Backs to the Well
Michael Ziser discusses the relationship between water and California, in the context of three recent books on the topic.
Listening to Art Laboe
Susan Straight reflects on the iconic voice of Art Laboe and the shared experience of growing up listening to the radio.
Undocumented and Unafraid: Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix
Two activists and colleagues remember Cinthya Felix and Tam Tran, renowned leaders in the immigrant-rights movement.
Religion by Lottery
Wade Clark Roof discusses the concept of an amicable religious pluralism, as on display in the community of Mission Viejo.
Images from the Central Valley
Photographs and oral histories document the Central Valley’s environmental-health problems and the diverse network of advocates who are fighting to solve them.
Talking with Tenants Together
Sasha Abramsky talks to Gabe Treves, one of the organizers of SF advocacy group Tenants Together, about the impact of the foreclosure crisis on rental tenants.
Interview with Randall Grahm
Carolyn de la Peña sits down with Randall Grahm, proprietor of Bonny Doon Vineyard, to discuss wines, winemaking, and the past and present of his vineyard.
California Sueños
In 1967 Los Tijuana Five, a band best known for their Beatles mop-tops and live
Revolución Avenue recreations of the entire Rubber Soul album, took on the California
dream.
The Antidote to the Trope State
To a greater extent than most other states, California has always been a trope state. Since the Gold Rush, and arguably before, its residents have imbued the place with unreasonable expectations.
Subduction Zone
In Lawrence Levine’s essay “The Folklore of Industrial Society,” he explains that magazines, music, and movies are a form of popular culture that functions in ways similar to folk culture and even acts ”as a form of folklore for people living in urban industrial societies.”
