Alta Journal contributor Geoffrey Gray investigates Carlos Castaneda's bizarre cult and finds himself entangled in a web of murky financial dealings, sex, and possible foul play. In this 4-minute audio clip, Gray reads from "The Case of the Missing Chacmools." To read the entire article, visit altaonline.com

This very special Alta podcast welcomes young authors and poets from 826 Valencia, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students with their writing skills. Today, we’re meeting at 826’s Tenderloin location with four students whose work has appeared on the 826 Valencia podcast, “Message in a Bottle." Our guests include Sara, age 10, Dax, age 12, Emily, age 13, and Julissa, who’s 18.

Everyone likes a good news — and we're delighted to include some today. Our guest is Bonnie Tsui, a journalist, author and Alta contributor. In our Winter 2020 Issue, Bonnie reports on a program in the Monterey peninsula that offers safe parking lots to homeless people living in their cars. She’s here today to discuss that program—and to provide an update on one of the people profiled in her article. Bonnie author of the award-winning American Chinatown; her next book, Why We Swim, will be published by Algonquin Books in April 2020. Previously for Alta, Bonnie wrote about fighting California’s wildfires from the sky.

How does the death of an immigrant killed in the 1950's by Anaheim police and a 2019 family funeral converge into one incredible moment for Gustavo Arellano? He joins the Alta podcast to explain. 

Arellano, a journalist for the Los Angeles Times and regular contributor to Alta, shares what turned out to be a deeply personal journey in our Winter 2020 issue. Titled, “The Tomb of the Unknown Wetback,” this is the story of Juan Peña Diaz, an undocumented worker from Mexico who was almost forgotten by history. Almost.

Gustavo's previous work for Alta includes an in-depth look at the shifting political landscape of Orange County, a profile of a Los Angeles attorney who represents top gymnasts who claimed they were abused by their team’s doctor, and what turned out to be a highly-controversial critique of the hype surrounding the In-N-Out Burger chain.

You've never heard Paula West like this before. In this episode, recorded on November 13, 2019 at Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley California, West discusses her process—and her politics— in this intimate evening of conversation and music. West, who was backed by a jazz trio as she performed a number of songs, was also interviewed by journalist Marcus Crowder in front of a packed house of Alta members.  This event was inspired by Crowder’s profile of West in Alta’s Fall 2019 issue.

Today's guest is Jason G. Goldman, a science journalist, author, and expedition leader based in Los Angeles. He is one of the authors of the newly released "Wild L.A.: Explore the Amazing Nature In and Around Los Angeles. Jason has written a number of stories for Alta, including two cover stories. His latest for us focuses on UC Riverside researcher Chris Clark, whose research on hummingbirds is changing the way we understand the species. 

Can cancer be funny? Author Mary Ladd and illustrator Don Asmussen certainly think so. The pair, both of whom have fought (and are fighting) cancer diagnoses, join the Alta podcast to laugh in the face of deadly disease and discuss their book, “The Wig Diaries.” Ladd wrote about the California Hall of Fame for Alta earlier this year and is a member of the Writer’s Grotto. Asmussen is the creator of Bad Reporter, a twice-weekly political comic strip in the San Francisco Chronicle. Penned by Ladd with illustrations by Asmussen, “The Wig Diaries” bears witness to the blunt horror —and the hilarious jokes —provided by this all too common illness.

Burger King, loneliness, binoculars, and camp coffee; it was all part of Nick Neely's quest to better understand California. 

Neely is a California-based author whose book, Alta California, chronicles his 12-week hike from San Diego to the San Francisco Bay. Neely followed the (nearly) exact footsteps of Gaspar de Portola and his 1769 overland expedition of soldiers and priests intent on claiming California for Spain and establishing the West's Catholic mission system. Neely's journey—as chronicled in his book—was a transformative experience. He joins the Alta podcast to discuss that and more. 

"I got to be a hero."

David Harris is former contributing editor to the New York Times and to Rolling Stone, and he is the author of nearly a dozen books—but Harris is most famous for leading the draft resistance during the Vietnam War. He was imprisoned for 20 months for refusing to report for military service, and is credited by many with helping to end the war. We joined Harris at his home in Marin County to discuss his work, his thoughts on the state of union, and how a terminal illness hasn’t dimmed his hope for the future.

Read Alan Goldfarb's profile of Harris in the Alta 2019 Fall Issue. 

The Fall, 2019 issue of Alta features the magazine’s first standalone section on books and literature spearheaded by our books editor, David Ulin. In this podcast, we’ll explore how Alta’s Book Guide came to fruition with Ulin, as well as hear from included authors Carolina De Robertis, Matthew Zapruder. The Book Guide adds some serious pages to the magazine. Pick up this issue and you can tell, we’ve gained some paper weight. According to Ulin, now is absolutely the right time for Alta to invest our ink in covering literature.

The 28 books highlighted in this special magazine section address topics ranging from immigration, race, and gender—to skateboards, drugs, and the wonders of nature. Each title is by a Western author, and is reviewed by a Western writer such as, Pam Houston on Terry Tempest WIlliams’ Erosion, Alexander Chee on Alex Epsinosa’s Cruising, and Emily Rapp Black on Téa Obreht’s Inland, to name just a few. The section also includes excerpts by Joan Didion and Kimi Eisele. Pick up your copy today!