“Climate. Housing. Crime. Depending on who you ask, the Golden State is a bellwether for progress, or a liberal hellscape. A journey through a land in crisis.”
California
The Wildfire, the Hunter, and a Decade of Conspiracy Theories
“Looking back now, a decade later, the Rim Fire feels like a prelude to disaster — a cleared throat ahead of an End Times scream.”
How Two Friends Sparked L.A.’s Sushi Obsession — and Changed the Way America Eats
“The aim, in essence, was to create a sushi ecosystem for Los Angeles. Would it work?”
A Vaccine Dispute Turns Deadly
Misinformation’s tragic toll on one California family.
What We Search For
“What they searched for wouldn’t look like a body, not anymore.”
‘This Place Belongs to You’
“Joshua Tree National Park is synonymous with the desert. Yet record numbers of guests threaten to overwhelm its beauty, wildlife, and small staff.”
No Way to Live
“As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declares a state of emergency on housing, residents like Sarah Fay live on the brink of being unhoused.”
Of Tacos y Heartbreak
“The tacos I eat here in the U.S. are not the tacos my family eats in Mexico. They come close but there’s something missing. Maybe it’s the salt.”
There are Trees in the Future, Or, A Case for Staying
“Why struggle to stay?” In an essay at Protean, Lupita Limón Corrales weaves her reflections about pandemic life, new ways of living, and leaving California, especially through the lens of the remote work revolution. Writing about the first year of the pandemic — and the collective show of solidarity during 2020’s summer of racial reckoning, […]
Unsettled: The Afghan Refugee Crisis Collides with the American Housing Disaster
Part of The Verge‘s Homeland series, this feature by Makena Kelly on resettlement programs in the U.S. shows what Afghan families are facing from day to day, particularly in communities of the San Francisco Bay Area where the housing crisis is dire. Ongoing support and aid comes from local nonprofits, overworked volunteers, and generous families […]