Profile
Fighting for Dignity: Tamika Butler
An influential advocate and her quest for transportation equity
Features
Table Talk
Karen Bass: On Housing ‘My People’
Mayor takes on L.A.’s most difficult issue with deep determination
Research
Special Report: Schools and Intolerance
Battered by COVID-19, schools now confront intolerance
Profile
The Candidates for L.A. Mayor
One woman, one man. One Black, one White — two very different people, with one ambition in common
Research
Special Report: Abortion in California
Without Roe, some states move to restrict abortion. California chooses the opposite course, offering services and protection
Profile
Defending Democracy — One Voter at a Time
Stunned by Trump’s 2016 victory, Jason Berlin devoted himself to voter registration. He’s built an organization.
Research
On Politics and Demographics
As California grows, it’s changing. Representation adjusts more slowly.
Research
Voting Rights and the Path to the Ballot
UCLA’s Voting Rights Project melds law, tactics and social science to protect the vote
Research
Special Report: Critical Race Theory and UCLA
Critics bent on squelching conversations about race have assailed the idea, usually without bothering to study it
Profile
Antonia Hernandez: The Optimism of Experience
Shrewd philanthropy and political acumen guide the work of the California Community Foundation
Research
Special Report: Immigration and the Duty to Help
“Bringing the university into the streets”
Research
Fake ID: Racists Confront Reality
White supremacists confront evidence that they are not only wrong — they are not even White
Research
Prisons in a Pandemic
An ambitious data project reveals the extent of COVID’s spread inside American prisons
Profile
Barbara Lee: A Life of Service and Action
From her childhood in El Paso to representing California’s East Bay: unyielding dedication to progress
Research
Wedge Issues: The Right to Vote
The fight for the right to vote is hard won, and never finished
Research
The dangerous myth of whiteness
Aaron Panofsky and colleagues examine the history and growth of white supremacy and its relationship to terrorism
Research
Focus on Policing: To Abolish or To Reform?
Lorenzo Jones and the deep questions of American policing
Profile
Focus on Policing: Bernard Parks
The former LAPD chief and Los Angeles city councilmember considers American policing and its critics
Research
Special Report: The League of Women Voters
At age 100, the League combines a history of protest with a commitment to fairness and civility
Research
Working for Safety
Jorja Leap spearheads an effort to examine the LAPD’s work in Nickerson Gardens and beyond
Research
Closing Note: Hope in the Ruins
This year of crisis has upended politics, public health and policing, among many other walks of life. It now moves to an election.
Research
The Facts About Immigration
President Trump and his supporters claim illegal immigrants are bringing danger to America. They’re not.
Profile
Karen Bass: On Truth, Power, Public Office
Karen Bass is a native of Los Angeles and a rising force in Congress
Table Talk
David Axelrod: Institutions — and truth — put to test
The political strategist and CNN commentator discusses the state of American politics
Profile
Evelyn Blumenberg: Seeing with Fresh Eyes
New thinking on homelessness — the demands of urgency
Research
Do the Poor Bring Crime with Them?
Michael Lens challenges assumptions about the poor, housing and crime
Research
New Strategies for Communities Under Stress
Activists confront a history of pressure and progress in Boyle Heights
Profile
Boyarsky on Dukakis: Political Veterans Reflect
Veteran journalist Bill Boyarsky confers with veteran politician Mike Dukakis.
Research
“Sanctuary” and Safety: a Clash of Values
California leaders welcome and protect immigrants. Washington has had enough.
Table Talk
George Gascón: The Fight For Justice
George Gascón, former LAPD officer and now district attorney of San Francisco, discusses sanctuary, policing and public safety.
Research
Bringing Equity to Education
Meredith Phillips is helping students to learn while learning from them about how to teach others.
Research
Homeboy Industries: A History of Violence. A Hope for the Future.
At Homeboy, researchers discover a model that works.
Research
Los Angeles Foster Children and Those Who Care for Them
Los Angeles was struggling to help its most vulnerable children. Then it learned some lessons.
Table Talk
Norman Lear: Culture Warrior
Norman Lear reflects on a career of influence and consequence.
Profile
Labor’s Maria Elena Durazo and a Life of Activism
Maria Elena Durazo has influenced Los Angeles politics for decades as a leader of a revived labor movement. Now she’s running for office.
Research
Americans on Immigration: Protect Borders, Welcome Those Here
Americans favor citizenship for those here, but worry about allowing more in.
Research
Los Angeles Communities in Flux
As change roils Los Angeles communities, academics and city planners absorb new challenges.
Table Talk
Xavier Becerra: Leading the Resistance to Trump
Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, discusses immigration in Trump era with Blueprint editor Jim Newton.
Profile
L.A.’s Power Broker: Herb Wesson
Herb Wesson, L.A. City Council president, wields great power at City Hall. Here’s how.
Research
Unequal Schools, Generations of Poverty
Poor children get less attention in school, are more frequently interrupted in class and get less of the help they need.
Sketches
Landscape
The Passing of Lions
The passage of time: Jerry Brown in retirement, Dianne Feinstein preparing to leave
Landscape
The Court Sides with the Right
Constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky takes stock of the court today
Takeaway
Closing Note: Acting on Fear
Not all fear is bad, but it often distorts choices. Learning to manage it is the challenge
Landscape
Abortion Sanctuary
With Roe v. Wade in danger, California prepares to protect abortion rights
Editor's Note
Closing Note: Governing Through Change
California’s problems are monumental, but history gives room for hope
First Person
The Struggles of Family
Zachary Slobig on the combined effects within his family of COVID-19 and national policing protests
Exclusively Online
Of “bad apples” and police culture
Some see policing problems as the work of a few bad officers. Others see cultures of racism and brutality. Here’s how to tell the difference.
Exclusively Online
The Electoral College and Democracy
Online Table Talk: Martin Gilens on the Electoral College
Exclusively Online
What’s a county supervisor to do?
Los Angeles Count Sheriff Alex Villanueva thumbs his nose at reform. Can the county supervisors rein him in?
Editor's Note
Welcome to Blueprint on Homelessness
Blueprint turns to homelessness, a growing tragedy in California and beyond
Editor's Note
Federalism: New Tests of an Old Idea
Welcome to Blueprint’s look at federalism in the Age of Trump.
Takeaway
No Single Solution
To grapple with homelessness, we must begin by considering the varied nature of its challenge
Exclusively Online
Trump and policing — the consent decree
Donald Trump and former AG Jeff Sessions say consent decrees have increased crime. Are they telling the truth?
Takeaway
Battle lines drawn: Now what?
In the clash over California and national values, the stakes are high and the research compelling.
Landscape
L.A. and Ethnic Politics
Recent special election tests the status of L.A.’s shifting demographics.
Takeaway
Where Good Intentions Meet Good Works
Upshot of much research on policy and philanthropy: They reinforce one another, to society’s benefit.
Editor's Note
Land of Immigrants
There are few issues in America more combustible than immigration. This issue of Blueprint examines it from many angles.
Landscape
UCLA Poll Finds Fear for Immigrants
New Luskin poll finds Angelenos concerned for undocumented neighbors.
Landscape
Hollywood Diversity: On the Set and Behind the Scenes
Hollywood strives for diversity, with mixed success.
Landscape
Reminiscence: The First Days of the Marriage Revolution
Same-sex marriage is now the law of the land in the United States. It wasn’t always. A look back at the beginnings in California.