Lessons in Humility and Persistence
By Andrea LamprosFilmmaker Toby McLeod has spent four decades amplifying Indigenous voices—while wrestling with how to tell stories not his own.
Human Behavior
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a … Conlang?
By Alexander RonyDavid J. Peterson created languages for Superman, Dune, and Game of Thrones. It all started with courses at Berkeley.
The Burn Boss
By Coby McDonald, M.J. ’17Lenya Quinn-Davidson is spearheading a UC-backed movement that empowers California citizens to fight fire with fire
It’s the Eggs, Stupid
By Katherine Blesie ’21Turns out, feelings about grocery bills influence votes more than the broader economy.
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.”
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.
