Before 'sugar baby' became a modern dating term, there was Alma Spreckels - San Francisco's original. This episode, recorded with guest Katy from San Francisco, tells the remarkable story of Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, a penniless model who married a sugar magnate and became the most powerful woman in California. Philanthropist, socialite, and fierce personality, Alma essentially built San Francisco's cultural institutions through sheer force of will. If you love stories of women who played the game on their own terms and won, Alma's story is pure gold.
You know the name from the venue, but Bill Graham was so much more than a concert hall. This episode - recorded with longtime friend Shannon from San Francisco - unpacks the extraordinary life of the man who shaped the sound of San Francisco and American rock music. From his childhood as a refugee fleeing Nazi Europe to becoming the most powerful concert promoter in the world, Bill Graham's story is one of survival, passion, and the transformative power of music. A celebration of San Francisco's musical soul and a man who deserves far more credit than a building can give him.
The story that started it all. Well, the inspiration for this podcast at least. In late 1990s San Francisco, three off-duty police officers beat a man over a bag of fajitas - and then the entire SFPD tried to cover it up. Fajitagate is the scandal that exposed deep corruption inside the San Francisco Police Department and rocked the city's faith in its institutions. This is the episode that started it all: a reminder that the only thing worse than a bad guy with a gun is a 'good' cop who wants a fajita. Essential San Francisco true crime and SFPD history.
