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Posts published by “Jonah Raskin”

The Arrogance Of The City Of San Francisco

I have been living in San Francisco for three years, and, while I want to love it, I encounter hurdles at every turn that inhibit my wanna-be romance. I have a hard time getting beyond…

The Lost Art Of The Interview

It might seem easy to conduct an interview, but it’s not, especially if you’re after riveting stories. Telling stories is what I love to do and I love listening to stories, too. Tell me a…

Four Days In New York: Memories Of A Living Past

In New York City recently at an outdoor memorial for Robert Reilly, a former apartment mate and friend who died at the age of 94 — and among other friends I had not seen for…

John Muir, The Untold Story

Cast Out of Eden: The Untold Story of John Muir, Indigenous Peoples, and the American Wilderness. By Robert Aquinas McNally. University of Nebraska Press; May 1, 2024 “Only to the white man was nature a…

Cops On Campus Are The Real Outside Agitators

Nothing agitates a campus as dramatically as the arrival of the cops. Indeed, the cops have been the only real outside agitators on campuses across the country this Spring. They have brought upheaval and disorder…

San Francisco Weed Week: A Personal History

When I grew marijuana in northern California from about 1977 to 1986, I did not once think or imagine that one day it would be legal to do so. I was not a cannabis activist…

Criminal Defense Lawyer & The Author Of Rat: J. Tony Serra

Tony Serra is a legend in courtrooms all over California and especially everywhere that marijuana growers and dealers have gone on trial. Now, he’s the author of a new book, mostly written by him, but…

Peter Plate: San Francisco’s Now Noir Novelist

Where the hell is Peter Plate? And who the hell is he? His editor, Dan Simon, calls him a “proletarian novelist,” but that doesn’t seem right. The author of ten novels, all of them set…

Fameless In Frisco

If I had wanted to be more famous than I already was, I wouldn't have moved from Sonoma County, where I lived for 40 years, and settled in San Francisco where I was mostly unknown.…

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