We chatted with Brian Levin, Corey A. Jackson, Candice Mays, and Luis Nolasco …
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When Bite Marks, a Duel, and Jeering Crowds Marred the Paris Olympics
In 1924, Brits Called for an End to the Games After a Disappointing Performance Amid International Tensions
“Olympic Games Doomed” and “No More Olympic Games,” read headlines published in London’s Times …
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Authors Aren’t Perfect. Why Should Readers Have to Be?
A Writer Wrestles With Separating the Art from the Artist
In April 2024, British author J.K. Rowling appeared in the news for the same reason she’s been wont to gain …
California Has Got This, America
Kamala Harris Survived San Francisco and the Golden State. She’s Ready for Three Months Against Trump
Don’t worry, America.
We got this.
By “we,” I mean California.
By “this,” I mean this presidential election.
And by “got,” I mean that we are sending you the best possible candidate to weather whatever the next three-plus months hold.
Now let’s be honest about Kamala Harris. We’re not giving you our most charismatic public speaker. Harris’ sentences are sometimes as awkward as Joe Biden’s. She has a bad habit of fusing her talking points into word salads.
We’re not giving you our most disciplined politician. She’ll crack a joke when …
Fishin’ for Summer 2024 Books to Read?
Zócalo’s Friends and Contributors Have Reeled in Some Fresh Nonfiction for You
Once again, Zócalo has cast our net wide, asking friends and contributors to take part in a beloved Public Square tradition: our annual compilation of nonfiction book recommendations for summer. This list eschews the expected beach reads, instead trawling deep waters for stories that lure us to new places, surprise us with fresh perspectives, and catch hold of our imaginations.
The 13 books that made the 2024 Zócalo Summer Reading List all make for excellent bookworm bait. They show us what goes into building cities, and what goes into building the image of one of the biggest bands of all time. They move us from India’s 1857 uprising to New Mexico’s present-day wildfires. They chronicle wisdom …
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Dump Biden. Run Snoop
If the American People (and the Supreme Court) Want a Convicted Felon-in-Chief, Let it Be a Multi-Talented Rapper from Long Beach
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Why Is Gavin Newsom Invoking a Failed World War Two-Era Governor?
Culbert Olson Talked A Good Game About Democracy, But He Failed to Protect Californians’ Civil Liberties
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Why the U.K. Can’t ‘Level Up’
Weak Cities Are the Real Story Behind the British Crisis
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Who You Calling ‘NPC’?
‘Non-Player Character’ Has Become an Insult. But Its D&D Origins Tell a Different Story
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What the Wonkapocalypse Can Teach Us
An Immersive Experience Gone Wrong Shows Us the Perennial Emptiness of Carefully Curated Escapes from Reality
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Cowboy Boots Were Made for Everyone
For Over a Century and Half, the Footwear Has Carried the Story of a Nation
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What If We Saw Cars Like Rolling Sculptures?
The Automobile Represents an Engine of Possibility for Black L.A., Said Panelists at “Is Car Culture the Ultimate Act of Community in Crenshaw?”
Where Crenshaw and Leimert boulevards meet, the silver glint of artist and sculptor Charles Dickson’s “Car Culture” is beginning to take shape. One of Dickson’s largest public artworks to date, the towering sculpture, a celebration of Black innovation and expression, is part of Destination Crenshaw, a new 1.3-mile, open-air monument to Black Los …
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July Poetry Curator CM Burroughs
Poets Are Record Keepers
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American Historian Natalia Molina
Erasure Motivates Me to Tell Our Story
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Retired California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye
You Make Your Joy
