Beth Spotswood
Beth Spotswood is Alta's digital editor, events manager, and a contributing writer. In addition to her work for Alta, Beth writes for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Alta Live: Keeping Hollywood in Hollywood
California is tired of losing big money to runaway production—so it’s fighting back.

Alta Journal Illustrators Score Top Honors
Six contributing artists were recognized in the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles’s annual competition.

Alta Live: Writing Behind Bars
How might new voices from inside prison expose, enlighten, and transform the way we see the world on the outside?

Alta Journal’s Top Poetry 2021
Poems from James Cagney, Ada Limón, and the late Jim Harrison are among the works featured in the past year’s pages of Alta.

2021 Editor’s Picks
This year, stories of uranium fortunes, tragic accidents, and creek freaks stood out to Alta Journal’s editors.

Top Moments from Alta Live in 2021
Relive the digital magic of Alta Journal’s weekly event series with a roundup of highlights.

California Book Club: Héctor Tobar Transcript
Read a lightly-edited transcript of author Héctor Tobar's conversation with California Book Club host John Freeman and guest Reyna Grande.

Alta Live: Book Buyers’ Guide to Last-Minute Gifts
Buyers at Alta Journal’s bookstore partners save the holidays with smart, surprising, page-turning gift ideas for last-minute shoppers.

Alta Live: Illustrator Victor Juhasz
An award-winning creator, combat artist, and former courtroom illustrator, Juhasz takes us through his storied career

Alta Live: Los Angeles’s Creek Freaks
Hidden waterways snake through the city, hosting clusters of biodiversity and providing cool solace for L.A. residents—and creek super fans.

Alta Live: Murder Book’s Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
True-crime enthusiasts, get excited!

California Book Club: Maxine Hong Kingston Transcript
Read a lightly-edited transcript of author Maxine Hong Kingston's conversation with California Book Club host John Freeman and guest James Janko.

Alta Journal Wins Big at Eddie and Ozzie Awards
Fourteen special recognition awards, category wins, and honorable mentions made this year especially sweet for the team at Alta.

Alta Live: Street Art Goes Corporate
What do marketed murals mean for L.A.’s storied history of stunning street art?

Alta Live: Shark Lab
Dr. Chris Lowe, director of Cal State Long Beach’s Shark Lab, joins us to detail his research into these sharp-toothed creatures.

Alta Live: Artist Anita Kunz
The noted Canadian illustrator joins us to discuss her extraordinary work and latest book, Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage.

Alta Live: Heritage Barbecue Founder Daniel Castillo
Castillo and Alta Journal contributing editor Gustavo Arellano dig into some California-style barbecue.

California Book Club: Rebecca Solnit Transcript
Read a lightly-edited transcript of author Rebecca Solnit's conversation with California Book Club host John Freeman and guest Kristina Wong.

Alta Live: Cartoonist Kate Isenberg
The artist takes Alta Live through her process from blank page all the way to hilarious published gag cartoon.

Alta Live: Max Chafkin on Peter Thiel
The author’s book, The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power, is the first definitive biography on the controversial and deeply influential entrepreneur.

Alta Live: Farley Elliott's 10 Guides to the Secret West
The West has more than its share of secret spots, and we’re guessing there are a few you don’t know about—yet.

Alta Live: The Future of Live Performance
Has the pandemic changed live theater forever? (Answer: yes.)

Alta Live: Secret California with Paul Saffo and Will Hearst
Take a tour of hidden spots and quirky destinations around the West with two amateur explorers.

Alta Live: 1991's Cinematic Los Angeles

No Vax, No Booze
More and more California restaurants and bars are requiring patrons to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination. One Sacramento nightclub is sticking to its policy, whether you like it or not.

Alta Live: Protecting the Butterflies and the Bees
Bumblebees, butterflies, and other invertebrates need our help—and Alta Journal trailblazer Sarina Jepsen details how we can all pitch in.

Alta Live: Defending Napa’s Wine
Napa winemakers Priyanka French and Randy Dunn discuss how Northern California wineries are innovating their production to protect against smoke and burns

Cock-a-doodle-do! Readers Respond to Backyard Chickens
Despite its popularity, raising backyard chickens isn’t as charming as Instagram would have us believe—or is it? Alta Journal readers share their eggs-pertise.

This Trendy Pet Laid a Rotten Egg
“The pandemic has been a disaster for backyard chickens,”

Alta Live: The Future of Quarantine
Authors Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley discuss their new book, Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine.

California Book Club: William Finnegan Transcript
Read a lightly-edited transcript of author William Finnegan's conversation with California Book Club host John Freeman.

On Shaky Ground
What do an apparent spate of recent earthquakes tell us about "The Big One"?