Excerpts From the Literary Magazine Written by the Homeless: Short, Sweet, Written on a Receipt
A reprint from The Pilgrim.
Excerpts From the Literary Magazine Written by the Homeless: Calmness vs. Chaos
A reprint from The Pilgrim.
Excerpts From the Literary Magazine Written by the Homeless: Keeping Clothes Clean
A reprint from The Pilgrim.
Radical Efforts to End Homelessness: Street Scribes
The story of the literary magazine whose authors are all homeless.
Radical Efforts to End Homelessness: Inside the Tent Cities of Seattle
Personal stories from the residents of Tent City 3.
Radical Efforts to End Homelessness: Old, Sick, and on the Street
A sagging economy, a complex job market, and a lack of social programs have led to an increase in the number of elderly people living—and dying—on the streets.
Radical Efforts to End Homelessness: A Sober Utopia
In a remote corner of Colorado, a radical experiment is underway to rehabilitate the state's most downtrodden residents.
Objects That Matter: White Picket Fence
In the 1940s, the mass-produced tract homes that formed Levittown, New York—one of America's first suburbs—specifically barred "any person other than members of the Caucasian race" in their leases.
Exit, Stage White
For American regional theaters, diversifying their audiences will mean the difference between life and death. But it's not simple or easy.
Ona Judge, the Washingtons, and the Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave
A portrait of George Washington as slave master.
A Museum for Healing Broken Hearts
In Los Angeles, the Museum of Broken Relationships gathers its emotional collection from the public—and, in the process, invites civilians of all classes and backgrounds to heal.
Director Joshua Oppenheimer on Thinking Differently and Challenging Your Assumptions
We spoke to Joshua Oppenheimer about what he recommends reading, watching, and listening to.
What 'Stand Your Ground' Really Means
A new book traces the legal history of self-defense in America—and shows how laws for self-protection have been generally reserved for whites.
The Bones of St. Helena
Two cinematographers are capturing the secret history of a South Atlantic island full of the bones of Liberated Africans.
This Is Your Brain on Poverty: Breaking Down Barriers
A surprisingly small tweak to the college admissions process yields an impressive increase in the enrollment of low-income students.
This Is Your Brain on Poverty: What's in a Name?
Program designers are learning that the words they use really matter.
This Is Your Brain on Poverty: The Default Choice
Automatic enrollment in a non-profit food program keeps more kids from going hungry on the weekends.
This Is Your Brain on Poverty: Fewer Choices, More Graduates
Limiting the choices of community college students paradoxically leads to greater academic success.
This Is Your Brain on Poverty
How behavioral economics is opening a creative new front in the fight against inequality.
Field Notes: Working the Bricks in Myanmar
Mingaladon Township, Myanmar: Laborers in a brick factory, about an hour's drive from the new hotels and shopping malls of the city of Yangon, get by on $3 per day.
Field Notes: Casting About in an Overfished River
Assam, India: At sunset a fisherman casts his net on a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, where commercial overfishing has made it more difficult to operate.
Letter From Berkeley, California: The Tsar Bell
The largest bell in the world sits in a courtyard at the Kremlin as a 200-ton tourist attraction. It has never been heard—until now, using digital tools.
Letter From Lesotho: Racism in the Diamond Mine
Desperate for work, the Basotho miners of the sovereign kingdom of Lesotho grudgingly accept the daily degradations of life among the white men.
Field Notes: Where Migrants Crossed the Rio Grande
Reynosa, Mexico: Fresh footprints of migrants dot the bed of a dried pond just south of Mission, Texas, near the Rio Grande.
Letter From Los Algodones, Mexico: The City of Dentists
A trip to Los Algodones, the town just south of the border where it seems almost everybody is either a dentist or works for one.
In the Picture: Ankle Deep in Okinawa, Japan
In every print issue, we fix our gaze on an everyday photograph and chase down facts about details in the frame.
Small Gifts, Stable Homes
How just a little bit of cash now can prevent homelessness later.
Since We Last Spoke: The Drug War's New Front
Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.
Since We Last Spoke: School's Out
Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.
There's a Name for That: Jevons Paradox
The 19th-century British economist Stanley Jevons predicted—correctly—that the invention of more-efficient steam engines would lead to more coal getting burned.
ADHD Kids, Homeless Adults?
New research adds an unexpected predictor of homelessness to an already-lengthy list.
Since We Last Spoke: Sugarcoating the Story
Updates to stories from the Pacific Standard archive.
Smells Like Teen Spirit—for Justice
There's plenty of (scientific) reason to believe that teenagers aren't nearly as shallow as we often assume.
The Conversation: Letters and Other Responses to 'Pacific Standard' Stories
Write to us at letters@psmag.com.
Solving the Student-Debt Crisis
Is there a bubble? Should we be worried about defaults? Your questions, answered.
Letter From the Editor: The Year Ahead for Pacific Standard
Introducing the January/February 2017 issue of Pacific Standard.