Not Your Century

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1938: The Martians Are Coming! Oct 30, 2019

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Orson Welles' radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" causes nationwide panic about a Martian invasion. At least, that's the legend. Really, hardly anyone heard the show, and the few people who panicked thought it was the Germans who were coming.

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1929: Black Tuesday Oct 29, 2019

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Here comes the Great Depression. The stock market crash wasn't a one-day event, but the one day known as Black Tuesday shattered records, and it was a wild day on the Wall Street of the West, Montgomery Street in San Francisco.

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1995: Mayor Jordan Takes a Shower Oct 28, 2019

Show notes

A week and a half before Election Day, Frank Jordan, running for re-election, thinks it'll be fun to go along with a morning radio show stunt. One result is a photo of him and two DJs naked in his shower. Another is a very happy opponent, Willie Brown.

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1929: Secretary Fall Is Convicted Oct 25, 2019

Show notes

Albert B. Fall, secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding, is found guilty of taking a bribe in the Teapot Dome scandal. He's the first Cabinet member ever convicted of a felony.

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1906: San Francisco City Hall Scandal Oct 24, 2019

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The grand jury is in session. The boodlers who may end up in the dock? — that's how the Chronicle put it. Mayor Eugene "Handsome Gene" Schmitz and Abe Ruef, the Boss Tweed of San Francisco, the head of the city's political machine.

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1995: Selena's Killer Convicted Oct 23, 2019

Show notes

Yolanda Saldivar said she meant to kill herself, not Selena Quintanilla, when they met in a motel room to hash out charges that Saldivar was embezzling money from "the queen of Tejano music." A jury didn't believe her.

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1975: "I Am a Homosexual" Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

With those words, on the cover of Time magazine, Air Force Technical Sgt. Leonard Matlovich becomes the face of the gay rights movement in America.

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1989: A Miracle in the Rubble Oct 21, 2019

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After four of the saddest days in Bay Area history, at last there's a reason for hope and joy: Longshoreman Buck Helm has been found alive in the rubble of the Cypress Structure.

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1989: Loma Prieta Earthquake, Part 2 Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

San Francisco Chronicle reporters talk about where they were when the earth shook on Oct. 17, 1989, and what they did once it stopped. Memories from Kevin Fagan, Nanette Asimov, John Wildermuth, Bruce Jenkins and Sam Whiting. See the Chronicle's look back at the 1989 earthquake.

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1989: Loma Prieta Earthquake, Part 1 Oct 17, 2019

Show notes

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake kills more than 60 people, injures hundreds, damages the Bay Bridge and other roadways and buildings, and interrupts the Giants vs. A's World Series. Citizens and first responders remember where they were. See the Chronicle's 30th anniversary look back at the 1989 earthquake.

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