Storied: San Francisco

Latest Episodes:

S4E5, Part 1: Business Founder Morris Kelly Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Morris Kelly's great-grandfather was a sharecropper who bought his own freedom.

In this podcast, Morris, who today owns SF Roots cannabis company, shares the story of how he came to grow up in The City. He chronicles the various schools he went to, talks about Muni rides to arcades and movie theaters all over town, and car rides with his grandparents on which they'd visit non-chain stores and restaurants.

He shares stories of leaving San Francisco—to visit family in Milwaukee, or to go to Baptist conventions in the South with his grandparents—and the lessons he learned on those trips.

Uninterested in conventional high school, Morris found Urban Pioneers—an outdoor program for students that got them out backpacking and exploring various spots around California.

Morris got out of high school and, as he puts it, went on to "goof off" at City College.

Related Podcast Ricky Rat, Part 1 and Part 2

We recorded this podcast at SF Roots HQ in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E4, Part 2: Author Alia Volz Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

In this podcast, Alia picks up where she left off in Part 1, sharing stories of joining her mom on pot-brownie runs in The City in the late-'70s. She pivots from there to just a few years later, when Alia witnessed the devastation of AIDS first-hand. She also speaks of communities coming together around the epidemic to provide support for those who needed it.

We fast-forward to around 2000, when Alia began traveling in Europe for many years. While walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, she began writing. She started a writing program but left that to spend some time in Cuba and later, different parts of South America.

She left her travels when her mom got ill. Spending time with her and recording would eventually lead to Alia's book, Home Baked, which she briefly discussed in Part 1 and which comes out on paperback next week. Look for it at your favorite local bookstore.

Alia shares the story of her and Kevin Hunsanger's (Season 2, Episode 10—links below) wedding, which is quite the San Francisco tale.

We end the podcast with Alia's thoughts on what's next for her hometown of San Francisco.

Related Podcasts Kevin Hunsanger Part 1 and Part 2

We recorded this podcast in Alia's backyard in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E4, Part 1: Author Alia Volz Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

It isn't every episode that we get to learn more about the main character in a book. First of all, if you haven't already read Home Baked, Alia Volz's autobiography about her mom, her dad, and the pot brownie business they had in San Francisco in the 1970s, please do. In this podcast, Alia, who was born and raised amid that booming business four decades ago, dives deeper into her parents' stories, both individually and as a couple. As she does in her book, she sets the stage for her eventual arrival, back when her parents lived and cooked baked goods in a warehouse in the Mission. And then Alia wraps up Part 1 with the story of her birth. Related Podcast Alan Kaufman Part 1 and Part 2 We recorded this podcast outside of Alia's home in the Inner Richmond in April 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E3, Part 2: Matt Gonzalez Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

This one's pretty much all about San Francisco politics 20 years ago.

Matt talks about how it was that he ended up running for political office to begin with. He walks us through Tom Ammiano's write-in campaign for mayor in 1999 and Matt's eventual ascension to the Board of Supervisors the next year.

What brought him into my sphere was Matt's run for mayor in 2003 against Willie Brown heir-apparent, Gavin Newsom.

Other topics discussed in the podcast include:

Matt's decision not to run for re-election to the Board of Supervisors
his 2008 run for VP with Ralph Nader
how he got started doing collage art

We end with Matt's thoughts and hopes for what comes next in San Francisco.

Related Podcast Hillary Ronen, Part 1 / Part 2

We recorded this podcast over Zoom in March 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E3, Part 1: Matt Gonzalez Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

Matt Gonzalez's life could've turned out very different. Born in McAllen, Texas, and raised there and across the river in Reynoso, Tamaulipas (Mexico), Matt recalls spending a lot of time camping and playing football when he was a kid. His family moved around a bit—Louisville, Baltimore, New Orleans—before returning to South Texas, where Matt finished school and played more football. The sport eventually took a back seat to debate class, and he decided to go to college at Columbia in New York City. Matt talks about arriving wide-eyed in New York. He spent four years getting his undergrad, with summers in Maine and Minnesota leading camping expeditions. Then, he decided to come to California for law school. Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Matt will share more memories from his roughly 30 years in San Francisco, which he begins to touch on here. We recorded this podcast over Zoom in March 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E2, Part 2: Comedian Arthur Gaus Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

Arthur Gaus came of age in the Golden Era of comedy in San Francisco.

Picking up where he left off in Part 1, Arthur sets the stage for his beginnings doing stand-up by describing the comedy scene in The City in the 1980s. He rattles off a list of funny folks who got their start here—Will Durst, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Greg Proops—and talks about comedy venues in San Francisco, some of which still exist today.

Arthur got started at open-mic nights around town and in Santa Cruz, where he ended up going to college. He got his SF break at Cobb's, but he extols the virtues of The Punchline, especially Sunday nights, where, in the before-times, the club features up to 10 local comedians.

He tells us about his comedy album, Nice Jokes for Smart People, which you can find on Spotify, Pandora, and other streaming services.

Arthur ends this podcast reflecting on changes in The City in last couple decades, culminating with where we are today.

We recorded this podcast over ZenCastr in March 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E2, Part 1: Comedian Arthur Gaus Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Arthur Gaus grew up on a famous block in The City. In this podcast, the native San Francisco comedian traces his story back to his parents' choice to buy a house on Ashbury just off Haight Street in the late-'70s. Arthur shares stories of growing up in his family's Victorian and hanging out on Haight Street, in Golden Gate Park (despite how dangerous everyone said it was back then), and in his backyard. His grade school was near the gate to Chinatown, a neighborhood he and his friends spent a lot of time exploring. Arthur talks about his high school years and ends the podcast with a funny story about being one of the the only boys in a play at a girls' school. Check back Thursday for Part 2, when we'll hear all about how Arthur Gaus got started doing comedy. Related Podcast Dara Kosberg Part 1

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E1, Part 2: Renel Brooks-Moon Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Renel grew up going to Giants games at Candlestick Park. So when the team reached out to her in 1999 about the possibility of becoming the PA announcer in their brand-new stadium, she immediately thought of her family and the long line of baseball fans she's a part of. Renel shares her experience auditioning for the job at Candlestick in November 1999 and takes us through her journey as she approaches her 22nd year in the PA booth. We do a lightning round of Giants World Series experiences and move on to talk about the pandemic and the movement for racial, social, and economic justice.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S4E1, Part 1: Renel Brooks-Moon Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Renel has always enjoyed entertaining people.

Born in Oakland and raised there, in Berkeley, and in Richmond, Renel suffered when her family moved to Menlo Park on the Peninsula.

She went to Mills for college, where she studied classical voice and sang in a band with some guys who went to UC Berkeley. After college, she got an entry-level job at KCBS radio and worked her way to writing copy for on-air talent. Four years later, she got a sales job at KFRC, but ended up running the station's public affairs department, an opportunity that got Renel on the air while filling in for a colleague out on maternity leave.

She later got her own show on the station--Bayview: A Look at the Issues and Concerns of the Bay Area Black Community. That lead to Renel's first music set: She debuted as "Rockin' Renel" at midnight on a Friday in 1985.

After a format change at KFRC, she got in at KMEL. Renel was with KMEL when it became one of the first stations in the country to play hip-hop. She eventually got the morning show on the station, the job she held until helping to launch 98.1 KISS FM (now "The Breeze" ... ya keeping up?).

And then ... The San Francisco Giants came a-knockin'.

Tune in Thursday for Part 2 and the continuation of this amazing woman's journey.

Related Podcast: Fellow Bay Area radio personality Dayna Keyes: Part 1 and Part 2

We recorded this episode over Zoom in March 2021.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

An Excerpt from "The Doodler" Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

A couple days ago on this show, Chronicle journalist Kevin Fagan told you all about his latest project: the untold story of the Doodler, a new documentary podcast series from Ugly Duckling Films. On his show, Kevin dives into the archive of his paper and the San Francisco Police Department in search of a serial killer known for drawing portraits of his victims. This killer, known as the Doodler, targeted his attacks against gay men in the Bay Area between 1974 and 1975. He brutally beat and murdered at least five gay men and got away with it due to little evidence and lack of attention from the media and the police at the time. SFPD re-opened the case in 2018 and it's still ongoing today. Police believe the Doodler is still alive and have released an age-progressed sketch of the suspect, which you can see in the image the accompanies this podcast. Follow this new hunt for a forgotten serial killer and subscribe to The Doodler on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Take care, and we'll see ya here on Storied: San Francisco next week.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected