THE LATEST FROM ALTA
Don't miss this week's upcoming events and new stories.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Issue 34: California Sounds
A look inside Alta Journal’s Issue 34.
Alta Journal’s California Bestsellers List (January 22, 2026)
This week’s bestselling titles include Hidden Potential by Adam Grant, The Long Game by Rachel Reid, and What We Can Know by Ian McEwan.
Non-Hip-Hop Influences on West Coast Rap
These five trailblazers blended funk, soul, and electro to create the sounds that future West Coast rappers—from Dre to Kendrick—would transform into hip-hop history.
Latest from the California Book Club
Join the West Coast literary conversation every month.
THE MONDAY BOOK REVIEW
Sign-up for our weekly book review email.
Sunshine Pop: When the Sun Goes Down
A doomed debut at the Rendezvous Ballroom didn’t stop the Beach Boys. Instead, it helped launch sunshine pop—a California sound full of shimmer, shadows, and ambition.
Jazz Clubs Strike a Chord Across California
From Oakland to San Diego, these five venues carry forward a century of California jazz tradition—echoing the legacy of Central Avenue and the World Stage.
Mystic Folk: The Ghost in the Guitar
THE WEEKLY ALTA NEWSLETTER
New stories from California and the West sent to your inbox every Thursday.
Antifa Rising
Berkeley, the legendary epicenter of political activism, finds itself the birthplace of another movement: the black-clad protestors known as the “antifa,” scourge of right-wing commentators
The Latest
Yearning for Stories
Ask a Californian: The Hand-Pressed Edition
The Forest Remembers
Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #7 Issue 34
13 New February Books
California Bestsellers List (January 29, 2026)
The Cheesecake Queen of West Hollywood
Split Self, Split Sisters
Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #6 Issue 34
California Bestsellers List (January 22, 2026)
Confessions of a Band Mom
