Stuck around on Twitter (...X) long enough to share this! Grateful to Berkeleyside for letting me report this century-spanning story. Religion, housing, MC Hammer... hope you'll give it a read.

really thoughtful + interesting piece about a building i've been wondering about for years, from Hayden Royster berkeleyside.org/2024/01/16/sou…

Thanks Ximena Natera ! Your photos took the story to a whole new level.

7. The week's best reads include stories by Deepa Bharath, Adelle Banks, Anthony Faiola, Michelle Boorstein, Frances D'Emilio, @bekah_soul and Hayden Royster. religionunplugged.com/news/2024/01/1…

heard a sociologist sum up the decline of religion in America this way. "Why don't people go to church? Because they are dead." We are seeing the end of the church-going boom of the 1950s-1980s. Folks born in that time frame are dying off. And their kids don't go to church. "

Wow “ According to data from the Secretary of State, among the ten most populous counties in California, Alameda County is by far the slowest this year at counting ballots. As of Nov. 7… about 66% of Alameda County voters’ ballots remain uncounted.” oaklandside.org/2024/11/08/vot…

This may be my last self-promoting post here (sorry, new bot followers!), but I wanted to share my latest religion story for Berkeleyside. It was an honor to report on the history—and potential future—of South Berkeley Community Church. berkeleyside.org/2024/12/02/one…

an alternate history where László Tóth arrives in LA instead of NY

Announcing the 2025–2026 RNS/Interfaith America Religion Journalism Fellows! Welcome Aminah Malik, Adora Namigadde, Tanya Raghu & Hayden Royster, four journalists exploring religion in civic life over the next 9 months. Read more: interfaithamerica.org/article/rns-ia…

NEW: Rev. Bautista spoke with Hayden Royster about his harrowing experience being shot in the face with a pepper round by ICE. “I immediately felt burning pain. I was in shock, disoriented and terrified that I might stop breathing altogether.” religionnews.com/2025/10/24/at-…

JOHN WILSON HAS A FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY PREMIERING AT SUNDANCE!!!

My latest for RNS: On. Dec. 6, I attended the Bay Secular Solstice, a 3-hour service with a live band and 28-person choir. It's become a tradition for Rationalists, a community with profound influence on AI. This year, especially, was for Doomers. bit.ly/3LdHo05

Given Peter Thiel’s prominence as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and a Trump ally, his recent lecture series with ACTS 17 has sparked dissection, alarm and parody. It has also brought attention to a growing Christ-curiousness in Bay Area tech circles. religionnews.com/2026/01/02/tec…

My latest for RNS: Last fall, Peter Thiel's Antichrist talks brought attention to a growing Christ-curiousness in the Bay. Some see evangelical revival. Others argue the Christianity taking hold is steeped in tech elitism and right-wing politics. bit.ly/4biGDNO

Latest for @rns : In Dec., I drove down to LA to check in with displaced congregations in Altadena, one year after the Eaton Fire. Of 9,400 buildings destroyed, 12 were houses of worship. Some congregations—and residents—are moving toward rebuilding. But for most, that day is

I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated.

The The Washington Post has now laid off its Asia editor, its New Delhi bureau chief, its Sydney bureau chief, its Cairo bureau chief, the entire Middle East reporting team, China correspondents, Iran correspondents, Turkey correspondents, and many more. The world is becoming less

Congrats to BART rider and Oakland legend Alysa Liu on winning a gold medal at the Olympics and making the Bay Area proud!

NEW from Hayden Royster and me: The Bay Area pastor who was filmed last year being shot in the face with a pepper round by a DHS agent is now filing a $5M claim against federal government religionnews.com/2026/02/19/bay…