A region known for its fruit is bound to consume some of its own wares. So pears and apples should be in abundance this time of year, now that the fruits have come off the trees. Our food segment, Savor, focuses on apples and pears in this month's edition. Food stylist Will Smith, our partner, offers up another recipe maximizing the flavor of the fruit.

In some cases, the controls came too late, but humans finally figured out that they were taking too many fish out of the ocean. So they put catch limits in place, selectively closed down some fisheries, and instituted catch shares. Catch shares? Yep, that's the name for a system in which companies and people fishing effectively buy a share of the market. It's not a monopoly, but it can be very hard to get into. Investigative journalist Lee van der Voo examined the system in the book The Fish

Benjamin Madley is a historian at UCLA, but he's a child of far Northern California. His exposure to the Karuk people and homeland spurred his interest in Native America, colonization, and genocide. Madley's first book is An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873 . It lays out in detail what happened to the original people of California.

Most of our discussions on Underground History concern events and people of the distant past. Underground History is about archaeology, primarily. But sometimes digging is not a literal thing, it can also be about researching interesting people in our own time. And that's the case with Don Horn's research into Walter Cole. Horn is the founder of Triangle Productions in Portland; his company recently closed a show about Darcelle XV, the drag queen alter ego of Walter Cole, recognized by the

A frequent criticism of any political figure with a devoted following is that the figure is at the center of a "cult of personality." Pay close attention to that word, cult, because Robert Jay Lifton says it's important. Lifton should know, he's a psychiatrist and a historian, and from his view, fanatical religious cults and extremist political movements are not far apart. He explores the concept in depth in a new book, Losing Reality: On Cults, Cultism, and the Mindset of Political and

Ask anyone who lives or visits, October is a great month to visit the Southern Oregon coast. October often features some of the best weather of the year at the water's edge. And the region is poised to take advantage, by adding to the attractions with "Live Culture Coast." The series of events from October 18th to 27th range from writing and art workshops to "Redneck Wine Tasting & Bowling (actual name)". Oregon Coast Visitors Association is in the mix of organizations involved.

Fires largely stayed away from the region through the summer, but no one doubts they'll be back. And so debates and discussions about how to best manage open land for fire resilience continue. William Simpson wants to add an element to the discussion: wild horses. His plan for a "Wild Horse Fire Brigade" would introduce wild horses to forest and field, in the hope that they will eat some of the smaller fuels that can lead to bigger fires.

You know the person well, or did, long ago. So it wouldn't be enough to just shake hands or nod when you say hello. But a hug...? Hugs are good for sharing warmth and humanity, but we get in situations where we're just not sure a hug is appropriate. It's a rich vein of thought that Emily Flake explores in the slender book That Was Awkward: The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug . Side hugs? Leaning-over hugs? Short, barely-touching hugs? There are so many variations, and so many questions.

There was a great deal of discussion during the recent smoky fire seasons of the need for prescribed burning. It results in some smoke under controlled conditions outside of fire season, in the hope that there won't be a lot of uncontrolled burning IN fire season. And sure enough, even before fire season ended on the Oregon side, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest began planning for its controlled burning season.

Every county in the region got into the marijuana business when pot went legal. But only Humboldt County can truly brag of a longstanding reputation for fine cannabis. Now the heart of the "emerald triangle" is gearing up to emphasize the "brand" of Humboldt cannabis.