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Politics

St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Photo by Maria Grazia Picciarella/Alamy Live News.

The Secretive Politics of Electing the Next Pope

By Leah Worthington

Historian Thomas Dandelet on how Pope Francis’s successor will shape the future of the Catholic Church.

February 28. ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Live News

What If We Stopped Shopping?

By Leah Worthington

A conversation with Lawrence Glickman M.A. ’89, Ph.D. ’92., on economic blackouts and consumer activism

Washington Post

The Contrarian

By Steve Kettmann

Q&A with former Washington Post columnist, Jennifer Rubin ’83, J.D. ’86

Photo by Matthew Howard Ehrichs, University of Maryland

Q&A: Is Berkeley Next?

By Jesse Klein

Wildfire scientist Michael Gollner on protecting the East Bay from disaster

Michiko Toki

High-Protein Nobels

By Coby McDonald, M.J. ’17

List of Cal-connected laureates grows by four

Wildfire in Redwood Valley, CA, on July 16, 2017. Photo by Bob Dass. CC BY 2.0.

Here’s Why You Can’t Get Home Insurance in California

By Glen Martin

As wildfires abound in California, the state faces a mounting insurance crisis. Dave Jones explains why the current system is failing homeowners.

Illustration by Michael Byers

Solving for Doomsday

By Hayden Royster

Harold 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.”

Photo by Jim Block

Five Questions for Social Psychologist Sa-kiera Hudson

By Nathalia Alcantara

This Berkeley Haas assistant professor is studying a less understood social emotion called “schadenfreude.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARCUS HANSCHEN ’01, M.A. ’04

A Bird’s-Eye View of People’s Park

By Pat Joseph

Where People’s Park stands now

Courtesy Shalini Goel Agarwal

In the Trenches for Democracy

By Tom Kertscher

One attorney’s path to the front lines

Justin Grimes / Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Trump’s claims notwithstanding, U.S. elections are more secure than ever 

By Tom Kertscher

Elections expert David Becker says voters should have full confidence in the 2024 presidential vote.

Courtesy of Diana Foster

What Happens to Women Who Are Denied Abortions?

By David Silverberg

‘Genius’ grantee Diana Greene Foster has devoted her career to answering the question.