You can’t go a few feet in this city without running into someone who’s making a living doing something untraditional, whether it’s running a bicycle weed-delivery business, managing a pirate-supply store or some other quirky pursuit in the counterculture tradition of our city. From the visionaries behind City Lights Books to the musicians who sprung from Haight-Ashbury in the ’60s, the creative spirit runs deep in San Francisco, and it’s something that’s naturally a strong source of pride among longtime residents.
And here comes the “but.” But in spite of this, San Francisco is not known as a podcasting hub, as the set with those talents generally heads to Chicago or New York, for obvious reasons. In spite of tons of other artistic endeavors that go down here, one could say that the scene is just barely emerging. Consider this: not even StartUp, the super-popular podcast about what it’s like to start a company, is based here. (That one’s in New York).
Although the podcasting scene features a slightly smaller crowd, it’s still brimming with talent. You might know the names of some of the regional big shots, but if not, here’s the lowdown on the homegrown podcasters who are working their audio magic near you.
If you’re at all in tune with the podcast scene, you’ll be familiar with the East Bay–based Mars. His podcast, 99% Invisible, gained traction for its examination of the invisible forces behind design and architecture principles. He also happens to run the podcast network Radiotopia, which hosts other popular podcasts like Love + Radio, Song Exploder and Mortified, to name a few. With over 70 million downloads, 99% Invisible is an illuminating piece of work that’s not to be missed. (And if you can’t get enough of Roman, check out his TED talk on flag design.)
Sow is one of the hosts of Call Your Girlfriend, a podcast that takes place in the form of a long-distance call between besties. But don’t mistake this stuff for fluff: the program covers everything from feminist topics to politics to social justice to—in Sow’s own words—“Ruth Bader Ginsburg, menstruation news, Kimye, casual racism, emoji, straight people and so much more.” In addition to being the podcast host, Sow also works in politics and social impact marketing for Google, making her easily one of the busiest multitasking creatives in the Bay Area.
Karen Chu (with Colin Felton, Dana Nelson and Chris Kohler)
This is a must for pub-trivia fans. If you hit up the weekly challenge and find yourself consistently wanting for answers, then you’re definitely missing out by not listening to the Bay Area–based Good Job, Brain! podcast. Hosted by Karen Chu with assists from the ever-knowledgeable Colin Felton, Dana Nelson and Chris Kohler, the broadcast, which initially started as a Kickstarter campaign, consists of unusual facts and the kind of oddball news you’d need to know to win a pub-trivia challenge.
The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva)
Though their current venture, Fugitive Waves, a podcast about the “flip side of history,” is part of Roman Mars’s Radiotopia network, the Kitchen Sisters have independently produced their own series for NPR and won Peabody awards, making them audio stars in their own right. Both are multi-talented and have done plenty of work on stories that make their current endeavor (or any future ones, for that matter) worth a listen.
This San Francisco–based writer, actor and comedian has been illuminating current views of Muslim American culture for a long time, and her subversive one-woman play, All Atheists Are Muslim, was even highlighted in the New Yorker in 2011. In collaboration with the Los Angeles–based Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed, she hosts the podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim, a powerful audio commentary investigating how Muslims are perceived by their own culture and by those outside of it in a—as she puts it—“post-9/11, Islamophobia-funded world.”
Jason Cabassi and Karen Koppett
The Walking Dead is a show and a phenomenon that has gripped the hearts and minds of many. Surprisingly, the most popular Walking Dead podcast is broadcast right here, hosted by Bay Area–based duo Jason Cabassi and Karen Koppett. If there’s anything (and we mean anything) that you’ve ever pondered about the TV show, The Walking Dead ’Cast podcast, with over 200 episodes produced, surely has you covered. Zombie fans engulfed in the mysteries of the AMC series are sure to be delighted by the appearance of cast members who have explained a few puzzlers. Either way, it’s not surprising that one of the most dedicated fandoms (and subsequent podcasts) is based right here in San Francisco. After all, we’re all about that awesomely nerdy dedication to niche passions, amirite?
Did I miss any that should be on this list? Let me know!
Photo courtesy of Patrick Breitenbach.