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Living In and Out of the Box

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Melissa and Justin Smith live in a 128-square-foot tiny home in Folsom, CA. (Courtesy of Justin and Melissa Smith)

Listen to this and more in-depth storytelling by subscribing to The California Report Magazine podcast.

This week we’re bringing you stories about Californians living “outside the box,” or inside of one.

Welcome to a Fantasy World Made of ... Cardboard?

We start with a very literal interpretation of “breaking down the box" with a tour of artist David Connelly’s studio in Ventura. He’s part of an art collective called Dosshaus that creates worlds of fantasy using painted and sculpted remnants of cardboard boxes, breathing new life into an object people typically throw away.

Bringing Up Baby in a Tiny House

You've committed to tiny-home living. But now, you want to have a family? Allen Young brings us the story of a Sacramento-area couple living in a very box-like home, trying to make room for baby.

Mixed Race and the Daughter of Immigrants: What It Means to Be ‘Enough’

How you're lumped into categories on paper can really shape a person's life. Reporter Cristina Kim shares a personal essay about growing up with a Korean dad and a Spanish mom. She’s spent her life wondering whether she’s Korean “enough” or Spanish "enough."

Should a Transgender Woman Be Housed in a Women’s Prison?

Host Sasha Khokha talks with KQED’s Miranda Leitsinger about her investigation into the treatment of transgender inmates in California state prisons. We meet several of them at a new workout club for transgender women at the men’s facility in Vacaville, and hear about legislative efforts to allow prisoners to be held in facilities that match their gender identities, whether or not they have had gender confirmation surgery.

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