Featuring stories from Charlotte Bailey, Hanif Abdurraqib, Taylar Dawn Stagnar, Patrick Madden, and Kevin Chroust.
California
What Lies Beneath
“This is the grand Tahoe experiment: if we throw the book at aquatic invasives, can we, as the bumper stickers say, Keep Tahoe Blue?”
The Struggle for Land, Reparations, and Belonging in California
“The state’s approach has shifted from cash payments toward access to landownership. But climate change has something to say.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories by Jeannette Cooperman, Jackson Arn, Andrew Hui, Myriam Gurba, and Simon Hattenstone.
The Other Side of the World’s Largest Dam Removal
“Removing dams from the Klamath River in Northern California seems like a clear win for fish and rivers. Why do some locals hate it?”
Santa Maria
“A youthful obsession with Dorothea Lange’s ‘Migrant Mother’ turns to frustration over how its subject, Florence Owens Thompson, an Indigenous woman, has been misperceived.”
Inside California’s Brutal Underground Market for Puppies: Neglected Dogs, Deceived Owners, Big Profits
“Buyers are often fooled into thinking they’re supporting reputable, local breeders, but are instead fueling a trade in which some puppies are born and raised in horrific conditions.”
The California Beach Town Awash in Poop
“A sewage crisis in San Diego County reveals the unpolluted truth about the U.S.-Mexico border.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories by Willa Köerner, Robyn Ross, Ariel Sabar, Julian Lucas, and Dan Moore.
How to Start a Professional Sports Team, Win Games, and Save the Town
“After the A’s announced they were leaving Oakland, a pair of lifelong fans set out to do something audacious: start a beloved pro baseball team of their own. Remarkably, they pulled it off. Now the Oakland Ballers need to survive.”
