East Bay Yesterday - East Bay Yesterday

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“We were in liberation education”: Exploring the lost lessons of the Black Panthers’ school Dec 13, 2016

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From 1973 until 1982, the Black Panthers operated a school in East Oakland that has been called “arguably the Party’s most important organizing legacy.” Although the school solved many problems that continue to plague America’s education system, these lessons have been largely forgotten. Today’s episode explores the history of the Oakland Community School with a former student, a former teacher, and the school’s former director, Ericka Huggins. [Subscribe to East Bay Yesterday though iTunes or Stitcher]

From “one-hit wonder” to “legend”: 30 years later, a singer gets to re-live his dream Dec 06, 2016

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Bobby Mardis had one hit song in the 1980s and then hung up his leather pants and retired his dreams of pop music stardom. Thirty years later he was re-discovered, thanks to a random encounter at the Oakland museum. The surreal night of partying that followed shows what can happen when you get to re-live the glory days of your youth—for a single, sweaty night. [Please subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or Stitcher]

Goodbye to the “flying saucer”: Why many Oaklanders are taking the demolition of a diner personally Nov 29, 2016

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“When they demolished it, it’s like a little part of you… goes with it.” That reaction from a former regular customer of Biff’s Diner was shared by many when the spaceship-shaped building was finally torn down last month. This episode explores the stories of Oaklanders who ate and worked at Biff’s—and why so many of us hold a special place in our hearts for diners. [Also available on iTunes & Stitcher]

Before “1984” & “Hunger Games”: How the first modern dystopian novel was born in Oakland sweatshops Nov 04, 2016

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What better time than election season to explore the first novel to predict the rise of fascism and a brutal government run by corporate elites? This episode features Tarnel Abbott, the great-granddaughter of Jack London, discussing “The Iron Heel,” Occupy Oakland, and a conspiracy to commercialize the East Bay’s most famous writer.

I grew up in Oakland’s oldest cemetery Oct 29, 2016

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Loretta Nguyen spent the first few decades of her life living in the only house on the grounds of Oakland’s oldest cemetery. As a young girl, she learned that people are much scarier than ghouls and spirits. This episode explores the nature of fear through stories of grave-robbers, escaped convicts and a very spooky basement. [Also available on iTunes]

Oakland’s “lost” Latino neighborhood Oct 25, 2016

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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]

“Celeste Guap is not the first”: A history of sexual abuse, the OPD, and a refugee community Oct 18, 2016

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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]

From garages to galleries in Uptown Oct 11, 2016

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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.

Oakland's oldest soul food chef doesn't want to quit Oct 04, 2016

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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.

Oakland's first "celebrity" librarian Sep 23, 2016

Show notes

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.

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