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Special Section: Family Portraits
Introduction
Join us as we explore the ties that bind.
A RELATIVE HAS SENT YOU A MESSAGE
A lifetime of silence, a pandemic confession, and a DNA test lead one man to the father—and brothers and sisters—he had never met. By Gregory Bynum and Blaise Zerega • Photos by John Lok
A DOG MOM SPEAKS
The parent of a long-haired shepherd argues that these cuddly nonhumans are children too. By Lynn Rapoport • Illustration by Bill Mayer
THE VEGANS BOUGHT A CATTLE RANCH
After building a plant-based-restaurant empire, the brood behind Café Gratitude has bet on meat—and MAHA ideals. By Lydia Horne • Photos by Scott T. Baxter
FINDING RACHEL
After a childhood marked by loss, a writer gained a new sibling. By Shaquille Heath • Photos by Kim Raff
IN MEMORY OF LUCY
Growing up amid glamour, volatility, and the gravitational pull of famous parents. By Aram Saroyan • Illustration by Melinda Beck
THE REAL WITCHES OF SIMI VALLEY
In a conservative California suburb, a group of goddesses is spreading radical love. By Kim Young • Photos by Christina Gandolfo
LO BONITO
In Los Angeles, an undocumented mother confronts cancer and deportation fears through labor, faith, and grace. By Rubén Martínez • Illustrations by Matt Rota
FULL HOUSE
Ten years, 13 housemates, one pandemic, and one platonic domestic partnership later, a San Franciscan makes the case for building a family on your own terms. By Carly Schwartz • Photos by Christie Hemm Klok
Features
THE BELLS OF SAINT ANDREW’S
At a Benedictine abbey in the Mojave Desert, five days of chanting, cold nights, and life without a phone. By Santi Elijah Holley • Illustrations by John Mattos
BEARING WITNESS
From Vietnam War protesters to the Black Panthers to the occupation of Alcatraz, photographer Ilka Hartmann has spent a lifetime documenting resistance and refusing to look away. By Jessica Zack • Photo by Carolyn Fong
Tunnel 13
A botched train robbery in Oregon’s Siskiyou Mountains left four men dead, led to an international manhunt, and helped usher forensic science into the modern age. By Julian Smith • Illustrations by Mark Smith
Books
WHY I WRITE: To Find Resisters in the Dark of History
By Adam Hochschild
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: AMERICAN MIDNIGHT
By David L. Ulin
WHY I WRITE: To Take You to Places You Might Not Go
By Susan Orlean
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: The Library Book
By David L. Ulin
WHY I WRITE: To Change Lives (Of Course)
By Cherríe Moraga
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS: Native Country of the Heart
By David L. Ulin
The Metaphysical Metropolis
In Sam Sweet’s All Night Menu series, Los Angeles is a city of the dérive. By David L. Ulin • Photos by Mark Abramson
Recently Reviewed: From Crime to Transcendence
Highlights from our Monday Book Review newsletter.
My Mentor, My Muse
Remembering Kate Braverman on the occasion of Squandering the Blue being reissued. By Janet Fitch • Illustration by Armando Veve
UPCOMING RELEASES: Summer Stock
A bumper crop of debut novels plus offerings from Claire Vaye Watkins and T. Geronimo Johnson. By Paul Wilner
Red Stitches
In a conversation about Tree of Knowledge, poet Victoria Chang reflects on menopause and the histories that color her work. By Gabriela Denise Frank • Photos by Anne Fishbein
POETRY TO TRANSPORT US
By Rick Bass
WRITER’S ROOM: Native Forms of Knowledge
Julian Brave NoiseCat discusses We Survived the Night. By Anita Felicelli • Photo by Cayce Clifford
Dispatches
Everybody Rise Up
A choir provides unhoused San Diegans with support—and a chance to be heard. By Robert Ito • Photos by Charlie Neuman
Letter from Berlin: On Location
Black ice, power outages, and David Lynch’s art make the city feel like one of his films. By Sally McGrane • Illustration by Michael Glenwood
Culture
Poetry: “Near & Far”
By Jake Rose
Fiction: “Chicago”
By Emily Adrian • Illustrations by Victor Juhasz
In Every Issue
Publisher’s Column: We Learn from Each Other
Humans learn from families about need and love. AI learns from data that neither cares nor hurts. By Will Hearst
Ask a Californian: Sixth-Generation Transplant
Golden State stumped? Our advice columnists tackle your cultural questions. By Gustavo Arellano and Stacey Grenrock Woods
CROSSWORD: IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Climbing the family tree. By Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa
