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Cover Story: Cult. Money. Murder?
The Case of the Missing Chacmools
Soon after New Age icon and bestselling author Carlos Castaneda died in 1998, a group of his most loyal followers vanished, and many believed they’d made a suicide pact. Geoffrey Gray investigates the writer’s bizarre cult and finds himself entangled in a web of murky financial dealings, sex, possible foul play—and one death-defying supernatural being. By Geoffrey Gray • Illustrations by Edward Kinsella III
CASTANEDA AND HIS FOLLOWERS’ CRACKED UNIVERSE OF BOOKS
By Geoffrey Gray
Features
Wonderhussy to the Rescue
This YouTube star and nude model records her wild desert adventures for 266,000 adoring fans. But she doesn’t reveal everything. By Meg Bernhard • Photos by Gregg Segal
Goodwill Hunting
Our waste is killing us. The next-gen version of an old-school charity has a solution. By Edward Humes • Photos by Matthew Smith
What Lies Beneath
For decades, visitors from around the world came to Berkeley to get naked and soak in a backyard hot tub. It was wonderful and free, as long as you obeyed the rules. By Bethany Kaylor • Illustrations by Mark Smith
Better Homes and Gardens
For 50 years, Village Homes in Davis has been a utopian model of sustainability and neighborliness. It could be an answer to housing shortages and the climate crisis. If only someone was willing to replicate it. By Julia Scheeres • Photos by Max Whittaker
THE DIASPORA RETURNS
Born in Vietnam and raised in California, a cohort of artists have come back to the land of their birth. There, they’re making bold, often political work—and hoping not to run afoul of government censors. By Joe Fyfe • Photos by Lee Starnes
SEEING THE TREES FOR THE FOREST
Southern California’s famed palm and citrus trees are far more than just nice-to-look-at greenery. They’re part of an urban woodland, prized for their role in fighting climate change. By Joseph Giovannini • Photos by Christina Gandolfo
Dispatches
Aging in Place
As her elderly parents require more care, a grown-up Bay Area kid finds herself returning to a new city. By Min Liao • Photo by Caleb Lee Adams
Alta Picks: Out to the Ball Game
Grab a hot dog and settle into your seats: it’s time to play ball! While the Giants, the Dodgers, the A’s, the Padres, and the Angels get most of the attention, California’s nine minor-league Major League Baseball affiliate teams are unsung heroes of the sport.
The Magician’s Secret
After a lifetime of building illusions for the world’s greatest sleight-of-hand performers—and curating a museum full of priceless automata—John Gaughan takes a modest bow. By Anna Merlan • Photos by Tod Seelie
Books
WHY I WRITE: I KNOW GHOSTS
By Venita Blackburn
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: DEAD IN LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
By David L. Ulin
Why I Write: Taking the Jugular Pulse
By Helena María Viramontes
Why You Should Read This: Under the Feet of Jesus
By David L. Ulin
Why I Write: Art from the Ashes
By Danzy Senna
Why You Should Read This: Colored Television
By David L. Ulin
In Sickness and in Health
Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson’s two-month honeymoon provided the basis for his memoir, The Silverado Squatters, and cemented their shared love for adventure. By Camille Peri
Culture
Poetry: “Taco Trucks, Every Corner”
By Matt Sedillo
He Seeks Rare Fruits
A surfing trip to El Salvador turned a teacher into a savior of seeds. By Louise Farr • Photo by Andrea D’Agosto
Out of the Fire, into the Universe
A cataclysmic event pushed legendary artist Lita Albuquerque into new frontiers. By Tom Teicholz • Photo by Christina Gandolfo
Poetry: “Department of Quiet Phenomena”
By Leigh Lucas
Fiction: “Wendy Carmel, Carmel Wendy”
By Lisa Teasley • Illustrations by Victor Juhasz
In Every Issue
Editor’s Note: The Dark Side of Reinvention
By Blaise Zerega
CROSSWORD: Waste Away
By Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa
