We’ve all done it: you really need to pee, so you buy a muffin you don’t even want… just to get the bathroom code.

In this episode, Sam and Warren uncover why public restrooms are in such short supply in cities, starting at Awaken Cafe in downtown Oakland, where one small business has quietly become the de facto public restroom for a whole slice of the city (including City Hall’s backyard, which is a little wild when you think about it). They sit down with Cortt, Awaken’s founder, to talk about what it actually means to run a “public restroom” without the public funding, the emotional labor, the conflict management, and the literal missing chunks of porcelain.

Then we hop to Berkeley for a conversation with Jess Heinzelman, co-founder of Throne, about why public bathrooms got so scarce, why they've been so damn expensive, and what it looks like to build a restroom system around dignity, design, and real operations. We get into the not-so-glamorous realities: loitering fears, vandalism, “bathrooms turning into homes,” and why “just install one” is never the end of the story. Plus: how tech, sensors, cleaning logistics, and behavioral design can make a public restroom feel more like a hotel lobby and less like a punishment.

This is a very funny episode. It’s also a serious one. Because some cities have made our sidewalks the most rational option for defecation. We know (and even more so after this episode), that this doesn't have to be the case.

We cover:

• The “bathroom code economy”
• When small businesses become emergency responders
• Why cities agree on restrooms...until it’s time to place one
• Pit Stops, Portland Loos, maintenance realities, and implementation chaos
• Why design changes behavior and why “prison cell bathrooms” backfire
• Throne’s approach: off-grid siting, data, cleanliness, and accountability
• What to ask your city councilmember if you want this to change

If you enjoyed this episode, rate and review the show. It helps more people find us.

Watch full vids of our episodes (more fun!) on youtube.

Why are so many families hanging out in breweries? Sam and Warren headed to Almanac Brewery in Oakland to dig into what looks like a funny trend, but quickly turned into a conversation about urban design, public space, and the realities of parenting in modern cities.

We invited a handful of local parents to talk about identity, community, and raising kids in cities… then revealed that they’re actually transportation planners, policy leaders, and mobility innovators.

Featuring Jeff Hoover (Veo), Danielle Harris (Elemental Impact), Viggy Ram (Serve Robotics), and Audrey Desmuke, this episode unpacks why breweries are becoming the new “third place” for families and what that says about the cities we’re building.

We cover:

• Why breweries have become stand-ins for parks
• How unsafe streets shape everyday parenting decisions
• Parent loneliness and the lack of family-friendly public spaces
• Liability fears that keep cities from opening or maintaining restrooms + play areas
• Publicly accessible private spaces vs. failing public infrastructure
• How planners parent, and how parenting shapes the way they see the city
• Should kids even be at breweries? And who gets to decide?

If you enjoyed this episode, rate and review the show. It helps more people find us.

Watch full vids of our episodes (more fun!) on youtube.

We recorded our very first episode inside Prescott Market in Oakland, California to introduce our ourselves and share our vision for City People.

Take a listen as we open up about why we started this series, what makes us certified City Girlies, all the emotional baggage we carry, and who we hope will join us.

Plus some fun tidbits about our own cities (Oakland and Los Angeles) who have seen some thangs and done some thangs -- yet we love them anyway.

Enjoy the sights and sounds of the market and join us for the next adventure.

Until then, in the comments, tell us:

1. What city you're in, and if it were a person, what kind of friend would they be?
2. City people: Where else should we go + what should we do + who else should we see?

If you enjoyed this episode, rate and review the show. It helps more people find us.

Watch full vids of our episodes (more fun!) on youtube.