What Came After My Father’s Murder
A Decade Later, a Former State Legislator Is Still Wrangling With Police and the Criminal Justice System
It was the first and only murder in Silver Lake that year. I picked up the phone at our house in Sacramento …
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Democracy Advocates Should Stop Fighting About Democracy
Forget Deliberative vs. Direct vs. Electoral. We’re All on the Same Team
If democracy is going to flourish on this planet, its practitioners must come to see …
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Zócalo Joins the L.A. Local News Initiative
The Coalition Aims to Revitalize and Rebuild Community Journalism and Media for Angelenos
Zócalo Public Square, a unit of ASU Media Enterprise, joins the L.A. Local News Initiative …
Does My Neighborhood Want Me to Drop Out of College?
A Student in Watts Asks Why She’s Spent a Decade Choosing Between Survival and Her Degree
Over a decade has passed since I published my first-ever viral essay.
I was struggling to make ends meet while pursuing my journalism degree at Long Beach City College when a friend said something that sounded crazy: have a baby.
The more I thought about what she said—about how the government would assist me (and this theoretical child) not just with my education, but also with subsidized housing, food, and other necessary resources—the more I started to question why the system was set up to …
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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California Officials Can’t Build By Their Own Rules
An Addition to the Capitol Is Over Budget and Behind Schedule—While Sacramento Keeps Exempting Itself From State Law
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Who Will Defend Us From the Body Snatchers?
The Pod People Are Back. This Time, Our Overworked Local Officials Are Even Less Prepared to Protect Us
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Is This the Most Dysfunctional City Council in California?
Santa Clara’s Conflicts Include Letterhead Battles, Midnight Meetings, and a Threatening Reading of a Picture Book
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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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Héctor Tobar Peers Deep Into 'Our Migrant Souls'
The 2024 Book Prize Event, “What Is a ‘Latino’?” Explored the Work and Struggle of Building Community in L.A. and America
The city of Los Angeles, the world’s most famous zócalo, and the word “Latino” are connected by a shared history—a history of people and cultures and languages colliding, explained journalist and novelist Héctor Tobar. Tobar is the winner of the 2024 Zócalo Public Square Book Prize for Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of …
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Where I Go: Reading Among Readers
In India, Weekly Reading Clubs Offer a Sense of Community and Belonging
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Where I Go: L.A.'s Oldest Standing Black-Owned Bar
I Didn’t Know How to Make a Cadillac Margarita. The Living Room Still Offered Me a Job—And a Community
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Where I Go: Redondo Beach Brings Me Back to Myself
I’m the Keeper of My Family’s Memories. My Hometown Is Where I Uncover the Layers of Our Past
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Former Director of the ACLU LGBT Project Matt Coles
To Win a Political Battle You Must Lead With Heart
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Day Laborer Organizer Pablo Alvarado
I Was 10 When I Participated in My First Land Occupation
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Urban Journalism Professor Danielle K. Brown
I Really Like Raphael, the Rebel Turtle
