Did you know that the first avocado tree planted in the United States was here in Santa Barbara? Or that the KKK once called the Riviera home? Or maybe you’d like to know what’s up with the island off the coast near Mussel Shoals. Or the state of farm-to-table dining in a city with a high restaurant turnover?
From unearthing a local history to solving a neighborhood mystery, Curious Coast is a new series from KCRW where we set out to answer your questions about the region we call home, from Santa Maria down to Oxnard.
Previously, we’ve answered your questions on the housing crisis in Santa Barbara with our series Priced Out. And we investigated the issues surround oil drilling and fracking in a series of questions and answers here. But, we were just getting started.
With Curious Coast, we want to hear from you and what you’d like us to investigate, research, or uncover. We will dig into your most intriguing questions and seek out the experts, personalities, and history that will help us find the answers.
Here are some recent questions Curious Coast received and investigated:
How politically divided are today’s college students?
Are you friends with people who have different political views than you?
What should Curious Coast investigate next? Time to vote!
After our first Curious Coast voting round, you sent us into the tunnels below State Street to find a jazz club. Since then we’ve received dozens more questions, from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria…
Who was Santa Barbara’s only pirate?
Santa Barbara’s history is tied to the sea, so it wasn’t surprising that we got this Curious Coast question from KCRW listener Bill Hall: “Was there ever pirate activity in Santa…
See the other questions and answers here on the Curious Coast site
Curious Coast is a project made possible by the supporters of KCRW and a grant from Antioch University Santa Barbara.