All Shows
Exploring the Neighborhood with Governor Gavin Newsom
Governor Gavin Newsom is the 40th Governor for the State of California. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, Newsom has dedicated his career to bettering our city and state. He started as an entrepreneur, learning to navigate the world through business. When his talents were noticed by then Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr., Newsom was appointed to the Parking and Traffic Commission.
Exploring the Neighborhood with Gregangelo Herrea and Marcelo Defreitas
SF native Gregangelo Herrera is the Founder and Artistic Director of the most magical place one could visit– the Gregangelo Museum. Together with his Creative Director Marcelo Defreitas, Herrera has created a fantastic immersive arts experience in his own home on the west side of the city. Local and international artists alike help create this technicolor acrobatic dreamscape, with 27 unique rooms each telling a different story of time and space, the human psyche and life itself. Herrera spent over 40 years building this artistic oasis, so we were thrilled to be able to get insight from him and Defreitas on their incredible artistic journey. Fall into the rabbit hole with us and enjoy this week’s episode!
For more information and stunning photos of the Gregangelo Museum, please visit: https://www.gregangelomuseum.com/
Meet Gregangelo Herrera and Marcelo Defreitas!
A Special Interview with Carolyn Tyler
Carolyn Tyler is most famously known in San Francisco as a reporter and news anchor on KGO ABC7 News. She had an outstanding 32 year career chronicling some of the most important moments in SF history. Tyler detailed the long fight for marriage equality starting in 2004 and brought stories of social justice for African Americans to the forefront. She also reported extensively on the impacts of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, for which she and her team won a Peabody Award. Over the years Carolyn earned the reputation for being one of the most fair-minded and hard-working journalists in the field.
Since retiring, Tyler has been blending journalism with her other passions. A fierce Golden State Warriors fan and board member of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Company, Caryoln is currently producing a unique discussion between Warriors Coach Steve Kerr and Alonzo King on the intersection of ballet and basketball. It will be held on September 16th at SF Jazz and hosted by Carolyn herself.
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Carolyn and hear about her wonderful career and latest endeavors. In the Fall, tune in to our Classical Performance series with Tyler as our guest host!
For more information about Carolyn Tyler, please visit: https://www.kqed.org/news/11696365/tv-anchor-carolyn-tyler-bids-farewell-to-three-decades-covering-san-francisco
Meet Carolyn Tyler!
Exploring Berkeley with the Sisters Blanche, Julia, Ginger, & Dolores
The Vitero Sisters are a very creative bunch— and they happen to be our host ,Susan’s family! Her mother Blanche Brown and aunts Julia Vitero, Ginger Irwin, and Doloros Presely. They grew up in Berkeley, California when things were quite a bit simpler. Yet they were lucky enough to also grow along the tidal wave of magical thinking, and freedom of expression of the mid-20th century. We welcomed the opportunity to hear how this time changed the Vitero Sisters, along with the wild stories that come with it.
Meet The Vitero Sisters!
Exploring the neighborhood with PJ Johnston
PJ Johnston is one of SF’s top crisis communications specialists and political strategists. From former journalist and Press Secretary for Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. to speech writing for US Senator Kamala Harris, PJ Johnston has helped many influential people achieve their goals. He is the Principal of PJ Johnston Communications, where most of his high profile work is done. He likewise serves on the board of several non-profit organizations and is a strong advocate for women and African Americans.
PJ is a smart, curious, and very invested man who loves his family and city deeply. Above all, he strives for the betterment of mankind. Please enjoy our interview with him.
For more information about PJ Johnston, please visit: http://pjcommunications.com
Meet PJ Johnston!
Exploring the Haight with Stan Flouride the Haight Ashbury Historian
Stan Flouride (alias cum art-name of Kevin Kearny) is the unofficial historian of one of the city’s most eccentric neighborhoods, the Haight Ashbury. Stan gives historical walking tours that cover everything from the 1870’s to today, with great focus on its role as a pivotal location for the cultural revolutions of the 1960’s.
Exploring the Neighborhood with Mayor London Breed
Raised in San Francisco's Fillmore District by her grandmother, Mayor Breed saw firsthand how redevelopment brought great challenges to the people in her community. She began her public service career as Executive Director of the Fillmore's African American Arts and Culture Complex. Since then, after rising through the ranks to become Mayor, she hasn't forgotten her roots in the Fillmore.
S2: Ep 3 Carl Nolte & The Waterfront
Carl Nolte & The Waterfront
This week’s guest is a walking encyclopedia for the history of San Francisco, with expertise that extends far before humans ever inhabited this area. Carl Nolte–– a 4th generation San Franciscian–– has served as both a writer and editor for the San Francisco Chronicle for 60 years. He has a weekly column called Native Son. Though he mostly scribes stories of the city and the western coast, he has also reported on larger events, such as SS Jeremiah O’Brien when it Sailed to Europe for the D-Day Anniversary, the Persian Gulf War, and the Invasion of Iraq (the latter two of which he also served as a war correspondent.)
Nolte has likewise received many accolades, including the President’s Medal for Public Service by the California Maritime Academy (2011), the Maritime Heritage Award by the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association (2010), and the Award of Merit by the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society (2012). In 2016, Nolte received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Carl describes himself as a storyteller more than a historian and journalist, as he writes with such conviction and creativity. In return, we at Beyond the Fog Radio describe him as charming, intelligent, highly articulate, and hilarious. We are so pleased to have him share his knowledge of San Francisco and history of the Bay Area with us this week.
Meet Carl Nolte!
S2: Ep 2 Hon. John L. Burton & The Waterfront
John was kind enough to let us interview him this week to talk about San Francisco’s Waterfront, and how fitting, as he was just recently appointed to the San Francisco Port Commission! Mr. Burton was the Chairman for the Democratic Party for 8 years, as well as a twice-elected State Assemblyman for the State of California. He was also a United States Congressman and a Senator for the State of California.
S2: Ep 1 Kimberly Brandon & The Waterfront
Kimberly Brandon is the current President of the San Francisco Port Commission. She is the first African-American woman to serve on the Commission and is the initiator of the Southern Waterfront Advisory Committee through which she engages the SE waterfront communities with development planning in their neighborhoods.
Ep 18: Nina Clima and the Gang & North Beach
In the beloved Italian North Beach neighborhood, three San Francisco natives Nina Clima, Charles Farruggia, and Don Di Basilio join Susan and Jae to reminisce on the rich cultural history North Beach offers the city. Nina, Charles, and Don grew up together in North Beach and are all 2nd or 3rd generation Californians. Now 80 years young, the three friends boast healthy, independent, and active lifestyles. They remain dedicated residents of this incredible neighborhood.
Ep 16: Sheila Von Driska & SOMA
Shelia Von Driska is the owner and founder of White Space, a full service creative design and advertising agency located in SOMA in San Francisco. SOMA, or South of Market, was historically an industrial neighborhood, full of almost exclusively warehouse buildings. During the 90s it became a hotspot for boutique design and advertising agencies to set up shop. Shelia moved into an industrial loft space in SOMA in the 90s and built her career and her company in this incredible neighborhood. Meet Shelia Von Driska!
Ep 15: Chef Rob Zaborny
This week we bring you our conversation with Rob Zaborny, long time San Francisco resident, and celebrated chef. Originally from New York, Rob moved to San Francisco in 1980 and never looked back. Although he has a great love of traveling all over the world, he especially loves to call the Bay Area home.
Ep 14: David Lei & Chinatown Part II
David Lei is an active participant with several nonprofit organizations including The Chinese Performing Arts Foundation, the Asian Art Museum, the Chinese American Community Fund, Chung Ngai Dance Troupe, Academy of Chinese Performing Arts, World Arts West - San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, the Bancroft Library, and the Center for Asian American Media.
Ep 12: Claudine Cheng, AAPI Heritage & Japantown
This week we are pleased to bring you our conversation with Claudine Cheng, a lawyer, community leader, community rights activist, and civil rights advocate; born in Hong Kong, Claudine Cheng is a graduate of University of Southern California and the University of California Hastings College of Law. Ms. Cheng was the first person from the West Coast elected to serve as the National President of OCA, a national advocacy and education organization headquartered in Washington, DC, with over 50 chapters across the country. In that role, Ms. Cheng was involved in coalition-building efforts amongst minority communities.
Her dedication to Asian communities is tireless, in addition to her decades of community organizing and the development of programming to support these communities, she also led a successful advocacy campaign for the issuance of United States Postal Service commemorative stamps celebrated the Lunar New Year! Currently, Ms. Cheng serves as the President of the APA Heritage Foundation and coordinates San Francisco’s annual celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We are so pleased to bring you our conversation with such an important advocate for San Francisco’s asian communities!
Meet Claudine Cheng!
Ep 11: David Lei & Chinatown
Many people, tourists and San Franciscans alike, think of Chinatown as restaurants and knickknacks, and don’t recognize Chinatown for the culturally rich, deeply historical, and close knit community it is. It is a neighborhood as resilient as its people, both of which have faced turmoil and struggle in their histories.
Ep 10: Chef David Lawerence
Our hosts are excited to share with you their lovely long lunch on Battery Street at Piperade with Chef David Lawrence. Chef Lawrence is the co-owner and Chef at the famed 1300 Fillmore, now located at the San Francisco International Airport, and closed temporarily due to Covid.
Prior to making his culinary mark in the Bay Area, Chef David Lawrence received formal training in his native London, where he worked under two of England's most celebrated chefs, the Roux Brothers. Working alongside them at five of their restaurants, Lawrence quickly advanced from apprentice to sous chef before his experience led him to the United States where he took the helm in a number of prestigious kitchens. Chef Lawrence is a charismatic, charming, kind man with a heart of gold; he engages with everyone from his staff to his patrons because he loves being with people, and most of all, he truly just loves cooking. And it shows in his food.
Meet Chef David Lawrence!
Ep 09: Mayor Willie Lewis Brown Jr. & San Francisco Politics
The Honorable Willie Lewis Brown Jr. is the first Black and, to date, the longest running Speaker of the California State Assembly. He also was the first Black man to be Mayor of San Francisco, and has left a lasting mark on the city. Known nationally not only as a politician but also for his many groundbreaking bills, authored while he was Speaker, and for the sweeping changes that were made in San Francisco under his watch.
Ep 08: Judge John Dearman & The Haight-Ashbury
The Haight-Ashbury district is a neighborhood in San Francisco that was aptly-named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. Running from Masonic Avenue to Stanyan Street, the beloved neighborhood is residential as well as commercial; famous for its connection to hippies and counterculture in the 1960s, it has long been one of the most dynamic, lively, and interesting neighborhoods in San Francisco.
In 1965 Judge John Dearman moved into the Upper Haight, into the very house where he and his family still live today. Judge John, as he is affectionately known to some, is a retired Superior Court Judge for the City and County of San Francisco. When he retired in 2009, Judge Dearman had been the longest serving judge in the history of San Francisco. Judge Dearman has long been an activist for change and the betterment of others, and recently celebrated his 90th birthday on March 28th, 2021!
Meet the Hon. Judge John Dearman.
Ep 07: Sunny Schwartz & Treasure Island
Sunny Schwartz, author, advocate, and changemaker speaks to us about this extraordinary program she founded over 30 years ago, and the island where it is possible.
Meet Sunny Schwartz!