How Italian Is North Beach? The Surprising Stats

San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is at the heart of city life. Created in 1870 when the land was mostly sand dunes, the park is now one of the crown jewels of the city by the bay and is a must-visit for anyone traveling here. World famous institutions like the Conservatory of Flowers, De Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Botanical Gardens and Japanese Tea Gardens are located in the park, but there are just as many hidden trails, magical dells and places to get lost. We explore some of the hidden delights of Golden Gate Park that even devoted locals might not know about. And, we'll tell the epic story of how this park got built in the first place. Additional Resources: Golden Gate Park Was Once Miles and Miles of Sand Dunes Read the transcript for this episode A Very Curious Walking Tour of Golden Gate Park Sign up for our newsletter 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 Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of Aaron Van Lieu's first memories is playing on a real fighter jet in San Francisco's Carl Larsen Park. Located on 19th Avenue at Vicente Street, the jet was a delight to neighborhood children for decades. But towards the end of its residency in the park, the plane began to deteriorate. Aaron wants to know what happened to it. Additional Resources: The Navy Jet Generations of San Francisco Kids Played On Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime listener Henry Lie was driving through San Francisco one day when he realized the staggering number of legal courts located in the heart of the city. Upon further investigation, he realized we had all levels of court on the state side, and all except the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal side. Wowsa! How did so many end up here? KQED's Molly Lacob takes us through some legal history. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Molly Lacob. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When scientists began tinkering with DNA in the 1970s, biotechnology was not welcome in leafy residential neighborhoods or many college towns. But it was embraced by an industrial city by the Bay. In today's episode we come to learn how South San Francisco became one of the world's most valuable hubs of biotech. Additional Resources: How South San Francisco Became the Birthplace of Biotechnology Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Lesley McClurg. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Balmana grew up in San Francisco and has driven down Monterey Boulevard near the Glen Park neighborhood hundreds of times. She often notices a large, beautiful Victorian building tucked between the houses and apartment buildings that dominate the block. And she's wondered, what's the story with it? How did such a grand building end up in such an unassuming spot? Additional Resources: The Eccentric Personalities Behind Sunnyside Conservatory, a 120-Year-Old Garden in San Francisco Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Curious listener Dave Ellis lives in the South Bay city of Saratoga. When he was a kid growing up there, he remembers loud tree frogs chorusing almost all the time. But now, even in spring when they should be loudest, he says it's eerily quiet. What's going on? Additional Resources: A South Bay Mystery: What Happened to All the Tree Frogs? Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Dana Cronin. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bay Curious listener Grant Strother has been visiting San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood his whole life. He loves to get a caprese sandwich at Molinari's Deli, which has been there since the late 1800s. But he wondered, apart from the restaurants, how Italian is North Beach these days? Do Italians still live here? Or, is it all just for tourists? Additional Resources: Ciao Bella: Do Italians Still Live in San Francisco's North Beach? Read the transcript for this episode San Francisco's Love-Hate Relationship With Big Box Stores Sign up for our newsletter 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, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Commuting from East Bay cities like Berkeley and Oakland into San Francisco can be dismal. So when people learn there used to be an extensive streetcar system that crisscrossed the East Bay they want to know, what happened to it? The Key System, as it was known, could get a person from Berkeley or Oakland into San Francisco in 35-40 minutes and was a popular way to travel in the early part of the 20th century. What happened to it and were there nefarious forces contributing to its demise? Additional Resources: The Rise and Fall of Bay Area Streetcar Transit Systems Read the transcript for this episode Uncovering the Real Story Behind the 'East Bay Mystery Walls' Crows Are Crowding Your Bay Area Skies. Why? Bridge Tolls, Lane Closures and Vanity Plates: Your Bay Area Transit Questions Answered Sign up for our newsletter 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 Dan Brekke. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While you might not recognize the name, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the haunting, almost otherworldly sound the duduk makes. This humble shepherd’s flute wandered out of the Armenian countryside and into Hollywood, making cameos on the scores of movies and shows like The Gladiator and The Last Temptation of Christ. The duduk was even recently synthesized on both Dune soundtracks. Audiences in the Bay Area don’t get many chances to hear the instrument live — unless they’re able to catch a performance by Santa Rosa-based Khatchadour Khatchadourian -- the duduk whisperer. Additional Resources: Meet the Duduk Whisperer: The Bay Area Armenian Folk Musician Revives Centuries of Soul Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Elize Manoukian. This story first aired on the California Report Magazine and was produced by Victoria Mauleon, Suzie Racho, Brendan Willard, Katherine Monahan, Srishti Prabha and Sasha Khokha.  Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a blue house in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood that is constantly mobbed by French tour groups. Bay Curious listener Helen Walker wants to know, "why?" This episode first aired in 2023. Additional Resources: The San Francisco Landmark You've Never Heard Of...Unless You're French Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter 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 Chloe Veltman. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Amanda Font, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices