In Oakland, California, when it comes to Black homelessness and dispossession, dystopia is already here.

How a fearsome, fast-talking union boss became a leading figure in cannabis legalization while shaking down the very people he was supposed to be helping.

A year living in a shack in Oakland.

He helped build an artists’ utopia. Now he faces trial for 36 deaths there.

‘Your Black Muslim Bakery’ commanded vast influence in Oakland, offering jobs and self-empowerment to ex-cons , until this story revealed a history of incest-rapes and kidnappings. Another journalist investigating the story was later murdered.

“So there we were, two women armed with nothing but master’s degrees and suburban upbringings, pointing our iPhones at a wild animal, trying to figure out what the fuck to do next.”

How the Raiders got to Las Vegas.

Alan Young has been running the same scam for years: posing as a member of The Temptations and smooth-talking his way into luxury hotel rooms and prostitutes. Despite his clear charm, he admits he has “no skills other than being a con man.”

“Twenty-five years ago, I used to live in fear of Trevor Latham kicking my ass nearly every day. I grew up to be a writer. He grew up to run one of the toughest biker gangs in America. And then I tracked him down.”

On former nursing student One L. Goh, who killed six people at Oikos University in Oakland, California, and what it means to the Korean immigrant community.

A profile of environmental activist Van Jones.

On the difficulties of holding Oakland’s thin blue line accountable.