First Person: You Can’t Tame Malibu
By James Rainey ’81“When the Old Topanga Fire blew through Malibu in 1993, our family home of a quarter-century looked like it didn’t stand a chance.”
Human Behavior
Q&A: Saving Democracy
By Tom KertscherProfessor of Democracy Lucan Way says the U.S. has entered a period of competitive authoritarianism.
Berkeley’s Music Boom
By Emma SilversA curriculum overhaul and a post-pandemic need to reconnect have made music Cal’s fastest-growing major.
5 Questions for Enrique Martínez Celaya, M.S. ’88
By Emily WilsonThe artist reflects on science, exile, and the messiness of life.
The Secretive Politics of Electing the Next Pope
By Leah WorthingtonHistorian Thomas Dandelet on how Pope Francis’s successor will shape the future of the Catholic Church.
What If We Stopped Shopping?
By Leah WorthingtonA conversation with Lawrence Glickman M.A. ’89, Ph.D. ’92., on economic blackouts and consumer activism
Math and Conscience
Debates over how to teach math to high schoolers have gotten messy, plus much more in this issue
A Survival Guide for Difficult Conversations
By Nathalia AlcantaraGoldman School’s Erika Weissinger on how we can talk—and listen—across our deepest divides.
The Edge Episode 26: Psychedelics with Gül Dölen
Octopuses and humans have very little in common, but there’s one thing we do seem to share: MDMA makes us both a lot cuddlier.
Solving for Doomsday
By Hayden RoysterHarold Camping ’42 thought he had calculated when the world would end. Ten years after his death, he still has plenty to teach us about the dangers and appeal of “doing your own research.”
The Bedrock of Good Journalism
By Francisco Martínezcuello2024 Alum of the Year Bill Whitaker brings integrity to his storytelling.
Five Questions for Social Psychologist Sa-kiera Hudson
By Nathalia AlcantaraCongratulations on your recent National Science Foundation CAREER award. Can you tell us about the research it supports? People readily organize themselves into social groups because they create a sense of belonging and safety, and they help define a person’s sense of who they are. But while creating a sense of belonging for “us,” social […]
