Muni Diaries

It wouldn't be a cross-town Muni line if manspreading, drinking, and unintentional, impromptu history lessons didn't factor in somewhere, right?

Today's storyteller, Molly Martin, is a tradeswoman and longtime Bay Area resident. Molly previously served san activist and organizer for Occupy Bernal, a neighborhood group focused on fighting evictions in Bernal Heights. She's currently working on a book about the history of women construction workers in the Bay Area.

This San Francisco teacher survived cancer, taught hundreds of middle school kids, so you bet she wasn't going to let a creeper on the bus get off easy. Gwen Carmen told this story at Muni Diaries Live's 10th anniversary show and our jaws were on the ground.

Gwen is an activist, actress, educator, and writer whose work has appeared in Essence magazine, Plexus feminist news paper, Haight Ashbury literary journal, and numerous other small presses during the 80's and 90's. She was also the editor/publisher of La Morena Women of Color bilingual news paper.

Got your own story to share? We are all ears! Pitch your own Muni or San Francisco story to us at [email protected]. You can help us keep the light on at Muni Diaries HQ by supporting us on Patreon.

Some of you may remember Silly Pink Bunny, a sculpture by local artist Jeremy Fish, which held court in the Lower Haight until 2013. Jeremy joins us on the podcast today to tell the story, in his own words, of the bunny's evolution from a goofy pink (and occasionally peed-on) neighborhood fixture to the revered bronze bunny sculpture it is today.

Buckle up for a story that connects art, taggers, grand theft bunny (that's a thing, right?), crowdfunding, community, and condos into one so-San Francisco story.

Nato Green is an organizer, writer, and comedian in the Bay Area. The East Bay Express sums him up as, "a San Francisco-raised father, union organizer, gastronome, bibliophile, and political sparkplug." Nato wrote for Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell on FX. Nato's story takes us back in time to 1990s San Francisco, which was still finding its progressiveness. In this episode, he recalls an act of courage by one of his high school classmates at a time when coming out was even more complicated than today.

You should definitely check out Nato's new album, The Whiteness Album, and follow him on Twitter @natogreen.

If you liked what you heard today, please support Muni Diaries on Patreon and help us keep telling stories from everyday San Franciscans! You can find us on Patreon.com/munidiaries.

No one's can-do spirit (and tolerance for municipal mishaps) is stronger than that of tenacious journalists. Enter San Francisco Chronicle reporters Heather Knight and Peter Hartlaub with a not-so-simple goal: riding all of the Muni lines in one day.

They called it, appropriately, #TotalMuni2018. In this episode, the intrepid pair walks us through the who, what, why, and how of this very ambitious goal.

And for all us Harry Potter nerds: Can we alternately call this experiment The Knight (Hartlaub) Bus?

Reporter Vivian Ho has worked for the San Francisco Chronicle since 2011, covering criminal justice and breaking news. She reported on the Mario Woods shooting, the San Francisco Police Department, wild fires, and she's just published an incredible investigative piece called "A Life on the Line." She's seen a lot of San Francisco, from the incredibly serious and life-and-death moments to the more quirky and offbeat happenings around town.

In today's episode, Vivian tells is about the one BART story that she didn't expect to be known for.

You can also hear Vivian's San Francisco Diaries story here. If you have your own story that happened on or off the bus, our inbox is wide open for your pitches at [email protected].

Storyteller Senait Hailemariam uses her time on the K/T train to tell her mom about her life as a twenty-something: it's the only form of therapy she can afford, she says. One day, she encounters a kind stranger who had a surprising reaction upon hearing Senait's phone conversation. Senait is a San Francisco transplant who studied Digital Communication at San Francisco State University. Senait now works at BAYCAT, a nonprofit media production studio that educates and employs young people in digital media. You can check out BAYCAT at www.baycat.org. If you liked what you heard on this episode, please rate and share our podcast! We are always looking for storytellers to share a slice of life in San Francisco, whether it is on or off the bus. If you have a story you'd like to tell, please email us at [email protected].

Matt Gonzalez, chief attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, has a packed schedule these days, which is why we were even more delighted to have him as a part of Muni Diaries Live in 2017. Matt took us back to the 2003 mayoral election—in which he was neck and neck with current Lt. Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and why riding the bus as a politician in a highly contested race means you gotta always keep one eye open.

Liked what you heard today? Share the Muni Diaries podcast with your friends and review us on iTunes! And we can't do this without your stories. You can submit your own slice of life in San Francisco by emailing us at [email protected].

Andrea Carla Michaels says that she has never done something two days in a row, but a commitment to her neighborhood led to her new identity. Two years ago she found her calling as "Pizza Lady" and you can find her daily in the alleys off lower Polk Street.

Andrea just celebrated her 25th anniversary in San Francisco. Originally a standup comic, game show writer and briefly a writer for "Designing Women", she now spends her time naming companies, constructing crossword puzzles for the NY Times and feeding folks.

Know another San Franciscan with a story to tell? We are always looking for tales of what makes living in San Francisco meaningful to you. Submit your own story or nominate a San Franciscan you know by emailing us at [email protected]. And please share this story with your podcast-listening friends!

What do you do when you meet a smug pickup artist on public transit? Storyteller Dominique Gelin is a comedian in Oakland, and she says she offers strong opinions on stupid things, -isms, and assholes. She has performed at SF Sketchfest, Boston's Women in Comedy Festival, the All Jane Comedy Festival, and was a finalist for the Ultimate Miami Comedian. She's here with a lesson in transit etiquette for the newbies — especially if you're a pickup artist, or for everyone who could use a refresher.

You can follow Dominique on Twitter at @heydomgelin.