Muni Diaries

Storyteller Ilyse Magy has hella Muni bonafides: she was the first paid “staff member” of San Francisco Transit Riders, where she helped pressure city officials to actually ride the bus. But one Halloween evening, when Ilyse found herself evangelizing the value of public transit, the Muni gods had other plans. You can see even more Muni (and SF!) goodies at the Muni Diaries Art Market this Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at 80 Albion, from noon to 4pm! 

Many of you might know Mike Delia better as Mr. Boston, an operator on the F-Market and an impressive list of standard lines across town. Hailing from Massachusetts, he got bit by the transit bug when he was just 5 years old, riding the bus with his father, who was also an operator. You can often find him wearing his distinctive operator's cap on the F line, perhaps even on Car No. 1059 -- painted in his hometown Boston livery.  At Muni Diaries Live last month, Mike shared the story of his journey as a transit operator, which brought him to San Francisco, and his battle with a serious illness that brought him closer to so many of his passengers.  

Here at Muni Diaries headquarters, we don't often talk about ourselves because, after all, Muni Diaries is about your stories. But every once in a while, something happens that still makes us go, "I can't believe that went down." So today, cofounders Tara and Eugenia are sharing the story of how, in 2010, they came across a particular Muni shelter that they're still looking for to this day. Oh, and by the way, you DO have tickets to Muni Diaries Live this Thursday (Nov. 3), right? Head to MuniDiaries.com or this Eventbrite link, and use the listeners-only discount code PODCAST to get yours soon!

You might have seen these two awesome people who joined the Muni Diaries crew earlier this year, and in today's episode, you'll get to know more about our new editors, Kat Siegal and Sarah Katz-Hyman.  If you are a part of the local Transit Twitter community, you are probably already familiar with their names (and witty tweets), and today they'll share what makes them so passionate about San Francisco. We’ve always admired Kat and Sarah’s deep knowledge of public transit, their local activism, and their love for this city. You'll meet Kat and Sarah live at our next Muni Diaries Live show on Nov. 3, 2022! Use the code PODCAST to get a listeners-only discount to the show. See you there!

If you live in San Francisco for any length of time, you can't not know Broke-Ass Stuart. Stuart Schuffman (and his team of writers) have been writing about San Francisco for two decades now, and he is celebrating the occasion on Oct. 13 with a big 20th Anniversary Party. We took the opportunity to chat with Stuart to find out what he thinks is going better in San Francisco since he started, how he's grown his Patreon in challenging economic times, and some behind-the-scenes stories from two decades of writing about the city.

Comedian Becca Henry say she is San Francisco born, raised by wolves, and got her start on stage performing comedic burlesque before buying new bras and making her way into standup. In today's episode, she recounts one wild evening on BART on New Year's Eve before she was heading to a performance. You can find Becca on Instagram @beehenry. Or, if you're in New York City, she's on the schedule doing comedy at The Grisly Pear in Greenwich Village.

San Francisco native and San Francisco Standard journalist Meaghan Mitchell takes the stage, sharing this life-changing experience from her youth at a 22-Fillmore stop.  A reminder that stories on Muni Diaries can range from sweet and quirky, to weird and funny, to powerful, at times uncomfortable, and personal. tw: violence against women

When BART Board Director Janice Li saw a fight break out on the bus, she took matters into her own hands. But what she saw after making a public information request for the bus footage (which anyone can do, BTW) was something else entirely.

The world’s biggest Boat Tram fan Katie Haverkamp (mom of Muni-riding cat LeBron James) returned to the Muni Diaries Live stage to explain why she can't quit San Francisco. Spoiler alert: this lady has got zero commitment phobia when it comes to her love for this city.

Safe streets advocate Hayden Miller joined the Muni Diaries Live stage for the first time in April 2022. He might be in high school, but his expertise was known to a n00b Muni operator, who leaned on that knowhow for driving directions (seriously). All ended up in some...uncharted territory.

We're thrilled to bring you a live taping from our return to the stage at Muni Diaries Live on April 7, 2022! In this episode, Muni operator MC Allen explains how he went from transit fan, San Francisco devotee, to a Muni operator who went absolutely viral on Twitter.  This is a story that we want every San Franciscan to hear. You can follow MC on Twitter @that_mc. And subscribe and share this story with your podcast-listening friends. 

If you’ve been to Muni Diaries Live, you know we end every show with a Muni themed poetry throw down called the Muni Haiku Battle. After taking a two year break from the stage during the pandemic, Muni Diaries Live is back at Rickshaw Stop on Thursday, April 7, 2022! We are so excited to be back and today’s episode is a little preview of what you can expect. In today's episode, poet and transit enthusiast Mc Allen throws down with challenger Wonder Dave in a battle for his crown. Mc Allen and Wonder Dave will both be back on April 7 at Rickshaw Stop. Get your tickets here to see them live!

We are back! And in more ways than one. We've been busy cooking up a little something for you, and we're ready to let the cat out of the bag! Muni Diaries Live is returning to the stage on April 7, 2022!  It's been almost exactly two years since our pandemic-induced hiatus, and we can't wait to see you.  In celebration, we're bringing you a story from our live show by Meaghan Mitchell. She's a native San Franciscan and a journalist at the San Francisco Standard. You'll be able to see her return to the stage at our come-back show. 

Educator Kelly Gregor Hartlaub had been a librarian for some time until the pandemic hit, and she was suddenly called to become a teacher on Zoom for distance learning. Her first task as a Zoom teacher? Sex education.  And that wasn't even the hardest part. Kelly shares the challenges of teaching on Zoom, how she and fellow teachers kept going, and how she reached out to a student who was an English learner having a hard time during this all. We’re always looking for stories about how San Francisco has changed and transformed you, whether it happened on Muni or off.  If you’ve ever been inspired by a story on our podcast or gone to one of our storytelling shows and imagined yourself on stage, we are here to help! Please email us your story idea at munidiaries.sf@gmail.com, or tag us @munidiaries on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

We're bringing you a blast from the recent past from the stage of Muni Diaries Live in 2019. Storyteller Chris Arvin is a product designer who is passionate about cities and public transit. You might know Chris from the the adorable pins, stickers, Clipper card covers that they’ve designed at their store called Transit.supply. But what you might not know is that Chris is also a big part of what made Boat Tram - that famous open top tram on Market Street -  such a part of San Francisco culture. Chris shares how the life of Boat Boi started on Twitter, and you can follow Chris on Twitter @chrisarvinsf and Boat Tram @boattramsf for the latest going-on's of this beloved SF icon.

Aruna Lee is the founder of San Francisco-based Volcano Kimchi, whose organic kimchi and sauces are made in her "Fermentation Lab" in Dogpatch. Aruna grew up in a Buddhist monastery in Korea, where every meal included an assortment of kimchi. When she arrived in San Francisco in 2001, doing anything related to food was the furthest thing on her mind. In this episode, Aruna shares the journey of how she built her small business in San Francisco, using her childhood memories as inspiration.  You can find Volcano kimchi and sauces at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, Clement Street Farmer's Market, Good Eggs, Rainbow Grocery, and more. We are always looking for stories of people who make San Francisco the beautiful city it is today. If you have a story to share or someone to nominate, email us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

Proving that San Francisco is still a place that cheers on grassroots ideas, Erica Messner and Amanda Legge launched a new magazine about our city and called it, The San Franciscan. Launching a magazine (a print one, at that) is no small feat, especially in the pandemic. Erica and Amanda share the story of how they made their pipe dream into reality, despite a little hiccup along the way from their other favorite magazine.  Amanda and Erica have a new issue out, and the cover features our favorite mode of transportation! You can get a copy of it, featuring work from 30+ local artists and writers, at local favs spots like Green Apple Books, Dog Eared, and Alley Cat. We are always looking for stories from people who love and care about San Francisco. Nominate someone (or yourself) to be on our podcast by emailing us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com.

After shuttering for more than a year since the start of the pandemic, San Francisco venues finally opened their doors for the first time this summer. We talk to Rickshaw Stop managing partner Dan Strachota about their first indoor show and how things have changed for independent venues. Dan also gave us a behind-the-scenes peek at the unexpected things that happens when you haven't used your venue in 16 months. You can find Rickshaw Stop's event calendar at RickshawStop.com.

After 15 months of COVID-related restrictions, San Francisco is opening up this week. There's no time like the present to look at what our history can teach us about pivotal moments like this. On the podcast today, we chat with Chris Carlsson, the director of Shaping San Francisco and the co-director of FoundSF.org, a rich online archive of San Francisco History, Chris is a writer, San Francisco historian, tour guide, and wroyer. He recently published a new book called “Hidden San Francisco: A Guide to Lost Landscapes, Unsung Heroes and Radical Histories.”

Storyteller Kathleen Auterio moved to San Francisco from Massachusetts to do new things, just like in the BeeGees song. It was 2000, and everything seemed to be on track: she had an apartment, a roommate, and a job at SFWeekly doing the adult ads in the back of the paper -- a job that accepted her as a full metalhead. When she meets a new guy at the paper, they would soon come face to face with a relationship trust exercise that most people can't imagine. Kathleen is also a Muni Diaries Live alum: you can hear her story about an eventful Muni ride on episode 81 of our podcast.  We are always looking for people to share their stories about what makes San Francisco uniquely ours. If you have a story to share, pitch your idea to us by emailing us at muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com. And don't forget to rate us on Apple Podcasts to help people find more stories about the city by the Bay.