The Big Event

15/09/2018

The Big Event rises again!
Please listen, and PLEASE resubscribe if your player dropped the podcast => https://apple.co/2x6I9Pu
Subscribe on Stitcher => https://bit.ly/2N2kF40
Bonus episode with Heather Knight explains why the podcast disappeared for two weeks, what I'm going to do about my 30% subscribers who were raptured and why you should never let me borrow your phone at a party.
Also, we preview the next few podcasts - including Bay Area 1970s/1980s TV royalty and a super big star (hopefully, possibly) dropping by our basement podcast studio next week.
After a horrendous first two weeks, The Big Event is rallying for a great September!

03/09/2018

🚨Podcast update!🚨
I'm aware has disappeared. There was a glitch Friday night - I won't get into technical details, but layman's terms in the same place Michelle Pfeiffer got stuck in "Ant-Man & the Wasp."
It will return next week, and it will rock. We have an "Evening Magazine" tribute coming up! Jan and Rich for the win! And one way or the other you'll be able to access past episodes.
-Peter

24/07/2018

Hail girls!
Hail Mary, what's up?
New podcast is a "Sister Act" tribute. Listen and subscribe!! => https://apple.co/2Ntuxn2
Tony Bravo and Beth Spotswood come on strong. We talk about the original casting (Bette Midler!!), the transformation of Noe Valley into crime-ridden slum and give a strong and sustained tribute to the greatness of the "Hail Holy Queen" sequence. Please check it out!

07/04/2018

New podcast is San Francisco Giants-themed - and our first Archives Live episode!
Listen & subscribe => https://apple.co/2H2AbNm
Read the story => https://bit.ly/2EqcUQd
I'm joined by San Francisco Chronicle librarian Bill Van Niekerken to talk about the first Opening Day in 1958. We also take reader questions about the archive. Do we see ghosts? Are there photos to racy to share? I also talk about the time I caught the first pitch from a drunk guy at a Giants game. Check it out!

23/03/2018

It's Metallica day on !!
Aidin Vaziri and Carolyne Zinko join the pod to induct "...And Justice for All" into the SF Music Greatest of All Time.
Listen & Subscribe! =>
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/and-justice-for-all-sf-music-greatest-of-all-time/id1316784981?i=1000407246528&mt=2
Had a lot of fun with Aidin and Carolyne on this one, which is filled with Metallica history and other tangents. (Surely the only podcast episode with a discussion of what kind of cannabis pairs with speed metal.) Also, love that our longtime lifestyle and society writer Zinko is a total headbanger.

22/02/2018

New episode!!
Where I'm joined by Tony Bravo and Beth Spotswood Daza to induct "The Birds" in the SF Cinema Greatest of All Time.
Listen, rate and review!! => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-birds-sf-cinema-greatest-of-all-time/id1316784981?i=1000402937183&mt=2
Really enjoyed the banter here. Lots of discussion of Tippi Hedren's green suit, the Bodega Bay singles scene and Beth's skepticism that a flock of birds could really kill an able-bodied human being. Check it out!

09/02/2018

This week's is an interview with Chronicle photographers Scott Strazzante and Carlos Avila Gonzalez, sharing great stories from covering the Warriors games.
Listen, subscribe, rate and review => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/photographing-warriors-scott-strazzante-carlos-avila/id1316784981?i=1000401755363&mt=2
Carlos and Scott have taken photos during this championship run that I'll remember for the rest of my life. Their behind-the-scenes stories don't disappoint. The high point for me was when they started talking about their courtside injuries - trading scars like Quint and Matt Hooper in "Jaws." Check it out!

29/01/2018

The latest podcast is the third SFCGOAT!
"Mrs. Doubtfire" inducted into the SF Cinema Greatest of All Time, with host Peter Hartlaub, Chronicle style reporter Tony Bravo and columnist Beth Spotswood.
Listen & subscribe!! => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sf-cinema-greatest-of-all-time-mrs-doubtfire/id1316784981?i=1000400661178&mt=2
And don't miss our first two SFC GOAT inductees: "Zodiac" and "Moneyball."

12/01/2018

This week's podcast episode: an interview with W. Kamau Bell!
Listen and subscribe! => https://itunes.apple.com/…/w-kamau-bell-inter…/id1316784981…
We covered some things I missed when I wrote a profile of the stand-up and "United Shades of America" host last year, including his earliest years as a struggling comic in San Francisco, and his love of music. He's the subject of W. Kamau Bell's Playlistt​, with some of his favorite songs (Tears for Fears!, Prince! Nina Simone!) performed by the Oakland Symphony on Jan. 19 at the Paramount Theatre.
Main 📸: Mariecar Mendoza

05/01/2018

This week's guest is PAULA POUNDSTONE!
Listen & subscribe => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/paula-poundstone-interview/id1316784981?i=1000399059186&mt=2 … … …
Highlights:
1. Poundstone's stories about The Other Cafe (pictured here in 1984), a pioneering S.F. comedy venue that will be my #1 stop once I get my time machine working.
2. The hilariously disastrous memories of the time she opened for Jerry Garcia.
3. Poundstone's earnest recollections of her first days in San Francisco. I've always enjoyed her cynical and self-deprecating delivery, and it was striking to hear an almost awestruck sincerity when talking about her former home and the career she built here.
4. The awesome cowboy sweater.
5. The Greg Proops cameo. (Previously recorded.)
6. Someone finally asked me about The Big Event lunch lady board!

28/12/2017

New episode!!
Top 10 movies of 2017 with me, San Francisco Chronicle movie critic Mick LaSalle and movie editor Leba Hertz.
Listen and subscribe => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/top-10-movies-of-2017-with-mick-lasalle-and-leba-hertz/id1316784981?i=1000398476463&mt=2
We reveal the two movies that made it on all our lists, look back at the best movies of the 21st Century (so far) plus a lot more surprises. Look for Mick's podcast returning in 2018!

15/12/2017

‪Today’s the big day! Lock in with a balanced breakfast and our spoiler-free breakdown on The Big Event, with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Leba Hertz and Tony Bravo =>
‪https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/star-wars-the-last-jedi-first-impressions/id1316784981?i=1000397299174&mt=2‬

08/12/2017

Attention loyal The Big Event readers in exile!
The Big Event is back as a podcast! Eight episodes in, I think you’ll see I’ve modeled it after the vibe of The P**p and The Big Event, my blogs of 2005-2015. Bay Area nostalgia. Celebrity guests. Humor. Sincerity. Movie talk. Sports. Marine World Africa U.S.A. breakdowns. Paul from the Diamond Center updates. And we will have events!
Don’t miss out! Subscribe on iTunes => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-event/id1316784981?mt=2
Google Play and more options coming soon.
This doesn’t mean the blog is gone forever. I’m still in favor of bringing back an online writing/multimedia component to this, and I think we’re closer than ever. But the podcast is my current creative outlet. Subscribe! -Peter Hartlaub

30/11/2017

New on The Big Event: Me, Esther Mobley and Paolo Lucchesi discuss the best hangover destinations in the Bay Area, past and present.
New episode => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/best-hangover-destinations-of-the-bay-area/id1316784981?i=1000395446484&mt=2 …
Subscribe!!! => https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-event/id1316784981?mt=2 …
We pay tribute to my favorite all-time hangover spot ( ), Paolo and I get in a spirited debate about whether Mel's Diner has a reason for existence and Esther reveals the excellent hangover-friendly spot she found in Colma. Check it out!

29/11/2017

The Big Event podcast is on iTunes!
Please subscribe so you don’t miss anything. Our back catalog is here as well =>
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-event/id1316784981?mt=2

Download past episodes or subscribe to future episodes of The Big Event by San Francisco Chronicle pop culture critic Peter Hartlaub for free.

25/10/2017

Latest podcast - originally posted last week - is a sad but life-affirming one => https://soundcloud.com/user-578158723/a-bay-area-story-santa-rosa-hardware-store
After their houses were destroyed, Coffey Park neighborhood residents found that a sense of decency remained ...

15/09/2017

The Big Event Episode 5 bonus #1:
Here are the Dave Stewart 1988 and 1989 archive photos and I talked about at the 1:55 mark of our "Moneyball" deconstruction.
Listen to the whole podcast here => https://soundcloud.com/user-578158723/all-about-moneyball
Chronicle photos by (clockwise from left) John O'Hara, Fred Larson and Deanne Fitzmaurice.

15/09/2017

The Big Event Episode 5 is Susan Slusser and our tribute to the movie "Moneyball."
REALLY enjoyed this one. Susan opens up about her early love of baseball and path to her job as the San Francisco Chronicle's Oakland Athletics beat writer, and we talk a lot about "Moneyball" - I reviewed the movie and Susan lived through it!
Plus, a visit by Bill Van Niekerken, briefly talking about Oakland rap! Don't miss it! -Peter
https://soundcloud.com/user-578158723/all-about-moneyball

Episode 5 of The Big Event podcast is a tribute to the movie "Moneyball" - with the Chronicle critic who reviewed the film and the Oakland A's beat writer. Hosted by Peter Hartlaub with guest Susan Sl

08/09/2017

The Big Event - Episode 4 is up and it's topical!
Chronicle columnist Beth Spotswood Daza and I talk about "It" (I reviewed it for The Chronicle) and rank the most underrated, worst and all-time best movies based Stephen King books.
Do "Stand By Me" and "Shawshank Redemption" count as Stephen King movies? Which film did we both crown the best of all time? Why does Beth hate "The Shining"?
Come and pod with us, Danny. Forever and ever ...
https://soundcloud.com/user-578158723/best-movies-based-on-stephen-king-books

Episode 4 of The Big Event podcast is a scary dive into movies based on Stephen King. With a new "It" movie, come and play with San Francisco Chronicle pop culture critic Peter Hartlaub and Chronicle

07/09/2017

Excellent work by Paolo Lucchesi here. We agree to disagree on strawberry. Check out his rankings of the It's Its, then listen to our deep dive podcast!
http://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/A-correct-and-definitive-ranking-of-It-s-It-12177429.php?cmpid=twitter-premium

San Francisco has many hallowed food traditions, from sourdough and Dutch Crunch to Pink Popcorn and Rice-A-Roni. As my colleague Peter Hartlaub points out in his latest Big Event podcast, the It's-It - a beautiful ice-cream sandwich composition of oatmeal cookies and chocolate coating - has earned…

31/08/2017

The new The Big Event podcast is here! Episode 3 is all about It's Its. Paolo Lucchesi and I rank the flavors from worst to best, we record Justin Phillips eating his very first It's It, and we compare the blasphemous pumpkin spice It's It to Poochie from "The Simpsons" and "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
Check it out!
https://soundcloud.com/user-578158723/ranking-the-its-its

Episode 3 of The Big Event podcast is an exhaustive and surgical examination of the It's It ice cream sandwich. San Francisco Chronicle food editor Paolo Lucchesi and pop culture critic Peter Hartlau

27/07/2017

Recognize anyone (including yourself) in these archived concert photos? San Francisco Chronicle is seeking KISS fans who rocked the Cow Palace🤘🤘on 8/16/1977.
cc: Kissarmy Gene Simmons Paul Stanley
http://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Are-you-in-these-photos-Kiss-rocks-the-Cow-11438647.php -13414668

22/07/2017

Episode 2 of The Big Event podcast here! Goes great w/ yard work, road trips or any court-ordered highway cleanup you're doing this weekend.
The second episode is a series of hilarious local nostalgia surgical strikes with comedian Greg Proops. We cover the Circle Star Theatre, KISS at the Cow Palace, 1980s comedy clubs and Greg's San Francisco Chronicle paper route.
(Episode 3 is done and it's the best one yet, but I'm waiting until we're on iTunes and other subscription-friendly streaming services before dropping it.)
https://soundcloud.com/user-578158723/podcast-002-greg-proops-71717-1123-am

Episode 2 of The Big Event podcast is a Bay Area nostalgia tour with comedian and podcaster Greg Proops. Hosted by SF Chronicle pop culture critic Peter Hartlaub with Greg Proops - who appears at the

18/07/2017

The Big Event episode 2 is descent into Bay Area nostalgia with "Whose Line" improv-er and "Smartest Man in the World" podcaster Greg Proops. Listen here! =>
http://www.sfchronicle.com/performance/article/Podcasts-are-smart-career-move-for-comic-Greg-11294590.php&cmpid=twitter-premium
Some pure uncut San Francisco memories here. We cover the Circle Star Theatre, KISS at the Cow Palace in 1977, Greg's San Francisco Chronicle paper route and the relationship between Muni and comedy in the 1980s.

16/07/2017

We recorded Episode 3 of The Big Event this week. It consisted of me, Paolo Lucchesi and Justin Phillips from the San Francisco Chronicle Food Dept. slaughtering two innocent It's Its in the basement archive podcast studio.
You can listen to it in a couple of weeks! Episode 2 with Greg Proops is out Tuesday - look for the bonus story in the Datebook section. -Peter

12/07/2017

The Big Event episode 001 is finally here!
I'm joined by Kevin Fagan and Beth Spotswood Daza, as we induct "Zodiac" in our SF Cinema Greatest of All Time.
Be the first on the planet to listen to it here: http://www.sfchronicle.com/oursf/article/Datebook-podcast-10-years-later-Zodiac-11279164.php
Please share it if you like it, let us know what you think and throw out ideas for future podcasts.
Recorded in the historic Chronicle basement archive. Cameo by Leah Garchik with theme music from The Sunset Shipwrecks. This has been almost eight months in the making! Thanks to Fernando Diaz, Mariecar Mendoza, David Wiegand, Kimberly Chua, Tim O'Rourke, Audrey Cooper and Benny Evangelista for the support along the way!

10/07/2017

Exciting news! The Big Event returns on Wednesday July 12 as a podcast! Please carve out 37 minutes to listen to the first episode.
It will be very close in vibe to the blog, focused on an earnest and sincere look at culture in the Bay Area with my hosting and lots of reader/audience interaction. First two episodes are a tribute to the movie "Zodiac" with Kevin Fagan and Beth Spotswood Daza, and an interview with comedian, podcaster and San Carlos native Greg Proops.
Our secret podcasting lair is set up in the SF Chronicle's basement archive. Very excited about some future can't-announce-them-quite-yet guests. Please check out the first episode on Wednesday and let me know who and what you want to see in the future. -Peter

15/06/2017

This would have been a The Big Event post if the blog was still around. Still hope to bring TBE back in some form some day ...
Saw this Sutro Baths tattoo on the Western Neighborhoods Project feed and love it. Tracked down the recipient and tattoo artist and got the story behind the tattoo on video.
Love the fact that tattoo owner Bobby Feehan was born long after Sutro Baths burned down in 1966. Makes me happy to think of her walking around for the rest of her life, sharing a piece of S.F. history every time someone asks about the art on her arm.
Watch my video!

The more adventurous might commit to Candlestick Park or Sutro Tower on their arm, leg or back. [...] the reigning champion when it comes to proving local loyalty in ink is Bay Area resident Bobby Feehan. The incredibly detailed tattoo made the rounds on Twitter a few weeks ago, and with some sleuth...

05/05/2017

I was not there, probably because I was afraid to cut school. Missed the U2 Day on the Green the following weekend as well because I was grounded for bad grades. (I had a ticket.) The moral is contradictory, kids: Cut school to see a concert, but also do your homework.
I was happy to write about this 30 years later. Please share your stories and any photos you took if you were there. I plan to put together a multimedia project with reader stories on the actual anniversary on November. -Peter

On less than 24 hours notice from conception to ex*****on, the Irish rockers played an energetic 45-minute lunchtime set, with kids cutting class mixing with business workers in suits. Firefighters had to rescue a few fans who got caught up on street signs and trees seeking a better view. The San Fr...

11/02/2017

Long time no post! I'm working on a few things, hoping The Big Event will be reborn as a podcast. In the meantime, enjoy this Facebook Live - I joined my colleague Lily Janiak to talk about bad audience behavior at movies and live theater. Some pretty wild stories from us and commenters. Small children at "Team America World Police"! Annoying knitters! And "The Berkeley 'mmm'" explained! -Peter

22/06/2016

Yes I'm sober, and "Ratatouille" is my favorite Pixar film. Vote in our poll, or make your own list, take a photo of it and share. You don't need a cool 1980s velveteen lunch lady board like the one I used here ...

Ranking the films of Pixar Pixar has now been around long enough that it’s possible to write an entire review making nothing but references to its own back catalogue. Where does its latest film, “Finding Dory,” which broke the box office record for animated features in the U.S. by taking in more tha...

18/02/2016

A little piece of history. Eddie D. looks pained in all these photos ...

The new 49ers helmet logo was the third order of business at the press conference on Feb. 13, 1991, and the details didn’t appear until the ninth paragraph of San Francisco Chronicle writer Ira Mil…

05/02/2016

This is the pop culture hill I choose to die on: The Britney Spears/NSYNC Super Bowl halftime show was one of the greatest of all time ...

There are certain musical arguments I’m reluctant to start. Not because I don’t wholeheartedly believe in them, but because I know that in a world of short attention spans and 140-character limits,…