Welcome to the Double Down blog. Our blog highlights the voices of people from around Nevada with thought-provoking humanities posts. We invite you to dive in and explore.
The Double Down blog is supported in part by the generous donors of Nevada Humanities.
By Gabriel Urza and Willy Vlautin
Gabriel Urza: The Motel Life was the first book I read that portrayed the Reno I grew up in, that I knew. What drew you to write about the side of Nevada that often gets overlooked—the transient life, the life of a casino town? Were you anxious about getting it right?
By Julian Kilker
Visitors often wonder if there’s real community beyond the commercial spectacle of the Las Vegas Strip. On the tenth anniversary of the Basin and Range National Monument’s designation, an exhibition shows that there is, and that it’s thriving in surprising ways.
By Quest Lakes
When I was a kid, my dad would say, “I’m temporarily financially embarrassed,” which was his inside joke referencing Steinbeck’s famous observation that “we didn't have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist.”
By Sheila Bock
On a shelf in my living room in Las Vegas, Nevada, there is a model of the train station in Skagen, Denmark. It was a gift given to me by my dad, Russ Bock, who built it as a memento, of sorts, of the time I spent studying abroad in Denmark when I was in college.
By Wendy Chen
Growing up in a bilingual Chinese American household, I was a translator long before I called myself one. Daily acts of translation shaped my understanding of language and transformed my approach toward my own writing.
By Ashley Payette
Due to climate change, high temperatures and wildfire smoke have increased in intensity across Nevada. Communities need to be informed of these events so they may take action to protect themselves. To learn how the risks of heat and wildfire smoke are communicated, with the public, I talked with Kristin VanderMolen, assistant research professor at the Desert Research Institute.
By Ashley Payette
Nevada is filled with tall mountains shifting into low valleys, and pretty dull hues spotted with bright cities and small towns. This landscape is constantly changing, with much of it altered at the hands of humanity. Scott Hinton is a photographer who offered me insight into how climate ebbs and landscapes flow.
By Ashley Payette
As temperatures in southern Nevada rise, the water levels in Lake Mead fall. Droughts put our water, and the people who rely on it, at risk. To further understand the impact of drought on Nevada and surrounding regions, I spoke with Elizabeth Koebele, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno.
By Ashley Payette
I grew up in a land between vast mountains, vaster casinos, pink and purple sunsets, black and grey pavement, and a desert landscape interrupted by concrete and palm trees: Henderson, Nevada.
By Molly Appel
It’s been a rocky ride on our university campus since the new federal administration came to power. Students, faculty, and institutional structures are on shaky ground, with the sudden disappearances of everything from federal aid to undocumented family members.
By Alina Lindquist
The work displayed in Avi Kwa Ame: Between Presence and Protection celebrates the beautiful natural environment of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. One prominent feature of this landscape is the Joshua tree, which serves as an indicator species of the Mojave Desert and is one of my favorite plants in this region.
By Delight Ejiaka
Telling stories is one of the oldest art forms in our civilization. Humans tell stories to show each other how to be, what was, and things to come.
By Marie Valencia
Growing up in the Southwest, I have always felt a strong connection to these lands that call to home for so many of us and our ancestors.
