In a 19th-century story, a fictional press-hating Irish bartender mocks the pomposity of the press by remarking that a newspaper’s job is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” That phrase, despite its satirical origins, has since become a sincere media mantra. American journalists routinely justify exploitation and error by portraying themselves as people who right wrongs, and journalism …

In late 2018, the Associated Press concluded, “Americans are more divided than ever, gridlocked over social issues, race, gender and the economy.” And Americans tell pollsters they feel more divided, and worried about greater social conflict in the future. But many scholars argue that Americans were far more divided in earlier times, and indicators of broader social conflict—like crime and …

No sector in the state of California relies more on immigrants than health care. One-quarter of the health workforce—from nurses to pharmacists to home health aides—and nearly one-third of all doctors and surgeons are foreign-born. And, according to some studies, patients of foreign-trained health providers actually do better than patients who rely on native-born Americans. How have immigrants working in …

The history of modern Hawai‘i has been defined by immigration, from the Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Puerto Ricans imported to work on 19th-century plantations, to the Filipino, Korean, and Micronesian migrants who make possible today’s growing tourism and hospitality industry. Arrivals from around the world have shaped and reshaped the islands’ economy and culture, and made Hawai‘i a global crossroads. …

Los Angeles leaders have developed billion-dollar plans to boost services and build housing for the homeless. But such plans are now stuck in political quicksand, with neighborhood activists blocking shelters and new housing. Meanwhile, living in a city with a homelessness emergency is an everyday struggle, and there is no guidebook to dealing with sidewalk squalor or witnessing human suffering …