Novelist Claire Vaye Watkins on the beauty & brutality of the desert

Claire Vaye Watkins explores the environmental and personal stakes of living in the Mojave Desert, the setting for her new novel, *Yellow Pine*. The desert functions as a "sacrifice zone," where corporate solar projects and historical nuclear testing exploit both the land and its inhabitants. Protesting such developments often feels futile, yet taking a stand remains a moral imperative, serving as a way to witness and document a landscape before it is irrevocably altered. Watkins also reflects on her upbringing as the daughter of a former Manson family member, connecting her family’s history of trauma and addiction to her current perspectives on motherhood, existential crisis, and the search for divinity in a harsh environment. Additionally, TV critic David Bianculli reviews the Hulu series *Furious*, highlighting its transformation of the *Black Widow* premise into a complex, character-driven thriller centered on revenge and systemic corruption.