Before you can understand San Francisco's scandals, crimes, and characters, you need to understand how this city came to exist in the first place. This episode offers a fast, honest, and unflinching rundown of San Francisco's origins - from its Indigenous roots to Spanish colonization, the Gold Rush, and beyond. Yes, it includes genocide. Yes, it's still a fascinating story. Think of it as the essential primer for every other episode of Sordid SF - and a palate cleanser from all those Murdaugh Murder podcasts.
