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Pacific Standard, March/April 2017. (Illustration: Taylor Le)
FEATURES
The Mexican American Dream
Despite the rhetoric and hate crimes, Mexican immigrants are poised to reframe American culture, if white people would only let them.
By Sarah Menkedick; Photography by Terence Patrick
Read the Spanish translation of the story here.
A New Normal
An electrical implant known as a deep-brain stimulator is giving some patients a new start, but when it comes to brain-altering technology, how much control is too much?
By Sarah Scoles
Not Fade Away
An indigenous Amazonian tribe stands strong, despite the forces that have despoiled their homeland.
Photographs by Bear Guerra; Text by Michael Cepek
The Pork Chopper
A Texas-style response to the country’s feral pig epidemic involves tourists with assault weapons shooting pigs from the sky.
By Ariel Ramchandani; Photography by Benjamin Rasmussen
Meet the Women Who Are Saving the Planet
From Swaziland to Sri Lanka, women share a similar set of climate challenges — and hold the key to solving them.
By Kate Wheeling & Ted Scheinman
PRIMER
Letter From the Editor: Our Commitment to Readers
By Nicholas Jackson
Seven Things You Would Have Learned If You Had Been Reading PSmag.com Recently
Since We Last Spoke: Cruise Over Troubled Waters
By Kate Wheeling
Since We Last Spoke: Texas Gets Protection
By Steffanee Wang
Since We Last Spoke: Prison Break
By Francie Diep
The Small Stuff: There’s a Name for That Partisan Signaling
By Peter C. Baker
The Small Stuff: Quick Study: Trade, Tariffs, and Tooth Decay
By Tom Jacobs
The Small Stuff: Research Gone Wild: Mindless Mindfulness
By Ed Cara
The Small Stuff: Quick Study: Politics and the Gender Pay Gap
By Tom Jacobs
Know It All: The Reluctant Activist’s Guide to Protest
These days, if you’re feeling like turning your anger into action, you’re hardly alone. Here’s what history has to teach you.
By Michael Fitzgerald
FIELD NOTES
Gideon’s Promise
By Tony Rehagen
Bakhmut, Ukraine
Photography by Anastasia Vlasova
Counter-Urbanization
By Josh Freedman
Long Beach, California
Photography by Justin Fantl
Watford City, North Dakota
Photography by Bryan Denton
Touring a Fractured State
By Adam Skolnick
THE FIX
How to Free Personal Genetics
Consumer genetic tests like 23andMe aren’t medical devices, and the FDA shouldn’t regulate them like blood-sugar meters or pregnancy tests.
By Michael White
Sidebar: Consumer Product or Medical Device?
The FDA is one of the most powerful consumer-protection agencies in the U.S., but it doesn’t monitor every new product.
By Michael White
Seed Librarians at the Front Lines
How seed libraries are fighting against agricultural giants to increase genetic diversity in our crops and build a more resilient food supply.
By Mark Schapiro
THE CULTURE PAGES
Culture Feature: Once Upon a Time in Oakland
In the mid-20th century, Westerns on the page and screen virtually erased America’s significant black cowboy population. Today’s black cowboy’s are aiming to set the historical record straight — and teach a younger generation to ride.
By Alissa Greenberg
India’s first transgender band gets down to work.
By Prathap Nair
Pacific Standard Picks: Bill Nye Saves the World
By Kristina Kutateli
Scenes: Dating the Petroglyphs of the Mongolian Altai
The history of man and climate, written into the bedrock of Mongolia.
By Kevin Stark
Guest Programmer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
As Told to Katie Kilkenny
Shelf Help: At the Broken Places: A Mother and Trans Son Pick Up the Pieces
By Mary Collins & Donald Collins
Book Reviews: Decolonizing Black America
In his latest book, Chris Hayes tries various conciliatory tactics to encourage white Americans to take black suffering seriously.
By Peter C. Baker
Shelf Help: Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams During the Civil War
By Peter C. Baker
One Last Thing: The Bird-Saving Collar
By Peter Andrey Smith; Photography by Julia Christe
