From NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to Silicon Valley, from Hollywood to Haight-Ashbury, famous Californians tell the story of their state

In mid-century America, pioneering engineers, artists and activists put the Golden State on the edge of a changing world.

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Test Lab for the World

Car culture and the birth of Silicon Valley transform the state, while the environmental movement fights to preserve its landscape. The 1984 L.A. Olympics bring the California dream to a new generation around the world.

Cars and Silicon Valley transform the state; others fight to preserve its landscape. The Olympics bring the dream to a new generation.

Of Revolts and Revolutions

Passenger spaceflights, self-driving cars, and Hollywood blockbusters: California can seem like a land of science fiction. But earthquakes, racial injustice and environmental crises show that it is very much the state of our times.

Modern California can seem like science fiction, but inequality and environmental crises show that it is very much the state of our times.