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Valerie Hamilton

Valerie Hamilton reports on the west coast and the US-Mexico border for US and European public media. She lives in Los Angeles.

Valerie Hamilton reports on the west coast and the US-Mexico border for US and European public media. She lives in Los Angeles.

kids climate march

How European kids are schooling politicians on climate change

Climate Change

Thousands of students in Europe and elsewhere have been skipping school on Fridays to demand their governments take stronger action against climate change. Some teachers and politicians are pushing back, but the students are getting support from their elders as well.

three marble structures lined up

Greece hopes Brexit will stir a renewed debate over Parthenon Marbles

forest

How a forest became Germany’s poster child for a coal exit

Environment
Recyo

What Munich’s coffee houses learned about waste from beer culture

Environment
City Hostel Berlin

North Korean diplomats are beating sanctions to raise cash with this Berlin hostel

Economics
A hill of coal sits under a shelter at the Prosper-Haniel coal mine. The mine is closing after 150 years.

In Germany, miners and others prepare for a soft exit from hard coal

Environment

Germany is shutting down the last of its underground coal mines next year, and the the way it’s handling the end of this once-dominant industry could be a model for the US and other countries.

Women hold bags and signs that read: "Same pay for same work" at a rally for equal pay in Berlin, Germany, 2015.

Women in Germany’s east earn close to what men do. Can we thank socialism for that?

Jobs

Even though Angela Merkel is its political leader, Germany has one of the worst gender wage gaps in Europe. But the picture is different in the East.

A section of the Hambach lignite mine in Germany's Rhineland coal fields, whose coal-fired power plants, run by power giant RWE, are one of Europe's largest sources of CO2 emissions.

Germany talks a good game on climate, but it’s still stuck on coal

Environment

Even as it makes a big push into green energy and hosts big climate conferences, Germany has remained stubbornly reliant on coal for a big share of its energy. That might finally be starting to change.

Outside the house in Austria where Adolf Hitler was born there's a block of stone from the Mauthausen concentration camp. It reads "for peace freedom and democracy, never again fascism, remember the millions of dead."

How Hitler’s birthplace in Austria handles its unwanted landmark

Conflict

The Austrian government wanted to knock down the house where Hitler was born. But the town said no, you can’t stop people from remembering history. But you can try to make sure that when they do, they know what really happened.

Ube ice cream

Travel the world on an ice cream tour in Los Angeles

Food

“We love vanilla, chocolate … but you still have that memory of what you ate back home,” says Smita Vasant, who left her corporate job to open Saffron Spot in Los Angeles.