Alexandra Natapoff, a professor at Loyola Law School, characterizes snitching not as a single act but as an entire system of law enforcement and criminal justice. Especially since the War on Drugs began, she said, the U.S. has seen an increase in the use of informants and “the trading away of guilt,” changing the way we mete out justice, the length of sentences, the determination of who to prosecute, and the prison system.
At the Office
At the Office: Archives
Joyce Appleby on Capitalism’s History
On February 8, 2010
Joyce Appleby, author of The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism, stopped by Zócalo’s offices to explain why capitalism is a cultural system rather than a purely economic one. She chats with Swati Pandey about pinpointing where and when capitalism began, what caused it to flourish, and whether it’s a good thing.
Los Angeles Writers on Their City
On January 3, 2010
Tens of thousands of bibliophiles crowded last month’s International Book Fair in Guadalajara, where Los Angeles was the guest of honor. Between panel discussions on the city’s literary culture — including two hosted by Zócalo — we caught up with writerly Angelenos like Gary Phillips, Luis Rodriguez, and Denise Hamilton to find out what they most love and hate about their city.
Colette LaBouff Atkinson Reads “Ghost Squad”
On December 29, 2009Colette LaBouff Atkinson, Associate Director of the International Center for Writing and Translation in the School of Humanities at UC Irvine this year, is a couple months into her post as Zócalo’s poetry editor, selecting published and unpublished works to post here every week. Atkinson stopped by Zócalo’s offices to read from her own collection of poems, Mean, published last year.
Is Cool Dead?
On December 14, 2009Ted Gioia, author of The Birth (and Death) of the Cool, dropped by Zócalo’s office to explain why the hip, ironic pose we’ve come to know as “coolness” is over, and earnestness is in.



