{"podcast":{"title":"Bay Curious","slug":"bay-curious-6896","podcast_index_feed_id":6896,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC4698044094","website_url":"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/baycurious","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/405c75b6-01b3-11ea-b4dc-270e003b0694/image/KQED_Podcast_tiles_-_NPR_network_Bay_Curious.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"KQED","episode_count":521,"summary":"Bay Curious is a show about your questions – and the adventures you find when you go looking for the answers. Join host Olivia Allen-Price to explore all aspects of the San Francisco Bay Area – from the debate over \"Frisco\", to the dinosaurs that once roamed California, to the causes of homelessness. Whether you lived here your whole life, or just arrived, Bay Curious will deepen your understanding of this place you call home.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-09T20:17:41.297005+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/bay-curious-6896"},"episode":{"title":"The Mariners Who Guide Massive Ships Into the Bay","slug":"the-mariners-who-guide-massive-ships-into-the-bay","published_at":"2026-07-09T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/bay-curious-6896/the-mariners-who-guide-massive-ships-into-the-bay","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/bay-curious-6896","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC7905385819.mp3","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC7905385819.mp3","summary":"If you ask mariners, they’ll tell you, navigating a boat from the open ocean into the San Francisco Bay is notoriously treacherous. There’s the dense fog that can make it hard to see. Strong currents constantly rearrange the sea floor and can quickly throw a vessel off course. And finally – our bridges! If a boat were to strike a pillar it could be catastrophic. That’s why captains of big ships aren’t allowed to navigate into port on their own. A specially trained mariner called a bar pilot – hops aboard every ship that comes into San Francisco Bay, and takes over command. Bay Curious listener Erik Udd wants to know everything about how it all works. Additional Resources: Why Specialized Mariners Are Required on Every Ship Sailing Into San Francisco Bay Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Katrina Schwartz. Bay Curious is made by Christopher Beale, Olivia Allen-Price and Katrina Schwartz. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"If you ask mariners, they’ll tell you, navigating a boat from the open ocean into the San Francisco Bay is notoriously treacherous. There’s the dense fog…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1225,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/bay-curious-6896/episodes/the-mariners-who-guide-massive-ships-into-the-bay/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/bay-curious-6896/the-mariners-who-guide-massive-ships-into-the-bay.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}