Environmental Activist and Hip-Hop Artist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (Xochimilco)

Kendrick Lamar Would Appreciate My Grandmother’s Chilaquiles

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (Xochimilco), or X, is an advocate, activist, and hip-hop artist. Recently named one of Time magazine’s Next 100, X been an activist since the age of 6. Before joining the panel for the Zócalo program “How Does Confronting Our History Build a Better Future?”—the final event of our Mellon Foundation-supported series “How Should Societies Remember Their Sins?”—X stopped by our green room and chatted about St. Louis-bred artist Jordan Ward, how he unplugs, and kinship between Indigenous peoples.

The U.S.-Mexico Corn Conflict Is Popping Off

There’s a Cross-Border Battle Over GMO Crops, Biodiversity, Food Security, and Public Health

On October 19, the United States and Mexico announced that they had formed a panel to review an ongoing dispute over corn. Though drug trafficking and migration tend to take …

The Fireball in Baltimore That Ignited a Climate Justice Movement

Residents of Curtis Bay Set Out to Save Their Neighborhood. Instead, They Built a Coalition With Global Aspirations

On December 30, 2021, residents of Curtis Bay, a neighborhood in southern Baltimore, felt a loud boom. The foundation of the row homes and two-story buildings shook as though there …

Will Hawai’i Succeed in Killing Me?

A Weather Forecaster on the Big Island Predicts More Disasters If the State Doesn’t Heed Scientific Warnings

Hawai‘i is a spectacular place—not just visually exciting, but also located above incredible geological forces and beneath amazing atmospheric conditions. As a meteorologist who reports on earth science news, I …

I’m Indigenous Australian, and I Work for a Mining Company | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

I’m Indigenous Australian, and I Work for a Mining Company

For Over 20 Years, I’ve Been Trying to Change an Industry That Has Excluded, Displaced, and Exploited Native People

Being in mining was never part of my plan. As a young boy, I dreamed of becoming a priest with a pilot’s license, living and working in remote …