Mar 5, 2026
Part 3 picks up right where we left off in Part 2. While she was still working that real estate job, Sonia was treating dating like a part-time job. She signed up on several dating sites (this was before swipe apps like Bumble). She went on many awkward coffee dates. Then a friend introduced her to a guy, and the two...
Mar 4, 2026
In Part 2, we pick up where we left off in Part 1, with Sonia’s life right after her stint at community college. She left the Bay Area to attend college up north at Chico State. Widely known as a party school (perhaps rightly so?), they also had a reputable journalism department and an award-winning newspaper. This...
Mar 3, 2026
The story of Sonia Mansfield has roots in The Bay.
In this episode, we meet and get to know my friend Sonia. She and I worked together at the Fangs’ Examiner back in the mid-2000s, and have been friends since. I loved her presence in the newsroom. I’d often listen to her make us all laugh from her A&E desk across...
Feb 19, 2026
In Part 2, we pick up where we left off in Part 1. Toshio talks about those chess players at Powell and Market and other early impressions of The City before they moved here.
Having grown up in Orange County, with its underfunded public transit system, Toshio always wanted to live somewhere that had a subway. Being able...
Feb 17, 2026
Toshio Meronek’s parents met at a bar.
In this episode, meet and get to know Toshio. Today, they do Sad Francisco, a really fucking amazing project that reports on and holds truth to power around here. I first became aware of Sad Francisco a few years ago and right away, I was struck by the deep reporting on and...