From daily headlines and local investigations to the rise of the San Diego Padres and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on San Diego's dining scene, NBC 7's podcast network certainly had a lot to talk about in 2020. Here's a look back at some episodes that really had us going this past year.
Today in San Diego – Coronavirus Concerns: Separating Myth From Reality
When the coronavirus pandemic reached San Diego County in mid-March, NBC 7’s daily podcast – Today in San Diego – produced this special edition episode that focused on the beginnings of the outbreak around the country, and its impact on our region.
NBC 7 anchor Mark Mullen sat down with President-Elect of the San Diego Medical Society, Dr. Holly Yang, to determine fact from fiction and discuss the significance of recent precautionary measures. We also heard how COVID-19 was affecting local college students, forcing them to attend class online and how coronavirus was starting to impact local business.
As we know now, this was only the beginning of a long road ahead – the beginning of how the pandemic would come to reshape our daily lives.
Today in San Diego is a daily podcast from NBC 7 that gives listeners the top, local news stories of the day in about 5 minutes.
Tap here to subscribe to Today in San Diego.
Noticias de Hoy con Telemundo 20 – El Presidente de Mexico Visita Tijuana, Además Hubo Manifestaciones en San Diego Contra La Vacuna del COVID-19, Mientras Los Casos Siguen Aumentando
Noticias de Hoy is the only daily Spanish language local news podcast in San Diego. It is similar in content to NBC 7's Today in San Diego – a quick look at the biggest local news stories impacting our communities.
After a few months of working behind the scenes to produce a top-notch podcast, this episode from Nov. 30 was the first that we were proud to share with our social media and viewing audience. The debut episode covered the Mexican president’s visit to Tijuana and backlash against the possibility of a coronavirus vaccine, despite the ongoing surge in cases.
Tap here to subscribe to Noticias de Hoy con Telemundo 20.
Scene in San Diego – That’s the Spirit: San Diego Distillery Cutwater Finds Virtual Home for Tasting Events
Scene in San Diego debuted in June 2020 to give locals a look at what’s happening in our San Diego food and lifestyle scene. With the pandemic taking over every facet of our lives, local eateries, chefs, restaurateurs, and craft breweries were deeply impacted.
Their stories had to be told.
We all hope for a day when San Diego’s lifestyle and dining scene can rebound – but the challenges along the way can’t be ignored. And the resilience of our city – and the innovation and sweet success of the people that make it so special – are a passion of this podcast.
On our “That’s the Spirit” episode of Scene in San Diego, we profiled Cutwater Spirits, a well-known local distillery, and how it had been adapting and getting creative to survive the pandemic. For one, Cutwater – known for its cocktail pairing events at its Miramar tasting room – had shifted those events into the virtual world. And it was cool.
Cutwater Spirits founder and master distiller Yuseff Cherney joined our podcast to talk about the pivoting and running his business in the middle of the pandemic.
We also took time on this episode to look at how the economic fallout of the pandemic had forced some San Diego gem to permanently shutter, including the beloved Jayne’s Gastropub the uptown area.
Tap here to subscribe to Scene in San Diego.
Scene in San Diego – What’s a Ghost Kitchen? Sam The Cooking Guy Explains This Pandemic Trend
The pandemic inspired many trends in 2020 (rebirth of the drive-thru, anyone?) and on this episode of our Scene in San Diego we explored one particularly interesting one in our local restaurant industry: ghost kitchens.
Ghost kitchens – also known as virtual or cloud kitchens – have grown a lot over the past few months as people change their dining habits to include more takeout and delivery.
A ghost kitchen is a professional, commercial kitchen set up to prepare delivery or pickup-only meals. The space has everything you need to make restaurant-quality meals but, in most cases, there’s no physical dining room attached to the operation. The menu items out of that kitchyen are then offered for delivery via third-party apps like Grub Hub, UberEats, DoorDash, and Postmates.
You can read all about how the ghost kitchen is being used in San Diego’s food scene here.
To break down the trend, we were joined on this episode by our friend, San Diego-based chef, restaurateur and TV and YouTube personality, Sam “The Cooking Guy” Zien, as he set out to launch a ghost kitchen concept of his own called Eats by Sam.
Zien also chatted with us about how he’s running his other two San Diego restaurants – Not Not Tacos and Graze by Sam – in these challenging times.Tap here to subscribe to Scene in San Diego.
Listen/subscribe to the Scene in San Diego podcast to get the latest local lifestyle stories and news from our local food and drink scene. As we continue to adjust to life (back and forth, back and forth) in these times of the coronavirus pandemic, the way we enjoy our city has changed. We’ll keep you up to speed on how those changes impact the things you love to do in our city. Tap here to find Scene in San Diego wherever you listen to podcasts.
On Friar: The Sound of Catharsis Echoes Through the Streets
For the first time in 22 years, the San Diego Padres won a playoff series in 2020 – pandemic and all – and San Diego soaked up the occasion.
And we loved talking about it on our On Friar podcast.
From a ledge outside Petco Park in downtown San Diego where the fandom was loud and clear, co-host Darnay Tripp joined Derek Togerson to discuss Game 3 and the team's impressive turnaround against the Cardinals. A bullpen day that worked! A catcher that handled a revolving door of pitchers. Young stars that were now playoff proven.
And a team that could beat - anybody? The guys discussed those topics and more while the celebration raged on in the background. It was a really good day to be a Friar Faithful, that’s for sure.
Tap here to subscribe to On Friar.
On Friar: Potential Targets and Offseason Questions for the Padres
With another crop of players hitting the free agent market, On Friar hosts Derek Togerson and Darnay Tripp used this episode to talk all about the Padres’ options for this offseason.
First, the guys touched on Greg Garcia's departure and Tommy Pham's return for a second season (4:43). Then, they turned their attention to potential targets now available after the non-tender deadline (17:08). What about Lance Lynn? The guys weigh in (32:10) and then turn their attention to questions and comments from social media (41:46).
One of which has Togerson dreaming about landing a Cy Young winner from Tampa Bay (50:35).
Tap here to subscribe to On Friar.
LISTEN: With NBC 7 San Diego's Darnay Tripp and Derek Togerson behind the mic, On Friar will cover all things San Diego Padres. Interviews, analysis, behind-the-scenes...the ups, downs, and everything in between. Tap here to find On Friar wherever you listen to podcasts.
Into San Diego – Into STOLEN Episode One: ‘The Problem’
Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking or exploitation.
This year NBC 7 Investigates went deep into the issue and how it impacts San Diego County in our multi-part documentary series, “STOLEN.”
The series also included companion episodes of our investigative podcast, Into San Diego. In the podcast’s Into STOLEN: Episode One, NBC 7’s Monica Dean and Tom Jones explained the issue in a new way by hearing from a survivor.
And an expert in the field went into the psychology behind this complex issue, how it happens, the myths surrounding the issue and how virtually anyone can become a victim.
Tap here to subscribe to Into San Diego and listen to the full STOLEN series.
By the way, you can watch the entire STOLEN docuseries here and on NBC 7’s apps via Roku and Apple TV.
For a look at NBC 7's full podcast network -- and lots more episodes of each one of our shows -- click here. Thanks for listening, San Diego.
