Peter Quartaroli is the proud owner of the classic San Francisco seafood restaurant Sam’s Grill. Founded in 1867 by Irishman and oyster farmer Michael Bolan Moraghan, Sam's Grill is the fifth oldest restaurant in the country. Originally called “M. B. Moraghan’s,” the restaurant featured a classic San Francisco menu with Moraghan’s oysters as its headliner. It was later renamed Sam's Grill by owner Sam Zenovich, a change that has endured for over 100 years. Sam’s Grill has always maintained its b...
Nov 29, 2023•43 min•Season 7Ep. 6
Have you ever wanted to know what being a firefighter is like? In this week’s episode, we learn about the San Francisco Fire Department from two delightful, socially dedicated firefighters: Michie Wong and Shon Buford. A retired Fire Marshal, Michie took SFFD to a new level of security and sustainability. With keen expertise in code interpretation and intracity collaboration, Michie's work was a beacon for urban accessibility and safety. Shon Buford has a hand in social impact for SFFD as Assist...
Nov 15, 2023•38 min•Season 7Ep. 5
This week, we explore the esteemed lives and careers of Joanne Hayes-White and Greg Suhr, two San Francisco natives and long-time friends with a deep and impactful commitment to their communities. Joanne, the first female and longest-serving Chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, championed diversity and inclusion by notably increasing the representation of women and minorities in her department. She values motherhood as her greatest life accomplishment. Greg, a 4th generation San Francisca...
Nov 08, 2023•47 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Doug Dalton is the Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Future Bars, a venture that has restored 12 of San Francisco’s historic bars, making them into some of the top venues for the city’s vibrant cocktail culture. With locations like Bourbon & Branch, a Prohibition Era speakeasy turned password-required bar & lounge with its very own cocktail class, Doug beautifully captures the spirit of each sophisticated thematic bar experience through a love of history and entertainment. An eclectic entrepren...
Oct 25, 2023•40 min
This week, we interviewed the quintessential San Francisco sibling duo, Greg and Valerie Landau. Greg is a music and video producer, educator, and historian with 8 Grammy-nominated albums. Valerie, a Harvard-trained expert, specializes in innovative teaching and AI-infused education tools. Their lives were shaped by the influential 1960s and 70s in San Francisco as they grew up in The Mission District and Noe Valley. As children of poet-activist Nina Serrano and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Saul...
Oct 18, 2023•44 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Wendy Shew, a San Francisco native with immigrant parents from China, is the founder and Executive Director of the international non-profit organization Building Education (BE). The loss of Wendy's mother early in life motivated her 25-year journey in social impact work. After an early career in aviation, she embarked on a six-year global journey where she taught in rural Thailand and mentored girls in India. Wendy founded BE in 2017 to aid earthquake-affected schools in Nepal, rebuilding four s...
Oct 04, 2023•1 hr•Season 7Ep. 2
Have you ever wondered what it was like to grow up in the 1920s? Our guest this week knows, as she was born in 1923! Anne Marie Bosque Collins was a mother of nine children, an SFUSD primary grade teacher, and a San Francisco Native. Anne’s childhood days were spent in the avenues of the Sunset/Parkside District where she played street hockey, rode go-karts, slid down the sand dunes, and watched the construction of new houses. The Prohibition, Great Depression, and World War II shaped her coming...
Sep 20, 2023•50 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Our guest is on the cover of San Francisco Magazine’s STYLE issue this week— and for a good reason. Rachel Skelly is the Creative Director and visionary behind CAST Jewelry, a fine jewelry company with a mission to revolutionize the jewelry shopping experience. Through uniquely designed packages and colorful creations, CAST inspires and captivates its customers. Rachel's success at CAST Jewelry stems from her graphic design background and experience in leading multiple start-ups. She and her Co-...
Sep 06, 2023•47 min
Lina Ghanem is the Founder and Director of Saba Grocers Initiative, a non-profit that sources fresh produce from marginalized farmers in Northern California and delivers it to underserved neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area. Funded by the State of California Soda Tax, the initiative partners with African American and Arab immigrant corner store owners to provide affordable fresh produce to their communities, countering the prevalence of unhealthy items like cigarettes, alcohol, chips, an...
Aug 30, 2023•50 min•Season 6Ep. 8
This week we’re breaking from our Health, Wellness, Food, and Drink Series to present a captivating special episode with Joe Goode — an exceptional choreographer, educator, writer, director, and actor. He is also a revered master teacher whose summer workshops and teaching residencies attract artists worldwide. Joe is the Founder of Joe Goode Performance Group, a critically acclaimed, globally touring dance and theater company. Through Joe Goode Performance Group, Joe crafts pieces that effortle...
Aug 09, 2023•41 min•Season 6Ep. 7
We close our series on Health, Wellness, Food, and Drink very fittingly with Dr. Brad Jacobs, an MD, integrative and functional medicine doctor, and Founder of BlueWave Medicine. He is a renowned leader in the fields of integrative medicine and corporate health and is a seasoned physician, educator, and health innovator. As the Executive Director of BlueWave Medicine, Dr. Jacobs focuses on preventative care by merging conventional medicine with bodywork, acupuncture, massage, psychotherapy, yoga...
Aug 02, 2023•47 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Hooman Khalili, an artist, filmmaker, and former radio talk show host from the Bay Area, is creating murals in Israel to support Iranian women as they protest the violence and arrests that they are facing by their government. He has created five beautiful murals across Israel and one in the United States; his goal is 18 in total. Born in Iran and raised in San Mateo, California, Hooman has had a successful career in film, including voicing a character in the movie Cars and working as a morning r...
Jul 26, 2023•52 min•Season 6Ep. 5
More yoga, please! Moryoga is the hub for all things yoga by David Moreno, the internationally renowned yoga professional with over three decades of teaching experience. David offers weekly online and in-person classes, one-on-one sessions, somatic fitness, mentorship, and teacher training. With a dance background, a passion for music, a sense of humor, and a deep commitment to student well-being, David has become a beloved yoga instructor worldwide. He hosts global retreats of day- and week-lon...
Jul 19, 2023•44 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Ben Davis is the CEO and Founder of Illuminate, a non-profit that illuminates the San Francisco Bay Area with light-based public art. Established in 2011, Illuminate first collaborated with artist Leo Villareal to create The Bay Lights, a 1.8-mile-wide light sculpture on the Bay Bridge. The project gained immense popularity, generating half a billion media impressions and boosting the regional economy by over $100 million annually. Illuminate has continued to thrive as it creates art installatio...
Jul 12, 2023•53 min•Season 6Ep. 3
ZAK WILLIAMS is the co-founder and CEO of the mental health company Prepare Your Mind (PYM), which he established with his wife Olivia June Williams. When Zak lost his father, Robin Williams, to suicide, his own mental health struggles went into overdrive. The work Zak and his wife did to restore his mental health then fueled the couple’s desire to help others with their mental wellness. For two years, Zak and Olivia worked with food scientists and neuroscientists to develop safe, natural and ef...
Jun 28, 2023•59 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Chef Mourad Lahlou is an award-winning chef, restaurant owner, cookbook author and winner of Food Network’s 2009 Iron Chef America. Hailing from Morocco, Mourad’s cuisine is inspired by his mother’s traditional Moroccan recipes and his many childhood visits to the markets with his grandfather. He has opened 3 restaurants in the United States, the second, Aziza, being the first Moroccan restaurant in the country to receive a Michelin Star. His current and eponymous restaurant, Mourad, showcases t...
Jun 14, 2023•45 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Josh Donald is the Owner and Co-Founder of Bernal Cutlery, a specialty knife store and service shop in San Francisco’s Mission District. Josh and his wife Kelly Kozak started out sharpening knives in the back of an apartment as a way for the new, broke parents to make ends meet. Today, they have a dedicated crew of unique and knife-savvy individuals with a beautiful store front. Bernal Cutlery carries everything from refurbished antique and vintage knives to handmade culinary knives from around ...
May 31, 2023•46 min•Season 5Ep. 10
This week, we wrap up our OGs & Young Guns Series with Amelia Ashley-Ward and Evan Ward, the owners and publishers of Northern California’s oldest Black newspaper, the Sun-Reporter. The paper was founded in 1944 by Thomas C. Fleming and Dr. Carlton Goodlett to give a voice to the growing population of African-Americans in the Bay Area. It quickly became a beacon for Civil Rights activism, and served as a waypoint for prominent Black figures like Malcom X, Muhammad Ali, and the Black Panthers...
May 17, 2023•48 min•Season 5Ep. 9
This episode of our OGs and Young Guns Series features three incredibly driven and culturally-minded filmmakers: Sophie Constantinou, Sam Ball, and Osinachi Ibe. Sophie and Sam are two of the three Founders of Citizen Film, a non-profit documentary production company in SF. They create compelling documentary stories that bring communities together to engage with each other’s cultures. Osinachi Ibe is an SF-based Nigerian-American Filmmaker who creates intimate, feminine portraits that meditate o...
May 03, 2023•45 min•Season 5Ep. 8
In this unique episode of our OGs & Young Guns series, we invited renowned poets Nia McAllister and Tureeda Mikell to interview EACH OTHER about their experiences as literary artists! The two met at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), a contemporary art museum that celebrates Black culture through a global lens. Nia is the Senior Public Programs Manager at MoAD, and Tureeda recently completed her residency with the museum’s exceptional Poet-in-Residence program. Nia is also a writer a...
Apr 26, 2023•39 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Peña Pachamama was recently deemed a San Francisco Legacy Restaurant– and for a very good reason. For 25 years, founders Quentin and Eddy Navia have cultivated this Bolivian vegan restaurant, bar and performance space into a San Francisco landmark with all flavors of Latin music bursting through its doors. Not only does this magical night spot feature artists from all over the world, but well-known personalities like Robin Williams have found their feet dancing on its floors. Quentin and Eddy Na...
Apr 19, 2023•41 min•Season 5Ep. 6
San Francisco residents Anna Chiu and Valerie Santillo are fashion designers, business partners and close friends. Together they started KAMPERETT, a womenswear label whose name is an inspired blend of their mothers’ maiden names. They focus on designing elegant yet effortlessly chic pieces for discerning women, and all of their pieces are made with the highest quality materials in ethically run factories right here in the city. We had a lovely time with Anna and Valerie on a sunny spring day in...
Apr 12, 2023•48 min•Season 5Ep. 5
In 1960’s San Francisco, the “Color Movement” swept across the city’s architectural landscape. Victorians and Edwardians were painted in bright fanciful colors as an homage to the psychedelic colorscape of the LSD experience. Inspired by this, architectural color designer Bob Buckter, aka Dr. Color, carried this movement into the 70’s and on. As his style transformed over the decades, Bob’s unique and tasteful color palette touched everything from residential homes and commercial buildings, to c...
Apr 05, 2023•32 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Matt Hollis is the Principal and Lead Architect at MH Architects. This San Francisco Native got his start in design as early as childhood, learning building from his father and graphic design and illustration from his mother. Having also lived abroad in Japan, Hollis developed a keen sense for design and structure that was influenced by the nature-inspired clean subtle lines of Japanese design. At MH Architects, Matt takes a hands-on approach to each project, allowing the building style to expre...
Mar 22, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 3
We kick off our Home and Design Series with siblings Tracy, Kelly and Jonathan Dearman — titans of the San Francisco Bay Area real estate scene. The Dearman Real Estate Group was founded by Jonathan, though the origins of his family’s business go back to the 1950s when his grandmother, Bertha Flemming, provided real estate services throughout the Bay Area. She was one of the first African-American women in the SF Bay Area to operate a real estate business, and took care to pass her legacy down t...
Mar 08, 2023•41 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Kathy Fang is a renowned Contemporary Chef, On-Air Personality, and a San Francisco native. Kathy’s passion for cooking began as a child in her family’s popular SF restaurant House of Nanking, where her father taught her how to cook. As an adult, Kathy and her father opened Fang Restaurant with Kathy herself as Chef. Here she would realize her dream of creating easy, delicious and healthy dishes with unique ingredients and flavors for SF locals. Kathy has also appeared on numerous cooking and fo...
Feb 01, 2023•44 min•Season 5Ep. 1
As always, we end our series with a bit of food! This week we sat down with Cherith Spencer, baker and owner of Namesake Cheesecake in Menlo Park. Her business started when she was given singular access to the secret cheesecake recipe of a dear family friend for whom she was named. Cherith promised to honor her friend by opening Namesake Cheesecake, and today she shares her delicious cheesecake with dessert enthusiasts all over the South Bay. Cherith is charming and quirky. She is as passionate ...
Dec 21, 2022•52 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Barbara Bogatin is a master cellist, a teacher of meditation and music, and a Bay Area native. She attended the Juilliard School, receiving both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Music. She’s played for the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein, and many more across the United States. In 1994, she returned home to play with the San Francisco Symphony. Barbara incorporates a daily meditation practice with her musical routine, allowing her to unlock t...
Dec 14, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 19
Victoria and Paul Ehrlich are a musical power couple. Both classical string instrumentalists, the two have played in top orchestras across the Bay Area. Vicky plays cello and has been with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra for nearly 40 years. She’s likewise an Artist in Residence at the Ruth Asawa SF School of the Arts. Paul played Principal Viola for the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra for 20 years and is a frequent extra in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Symphony. Both Paul and Victoria...
Dec 07, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Nicholas A. Garcia is the Director of Pocket Opera, a chamber opera company in San Francisco. Garcia has been extensively involved with Pocket Opera, first as a performer and then as General Director after the passing of its founder Donald Pippin in 2021. Although it’s small compared to other opera companies on this foggy peninsula, Pocket Opera created a niche that has helped it thrive since its founding in 1977. The company translates operas into English and produces shows on a smaller scale, ...
Nov 30, 2022•44 min•Season 4Ep. 17
