area residents: Idora Park in Oakland and San Francisco's Playland at the Beach. This story originally aired in September of 2022, but we're bringing it back to celebrate the end of summer. Additional Resources Idora Park and Playland-at-the-Beach: Bay Area Amusement Parks of a Bygone Era Read the episode transcript 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 Christopher Beale. 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, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    18 m
  • Reversing Extinction? Sea Otters and Butterflies Hold Clues

    Reversing Extinction? Sea Otters and Butterflies Hold Clues
    Aug 21 2025
    The Bay Area is a biodiversity hotspot, home to species found nowhere else on Earth. But decades of urbanization have pushed many of these animals — and the ecosystems they depend on — to the edge. Can science bring them back? In this episode, we examine the remarkable comeback of the southern sea otter and an ongoing effort to resurrect the long lost Xerces blue butterfly. Additional Resources: Is Extinction Permanent? Resurrecting California's Xerces Blue Butterfly Healthy Otters Lead to a Happy Ecosystem in Monterey County's Elkhorn Slough 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 Gabriela Glueck. 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, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    26 m
  • Are Seagulls Native to the Bay Area?

    Are Seagulls Native to the Bay Area?
    Aug 14 2025
    Seagulls are everywhere in the Bay Area — flocking to Giant's games in San Francisco and crowding South Bay salt ponds. But are they actually native? Once seasonal visitors from Mono Lake, they've recently become year-round residents. We get to the bottom of this gull invasion. Additional Resources: Are California Gulls Native or Invasive to the Bay Area? Maybe Both 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, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    20 m
  • How Fremont Became Known As 'Little Kabul'

    How Fremont Became Known As 'Little Kabul'
    Aug 7 2025
    Over the past 40 years, Afghans have steadily immigrated to the East Bay town of Fremont, hoping to start new lives close to others who share their language and culture. We trace four waves of immigration and check in with Afghans who've chosen to settle in Fremont. Additional Resources: How Did Fremont Become Known As 'Little Kabul'? 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 Asal Ehsanipour. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsay and everyone on Team KQED.
    Más Menos
    24 m