East Bay Yesterday

Get in the mood for Día de los Muertos with this history of Oakland’s “lost” Latino neighborhood. Tina “Tamale” Ramos and her mother Natividad share delicious stories from their decades of running one of the Bay Area’s oldest Mexican restaurants. This episode explores everything from the “birth” of Old Oakland to the dubious origins of Taco Bell. [Also available on iTunes]

Oakland has been an epicenter of minors engaged in the sex trade for a long time. A recent OPD scandal put a spotlight on this crisis, but failed to illuminate the roots of the problem. This episode features four women with an intimate knowledge of this history – and explores an often overlooked factor for why there are so many underage girls out there on Oakland’s “track.” [This episode is also available on iTunes]

Ronald Reagan inadvertently sparked the birth of one of Oakland's most renowned and visionary art organizations. Find out how in this new episode that explores the explosion of "outsider" art, the redevelopment of Uptown and the gentrification crisis. Featuring Tom di Maria, director of Creative Growth.

Nellie Ozen has been cooking soulfood in the East Bay since 1950! Find out why the Raiders loved her, her connection to Huey Newton and her thoughts on the history of this African-American cuisine.

Here's the story of how one of the Bay Area’s brightest literary stars became the reigning “goddess” of Oakland’s first public library.... Back in the day, poetry was a lot like the hip hop industry is today—and I’m not just making that comparison because poets and rappers both kick rhymes. If you’re skeptical that the lives of California poets in the 1870s were just a wild as rap stars, listen to this episode about the life of the Bay Area’s first literary “It Girl.” Aleta George, the author of “Ina Coolbrith: The Bittersweet Song of California’s First Poet Laureate,” shares incredible stories of Ina’s connection with the early Mormon church, her rise to fame alongside the Bay Area’s first bohemians (including Mark Twain!), her impact on Oakland, and much, much more.