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Older than Red State versus Blue State, older than the Montagues versus the Capulets, humankind’s primal combat is the age-old conflict between the Night Owls and the Early Birds. Night Owls, of whom (full disclosure here) this writer is one, are sophisticated folks who believe the pleasure of staying up late is exceeded only by […]
Tonight, I’m cleaning out my garage. Not because it’s dirty or cluttered, but because I’m expecting a lot of guests tomorrow. I need to move some boxes, sweep the floor, finally put those pots and pans on the shelf. I also need to set up the tables, lay out the reading material, and hang some […]
This weekend, the NCAA’s newest “Emerging Sport for Women,” varsity triathlon, will be holding the Women’s Collegiate National Championships in Tempe, Arizona. But the 75 women racing the sprint triathlon aren’t NCAA athletes. And triathlon isn’t an NCAA sport—at least not yet.
In 2014, Slender Man, the shadowy Internet meme in formalwear who inspired two 12-year-old girls in Waukesha, Wisconsin to lead their friend into the woods and stab her 19 times, caused a widespread panic. Adults everywhere saw Slender Man’s influence—albeit fictional and web-based—as a potential threat to the wellbeing of their children and themselves. Some […]
Cobalt has been valued for centuries for the deep blue color it imparts to ceramic glazes and glass. Its current value has little to do with such stuff, however. Cobalt is sought today because it’s a critical element in lithium ion batteries, the devices that power our cell phones, computers, and electric vehicles. Layering lithium […]
Every morning on the playa, Ally Deraps wakes up in her trailer and stumbles outside into the dust to make breakfast, joining friends climbing out of tents and teepees for a bowl of oatmeal in the shade. She chooses an outfit for the day, usually something bright or themed. Then, around 10:30, she grabs a […]
Amethyst, rose quartz, garnets, pearls…kidney stones? That’s right—it might just be time to add a lesser known formation to the list of gemstones you might want for your engagement ring. Turns out, those uncharming urinary deposits that affect more than ten percent of people across the globe are surprisingly interesting, beneath their rough exterior. A […]
Located in the high desert of eastern Washington along the Columbia River, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation has played a crucial role in global war and peace for more than half a century. It’s also the most heavily contaminated nuclear site in the country—one that few people know about. Established as part of the Manhattan Project […]
Today, millions of people practiced their “drop, cover, and hold on” for the Great California ShakeOut. The annual earthquake drill, held a day after the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, celebrated its 10th birthday—with a twist. This year, for the first time, ShakeOut partnered with ShakeAlert 2.0, an earthquake early warning (EEW) system […]
Last month’s arrest of NorCal Rapist suspect, Roy Charles Waller, sent shockwaves across the Cal campus and the state. Waller, after all, was a longtime employee of UC Berkeley’s Office of Environment, Health and Safety, and his capture resulted from a new forensic tool that promises to solve many cold cases: open-source genealogical databases. The […]
The latest issue of CALIFORNIA contains a chapter-length excerpt from I Will Be Complete, the new memoir by acclaimed novelist and UC Berkeley alum Glen David Gold (Carter Beats the Devil, Sunnyside). The book begins with this epigraphic note on its accuracy: “My mother assures me none of this happened.” Gold’s relationship with said mother […]
Dear Melania, I hear you’re going to Kenya—that’s great! Kenya has a special place in my heart. It was my home for a year while I worked at a remote field site studying baboon social behavior. Not unlike your job at the White House, I’d dare to say. Kenya is, in my experience, one of […]
An Ignoble Truth This week, UC Berkeley picked up two new Nobel Prizes—or did they? On Monday, immunologist and former director of UC Berkeley’s Cancer Research Laboratory, James P. Allison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in cancer immunotherapy. And on Wednesday, former Berkeley Ph.D. student Frances Arnold received […]
Comedian and Cal grad Zahra Noorbakhsh is a self-described “pork-eating, alcohol-drinking, premarital sex-having, bisexual feminist Iranian Shi’a Muslim.” That is, she doesn’t fit neatly into any one box. As a performer, Noorbakhsh embraces this complex narrative. By telling her story as she sees it, not as it might be perceived by others, she’s trying to […]
It’s Nobel Prize announcement week, and today was supposed to be Literature’s turn. That got poleaxed, however, by yet another scandal in the #MeToo chronicles. This one involved a member of the Swedish Academy who, just last Monday, was sentenced to two years in prison for rape. So, sorry booklovers, no Lit prize this time […]
Picture this: It’s past 2 a.m. on October 1, and Berkeley is finally asleep. The night owls have started to nod off at their desks, and the early risers won’t be up for a few more hours. At first glance, not a creature seems to be stirring—not even a Kiwibot. But look again. A light […]
A dose of housing reality It’s confirmed: Low-income people of color are bearing the brunt of the housing crisis. According to new reports from UC Berkeley’s Urban Displacement Project and the California Housing Partnership, rising housing costs are pushing already disadvantaged communities out—into neighborhoods high in poverty and low in resources. “Our research provides quantitative […]
In February, Cynthia Marshall took over as CEO of the Dallas Mavericks—becoming the first African-American female CEO in the NBA. She also inherited an organization in crisis, after a Sports Illustrated story revealed rampant sexual harassment, incidents of domestic abuse, and a toxic culture. But Marshall, a lifelong pioneer, is familiar with navigating difficult situations. […]
Today, UC Berkeley’s first “universal” locker room, for people of any gender-ID and body type, opened to the public. At 4,500 square feet, it’s believed to be the largest universal locker room in California. Yesterday some lucky humans and I went on an exclusive tour of the inclusive space before its grand opening, and let […]
