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Dispatches

greyhound dogs, greyhound rescue

A Mission to Save the West Coast’s Last Racing Greyhounds

gray wolf

A Wolf in Los Angeles

TTS audio available5 min
callifornia longboard skiing, longboarding, plumas ski club

Dope, Wood, and Speed

TTS audio available6 min
ice cream truck and tortillas

Ask a Californian: The Hand-Pressed Edition

band mom, rose parade, pasadena community college honor band

Confessions of a Band Mom

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central valley, an orchard in delano california
FROM THE MAGAZINE

Eyes on the Central Valley

If you think it’s a straight line through America’s “fruit basket,” you’re mistaken.

TTS audio available6 min
ralph steadman, fear and loathing in las vegas illustration

Publisher’s Note: An Issue Dedicated to Road Trips

kurt russell and goldie hawn

Stop Hating on the Golden State

sunset over palisade region of the eastern sierra nevada, view from the white mountains above california owens valley

An Owens Valley Travelogue

frozen dead guy days 2025, casket race

The Original Frozen Dead Guy

TTS audio available12 min
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lew welch, illustration
ALTA FOLIO

Alta Folio: ‘I Went Southwest’

andrew dubbins, los angeles fires one year later, will rogers state park fire, palisades fire

After the Fire

TTS audio available8 min
chicano rock, gig poster

Letters to the Editor: The Best Decade

TTS audio available4 min
alta journal, 2025 year in review, top stories

Alta Journal ’s Biggest Stories of 2025

alta journal, 2025 year in review, top newsletters

Alta Journal ’s Top Newsletters of 2025

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Dispatches

illustration of wong fee lee and son holding american and chinese flags, standing before a ribbon of red, white, and gold banners.

Letter from Deadwood: The Real Mr. Wu

TTS audio available6 min
white sands national park, footprints

Incomplete Science at White Sands National Park

TTS audio available10 min
black and white photo of bob dylan at a piano, wearing sunglasses and singing into a vintage microphone—captioned with his quote: “he not busy being born is busy dying.”

Publisher’s Note: Music Is Always Cool

TTS audio available5 min
jon hamm, mad men

Letters to the Editor: Billboard Idea

TTS audio available2 min
catalina airport, airport in the sky restaurant, bison, bison burger

Letters to the Editor: Catalina Island

TTS audio available2 min
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the 19 hopis as prisoners at alcatraz, 1895
FROM THE ARCHIVES

Hopis of Alcatraz

RECENT STORIES

frank gehry

Will Hearst Remembers Frank Gehry

TTS audio available4 min
roasted turkey legs served with garnish and sides

Ask a Californian: Home (?) for the Holidays

TTS audio available9 min
lucky penny

The Penny Saved My Life

TTS audio available6 min
sponge bob crocs, california casual

Ask a Californian: Keeping It Casual

TTS audio available7 min
ice raids, resistance, groceries, los angeles

Grocery List for Resistance

TTS audio available6 min
wine snob

Letters to the Editor: In Vino, Veritas

TTS audio available2 min
illustration of a rider in a red cape galloping on a brown horse while holding a lantern labeled “ai,” symbolizing a historic and forward looking approach to artificial intelligence.

Letters to the Editor: Memory Lane

TTS audio available2 min
wine snob

Ask a Californian: Grapes of Wrath

close up of chinese chicken salad with crispy wonton strips and scallions served in a terra cotta bowl over creamy dressing.

Ask a Californian: Goodies and Baddies

TTS audio available4 min
aerial view of dense swedish pine forest near the klarälven river, seen from above.

They Built a 7,000-Pound Raft—and Floated

TTS audio available31 min
playwright philip kan gotanda stands center stage with outstretched arms inside an empty theater, smiling in a dark jacket and scarf.

The Playwright Who Found His Stage

TTS audio available13 min
illustration of a rider in a red cape galloping on a brown horse while holding a lantern labeled “ai,” symbolizing a historic and forward looking approach to artificial intelligence.

Letter from Cambridge

TTS audio available6 min