Utne Reader

Nov 15, 2024 | goodtimes.sc | Cat Johnson |Utne Reader

Newly finished Walnut Commons is a Santa Cruz experiment in cohousing For Cecile Andrews, living at Santa Cruz’s new cohousing project Walnut Commons is a lot like being back in college. There are neighbors in close proximity, shared community meals, and generally always something happening. “There are people to talk to, and they’re not just superficial conversations,” says Andrews, a longtime community activist and author of several books, including Living Room Revolution.

Nov 15, 2024 | goodtimes.sc | Cat Johnson |Utne Reader

In 1989, Mike Schermer was working a job he hated as a housekeeper at UCSC and playing blues guitar on the side. One day on his lunch break he got a call from Bay Area bluesman Andy Santana about a potential gig that night. Schermer would miss the gig if he went back to campus, so—in what would become a defining moment—he ditched work and played the gig. He and Santana then formed a blues group called the Soul Drivers, and Schermer never worked another day job again.

Jan 9, 2024 | identitytheory.com | Lad Tobin |Utne Reader

The first time my iPhone went rogue, it FaceTimed a woman I had just met. Since my phone was on the nightstand at the time, I was shocked to hear it talking to me: “Lad? Is that you? Is there a problem?” When I saw the screen, my shock turned to mortification since staring right at me was a woman with bed-headed hair (it was midnight) and an alarmed expression. It took me a second to recognize her as Lynn, the host of the Airbnb we were renting that week. “Oh, I’m so sorry.

Aug 18, 2023 | mississippifreepress.org | Jonathan Odell |“The Healing |“Miss Hazel |Utne Reader

I tell people where I grew up, and they say, “Oh, is that the Laurel, Miss., on HGTV?” Then they gush “It sounds just like Mayberry!” parroting one of the perky hosts on the blockbuster home-improvement show “Home Town.”I suspected the show was repackaging my memories for popular consumption, because my Laurel was no Mayberry.

May 10, 2023 | mississippifreepress.org | Jonathan Odell |Utne Reader |“The Healing |“Miss Hazel

At a press conference in January 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida argued against an advanced-placement course in African American studies, warning that such material acted as a trojan horse for indoctrinating students into “left-wing” ideology. The statement infuriated me, but once I settled, I had to agree with him. In fact, such a thing had happened to me.