THE PACIFIC CIRCUIT

In THE PACIFIC CIRCUIT, Alexis Madrigal reveals how the Port of Oakland explains the world. Yes, Oakland may seem like an unlikely place to ground the story of the twenty-first century, but it encapsulates the modern stories of globalization, race, gentrification, and technology (and inequity).

Alexis is among the most exciting and prominent journalists around: a contributing writer at The Atlantic (where he spearheaded their innovative, award-winning COVID-19 coverage), creator of the podcast Containers, and has covered technology and culture for Wired, Fresh Air, and many other publications. PACIFIC CIRCUIT is a book about the weight of the global economy pressing on Oakland, California, revealing how vast streams of money and new technologies warp the fabric of contemporary work and life. In Pacific Circuit, the award-winning journalist Alexis Madrigal sculpts an intricate tableau of the city of Oakland that is at once a groundbreaking big-idea book, a deeply researched work of social and political history, and an intimate portrait of an essential American city that has been at the crossroads of the defining themes of the twenty-first century. Oakland's stories encompass everything from Silicon Valley's prominence and the ramifications of a compulsively digital future to the underestimated costs of technological innovation on local communitiesall personified in this changing landscape for the city's lifelong inhabitants. Pacific Circuit holds a magnifying glass to the scars etched by generations of systemic segregation and the ceaseless march of technological advancement. These are not just abstract concepts; they are embedded in the very fabric of Oakland and its people, from dockworkers and community organizers to real estate developers and businesses chasing the highest possible profits. Madrigal delves into city hall politics, traces the intertwining arcs of venture capital and hedge funds, and offers unprecedented insight into Silicon Valley's genesis and growth, all against the backdrop of Oaklanda city vibrating with untold stories and unexplored connections that can, when read carefully, reveal exactly how our markets and our world really function. Alexis Madrigal is a journalist who lives in Oakland, California. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a cofounder of the COVID Tracking Project. Previously, he was the editor in chief of Fusion and a staff writer at Wired. He has been a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley's Information School and its Center for the Study of Technology, Science, and Medicine as well as an affiliate with Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. He is the author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology.