Storied: San Francisco

Latest Episodes:

S3E23, Part 2: Kevin Cline's Front Porch and Rock Bar Stories Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast, Kevin picks up where he left off in Part 1, talking about various bars he worked in all around San Francisco. He and his wife loved Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in Bernal Heights, and got to know Josey (host) and Sarah (chef). A few years later, Josey and Sarah asked Kevin to open a restaurant with them, and that's the story of how The Front Porch got started.

Kevin shares the history of the Front Porch location, tells us how they came to open Rock Bar across 29th Street, and talks about running a restaurant during the coronavirus shelter-in-place.

We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in May 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E23, Part 1: Kevin Cline's Bike and Motorcycle Rides to SF Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

Kevin Cline grew up in Florida, but he got out just about as soon as he could.

In this podcast, Kevin, who co-owns Front Porch restaurant in Bernal Heights, shares stories of journeys that led him to San Francisco. First was a trip from Boston to Los Angeles, then from LA to San Francisco on bicycle. Then, based on what a good time he had in The City during that first visit, he decided to ride his motorcycle across the country to move here.

Check back Thursday for Part 2, when Kevin will tell us the story of how he and Josey White opened the Front Porch.

We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in May 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E22, Part 2: Nico Schwieterman on Fleet Wood and SF Creativity Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

In this podcast, Nico picks up where she left off in Part 1, with some office jobs she had when she first moved here before switching to screenprinting full-time. She met the folks who run Workshop SF, and starting screenprinting and teaching classes there. Through Workshop, she also started connecting with more creative, "work hard, play hard" types, which whom she identified. She decided to open her own business in 2015. Originally known as Studio Nico, Fleet Wood hit the five-year mark this February, just before shelter-in-place began.

We recorded this episode nearly two months ago, but we checked in with Nico yesterday, and she wanted to share the following in light of the uprising for racial justice:

"We would like to announce that we are pledging $5,000 to support Black and underserved youth in San Francisco. A portion of our daily sales will go toward funds for @larkinstreetyouth and Third Street Youth Center & Clinic (Bayview). We stand with our Black brothers and sisters to actively fight back against systemic racism. Read more about what we're doing at ⚡️fleetwoodsf.com ⚡️"

Nico ends the podcast talking about running a retail business during quarantine.

We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in May 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E22, Part 1: Nico Schwieterman on Her Small-Town Ohio Upbringing Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Coldwater, OH, has seven stoplights, by Nico Schwieterman's last count.

In this podcast, Nico, who opened and owns Fleet Wood in the Tenderloin, shares stories of growing up in the small town of Coldwater. Her dad ran a shop where, as a kid, she helped him print shirts. She was your fairly typical teenager, and ended up going to college in Cincinnati. A college internship in 2004 brought her to San Francisco, and she was in love in the first half hour of being here.

We recorded this podcast on Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in May 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Special: Uncle Damien on Racism, San Francisco, and the Uprising Jun 21, 2020

Show notes

One of Uncle Damien Posey's favorite things to tell people is that he's "not a role model, he's a real model."

We checked in with our Season 2, Episode 38 storyteller last week to see how he's doing and how he's feeling about the current uprising for racial justice.

In this special podcast, Damien shares some of his own experiences with racism in The City, his thoughts on the current uprising and his support role in it, and the many cultural differences that we should celebrate rather than fear. He ends the podcast talking about where he draws his strength from and what his hopes are for the near future.

If you missed our original podcasts with Unc, please go back and listen to Part 1 and Part 2.

We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in June 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Special: Chloe Jackman on a Mixed-Race Life and the Current Uprising Jun 18, 2020

Show notes

In this special episode, S2E49 storyteller Chloe Jackman shares her perspectives on race and the current uprising for racial justice. The daughter of a Black man and a white woman, she was often made to feel "not Black enough." But over time, she was able to defy those norms and embrace the entirety of her identity.

One of Chloe's main hopes coming out of the worldwide and ongoing protests is that we engage in conversations that up to now have been deemed "uncomfortable" and that, in whatever form, a more just world emerges for her one-year-old son.

If you missed Chloe's original podcasts with us, please go back and listen to Part 1 and Part 2.

We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in June 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E21, Part 2: Thea Matthews on Her Poetry and the Uprising Jun 17, 2020

Show notes

Thea Matthews is a powerful poet. In this podcast, Thea picks up where she left off in Part 1, talking about the early days of her writing and performing poetry. She helped established the Black Student Union at City College and later went to UC Berkeley, commuting the whole time from her home in The City. Later in the episode, Thea reflects on the current uprising for racial and social justice. And she ends the podcast by reading four poems: "Gazonia," "Azalea Rhododendron," Fuchsia Fuchsia magellanica," and the prelude ("Praeludium") to her book of poems that comes out on June 20, Unearth [the Flowers], which you can buy at Green Apple Books, Bookshop.org, or your local bookstore. You're invited to check out Thea's reading at her launch party for Unearth [the Flowers] on June 27 at 6 p.m. Here's the event link. The password is "Flowers". We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in June 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E21, Part 1: Thea Matthews on The City, Her Art, and Her Blackness Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

Poet, activist, and scholar Thea Matthews grew up in the Excelsior, which to this day is still a largely ungentrified, working-class neighborhood in San Francisco.

In this podcast, Thea talks about growing up as a Black/Mexican/Indigenous kid with a single mom in San Francisco in the 1990s. Most of her childhood experiences with her Blackness were negative, but they later formed a backdrop to her embracing that aspect of her life. Her views of the city, in all its complexity, inspire a lot of her poetry to this day.

Toward the middle of the podcast, Thea reads her poem "St. Francis." She ends the episode talking about embracing her Blackness and drawing strength from it.

Please visit Thea's website to learn more.

Join us tomorrow for Part 2.

We recorded this podcast during quarantine in San Francisco in June 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Special: William Rhodes on Being a Black Artist in San Francisco Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

In this special episode, we listen to artist William Rhodes talk about his arrival in San Francisco back in 2008. It wasn't exactly the city he had imagined. Together with other Black artists here, he helped found the Three Point Nine Art Collective, and that helped William feel grounded in community and what he loves to do. But it of course didn't stop the racist micro-aggressions he experienced here on a daily basis.

William ends this episode offering a genuine sense of hope for the future, which he believes has to start with us all being true to ourselves.

In case you missed William's original podcasts with us, please go back to Season 2 Episode 33 (Part 1 and Part 2).

We recorded this podcast on Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in June 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

S3E20, Part 2: Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez on Writing About The City May 28, 2020

Show notes

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez dove head-first into a career in journalism in his hometown of San Francisco.

In this podcast, the young veteran reporter takes us through the later days of his time in City College's journalism program. After a brief stint at SF State, Joe got hired to write for the SF Bay Guardian, and rode it out until that weekly folded. He soon found work as a reporter and opinion columnist at the Examiner, a job he held until just last month. These days, he's a producer/reporter for KQED News.

If you missed Part 1, please go back to hear all about Joe's parents and his upbringing in Cow Hollow.

We recorded this podcast on Zoom during quarantine in San Francisco in April 2020.

Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

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