Culture

Saving a Language from Extinction
By Madeline Taub90-year-old Berkeley alumna Rebecca Contopoulou speaks Greek, Italian, French, English, Spanish, and another language that sounds a lot like Spanish but is actually Ladino, a Sephardic language that traces its origins to Medieval Spain.

Berkeley’s Women Artist Trailblazers
By Laura SmithBerkeley claims one of the first graphic novels, famous communist sculptors, and more

The Beautiful Life, Tragic Death, and Fascinating Career of Joan Brown
By Laura SmithLet's start at the end.

11 Things You’ll Never Believe Came Out of Berkeley!
By Pat JosephYeah, okay, you’ll probably believe some of it. Still, we think it’s a fun list.

The Winter Issue’s Editor’s Note
By Pat Joseph“The University is not engaged in making ideas safe for students. It is engaged in making students safe for ideas.”

How Berkeley is Improving Equity and Inclusion
By Lizeth De La LuzFive Questions with Dania Matos, Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion

From the Archive: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Industry
From the June/July 1967 issue of California Monthly, "The Generation Gap." A panel discussion featuring Bob Bonis, Tom Donahue, Ralph J. Gleason (moderator), Bill Graham, and Phil Spector, industrialists in the economy of the young.

Our List of Women Who Rock
By Pat JosephMarié Digby, who studied philosophy at Cal in the mid-2000s, scored a viral hit on YouTube with her cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” which she plays solo on acoustic guitar while sitting on the floor of her living room. It currently has more than 22 million views. It wasn’t pure chance; by the time she released […]

The Edge Episode 18: Into the Ishi Wilderness
Today, we’re featuring the audio version of California magazine’s recent cover story, “Into the Ishi Wilderness.”

She Thought She Would Change Her Community as a Lawyer. Instead, She Did it with Mac and Cheese.
By Margie CullenErin Wade got a law degree from Berkeley in 2008, but quickly realized that she hated being a lawyer. Instead, she turned to her childhood love: mac and cheese.

This Land is Their Land
By Hayden RoysterTo Phenocia Bauerle, the words “land-grant college” carry a particular weight. A member of the Apsáalooke tribe, she grew up in Montana, a state where, as she puts it, “it’s understood what a land-grant institution means: It means Native land was taken.”

Into the Ishi Wilderness
By Laura SmithTo get to the Ishi Wilderness you’ll want a full tank of gas and four-wheel-drive. Even then, you should be willing to ditch the car and walk. The approximately 41,000-acre wilderness area is located in the Lassen National Forest in a remote part of the southern Cascade foothills northeast of Chico, within sight of Mount Lassen.