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Articles by Amanda Font
How Fernet-Branca Became San Francisco's Favorite Spirit
Failed to save article Please try again Bay Area native Joseph Latham holds his shirt up to show a new Fernet tattoo at Bender’s Bar & Grill in San Francisco on Dec. 14, 2024. “It’s definitely a San Francisco drink,” he said. View the full episode transcript. Can a place be defined by a beverage? If I mention champagne, you must think of France. If I say mint julep, you’re thinking of the South. If you hear Malört, and you know what that is, you know I’m talking about Chicago.
How the Black Panthers Shaped U.S. Schools
Nov 14 Failed to save article Please try again Alumnos de Oakland Community School comiendo en el comedor escolar, julio de 1981. (Foto copyright Donald Cunningham/Foto y descripción de foto cortesía The OCS Project) That whole decade was a period of social and cultural change. There was the civil rights movement.
How Often Should Wild Lands Burn to Stay Healthy?
But until it comes, we live under threat of wildfire. That’s been on the mind of one of our listeners … Pete Smoot: I’m Pete Smoot. I live in South San Jose. I’ve been living here for many decades at this point … and I love hiking around in our parks. Olivia Allen-Price: As he hikes around, he thinks a lot about wildfire – and how it’s both vital to the health of our ecosystems … but how it can also have devastating consequences.
Transcript: Proposition 34 Limits How Prescription Drug Revenue Can Be Spent By Certain Providers
Olivia Allen-Price: Quite often there’s a prop or two on California’s ballot that seems like it’s about one thing, but it’s mostly about something else. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: Meet Proposition 34. The healthcare prop that’s drawing big spending from landlord groups. Olivia Allen-Price: Behind it all is a proxy war over rent control, and likely how one organization is spending money made through a federal drug pricing program. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Host of The Bay.
Transcript: Proposition 5 Would Lower the Voting Threshold for Certain Local Bond Measures
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: 2020. Measure A. San Diego. A $900 million bond for low-income, substance abuse, and mental health service housing. Olivia Allen-Price: Failed with 57% of voters in favor. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: 2022. Measure L. City of Berkeley. A $650 million bond to fund housing and infrastructure. Olivia Allen-Price: Failed with 59% of voters in favor. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: 2022. Proposition A. San Francisco. A $400 million bond for transit improvements and repairs.
Proposition 3 Would Enshrine Marriage Equality into California's Constitution
Ericka Cruz Guevarra: …And legal here in California for eleven years. Olivia Allen-Price: So you might be surprised to know that the California Constitution still says same-sex marriage is banned. [Wedding March slows down and stops] Olivia Allen-Price: I’m Olivia Allen-Price … Host of Bay Curious. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Host of The Bay. And you’re listening to Prop Fest – A breakdown of ALL the statewide propositions on your ballot this year.
Transcript: Scarlot Harlot Made Sex Worker Rights Her Life's Work
Margo St. James: I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed the mobility, I enjoyed the money, the freedom that it gave me to move around. Olivia Allen-Price: St. James was an activist who made sex work a labor issue. She argued that it was a job like any other – something you did to pay the bills. And these workers deserved the same safety and health care protections as anyone else.
How San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Started the Craft Beer Craze
“I heard that the Bay Area is one of the first places to produce craft beer before craft beer even became a thing,” he said, “Is that true?” What’s in a name? First, you might be wondering what the difference is between a ‘craft’ beer and just any beer. The official definition is set by the Brewers Association, a national industry trade group for craft brewers. It says the “craft” in brewing comes down to an operation’s ownership and output.
The Marijuana Minister of the Castro
This was a time before the treatments we have today, of course. and for some, the one thing that helped ease their pain – was marijuana. But pot either medical or recreational, wasn’t legal back then, and state politicians were beginning to crack down on it’s use. Jim Mitulski: At the expense of people with HIV Olivia Allen-Price: I’m Olivia Allen-Price.
Bay Curious Presents Spooked: Teacher's Pet
Olivia Allen-Price: Have you been to the grocery store in the last week or two? There are pumpkins out front as you walk in. Brown jugs of apple cider are hanging out in the produce aisle, pretending to be nutritious. And it seems like at the end of every aisle is a display of pumpkin spice something or another. Happy Pumpkin Spice season to those of you who celebrate. For us here at Bay Curious, the change of the seasons means it’s time to start preparing for our annual Halloween episode.
A ‘No Booze Zone’ Around UC Berkeley? It’s Real — and Why the Claremont Hotel Was Dry for Decades | KQED
To answer all this, we’ll need to step all the way back to the late 1800s. The Temperance Movement and The University of California “The theory was, alcohol was the root of all evil,” explains Jef Findley, librarian at the Berkeley Public Library’s History Room. Prohibition was still 50 years in the future, and there was plenty of drinking going on. Northern California was considered especially depraved, full of gold-miners and ruffians.
From Berkeley to the Bomb: Oppenheimer Before Los Alamos
Jul 27 Failed to save article Please try again American theoretical physicist Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967) smokes a cigarette as he sits in a chair, 1945. (PhotoQuest/Getty Images) Read a transcript of this episode (PDF). Unless you’ve been living on a remote island somewhere, you’ve probably heard the buzz about the new film Oppenheimer. It’s a three-hour biographical thriller about the life and work of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, widely considered to be the father of the atomic bomb.
Could Empty Offices in San Francisco be Converted to Homes?
Pauline Bartolone Jul 13 Failed to save article Please try again In 2012 the 100 Van Ness building was converted from office space to residential apartment units and the building's concrete facade was replaced by glass. (Courtesy of Marc Babsin) Read a transcript of this episode. If you watch national TV news – or eavesdrop at your local coffee shop – you may have heard something like this: San Francisco’s offices are lying vacant, homelessness is rampant, and the city is floundering.
This 30-Mile East Bay Trail Has Roots on the Railroad
Jun 8 Failed to save article Please try again A man walks down the Iron Horse Regional Trail, a converted rail trail in Danville, on Feb. 18, 2018. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) That last question goes back further in Au’s own life. She grew up in Walnut Creek, where for a long time an old railroad depot housed a steak restaurant. “I grew up passing by looking at it thinking, ‘Oh, what a cool building,’” she said.
Are Zero-Emission Vehicles Making a Dent in California's Air Pollution?
Pauline Bartolone Jun 1 Failed to save article Please try again A public charging station for electric vehicles in the Potrero neighborhood of San Francisco. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED) “You get to the very top of the ridge, and you’re thinking you’ll see the skyline of San José. Instead, you see this smudgy view of the city that’s kind of blurry, and just looks gross,” said Mitchell. Bay Curious is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.
Inside the Lives of Four Bay Area Teens
Apr 27 Failed to save article Please try again Bay Curious youth contributors (from left to right) Emiliano Mejia, Yulieth Aguilar, Carlos Escala and Finn McDonald. (Olivia Allen-Price/KQED) Read a transcript of this episode here. Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and confusing times in our lives.
What's in a Name? Sometimes, a Contentious History
Mar 2 Failed to save article Please try again The Black Miners Bar sign, freshly painted in summer of 2022. (Dorean Raye) Read a transcript of this episode On a stretch of shoreline near Folsom, where the northern end of Lake Natoma meets the American River, is a park called Black Miners Bar. Its name is a nod to a group of Black miners who discovered gold just south of Folsom back in 1848, just before the wider California gold rush.
Rodents, Rivers and Runoff: Why Parts of the Bay Area Flood, Where the Water Goes and How Animals Adapt
On Jan. 5, a frightening storm clobbered Seacliff State Beach and its famous ocean pier leading to a sunken cement ship off the coast of Santa Cruz County. A high tide carried over 15-foot waves ashore, flipping cement benches and smashing driftwood through bathroom doors. The ground collapsed, forming sinkholes in the park’s day use and campground areas, and over half of its iconic pier was destroyed.
Rodents, Rivers and Runoff: Why Parts of the Bay Area Flood, Where the Water Goes and How Animals Adapt
Feb 9 Failed to save article Please try again From Left: Mission District residents work to unclog a drain. (Beth LaBerge/KQED), A map of the San Francisco shoreline in 1895. (Oakland Museum of California), A rotund California Ground Squirrel in Briones Regional Park. (Erin Person) The vast majority of the time this system works great, and the environment is spared from the chemicals, oil, and other unsavory substances that get washed from San Francisco streets.
Can Religious Groups Help Build Affordable Housing?
Read a transcript of this episode here. Bay Curious listener Daniel Lawlor was walking around San Francisco a couple years ago, admiring its historic churches and the large properties they sometimes stand on. He had the state's affordable housing crisis on his mind too. So, putting two and two together, he started wondering: could religious organizations build affordable housing? Bay Curious is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.
What Does Mars Sound Like? Thanks to the Perseverance Rover, Now We Know
Failed to save article Please try again (AI-generated artwork created with Midjourney/Logotype created by Bryan Bindloss) Mars has been the subject of human curiosity for thousands of years. Observations of the red planet appear in ancient texts from Egypt, China, Greece, India and Babylonia. So it's no wonder humans have sent 50 missions to the planet so far, with half of them successful. That includes landing six rovers on the planet, five of which were sent by NASA.
Listen to the Sound of Saturn's Tangled Radio Waves
Saturn's beautiful rings and many moons are an impressive sight to view through a telescope. But as NASA's Voyager and then Cassini spacecraft discovered, as they rocketed close to the planet, Saturn also is surrounded by an invisible web of radio waves that are generated by high-energy particles in the planet's electromagnetic field.
Still Not Sure How to Vote on California's Seven Propositions? We've Got You Covered
Election Day is approaching, but many Californians have already received and returned their mail-in ballots. Are you one of them? Or are you still puzzling over how to vote on the state's seven propositions? Two KQED podcasts — The Bay and Bay Curious — have teamed up with the newsroom to put together a series we call Prop. Fest. Each episode takes a nuanced look at the propositions to help you make the most informed choice.
Listen to the Deepest Musical Note in the Known Universe
Did you know that the deepest note in the universe — at least, the part of the universe that can be observed from Earth — is a B-flat ? And it's coming from a black hole. You might think there's no sound in outer space — but that's not entirely true. Sound waves need a medium to travel through, and while most of space is a vacuum, galaxy clusters have an abundance of hot gases that can carry sound waves.
Wanna Try Roller-Skating in San Francisco? Better Head to Church
But it was moving to San Francisco that really set him on the path to becoming a roller-skating devotee. Miles arrived in the late '70s, when skating had exploded all over the city, especially in Golden Gate Park. According to the , in the summer of 1979, anywhere between 15,000 and 20,000 skaters would show up to cruise along JFK Drive on Sundays. Miles quickly became part of the scene.
Listen to What NASA's Voyager 1 Encountered in The Space Between Stars
Sep 5, 2022 Failed to save article Please try again AI generated artwork created with MidJourney. 'Audible Cosmos' logotype created by Bryan Bindloss. NASA launched Voyager 1, humanity's first interstellar traveler, from Cape Canaveral on September 5, 1977. Monday marks the 45th anniversary of this momentous event.
Labyrinths Everywhere! Why So Many in the Bay Area?
Aug 4, 2022 Failed to save article Please try again If you do a lot of walking or hiking in the Bay Area, there’s a reasonable chance you’ve stumbled upon a labyrinth — a large, winding, self-contained path lined with stones or bricks. There used to be one at Lands End. There are two in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve. There are labyrinths in the Marin Headlands, out near Walnut Creek, down in San Carlos — there may even be one in your neighborhood.
Hidden Gems: The Pirate Ship On Big Bear Lake
Failed to save article Please try again The Time Bandit sits at the dock in Holloway's Marina waiting to give a tour in Big Bear Lake, CA. (Amanda Font/KQED) High in the San Bernardino Mountains sits the small city of Big Bear Lake. It's a vacation destination for families all over Southern California—in the winter for snow, and the summer for recreation by the area's namesake body of water.
Golden Gate Park's Windmills Were Essential, Then Abandoned for Decades
The western edge of San Francisco's sprawling Golden Gate Park might seem like an odd place to find two traditional Dutch-style windmills. It is, after all, some 5,000 miles away from Holland. So thought Bay Curious listener Kai Widera, 12, who lives in Larkspur. Kai was riding bikes with his dad near Ocean Beach when he spotted the towering structures and wondered — are those just for decoration, or do they have a purpose?
'All My Rage': A Story of Love, Loss and Forgiveness in the Mojave Desert
Feb 26 Failed to save article Please try again Young adult novelist Sabaa Tahir. (Ayesha Ahmad Photography) In her new young adult novel, "All My Rage," author Sabaa Tahir tells a story of cultural identity and growing up through the eyes of two teenage best friends. Noor and Salahudin are both Pakistani American, living in the small fictional town of Juniper, in California's Mojave Desert. Noor wants nothing more than to go away to college and leave behind their rural town.
Wajahat Ali on His New Memoir and the Merits of Investing in Joy
Feb 5 Failed to save article Please try again A young Wajahat Ali at his family's home in the South Bay city of Fremont. (Courtesy Wajahat Ali) On representations of South Asians and Muslims in pop culture Growing up as a child of the '80s and '90s, I inhaled American pop culture. Growing up, you don't sit there and go, "I am a Muslim Pakistani son of immigrants. I am left-handed and wearing Husky pants." You're like, "I'm just a kid and I'm an American." But you internalize being the other.
Jaime Cortez's World of Humor, Queerness, and Tenderness, in a Farmworker Labor Camp
Jan 14 Failed to save article Please try again Jaime Cortez (right) and his sister Erma (left) in a potato field in San Juan Bautista, California, in 1968. Listen to this and more in-depth storytelling by subscribing to The California Report Magazine podcast. In his debut collection, “Gordo,” artist and author Jaime Cortez pens short stories set in the Central Coast farmworker camps he grew up in near Watsonville and San Juan Bautista.
Santa Cruz's Iconic Mystery Spot is More than Just a Ubiquitous Bumper Sticker
Aug 19 Failed to save article Please try again The iconic yellow-and-black sign welcomes visitors to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, California. (Amanda Font/KQED) In 1939, a man named George Prather bought the land from a lumber company on which the “spot” sits. According to the official lore, he only wished to purchase a flat area at the bottom of a hill, but was told the hill must be part of the deal. While exploring his newly purchased parcel, Prather began to notice some odd things.
Space Force Lands in a Southern California High School
Jun 16 Failed to save article Please try again Cadet Group Commander Jennifer Weis explains the new Space Force Delta logo to senior cadets. Her Air Force JROTC unit has been selected to convert to a Space Force JROTC Unit. (MSgt.
‘A Star Without a Star’: An Oakland Man's Mission to Get his Aunt on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
May 22 Failed to save article Please try again Arnett Moore holds of photo of his late aunt, actress Juanita Moore. He's determined to get Juanita a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Amanda Font/KQED) Long before the current reckoning with the Golden Globe Awards and the push for more diverse representation in media, Black actors in Hollywood's golden age paved the way in an industry that gave them few options and, often, no credit.
Memories of Japanese American Incarceration, Across Generations
Feb 19, 2021 Failed to save article Please try again Generations of the Masumoto family gathered in Selma, CA in 2017 for a memorial service. Yoshi Masumoto Yamagiwa (center) is holding a photo of her brother, George Masumoto, who was killed fighting for the U.S. in World War 2, while his family was incarcerated in a prison camp for Japanese Americans in Gila River, Arizona. (Courtesy Masumoto Family) For Japanese Americans across California, Feb.
'Music Was Our Language': Grammy Award-Winning Producer Turns the Mic on His Sister
The Sheltered Workshop Singers, including Ian Brennan's sister Jane Brennan (standing far left) get ready to be recorded. (Marilena Umuhoza Delli) Musician Ian Brennan was born in Oakland and made a name for himself performing in live shows at the Brainwash Laundromat in ‘90s San Francisco. He went on to become a producer, working with artists like Lucinda Williams and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. But Brennan is best known for his field recordings.
'A Cycle That Needs to Be Broken': A Fresno Activist Speaks Out
Joshua Slack stands with other California State University, Fresno, NAACP organizers at a protest against the killing of George Floyd. (Courtesy of Joshua Slack) Slack, 24, first got involved with activism as a student at California State University, Fresno. There, he was president of Fresno State Black Students United. He studied theatre arts as part of the school's Black Theater Contingent and graduated in 2018.
This Is a Story About Social Distancing And Haiku Collage | KQED
A haiku inspired by sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Amanda Font/KQED) When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Nakagawa got a call from Cassandra Coblentz, director of public engagement at the Orange County Museum of Art. They'd worked together before; Coblentz curated his first museum show at the OCMA. The museum, like so many others, was forced to close its doors during the COVID-19 pandemic — so they got creative with their programming.
Feel Like the SF Bay Used to Be Bluer? You're Not Imagining It
View the full episode transcript. If the Heart of the Ocean is a big blue diamond, the Heart of San Francisco Bay would be a big muddy emerald — or maybe more like a jade stone? Malachite? What I’m saying is, she’s green. It hasn’t always been that way, though. When Bay Curious listener Justin Hartung was growing up in Oakland, he remembers the bay being blue.
Dutch Crunch: A Bay Area Favorite, But Not a Bay Area Original
Aug 19 Failed to save article Please try again Mike Rose, co-owner of Semifreddi's Bakery, holds a tray of fresh Dutch Crunch rolls. (Amanda Font/KQED) This story originally published on July 18, 2019. Dutch Crunch is still delighting sandwich lovers around the Bay Area. S ay you’re standing at a sandwich counter and ordering lunch. What kind of bread do you choose? Maybe sourdough, or wheat if you’re trying to be "good," or — if you’re in the Bay Area — you might go with Dutch Crunch.
Why San Jose Ain't San Jose Without the Sharks
Devin KatayamaAmanda FontEricka Cruz Guevarra May 22 Photos of San Jose Sharks players adorn the walls of Henry's Hi-Life in San Jose, a famous bar during home games. (Ericka Cruz Guevarra/KQED) So much has changed in San Jose since the Sharks first came to the city in 1993. Its population has spiked to more than 1 million, the median home price is around $1 million, and the SAP Center (aka the Shark Tank) isn't the only development getting attention anymore. The outside of Henry's Hi-Life.
These Are the Bays of Our Lives
Devin KatayamaAmanda FontErika Aguilar Apr 1, 2019 The Bay Area bubble is real. Sometimes living in the bubble means have tunnel vision on how the rest of the country lives. So today, we thought we'd leave this bay and visit some others. Travel with us as we hop around and show you other "Bay Areas." Guests: Gail Delaughter, Houston Public Media transportation reporter, Catherine Cruz, Hawaii Public Radio reporter, and Don Rush, Public Radio Delmarva news director.
No Charges For Officers Who Shot Stephon Clark. Will There Ever Be?
People are outraged that two Sacramento police officers will not face criminal charges for killing 22-year old Stephon Clark last year, an unarmed Black man holding a cell phone. The state attorney general and the district attorney both say the officers' use of deadly force was legally justified. But two bills in the Legislature could change the standards when deciding whether to prosecute officers, and how police train to use deadly force. Guest: Marisa Lagos, political correspondent for KQED
Can PG&E Be Trusted to Not Start a Fire This Summer?
Erika AguilarAmanda FontJessica Placzek Feb 15, 2019 A man walks past a PG&E sign. (Jeff Chiu/AP) PG&E is under pressure to not spark a wildfire this summer. A federal judge overseeing the investor-owned utility's probation case is demanding they take prevention measures. This week, PG&E presented its wildfire safety plan to state regulators, which includes cutting back trees, replacing power poles, installing weather stations, and shutting off power when it’s hot, dry and windy.
This S.F. Fortress is Full of Money That Will Never Be Spent
There are six U.S. Mints in the U.S., and each branch has its own role. The Washington, D.C. Mint is the Mint headquarters, the West Point Mint makes gold bullion coins, and the Fort Knox Mint has vast, heavily guarded gold reserves. The Denver and Philadelphia Mints make the circulation coins you’d find in your pocket. San Francisco used to make circulation coins, but not anymore.
Decision 2018: The Race for Governor
The California State flag flies outside City Hall, in Los Angeles, California on January 27, 2017. A campaign by Californians to secede from the rest of the country over Donald Trump's election is gaining steam with suporters given the green light to start collecting signatures for the measure to be put to a vote. / AFP / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images) The California State flag flies outside City Hall, in Los Angeles, California on January 27, 2017.
Youth Takeover Week at KQED
Student voices are “taking over” KQED News. That means from April 23 to 27, KQED programs will feature stories pitched, produced and reported by students from high schools across the Bay Area. Be sure to tune in.
The Night the Dumbarton Rail Bridge Went Up in Flames
When the San Mateo County Transportation Authority bought the defunct bridge in 1994, it was considering plans to use it for commuter transport. But the $120 million needed for the project was nowhere to be found, and the bridge sat unused. Freight transport across the rail bridge ceased in 1982, the same year the Dumbarton Automotive Bridge opened less than a mile north. The bridge opened in 1910 and was used to transport freight from the Peninsula to the East Bay.
After Valley Fire, Middletown Kids Go Back to School Again
Middletown High students on the first day back to class after the Valley Fire ( Bill Roderick/Middletown High School ) The Valley Fire that raged through southern Lake County is now 97 percent contained. It’s burned more than 76,000 acres and destroyed almost 2,000 structures, many residential, and killed four people.
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