Muni Diaries

Self-described San Francisco political nerds Cynthia and Jeremy Pollock took time out from writing the League of Pissed Off Voters voting guide to share how they became Twitter-famous from riding Muni. We found Cynthia and Jeremy when they tweeted a photo of Cynthia holding a crow on Muni, and of course we had to know how this all happened.

Storyteller Jesse James recounts his first impression of Muni when he moved to San Francisco, and how he learned the rules of Muni when he saw a pickup line gone wrong.

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez is one of the few transportation reporters in San Francisco. You might have seen many of his stories in the San Francisco Examiner. In this episode, Joe shares why the mundane, boring City Hall meetings that he often attends can mean life and death for some in San Francisco.

Muni operator Doug has written two books on driving the bus, and in this episode, he shares some behind-the-scenes gems. He's got his eyes on you, whether you're furtively holding your expired transfer or digging in your wallet for your Clipper card. You can find Doug's books at the San Francisco Public Library or your friendly local bookstores near you.

Buzzfeed Books Editor Isaac Fitzgerald proves a universal fact: stories happen on public transit in any city. In this Muni Diaries live performance, he shares the story of falling in love with a girl (and getting over it quickly) with the aid of a few heroic acts on the D.C. Metro.

Comedian Gina Gold is the host of TMI Storytelling, a monthly series in Oakland. In this week's story, Gina shares what happened when she rode BART with her coworker from Market Street Cinema, all in the name of improving her job skills.

Gina has a new podcast called "Do You Think I'm Kidding?" -- check her out on iTunes.

H.P. Mendoza is a San Francisco treasure. The seemingly tireless moviemaker and musician's works include Colma: The Musical, Fruit Fly, and I Am a Ghost. When he's not making movies, he's doing rad museum takeovers with '80s-style scavenger hunts. All of this, and he's also just one of the smartest, nicest people you'll ever meet.

H.P. graced the stage of Muni Diaries Live back in 2011. This week's episode is the story of how he came to love San Francisco when he was a kid thanks to his dad's Muni routes. He even included a rather catchy song about Muni and BART at the end of his performance.

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Courtney Riddle is the zine ambassador of Market Street, selling small handmade books out of a formerly abandoned newspaper kiosk, The Grand Newsstand. She's been distributing zines to unwitting tourists for more than a year now. When not sitting in peculiar street furniture, she makes her own zines, does calligraphy, daydreams about urban planning, and rides unusual Muni lines (how about that 36?).

In this episode, she shares her aspiration of becoming a Muni driver, but there's just one small issue she had to overcome.

For Valentine's Day, we bring you Ariel Dovas and his story of his very first kiss...and it happened on Muni! Ariel is a local filmmaker and the Creative Director at BAYCAT (Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts & Technology). He is also a co-founder of the collaborative art space The Secret Alley. Go to MuniDiaries.com to see episode extras and old photos of Ariel that he dug up just for the podcast.

In preparation for St. Valentine, we have an episode from comedian Caitlin Gill, who won't hold back her opinions about couples who make out on Muni! SF Weekly said this about one of our favorite comedians: "If hapless and fearless could occupy the same body, it's in Caitlin Gill."