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…

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A year after Tuttle's death, Arline and Beth remember the tattoo icon with his friend and archivist Danielle Boiardi.

Arline and Beth talk to San Francisco legend Peggy Knickerbocker. The cookbook author and gal about town talks about The Dolphin Club, her new memoir, and childhood friends helping get her through the pandemic. Her story about running around North Beach was recorded at Bimbo's in 2018.

Beth and Arline remember a great show back in 2019 in the perfectly lit, crowded lounge at Bimbo's. Porchlight favorite Jesse DeNatale was there. He spent the pandemic creating a beautiful album "The Wilderness." Hear all about it and the roads that lead us wherever the hell we wind up.

We were so excited to join forces with both the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the California Institute for Integral Studies for a night of stories exploring our understanding of self and the fluidity of identity. An amazing group shared personal stories inspired by the CJM exhibition Show Me as I Want to be Seen. The lineup: Kelly Beardsley has be…

A not-to-miss variety show celebrating the wonderment and weirdness of SF's landmark indie bookstore with author Mary Roach, illustrator Wendy McNaughton, Thao of the Get Down Stay Down, Vetiver's Andy Cabic, Forum's Michael Krasny, author Robin Sloan, author and musician Willy Vlautin and more! Hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick on September …

It's our 15th birthday and we're putting on a killer storytelling show to celebrate! BACK IN THE DAY will feature true tales from a stellar assortment of humans including: Muni Diaries founder Eugenia Chien Lawyer, activist, and artist Matt Gonzalez Bartender and writer Ginger Murray Master bookbinder Dominic Riley Writer and contributor to The New…

Porchlight and Sketchfest present: BOMBS AWAY! Stories of Implosions and Explosions With Dana Merwin, Eddie Pepitone. Erin Foley, Karla Martin and Mike Phirman

Every year, we join forces with the amazing Litquake Literary Festival to bring you a night of stories told by authors and writers. Our theme for this show is ripped from the Talking Heads song “Life During Wartime,” and involves tales of explosive scenarios, epic struggles, and living each day like it could be your last. With Greg Milner, Laurie N…

Who am I? It's a queston that never fails to amuse, confuse, bewilder, and humble us as we plunk along our journey on this earth. To what end, no one knows. To paraphrase Oliver Sacks, it is an enormous privilege and adventure to be a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet. And you are free to have canned fish for lunch every d…

Porchlight partners with Greenhouse, a software company that optimizes hiring practices, for a show of stories about JOBS. Our storytelling superstars for this special edition include writer/musician Eric Shea, HIV educator Ed Wolf, and producer/comedian Dana Merwin. Hosted by Arline Klatte at the Hilton Union Square on May 26, 2016. Recorded by PS…

Porchlight returns with a Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution edition featuring Wavy Gravy, Bob Barsotti, Eric Shea, Deanne Franklin, Bart Davenport, and Lorrie Murray. Hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick on May 12, 2016 at The Contemporary Jewish Museum. Recorded by Brandi Howell. Mixed by Patty Fung.…

Kitchen Confidential is back! Hear some of SF's finest onstage with their insider stories about food, restaurants, kitchens, customers, and the vagaries of having a life in the service industry. Writer and restaurant person Karen Leibowitz. Natural foods expert/writer Matt Levine. Cookbook author J. Kenji Lopez-Alt. Comedian Kyle Mizono. Chef/teach…

You're Doing It Wrong: Stories from Porchlight's annual SF Sketchfest show featuring Beth Lisick and Arline Klatte with guests Iris Haas-Biel, Moshe Kasher, Jackie Kashian, Kyle Mizono and Aparna Nancherla and songs by Bart Davenport. Hosted by Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick January 22, 2016 at the Swedish American Hall Recorded by Brandi Howell. Mi…

Litquake’s edition of the Bay Area’s long-running Porchlight series (15 years!) returns to the festival for a special storytelling night of authors and writers, telling tales on the theme of “Kill Your Darlings.” Featuring stories by Heather Mackey, Martha Tolles, Neal Pollack, Mark Haskell Smith, Siamak Vossoughi and Ali Liebegott. Hosted by Arlin…

It seems like only yesterday that we got some friends together at the Hemlock Tavern to tell us their stories and now BAM, it's somehow 13 years later! Arline, Beth, and Marc celebrate the thrill again as some of our favorite Bay Area storytellers delight and surprise you with the theme Flip The Switch: When Things Change In an Instant. Featuring s…

A very special edition of the Bay Area’s longest-running storytelling series, now in its 13th year! An evening of unforgettable stories by a stellar cast of feisty San Franciscans who are STILL HERE. So you know: This show is not meant to be a bummer, but rather a rollicking night featuring people who love this city and would prefer to stay here an…

Kitchen Confidential, Porchlight's most anticipated show of the year. Get all the dirt from the top food people in this unapologetically food-obsessed town, as stories from the kitchen, the front of the house, and the food truck are told onstage. Stories from: Chef and TV Personality Joey Altman, James Beard Award Winner and Slanted Door's Charles …

For the fifth year in a row, Porchlight teams up with the San Francisco Sketchfest to bring you a rollicking night of storytelling by a line-up of people in the writing and funny business. Working with the theme FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT, six superstars tell ten-minute stories for your joy and entertainment. Stories from: Shelley McLendon, Derrick Br…

Porchlight Halloween show. Hosted by Arline Klatte and Marc Capelle on October 27th, 2014 at San Francisco's Hemlock Tavern