Explore every episode of the podcast Once Upon A Bay
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
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| 1. The Baykeeper & Me | 20 Feb 2026 | 00:21:02 | |
A New York newspaper story leads to marriage, a life on the water, and a mission to help the world fall in love with San Francisco Bay. In 1989, a bored venture capital analyst in a New York skyscraper read a story about a man patrolling San Francisco Bay in search of polluters. She had no idea she would marry him, move onto a boat, and start a podcast with him 30 years later, In this debut episode of ONCE UPON A BAY, hosts Kate Josephs and Michael Herz share the improbable story of how their lives â and their love â became entwined with San Francisco Bay. Mike, founder of San Francisco Baykeeper, spent decades defending its waters from polluters and fighting for the wildlife and communities that depend on it. Kate, a lifelong New Englander, had to learn to love the Bay one story at a time. Now, floating together in their aging trawler, they invite listeners to share those stories. From the founding of Baykeeper to whale watching off the Golden Gate, oil spill battles, and a psychedelic pivot that changed everything, this episode sets the stage for a series about history, science, activism, and a deep devotion to place. Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878. đ Learn More
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| 2. Gold, Cuban Cigars & Mud | 06 Mar 2026 | 00:31:56 | |
Marine archaeologist Jim Delgado uncovers the shipwrecks, secrets, and human stories buried under San Franciscoâs streets and waves. From Gold Rush vessels entombed beneath the Financial District to wrecks off the Marin Headlands, Jim reveals how these âunread booksâ preserve a hidden record of the cityâs boom-and-bust beginnings.â Along the way, we visit the buried Gold Rush ship Niantic, trace forgotten hulls under downtown sidewalks, meet tragedy under the Golden Gate Bridge, and hear Jim's riveting tale of solving one of the greatest mysteries in U.S. naval history. He shares the poignant human stories preserved in mud: cigar boxes, bunk beds, family photographs, and the long-awaited answers for descendants of sailors who never came home.â Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878. đ Learn More
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| 3. Dirt, Water & Power | 21 Mar 2026 | 00:20:52 | |
Who pays for the growth of a worldâclass city? In this episode of Once Upon a Bay, Mike and Kate sit down with historical geographer Gray Brechin, author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin. Together, they trace how gold, mercury, dirt, and longâdistance water grabs turned shared waters into real estate, wealth, and leverage for a handful of powerful landholders. From hydraulic gold mining that poured eight Panama Canals of sediment into the water, to filling in one-third of the Bay to create more real estate, to water schemes that irrigate cities like highâvalue crops... this is the story of how imperial San Francisco grew by conquering other peopleâs rivers, lands, and lives. Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878. đ Learn More
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| 4. Geeking Out at the Bay Model | 04 Apr 2026 | 00:26:44 | |
A love letter to a giant analog computer made of concrete, copper, and tidewater. Mike and Kate spend a day inside the San Francisco Bay Model, an enormous midâcentury scale model in Sausalito that once tested radical plans to dam, pave over, and reroute the Bay. Guided by longâtime Park Ranger Linda Holm of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, they trace how this 1.5âacre, handâsculpted âwater computerâ helped sink the Reber Plan, shaped debates over the Peripheral Canal, and continues to inform navigation, oilâspill response, and sediment management today. As they lose their way among waistâhigh concrete channels, toy bridges, and signposts, they clock tide cycles that run 100 times faster than nature and tally up âpointsâ in a long-standing argument. Kate is an engineering fangirl, while Mike brings a healthy dose of environmental skepticism, sparking a lively back-and-forth about the promises and pitfalls of trying to âfixâ nature with infrastructure. Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878. đ Learn More
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| 5. Who Will Keep This Place? | 22 Apr 2026 | 00:26:00 | |
A small team takes on big polluters and wins. In this episode, the story of San Francisco Baykeeper, from its scrappy beginnings to a formidable force defending the Bay. Along the way, a deeper question emerges: What does it mean to be a keeper? It started with a guy they called Mad Dog⌠Back when San Francisco Bay was being treated like a dumping ground, one man decided to go out on the water and start paying attention. As Baykeeper, he chased down polluters, pushed reluctant agencies, and made enough noise that people had to listen. Today, San Francisco Baykeeper fields a team of scientists, lawyers, and advocates with the same fierce energy of those early days. They take on powerful adversaries like oil companies, chemical giants, even the U.S. Navy and win victories for the Bay. But along the way, a bigger idea has taken shape. What is a keeper, exactly? Is it a job title⌠or a choice? In this episode, we follow Baykeeperâs evolution from lone watchdog to elite action team, and meet the volunteers, neighbors, kayakers, and hip hop artists who show what it means to speak up for a place that canât speak for itself. In this episode youâll hear selections from âSmall But Mighty,â a music video produced in collaboration with RyanNicole, Hip Hop for Change, Destiny Arts, and San Francisco Baykeeper. The song is used with Baykeeperâs blessing as part of our shared love for the San Francisco Bay and the communities fighting for it. Sign up to receive updates: https://once-upon-a-bay.kit.com/01c971c878. đ Learn More
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| 6. The Last Place Like This | 10 Jun 2026 | 00:30:44 | |
Hidden behind Chevron's tank farm and built on the bones of condemned ships, Point San Pablo Harbor feels like a place that shouldn't exist. In this episode, we explore the history, characters, and unlikely revival of one of the last truly eccentric waterfront communities on San Francisco Bay. From its haunted breakwater to John Wayne, fishermen, resourceful holdouts, and occasional outlaws, this is the story of a place that survived by refusing to give up its soul. Featuring Rob Fyfe, Daryl Henline, Yaella Frankel, Venus Rose, Ross Kaplan, Bob Beard, Kathleen Clancy, Bob Keller, Sue Rosenof, Peter Thelin, Michael Herz, and others. Credits:
For photos, maps, and additional notes, visit onceuponabay.org. | |||