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.
Joyce Appleby, author of The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism
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, 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Humanities at UC Irvine this year, is a couple months into her post as Zócalo’s poetry editor, selecting published and unpublished works to post here every week.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
Ted Gioia, author of The Birth (and Death) of the Cool
Orson Welles was born on May 6, 1915, and directed his most acclaimed film, Citizen Kane, at age 26. Years later, after a couple disastrous movies and a sojourn in Europe, he would reunite with one of its stars, Joseph Cotton, in The Third Man. Welles' character, Harry Lime, is the missing center of the movie until he appears, finally, and explains his motives for entering a less-than-savory line of work....
