Western monarch butterflies migrate to California to overwinter each year, traveling hundreds, even thousands of miles When they arrive, they need nectar flowers and milkweed to survive, but climate change, pesticide use and loss of habitat are threatening these magical creatures. A Bay Curious listener named Ellea wants to know what we can do to help support the Monarchs and other pollinators. One major learning from this episode: It's illegal to rear monarchs without a permit!Additional ReadingHow You Can Help Save the Monarch Butterfly and Other PollinatorsReported by Amanda Stupi. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Kyana Moghadam, Jessica Placzek, Natalia Aldana, Carly Severn, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

Bay Curious newsletter reader Mike Robbins wrote to us saying he has thousands of dollars in toll violations and penalties. The number seemed so high we were incredulous. But, it turns out if you miss a few toll invoices, or don't pay them quickly enough, it's easy for a $6 or $7 toll fee to escalate into thousands of dollars of debt. We explain how and what's being done about it.Additional Reading Hit With Bridge Toll Debt? We Explain the Change That's Led to Skyrocketing Bills for Drivers 'High Pain, Low Gain': How Bridge Toll Penalties Pile Debt on Lower-Income Drivers Ways to Pay Your Toll, Invoice or Violation Reported by Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

When trying to identify a San Francisco accent, sometimes people point to the "Mission Brogue." But San Franciscans have always had many ways of speaking. Naming just one the San Francisco accent says more about who has political power than how people speak.Additional Reading:  Why the Myth of the 'San Francisco Accent' Persists Uncovering the Real Story Behind the 'East Bay Mystery Walls' Tunnels Under San Francisco? Inside the Dark, Dangerous World of the Sewers Reported by Chloe Veltman. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

The Bay Area is full of World War II history, even if it isn't always obvious. Listener Lise Ciolino stumbled on some in her Sausalito neighborhood when she learned that during the war there was a huge shipyard there. She wants to know "how the Liberty Ships produced in Sausalito affected the outcome of World War II."Additional Reading How Black Shipyard Workers in Marin Helped Win World War II Rapping About the WWII Black Shipyard Workers in Marin "A Way Out of No Way" on Spotify Reported by Pendarvis Harshaw and Marisol Medina-Cadena. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Ceil Muller, Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

Lenore Kenny has noticed an uptick in autonomous vehicles on the streets of San Francisco in recent months. Specifically, she's seen a lot of white Jaguar SUVs with "Waymo" stamped on the sides. We dig into why there are more driverless cars on the road now and what they're doing.Additional Reading: You're Not Imagining It: There Are More Driverless Cars in SF Now Come play trivia with us on December 8, 2021. Reported by Christopher Beale. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

Kindergartner Caleb Whan is fascinated by whales. He wants to know all about what they eat and where they live. We've got answers for him and for another Bay Curious question asker, Ellea, who wonders why more whales have been washing up dead on Bay Area beaches in recent years.Additional Reading: More Whales Are Washing Up Dead on Bay Area Beaches. Why? The Biggest Whales Can Eat the Equivalent of 80,000 Big Macs in One Day Sign up for Bay Curious Trivia December 8, 2021! Reported by Amy Mayer. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Christopher Cox, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

Bay Curious listener Ron Hewlett heard a rumor that several alleys in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood are named for Gold Rush era sex workers. He wondered if it was true. Plus, why does San Francisco stamp the names of streets into the sidewalks? There's a lot in a name, folks!Additional Reading: Were S.F. Streets Really Named After Gold Rush Era Sex Workers? Why Are Street Names Stamped Into S.F Sidewalks? Come play trivia with the Bay Curious team on Dec 8th, 2021! Reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Suzie Racho, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

If you’ve grown up with the legend of La Llorona, you might be surprised to see how she’s depicted in a two-story mural at 24th and York Street in San Francisco’s Mission District. Instead of the ghost of a wailing woman, crying out for the very children she murdered, in this mural La Llorona is a protector of children, and she reflects the environmental struggles of women around the world. In today’s episode we delve into modern interpretations of La Llorona, and how she has revealed herself as a feminist icon.Additional Reading: Learn more about Juana Alicia's "La Llorona's Sacred Waters" on her websiteReported by Sebastian Miño-Bucheli. Edited by Carly Severn and Olivia Allen-Price. Special thanks to Lina Blanco, Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, Erika Aguilar and Gabriella Frenes. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.

We recommend you listen to this episode on headphones. Join us around the campfire to hear three ghost stories, some of them decades old, and all of from right here in the Bay Area. Featuring Wes Leslie of The Haunt Ghost Tours, Tommy Netzband of Haunted Haight Walking Tour and the San Francisco Ghost Society and storyteller JP Frary. Additional Reading Ghost Stories and Macabre Tales to Binge This Halloween Chilling Histories of California Event at KQED Bay Curious Newsletter Sign-Up Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Additional support from Erika Aguilar, Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Toven-Lindsey, Vinnee Tong, Don Clyde and Jenny Pritchett.

Listener Clayton Schloss sent Bay Curious this question: "Why do so many people have bumper stickers on their cars from the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz? What is that place?" Reporter Amanda Font takes us on a journey to "the Spot," where perception appears to bend reality.Additional Reading/Listening: What's Behind One of California's Most Ubiquitous Bumper Stickers? The California Report Magazine Podcast Reported by Amanda Font. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Sebastian Miño-Bucheli and Brendan Willard. Help on this episode from Suzie Racho, Victoria Mauleon, Sasha Khokha. Additional support from Erika Aguilar, Jessica Placzek, Kyana Moghadam, Paul Lancour, Carly Severn, Lina Blanco, Ethan Lindsey, Vinnee Tong and Jenny Pritchett.