The Case for Letting Malibu Burn By Longreads Feature Many of California’s native ecosystems evolved to burn. Modern fire suppression creates fuels that lead to catastrophic fires. So why do people insist on rebuilding in the firebelt?
The Californians Who Can’t Budge By Michelle Weber Highlight How do you hold down the fort when the fort is on fire?
Mega-drought and Me By Zoe Fenson Feature As California gets drier, a woman entering her 30s reflects on PCOS, pregnancy, and her desire to have children.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger Was the Newest Member of the Gym By Ben Huberman Highlight From his earliest days in California, Arnold was a polarizing, impossible-to-ignore figure.
A Girl’s Guide to Missiles By Longreads Feature A professor returns to the California military base where she grew up to make sense of her family’s role developing weapons for the US government.
Go, L’il Birb! The First Plover in Los Angeles in 70 Years By Krista Stevens Highlight Can humans coexist on the beaches of Santa Monica along with wildlife? A beach “rewilding” project aims to find out.
Russian River Roulette By Michelle Weber Highlight Even when you’re already bracing for a negative response, no one expects an attack golfer.
Farming A Warming Planet: An Interview Nathanael Johnson By Aaron Gilbreath Commentary How California farmers are planning ahead for climate change while balancing their immediate economic concerns.
A City in Upheaval: The Story of a Single Block in West Oakland’s Ghost Town Neighborhood By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight Annette Miller, a longtime resident of West Oakland’s Ghost Town neighborhood, has witnessed the dramatic transformation of the city as changes sweep the block she’s lived on for over 50 years.
Is Conservative Life Behind the ‘Orange Curtain’ at an End? By Michelle Legro Highlight Democrats can flip Orange County, California, from red to blue, as long as they don’t mess it up.
Publishing the Best of the Desert: An Interview With Ken Layne By Aaron Gilbreath Commentary “If you’re doing something small, something that’s mostly your labor and vision, then stick to what makes you satisfied.”
The Known Unknown: Tales of the Yucca Man By Aaron Gilbreath Feature The desert has its own version of Sasquatch, and it’s just as smelly and hairy.
The Nighthawks of the Giant By Aaron Gilbreath Feature Alex R. Jones starts grocery shopping late at night, and finds a new world opens up to him.
Coachella, Alternativo By Gabriel Thompson Feature Durante el tiempo que pasó en el Valle de Coachella, California, el periodista Gabriel Thompson exploró cómo las comunidades latinas de la región se han adaptado a una vida de miedos e incertidumbre durante la administración de Trump.
Coachella, Underground By Gabriel Thompson Feature Spending time in California’s Coachella Valley, journalist Gabriel Thompson explores how the region’s Latino communities have adjusted to a life of fear and uncertainty under a Trump administration.
California Governor Jerry Brown Is Retiring By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight After 40 years of public service, California Governor Jerry Brown is retiring. This is the story of his last days.
How to Run a Magazine in the Desert By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight Ken Layne designs, edits, and distributes his independent magazine Desert Oracle from tiny Joshua Tree, California.
It’s a Wonderful World: The Remaking of California Agriculture By Aaron Gilbreath Feature An interview with Mark Arax about the two decades he spent writing about the San Joaquin Valley empire of Lynda and Stuart Resnick.
The Couple Who Turned a California Desert Into a Multi-Billion Dollar Snack Empire By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight Taxpayers have helped Stewart and Lynda Resnick turn an irrigated desert into a dangerous and lucrative agricultural gamble.
The Athletes Who Felt Seen by Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d city” By Danielle Jackson Commentary The modern hip-hop classic reflects growing up in Compton “one thousand percent.”
Burned Where They Stood: The First Nine Hours of the California Wildfires By Michelle Weber Highlight “There just aren’t enough firefighters in the West to fight that much fire.”
He Seemed Like the Real Thing, Until He Wasn’t By Michelle Legro Highlight Christopher Goffard’s seven-part series on a dangerous Orange County con man is an astonishing tale of love and violence.
‘Oakland Used to Be More Funky’: Where Have All the Artists Gone? By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight The staff at Laney Tower take a close look at the past, present, and future of Oakland’s artistic community.
Architecture and Religious Bias: A California Case Study By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight When a group of Sufis wanted to build a large sanctuary in the California hills, locals pushed back and the town grew divided.
California’s Housing Crisis Is About Jobs, Not Houses By Mark Armstrong Commentary It’s not the pace of housing construction. It’s that the world’s most successful companies are gathered in a small number of cities.
Our Contemporary Notion of Self-Esteem Was Born — Surprise! — in 1980s California By Ben Huberman Highlight Apparently, feeling great about yourself does not improve your chances at success.
The Great, Ongoing California Nut Caper By Krista Stevens Highlight At Outside, Peter Vigneron reports on a spree of nut heists thought to be linked to a Russian organized-crime ring.
Chasing the Harvest: ‘It Used to Be Only Men That Did This Job’ By Gabriel Thompson Feature In this oral history, a produce truck driver and former lettuce worker recounts the sexual harassment she faced while working in the fields of Salinas Valley, California.
Chasing the Harvest: ‘If You Want to Die, Stay at the Ranch’ By Gabriel Thompson Feature In this oral history, a former sheepherder describes the loneliness and medical hardship he experienced while tending sheep in California’s Central Valley.
Who Says Healthy Food Can’t Be Accessible and Affordable? By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight Daniel Patterson, and the challenges of bringing fast healthy food to the impoverished neighborhoods trapped in food deserts.
