If Only California Were More Like Palm Springs

The Citadel of Modernism Shows How the Golden State Can Look Backward to Move Forward

Palm Springs isn’t just a great place to spend a weekend. It’s one of our last and most fervent defenders of what California really is—not what it pretends to be.

That’s because Palm Springs, like the Golden State, is a modernist project, built by people who broke from old tradition and established cultures, and experimented relentlessly to construct new systems that buried the past. Throughout California, modernism has produced freeways that span the state, waterworks through swamps and deserts, culture-dominating industries from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, and brand-new approaches to art, …

by Joe Mathews | May 4, 2021

Where I Go: Visiting Mushakraj, a Rodent Icon in Kathmandu

A Gilt-Metal Rat Carries the Powers of the God, and the Weight of Tragedy and Centuries

by Ed Douglas | April 15, 2021

The city seemed like a mushroom, a cement mycelium inserting itself into new corners of the valley, fragmenting blocks of countryside and then flooding in like a gray tide to …

From Cleopatra to Clinton, Politics Is Never Out of Style

Fashion Is a Powerful Tool of Communication—And One Ripe for Leverage

by Jackie Mansky | March 19, 2021

Back in 2008, Michelle Obama was scheduled to be a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno right after campaign finance reports revealed that Sarah Palin’s new wardrobe, priced …

Can We All Become Conservationists?

The Conservation Movement Should Embrace Its Own Complexity—And Perspectives Left Out in the Past

by Sara Suárez | March 10, 2021

Over the last 500 years, 755 animal species and 123 plant species have gone extinct. One species can take primary responsibility for this mass annihilation: homo sapiens. From hunting and …

A ‘Glittering and Golden’ Museum to Mexico’s Drug War Is Heavy on Trinkets and Light on Tragedy

The Private ‘Narco Museum’ Documents One Side of the Story—Perhaps Someday the Public Will See the Whole Picture

by Ioan Grillo | March 3, 2021

Amid the gridlocked streets of northern Mexico City lies a fascinating and surreal museum that is not open to the public. Officially called the Museo del Enervante—a rather dull technical …

America’s Anti-Chinese Bigotry Has a Very Old Stench

Olfactory Racism Has Long Stigmatized Chinese Airs and Smells as a Threat to U.S. Public Health and Safety

by Hsuan Hsu | February 25, 2021

Since the early months of COVID-19, people assumed to be Chinese have been stared at, yelled at, coughed on, spit on, sprayed with Febreze, beaten, splashed with acid, pushed, stabbed, …

History

If Only California Were More Like Palm Springs

The Citadel of Modernism Shows How the Golden State Can Look Backward to Move Forward

Where I Go: Visiting Mushakraj, a Rodent Icon in Kathmandu

A Gilt-Metal Rat Carries the Powers of the God, and the Weight of Tragedy and Centuries

From Cleopatra to Clinton, Politics Is Never Out of Style

Fashion Is a Powerful Tool of Communication—And One Ripe for Leverage

Can We All Become Conservationists?

The Conservation Movement Should Embrace Its Own Complexity—And Perspectives Left Out in the Past

A ‘Glittering and Golden’ Museum to Mexico’s Drug War Is Heavy on Trinkets and Light on Tragedy

The Private ‘Narco Museum’ Documents One Side of the Story—Perhaps Someday the Public Will See the Whole Picture

America’s Anti-Chinese Bigotry Has a Very Old Stench

Olfactory Racism Has Long Stigmatized Chinese Airs and Smells as a Threat to U.S. Public Health and Safety

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From Bethlehem to Palm Springs, Christmas Belongs in the Desert

During the Holiday Season, Southern California’s Coachella Valley Becomes a Place of Rebirth

Am I in Heaven or Just Flying Out of Palm Springs?

The Sunsplashed Airport in the Desert Soars Above the Pack—Even in the Pandemic

Aggressive State Meddling Could Fix California’s Housing Crisis

With Local Governments Crying "NIMBY," Sacramento Must Empower Developers and Home-Seekers

Do Californians Love Their Houses Too Much?

A Fourth-Generation Homeowner Reconsiders the California Dream

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