Matt Jaffe
Matt Jaffe writes about the environment and culture of California and the Southwest.
Dark Skies: The Celestial Magnificence of Death Valley
Southern California is getting brighter, but this national park provides a dark respite.
San Diego’s Weather: A Near-Perfect Climate
The city’s year-round ideal weather is worth celebrating.
Channel Island Foxes: The State’s Cutest Mascots
Matt Jaffe takes a look at the state’s cutest mascots, the Channel Island foxes.
Giant Sequoias: The Trees That Top Them All
California’s giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees, stand as living monuments to history and resilience, but their future faces grave threats.
The Queen of Malibu’s Big Dam Mistake
A piece of zombie infrastructure that has long hindered the well-being of endangered steelhead may soon be eliminated.
Midcentury Marvel
Writer Matt Jaffe celebrates L.A.’s legendary Dodger Stadium on its 60th birthday.
Instruments of Change
Some of the world’s leading guitarists are helping a nonprofit bring music to at-risk students in nearly 100 schools in the U.S.
The Curious Case of the Giant Boole
One of the biggest trees in the world—the Boole—is thriving despite a devastating logging in Converse Basin, a massive sequoia grove 60 miles east of Fresno. The bigger mystery is why it was named for the man who supervised the forest’s destruction.
Mojave on My Mind
Twenty-five years after a landmark act of Congress, a writer hits the road and considers the evolving landscape of the California desert.
Pressed for Space
Every U.S. manned rocket launch—including Apollo 11’s—started with a test at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Government agencies and concerned locals are squaring off over what happens to the legendary site next.