Bay Curious

A Summer Trip on the Rails


Listen Later

Train travel isn't as common as it used to be, but there's one Amtrak route that train enthusiasts love because it's so beautiful -- the California Zephyr. The route starts in Emeryville, runs through the California delta, stops in Sacramento and then heads and over the Sierra Nevada mountains, eventually terminating in Chicago. This ride is on a lot of people's bucket list for good reason. But the California railroads also played an important role in the food history of the state and in the Civil Rights Movement.


Additional Reading:

  • The California Railroad's Surprising Impacts on Food and Civil Rights
  • Read the transcript for this episode
  • How Oakland's 16th Street Train Station Helped Build West Oakland and the Modern Civil Rights Movement
  • Sign up for our newsletter
  • Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest
  • Got a question you want answered? Ask!
  • Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts


    This story was reported by Lisa Morehouse. It was edited by Victoria Mauleon and produced by Suzie Racho, Brendan Willard and Sasha Khokha. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad and everyone on Team KQED.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Bay CuriousBy KQED

    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8
    • 4.8

    4.8

    1,042 ratings


    More shows like Bay Curious

    View all
    This American Life by This American Life

    This American Life

    90,929 Listeners

    Radiolab by WNYC Studios

    Radiolab

    43,859 Listeners

    Fresh Air by NPR

    Fresh Air

    38,494 Listeners

    Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

    Hidden Brain

    43,589 Listeners

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

    Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

    38,840 Listeners

    99% Invisible by Roman Mars

    99% Invisible

    26,226 Listeners

    KQED's Forum by KQED

    KQED's Forum

    719 Listeners

    KQED's The California Report by KQED

    KQED's The California Report

    397 Listeners

    Close All Tabs by KQED

    Close All Tabs

    98 Listeners

    MindShift Podcast by KQED

    MindShift Podcast

    247 Listeners

    Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

    Science Friday

    6,400 Listeners

    The Latest from KQED by KQED

    The Latest from KQED

    79 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    112,022 Listeners

    Up First from NPR by NPR

    Up First from NPR

    56,495 Listeners

    Political Breakdown by KQED

    Political Breakdown

    190 Listeners

    The Bay by KQED

    The Bay

    435 Listeners

    The California Report Magazine by KQED

    The California Report Magazine

    132 Listeners

    Throughline by NPR

    Throughline

    16,340 Listeners

    KQED Newscast by KQED News

    KQED Newscast

    30 Listeners

    Short Wave by NPR

    Short Wave

    6,551 Listeners