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Wildfire in Redwood Valley, CA, on July 16, 2017. Photo by Bob Dass. CC BY 2.0.

Here’s Why You Can’t Get Home Insurance in California

By Glen Martin

As wildfires abound in California, the state faces a mounting insurance crisis. Dave Jones explains why the current system is failing homeowners.

Photo by Julie Cheshire

Building Trust

By Nathalia Alcantara

With deepfakes rapidly becoming a fact of life and conspiracy theories in no short supply, it’s easy to despair over our digital future. We sat down with Coye Cheshire to explore whether we are doomed or not.

Illustration by Michael Byers

Solving for Doomsday

By Hayden Royster

Harold Camping ’42 thought he had calculated when the world would end. Ten years after his death, he still has plenty to teach us about the dangers and appeal of “doing your own research.”

Photo by Jim Block

Five Questions for Social Psychologist Sa-kiera Hudson

By Nathalia Alcantara

This Berkeley Haas assistant professor is studying a less understood social emotion called “schadenfreude.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARCUS HANSCHEN ’01, M.A. ’04

A Bird’s-Eye View of People’s Park

By Pat Joseph

Where People’s Park stands now

Courtesy Shalini Goel Agarwal

In the Trenches for Democracy

By Tom Kertscher

One attorney’s path to the front lines

Justin Grimes / Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.

Trump’s claims notwithstanding, U.S. elections are more secure than ever 

By Tom Kertscher

Elections expert David Becker says voters should have full confidence in the 2024 presidential vote.

Courtesy of Diana Foster

What Happens to Women Who Are Denied Abortions?

By David Silverberg

‘Genius’ grantee Diana Greene Foster has devoted her career to answering the question.

MGM/YouTube

Marshawn Lynch Acts Like an Actor

By the editors at California magazine

… and other Berkeley movies, books, and entertainment

National Gun Violence Awareness Day Press Conference / Courtesy of Jesse Gabriel

‘A very big deal’: Proposed legislation would tax California gun sales to fund violence prevention

By Leah Worthington

“I joined the gun violence prevention movement because of school shootings like Uvalde and Parkland. Shootings that left me terrified to go to school. Shootings that left me worried that I was going to be the next headline."

San Quentin / Pat Joseph

Stuck in the Middle

By Glen Martin

Kevin Sawyer is a man of many parts. He's a certified commercial and residential electrician. A trained paralegal. A skilled guitarist and pianist. He's also an inmate at San Quentin State Prison serving an indeterminate life sentence for burglary and sexual assault.

Courtesy of Emilie Raguso

On the Story: Emilie Raguso Covers Berkeley’s Crime Beat Like No One Else

By Margie Cullen

When news first broke that a human skeleton was found hidden under a building on Berkeley’s Clark Kerr campus, Emilie Raguso was horrified.