Monkey Block San Francisco's Golden History

Mar 23 2024 3
Monkey Block San Francisco's Golden History Podcast artwork

Retelling forgotten stories from San Francisco's golden past, 1776 - 1906, based on newspapers, books, and personal accounts, of the time. San Francisco enthusiasts, California gold rush fans, and garden variety history geeks can discover this boom and bust city, built on the discovery of gold. Ho boys ho! For Californio! *I do my best to accurately reflect the facts, and sources, in my episodes.*

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


S3 Ep6 Part 2 of Interview with Edwin Bryant

Mar 23 2024 32 mins  
Today, we do not cover Edwin Bryant's best 1848-selling book but I do have a friendly conversation, with Mr. Bryant. Please sit back and enjoy the rest of my talk with Edwin Bryant. [email protected] (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast)twitter.com/monkeyblocksf (follow me)f

S3 Ep5 Interview With Edwin Bryant, 1848 Best Selling Author

Feb 04 2024 36 mins  
Today, I virtually interview Edwin Bryant, the author of the 1848 best seller, “What I Saw in California, Journal of a Tour, 1846- 1847”. Through the magic of AI generated voices, I simulate a virtual conversation with Edwin Bryant; a journalist, turned overland traveler, turned the second American Alcalde of Yerba Buena, and then finally, a bestselling author. About 95% of the

S3 Ep4 Where Juana Lived - Jonathan Lammers Interview

Jan 01 2024 33 mins  
Today’s episode is an interview with a new listener and accidental friend of Monkey Block’s Facebook Page that led to IMs on Facebook, a rabbit hole on Juana Briones, and then to an online interview. [email protected] (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf (support the podcast)twitter.com/monkeyblo

S3 Ep3 Hudson Bay Co. in Yerba Buena and William Glen Rae 1845

Oct 29 2023 31 mins  
The story of the Hudson Bay Company, in Yerba Buena, has been reduced to a few sentences that are very Hudson Bay Company-centric. “That place was miserable, and we didn’t make any money, so we left.” It always felt like the guy who says, “Yeah, well, I didn’t want that job, anyway.” Today’s episode is peripherally about the English Hudson Bay Company’s short-lived

S3 Ep2 La Plaza Yerba Buena 1835-1846

Aug 20 2023 29 mins  
I have found myself drawn to a specific piece of land that figuratively and literally became central to the Pueblo de Yerba Buena. Why was it left empty? And, considering it shows up on every Yerba Buena and early San Francisco map, why is it hard to find early information on it? [email protected] (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sour

S3 Ep1 The Battle of Yerba Buena

Jun 24 2023 26 mins  
If the Battle of Yerba Buena doesn’t sound familiar, there’s a good reason for that. The events, just before and after ‘The Battle of Yerba Buena’, tell the story. There are two events, in my opinion, that make up the ‘Battle of Yerba Buena’.If you enjoyed this episode, and my original research, you can make a one-time donation at www.buymeacoffee.com/monkeyblocksf. mon

S2 Ep 14 Second Year in Review

Apr 20 2023 21 mins  
Today we are celebrating our second year in review. If you’ve been on this journey with me the two years, thank you for making it to this milestone. And, a journey is exactly what this has been. Last year, we traveled from 1837, and we got stuck in 1846. [email protected] (email me directly)monkeyblocksf.buzzsprout.com (for transcripts and cited sources)buymeacoffee.com/mon

S2 Ep13 Letters From California - The Farthest West June 1846

Mar 07 2023 27 mins  
Letters from CaliforniaThree letters, were anonymously mailed from the Pueblo de Yerba Buena, dated between June 10th and June 29th 1846. The letters were, and probably still are, quite the mystery, not only because no one definitively knows who wrote them, but for the depth of military knowledge the writer had about the happenings in Alta California. Another point of personal inte

S2 E12 Bear Flag Part 3 Sonoma Insurrection June 1846

Dec 29 2022 36 mins  
In this episode, we continue with the Bear Flag Revolt, with lots of perspectives and parallel subplots. In this episode, we re-live one part of a bigger story, that starts the revolt. Out of context, this is sheer comedy. In context, the aftermath, which I won’t have time to get into, today, lacks humor, and leaves people in both the Mexican and American governments unhappy. If

S2 E11 Bear Flag Part 2 Fremont Affair Jan - March 1846

Nov 27 2022 42 mins  
Today’s episode is on ‘The Pathfinder’ John Charles Fre’mont and a conflict he found himself in, four months before the start of the Bear Flag Revolt. The differing takes, and spun storylines made today’s topic especially hard to ‘eliminate legend or call it out’, so it is a longer than usual episode. If you enjoyed this episode, and my original research, you can mak