50 episodes

Selected stories from Porchlight, San Francisco's longest-running storytelling series, hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick.

Co-founders Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte invite six people from different backgrounds to tell ten-minute true stories without using notes or memorization.

Porchlight Storytelling Series Porchlight

    • Arts
    • 3.9 • 100 Ratings

Selected stories from Porchlight, San Francisco's longest-running storytelling series, hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick.

Co-founders Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte invite six people from different backgrounds to tell ten-minute true stories without using notes or memorization.

    Porchlight: The Bitch is Back: Stories of Resurgence

    Porchlight: The Bitch is Back: Stories of Resurgence

    The Bitch is Back: Stories of Resurgence
    Back in hot vax summer of '21, we were so jazzed about coming out of the pandemic. We brought our live show to the courtyard of the historic San Francisco Mint to hear tales of bouncing back, renaissance and reemergence. Stories from business executive Karla Martin, writer and professor Matthew Clark Davison, high school senior and spoken word performer Jyairrah Martin, writer and barman Alan Black and lawyer and artist Matt Gonzalez. Hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick, music by Marc Capelle, recorded by Brandi Howell. 

    • 52 min
    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 8: Graziano Cerchiai

    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 8: Graziano Cerchiai

    We wrap up our North Beach series with an interview with Graziano Cerchiai, the patriarch of the city's legendary Bimbo's 365 Club, on his 91st birthday. 

    • 24 min
    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 7: Jonathan Moscone

    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 7: Jonathan Moscone

    Our guest this week is theater director and current Chief Producer at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Jonathan Moscone. Jon talks about his North Beach memories, including memorable nights at Tosca, and how the pandemic has unveiled inequities in our society that we cannot ignore. 

    • 23 min
    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 6: Pia Hinckle

    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 6: Pia Hinckle

    Author, journalist, and fifth generation San Franciscan Pia Hinckle joins us to talk about growing up and raising her own kids in the city. Topics include her legendary father, journalist Warren Hinckle, and nearly every single bar in North Beach.

    • 34 min
    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 5: Jack Hirschman

    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 5: Jack Hirschman

    Arline and Beth catch up with poet Jack Hirschman.  He looks back on his friendship with Lawrence Ferlinghetti and shares a poem he wrote for Lawrence on the night of his passing.  

    • 31 min
    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 4: Stacey Lewis

    Porchlight Presents: North Beach Episode 4: Stacey Lewis

    Arline and Beth catch up with City Lights Books' linchpin Stacey Lewis. She looks back on 25 years at the iconic bookstore and remembers her mentor and friend Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

    • 38 min

Customer Reviews

3.9 out of 5
100 Ratings

100 Ratings

LuvrOfInformation ,

How?

I'm truly amazed this series has lasted as long as it has. The piano grates on the nerves so as well as the way the two hosts talk over each other. The only saving grace are some of the storytellers.

lil’ peter ,

Worthy and Entertaining

A highly entertaining series of stories presented by two experienced hosts. The Porchlight shows have been around much longer than there were podcasts, but this is an excellent medium for the stories. This being a 100% live podcast, sound levels can be a little erratic, such as when someone yells into a mic, but it's not outside the comfortable range. Very much like being there, actually. The typical storyteller is an experienced and proven veteran who has to pitch the story prior to being put on the evening's roster and who generally will deliver an entertaining story. The funeral boat was a hoot. If you like ALL your stories to be polished, you might avoid the Open Door shows as these are pretty much all amateurs, but I do appreciate the hosts making this effort to allow new people to try storytelling.

Uumaooo1 ,

Great Stories

I do wish they’d realize that conservatives enjoy the stories. I could do without the political sniping

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