Bay Curious

This week we've got a two-question lightning round for you. First, reporter Pauline Bartolone investigates whether the growing popularity of zero emission vehicles is making a noticeable difference in Bay Area air quality. Then, video producer Anna Vignet looks into the history of a bridge with a strikingly similar appearance to the Golden Gate Bridge... in Portugal.Additional Reading: Are Zero-Emission Vehicles Making a Dent in California's Air Pollution? What's With the Golden Gate Bridge Lookalike in Lisbon? Read a transcript of this episode Take our audience survey Check out our new Bay Curious book Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcastsThese stories was reported by Pauline Bartolone and Anna Vignet. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale, Brendan Willard and Jim Bennett. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

Bay to Breakers in San Francisco is much more than just an annual race. The event has become notorious for its party-like atmosphere, with thousands of people running the 7.5 mile route in wild costumes, or wearing absolutely nothing at all. With its 110+ year history in the city, how did Bay to Breakers go from an ordinary race to a kind of festival-on-foot? Reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman chases down the answer and explores the event's highs and lows on this week's episode.Additional Reading: Bay to Breakers Is Part Race, Part Parade and Classic San Francisco Read a transcript of this episode Sign up for our newsletter Take our audience survey Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Check out our new Bay Curious book Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcastsThis story was reported by Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Pauline Bartolone, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

Crows seem to be everywhere these days, noticed listener Kevin Branch. He asked Bay Curious: "Why are there so many? Are crows replacing other familiar birds, such as mockingbirds, blue jays and red-winged blackbirds? Is there a plan to reduce crow populations?" KQED's Dan Brekke takes us on a journey to find those answers in this updated episode which first ran in 2019.Additional Reading: Crows Are Crowding Your Bay Area Skies. Why? Read a transcript of this episode Take our audience survey 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/podcastsThis story was reported by Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Katie McMurran. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

You may have noticed that your local chain big box or drugstore has locked certain items behind plexiglass, requiring you to hail an employee to grab things like deodorant or laundry detergent. Companies say know this is annoying, but that it's necessary to prevent theft. So does it actually work? How big of a problem is retail theft anyway? Reporter Katherine Monahan went shopping for the answer.Additional Reading: Why Are Retail Stores Locking Up Basic Necessities? Read a transcript of this episode Fill out our audience survey 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/podcastsThis story was reported by Katherine Monahan. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

For generations, parents have been taking their young kids to Children's Fairyland, a storybook-themed amusement park next to Oakland's Lake Merritt. So what's the 'Once upon a time...' of this beloved East Bay cultural gem, which may even have inspired Walt Disney? Reporter Pauline Bartolone takes a journey with her own little one to learn about Fairyland's 72-year history.Additional Reading: The Future Looks Bright for Children's Fairyland, as It Seeks to Better Reflect Oakland's Cultural Rainbow Read a transcript of this episode The Bay Curious book is out now! Get your copy. 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/podcastsThis story was reported by Pauline Bartolone. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

High School—It's a pretty wild time in our lives. You're still growing and figuring out who you are, while juggling schoolwork, relationships, responsibilities, and rapidly-approaching adulthood. As part of KQED's Youth Takeover week, four high school students have been sharing audio diaries with us over the past few months. They let us into what's happening in their lives, and all the joys and heartbreaks of being a teenager.Additional Reading: Inside the Lives of Four Bay Area Teens 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/podcastsThank you to our youth contributors: Emiliano Mejia, Yulieth Aguilar, Carlos Escala and Finn McDonald. And thanks to KQED Youth Media Program Manager Amanda Vigil and Specialist Emiliano Villa. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

After a wet winter, California hillsides are carpeted with wildflowers — especially our glowing, golden orange state flower, the California Poppy. In honor of this super-bloom, we're reprising our episode from 2017 about a rumor concerning these little beauties: that it's illegal to pick them. Reporter Jessica Placzek helps us answer that question, and discovers more about them and their use by indigenous peoples.Additional Reading: Can You Go To Jail For Picking California's State Flower? Read a transcript of this episode Hear our episode about how 420 became synonymous with smoking weed Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest This episode was reported by Jessica Placzek. Bay Curious is made at KQED by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, Brendan Willard and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

During California's Gold Rush when miners flocked to the Bay Area, so too did people selling goods to those fortune seekers. One of these businesses grew to become a historic Union Square department store that brought a taste of French finery to those San Franciscans who could afford it. Reporter Christopher Beale explores the origins and legacy of the 100+ year run of 'City of Paris.'Additional Reading: How the City of Paris Department Store Once Embodied 'All Things French' for San Franciscans 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/podcastsThis story was reported by Christopher Beale. Special thanks this week to Raphaël Timmons. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Cesar Saldana, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

If you live in a city, you've likely noticed that it's kind of difficult to see the stars at night through the glow of artificial lighting. That urban lighting bubble is getting brighter every year. So what can we do about it? KQED Science reporter Sarah Mohamad shines the light on light pollution, and where you can still go connect with the cosmos.Additional Reading: In Search of Bright Stars: Can the Bay Area Reduce its Worsening Light Pollution? Read a transcript of this episode here Get tickets to our Bay Curious book launch variety show! Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest This episode was reported by Sarah Mohamad. Bay Curious is made at member-supported KQED by Olivia Allen-Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Special thanks to Paul Lancour and Kevin Stark. Additional support from Carly Severn, Cesar Saldaña, Jen Chien, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.

There’s a stretch of Highway 101 between South San Francisco and Candlestick Park where the road gets very straight and runs right next to the Bay. Even though there are lot of 'No Parking' signs in the area, some people are willing to risk a ticket for the good fishing in that particular spot. What are they catching, and what other treasures are fisher folk pulling out of San Francisco Bay and beyond? We sent producer Katrina Schwartz out to reel in the answer, and dip her own toes into the water.Additional Reading: Why Do People Fish off Highway 101 Near Brisbane? Read a transcript of this episode Get tickets for the Bay Curious book launch! This episode was reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Olivia-Allen Price, Amanda Font, and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Paul Lancour, Cesar Saldaña, Jen Chien, Jasmine Garnett, Carly Severn, Jenny Pritchett and Holly Kernan.