Alameda is the second most populous county in the Bay Area, after Santa Clara. Oakland is the biggest city, but the county stretches all the way out to Livermore in the east and Fremont in the south. It’s a big swath of land and about half of it is unincorporated, including two areas known as Cherryland and Ashland. Bay Curious listener Sam Hopkins wondered what it means for an area to be unincorporated and the history of these two communities.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Brian Krans. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsay and everyone on Team KQED.

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:

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.

The island of Alameda has produced some great baseball players. Hall of Fame hitter Willie Stargell even has a street named after him! Some of those ballplayers were Japanese American. In the years between World War I and World War II, the Alameda Taiiku-Kai thrived with great players like Sai Tawata leading the team and the community. Bay Curious listener Sam Hopkins saw a plaque commemorating the team's home plate and wanted to learn more about the team's history.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

Special thanks to the Japanese American National Museum for use of the Topaz prison camp clip. That documentary was a gift of Dave Tatsuno, in Memory of Walter Honderich.

This story was reported by Brian Watt. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

The Transamerica Pyramid, located in downtown San Francisco, is a skyline staple. But when it was proposed, people hated the idea of a towering symbol of capitalism so close to neighborhoods like North Beach and Chinatown. Turns out the block where the pyramid stands has a long and storied history. We dig into all that, as well as how public perception of the pyramid's place in the skyline has changed over the past 50 years.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Carly Severn. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

On a Daly City beach just south of Fort Funston there's a large tunnel carved into the cliff. Bay Curious listener Francisco Alvarado noticed it one day while walking his chihuahua, Little Bean, down the beach. The tunnel is large enough for a person to stand up and several feet wide, so of course Francisco's mind started racing. What could this mysterious tunnel be? Is it a remnant of life long ago? Or could it be something as mundane as a drain outlet? We head to Phillip Burton Memorial Beach, as it's technically called, with a geologist to find some answers.

Additional Reading

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley have been popping up in political circles. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been advising President Trump; billionaire Peter Thiel introduced JD Vance to the president; and many more less well known folks are poised to take on positions of power in the new administration. So who are all these people and how are they connected? Bay Curious listener Anna Mistele has heard they're all part of something called the PayPal Mafia. She wants to know what that is and the extent of their influence in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Morgan Sung and edited by Chris Egusa. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Maya Cueva, Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

If you've ever walked around Pier 39 in San Francisco or made a late-night exit from a concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, you're probably familiar with the bacon wrapped hot dog. But who are the vendors behind these savory snacks? And what's with the bacon and onions? Bay Curious listener Olivia Godfrey wanted to find out more.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

The Great Mall of Milpitas wasn't always a mall; it used to be a massive Ford factory. Bay Curious listener Brandon Choy wanted to know more about its history. The San Jose Assembly Plant opened in 1955 after relocating from Ford's outdated Richmond location. The new factory put Milpitas on the map, transforming a sleepy agricultural town into a thriving city. The factory’s opening also sparked historic social change: the construction of one of the first planned integrated neighborhoods in America.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Gabriela Glueck. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

Several Bay Area businesses have been around for a really long time. Normandin's car dealership in San Jose opened in 1875 and first sold horses and buggies. And KCBS is understood to be one of the first radio stations in the world, getting its start around 1909. But some San Francisco businesses go even further back, to the Gold Rush. Listener Scott Brenner wanted to know more about some of these places built to last.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Katherine Monahan. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.

When it comes to private school enrollment, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Marin counties are all well above the state average. But why? In today's episode, we'll explore the many reasons San Francisco families choose to send their kids to private schools. It's a trend rooted in the history of desegregation that's been hard to reverse.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts

This story was reported by Pauline Bartolone. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Holly Kernan and everyone on Team KQED.