Alta Magazine Podcast

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!

What do the CIA, an outdoor clothing company, and a Yosemite campsite all have in common? Tom Frost. Famous in climbing circles for his remarkable humility, Frost is one of the lesser-known legends of the rock climbing world—as well as a photographer, conservationist, and inspiration to generations of outdoor enthusiasts. He was also a complicated and passionate man whose story hasn't really been told—until now. Today’s podcast guests are Tom Seawell and Craig Flax, two of the filmmakers behind a feature-length documentary film about Frost. Alta is a sponsor of this upcoming film, and we feature a look at Frost’s efforts to preserve a beloved Yosemite campgroud in our Fall 2019 issue.

Rachel Levin went where very few have gone before — she ate a chicken nugget made out of man-made meat. "Motherless meat" is different from plant-based alternative meats, like the "Impossible Burger" and others. Technically, it is created from cells that come from real animals. And while a man-made meat nugget might cost $100 to make today, the technology could help alleviate a growing global need for meat, and offer an alternative to an industry that some believe is cruel to animals. Levin is a San Francisco-based journalist who has written for such publications as the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Sunset magazine, where she was a senior travel editor. Rachel was the first San Francisco restaurant critic Eater, and now pens a semi-regular column about restaurant regulars for the San Francisco Chronicle’s food section. She is the author of LOOK BIG: And Other Tips for Surviving Animal Encounters of All Kinds, which was published last year. Her next book, EAT SOMETHING, co-authored with Wise Sons Deli, will be out this spring. Read her article here.

Joel Sartore is on a one-man mission to build a photographic library of every animal in human care. He's like Noah—with a really fancy camera. An award-winning photographer, speaker, author and conservationist, Sartore is founder of The Photo Ark, a 25-year project to document every species in zoos and sanctuaries around the globe. You can spot some of those animal images in the Fall 2019 issue of Alta.Sartore joined us to explain to concept and process of the Photo Ark, detail the difference between photographing humans vs. animals, and reveal which creatures garner the biggest viewer response.

What special challenges do women musicians face that their male counterparts don't? Have those challenges changed, and in what ways? How do traditional music organizations work towards inclusion in the 21st century? In this podcast episode, recorded on May 20, 2019 at Books Inc’s Opera Plaza location, we partnered with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to host a panel discussion on women’s emerging roles in classical music, the issues and challenges female musicians face, and a look at the future of inclusivity in music. Moderated by SFCM faculty member, author, opera singer and neuroscientist Indre Viskontas, this event featured an honest and hopeful look at women’s work within classical music from our panel accomplished female musicians including Nicole Paiement of Opera Parallele, Cordula Merks of San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and Melissa Kleinbart of the San Francisco Symphony. This event was inspired by Catherine Womack’s article on the diversity and female composers working with L.A. Phil. Titled “Sanctuary City,” her story was published in the Summer 2019 issue of Alta.

CalFire's aerial firefighting fleet is the largest of its kind in the world. Today’s guest, award-winning and best-selling author Bonnie Tsui, reported for Alta on the men and women who battle California wildfires from the sky. These first responders, many who fight fires in their own communities, face unique and complex challenges—challenges that are only growing as California deals with our new reality of the mega fire. Bonnie’s work has appeared in the New York Times, California Sunday, Outside, the Atlantic, and many more.

Musso & Frank Grill is a Los Angeles institution. Writer David Kipen visited this storied dining spot (in character as The Anniversarist) and he's now on a mission to be a Musso regular. Kipen joins the Alta podcast to explain the staying power of this century-old legend, remember two longtime Musso employees who recently passed away, and detail the old-school recipes that remain on the Musso menu. Lobster Thermidor, anyone?

Phil Witte, a humorist, journalist, cartoonist and lawyer living in Oakland, joins us for an Alta podcast to talk about his process and the quirky world of cartoonists. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Reader’s Digest, and museums and galleries around the globe. He was a cartoonist in residence at the Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa and has written for Bizzaro cartoonist Dan Piraro. Phil’s cartoons have ALSO appeared in Altatudes, the collection of cartoons that we select for the back page of every issue of Alta.

What led to—and has arisen from—the infamous 1969 Manson Family murders is weirder, darker, and more hypocritical than you ever imagined. Writer Denise Hamilton, who's been on the Helter Skelter Manson Murder bus tour, joins the Alta podcast to detail the many ways money continues to be made from the Tate/LaBianca murders, and how the families of the victims feel about our Manson obsession.

Wild mustang populations are out of control, competing with cattle and native wildlife for vital resources like land and water. If the federal government doesn’t rein them in, ranchers may take matters into their own hands. Journalist Jason Goldman joins the podcast to discuss his latest Alta cover story, focused on the controversy surrounding the thousands of feral horses in Northern California's Modoc National Forest—and beyond.

Today’s guest is Po Bronson, a longtime science journalist who has been recognized with nine national honors, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Award. He works as strategy director at IndieBio and serves as a futurist with Attention Span Media. In the Summer 2019 issue of Alta, Po wrote about Planet, a San Francisco-based company that uses shoeboxed sized satellites to take images of nearly everything on Earth – from space. He joins us to explain how and why Planet is the "Batman" of satellite imaging.