The Golden City

In September 2019, a group of residents on a quiet street placed enormous boulders on their sidewalk to discourage homeless encampments and drug sales. But when city officials and politicians sided with the people who installed the hostile architecture, it sparked a debate about how San Francisco treats its homeless residents, who number in the thousands. Guest Joe Eskenazi, Managing Editor of Mission Local, covered the story extensively.

"There's a middle ground, and we have to find it," he said. "And our leaders have to take us there."

Thanks to a listener in Los Angeles,  Eric Raymond dropped by to talk about his career as a writer and novelist in San Francisco. His first novel, "Confessions From A Dark Wood," is a satire based on his experiences working in global brand management. In this episode, Eric discusses his work and reads an excerpt from his upcoming novel, "Golden Gate," set to be released in March 2020 by Tyrant Books.

Mount Sutro's urban forest is the locus for several gripping tales, including a kidnapping, a forest fire, a rich man's greed, and a flock of hard-working professional goats. In this episode, journalist Eve Batey and artist Tim Ehhalt buckle in for multiple history lessons about one of the city's famed Seven Hills and bring listeners inside their Outer Sunset store, Avenues Dry Goods.

After I shared a photo on Twitter of a mysterious note I found taped to a utility pole in the Central Sunset, resident Pete Mummert let me know that he's been collecting these messages for years -- and had a personal encounter with the elusive artist. 

Join host Walter Thompson for The Golden City, a podcast that presents stories from San Francisco’s past, present and future. Each episode explores unique aspects of the city’s news, history and culture that often go overlooked. Whether you’re a native or a tourist, listen to the The Golden City, and you’ll learn something new about one of the most familiar cities on Earth.