How Valley Fever Brings People Together

Scientific Research Is Famously Siloed, But a Collaborative Community Has Emerged Around This California Disease

For the last five years, I’ve researched Valley fever at a multidisciplinary lab at the University of California, Merced. This experience has convinced me that for my work to pay the greatest dividends for society—and to do the most to fight this terrible disease—it must take place in direct conversation with community members, clinicians, industry, and policymakers.

Valley fever is a respiratory disease caused by the Coccidioides soil fungus, which is common in the American Southwest, including Arizona and California’s Central Valley. People who work with soil in agricultural fields, construction, …

Murder on the High-Speed Rail

All of the California Leaders Who Claim to Be Saving the Bullet Train Are Prime Suspects in Its Demise

“Stop where you are,” declared the short, mustachioed, dandily dressed detective, in a European accent, as he entered the Assembly chamber.

“I am informed there has been a murder, right here …

Activist-Scholar Catherine Garoupa White

I Have So Many Fond Memories Around Madera County

Catherine Garoupa White is the executive director of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition, working to restore clean air to the San Joaquin Valley. They also teach at CSU Stanislaus …

Why Can’t All Californians Breathe Clean Air?

How Communities and Coalitions Are Working Toward a Future Where Race and Income No Longer Determine Pollution Levels

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously this week to phase out fossil fuel sites and ban new oil and gas wells.

That kind of victory was once inconceivable for California’s …

Where I Go: The Place Where Everybody Knows My Name

Writer Arvin Temkar Traveled to Arvin, California, in Search of the Arvin of It All

I used to wonder: Is there any place where people will know my name?

I’ve always hated Arvin, my uncommon, easy-to-mangle name. For most of my life I didn’t even know …

Why Is It so Easy to Get Away With Murder? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Why Is It so Easy to Get Away With Murder?

The Case of Serial Killer Jose Martinez Offers a Disquieting Look at the Disparities of Our Justice System

If you commit murder in the United States, there’s a 40 percent chance you’ll get away with it. That shocking statistic belies other realities; you have better than even odds …