As part of Zócalo Public Square’s 20th birthday, we’re sharing the sounds of the Southland with “Diaspora Jukebox,” a series of playlists that celebrate the unique communities and musical traditions that represent greater Los Angeles.
Listen along to the full mix from our contributors and read about the IRL dance party we threw at the Port of L.A. that reminded us how communities mix and mingle, collide, and compound through the songs that move us the most. …
Is Birth Control Under Attack?
Moves to Limit Contraception—From IUDs to the Pill—Are Following the Anti-Abortion Playbook
Social scientist Megan Kavanaugh revisits Jacqueline Coulette’s 2012 essay ““How I Had Sex in 1950.” Since that time, birth control has become nearly universal in American society, but access to contraception still faces threats …
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
Watts resident and student Shanice Joseph revisits her own 2014 essay “Does My Neighborhood Want Me to Get Pregnant?” and pens an update on her journey—and struggle—to get her college degree …
Huell Howser Lives!
One Chronicler of Our State Offers His Take on Another
Connecting California columnist Joe Mathews revisits Southern California author D.J. Waldie’s 2012 essay “The Darkness Behind Huell Howser” and considers why, over a decade after Howser’s death, the public TV’s great California chronicler retains such a hold on us …
What Makes an Inclusive Public Square?
A Space With the Right Infrastructure Can Support, Welcome, and Empower Everyone
Our contributors think about how we might foster a public square that welcomes everyone—from its physical characteristics to its ethos. How does a flat, unobstructed surface exposed to the sun invite in more people? Can the public square in fact be a public triangle? Who are we empowering in our communities through public services? And might we be able to create a world that fits all worlds? …
How Do We Disagree in the Public Square?
Those Who Study and Work to Keep Civil Discourse Civil Share the ‘Secret Sauce’ for Productive Debate
For this fifth and final installment, we pulled in people working to understand our contentious public debates. From vitriolic fights over race, gender, and sexuality to the polarized, partisan brawls over policy to the protests cropping up across U.S. campuses, our contributors share how we might make civil discourse more civil …
How Do We Find Connection in the Public Square?
On Forming Bonds Over Bars, Benches, Books, and Breakfast
Our contributors consider the rich building blocks of the public square: personal connections. In our segmented, often lonely world, they are shaking off the blues on the dancefloor, telling tall tales over breakfast, and forming friendships through a seven-and-a-half-year-long book club …
What Should Your Local Public Square Look Like?
People With Deep Community Ties Share What Keeps Them—And Their Neighbors—Rooted to Place and One Another
Close to the ground, our contributors here take us from a mountainside greenspace in Los Angeles to a fishing village in Peru. From their respective corners of the public square, they show us how we might foster—and preserve—local community …
What Is the Future of the Digital Public Square?
Five People Who Study and Write About Technology on Their Hopes for Online Community
Our contributors take on the virtual worlds where we connect, from internet discussion boards to “the fediverse.” These very online writers are scrolling the puppies of Instagram, building governance structures to regulate digital discourse, and breaking the spells cast by technological magic …
What Is 21st-Century Truth?
Propaganda Has Trapped Us in Plato’s Cave—the Shadows Aren’t Real but the Sun Is Blinding
Historian of American political rhetoric Jennifer Mercieca continues to explore why political discourse is broken in the U.S.—as in her 2018 essay “Preaching Civility Won’t Save American Democracy“ …
PHOTOS
A Song and Dance for Los Angeles' Cultures and Communities
Zócalo’s ‘Diaspora Dance Party’ at the Port of L.A. Celebrated the Music and Melodies That Define and Connect Us
They drove from Van Nuys, Boyle Heights, and Long Beach. They biked from Santa Monica. And they made the short walk from just down the street for …
Alejandra Campoverdi's Diaspora Jukebox Playlist
The Sounds of Faith, Struggle, and the ‘Magic Dark’ Braid Together in This First-Gen Soundtrack
Author Alejandra Campoverdi’s playlist braids together songs of ancestral inheritance, G-funk bass lines, and unconditional love …
Karen Tongson’s Diaspora Jukebox Playlist
From the Philippines to the Inland Empire, George Michael to Taylor Swift, Songs That Chart a Queer Awakening
Our fifth Diaspora Jukebox playlist features tracks from queer studies scholar Karen Tongson’s life—songs that quite literally moved her from the Philippines to Hawai’i to the Inland Empire, and moved her to better understand the inner workings of love, life, and herself …
Tannaz Sassooni's Diaspora Jukebox Playlist
An Iranian Jewish Mishmash That’ll Make You Gher
Our fourth Diaspora Jukebox playlist features songs from food writer Tannaz Sassooni’s Los Angeles Iranian Jewish world, from classic banquet hall jams to a contemporary ballad of freedom …
Chiwan Choi's Diaspora Jukebox Playlist
This Playlist Will Have You Falling in Love on a DTLA Rooftop and Dancing Like It’s 1982
Our third Diaspora Jukebox playlist features the songs that accompanied poet Chiwan Choi through his youth in Koreatown, late nights in West L.A., and his DTLA wedding …
Gustavo Arellano’s Diaspora Jukebox Playlist
Essential Music for this Zacatecano Spans Corridos, the Beatles, and AM Radio
As part of Zócalo Public Square’s 20th birthday, we’re sharing the sounds of the Southland with “Diaspora Jukebox,” a series of playlists that celebrate the unique communities and musical traditions that represent Los Angeles. Read columnist Gustavo Arellano’s picks …
Shivonne Peart's Diaspora Jukebox Playlist
A Love Letter to South L.A., This Soundtrack Celebrates Life, Community, and the Rhythm of the City
Our second Diaspora Jukebox offering is from Shivonne Peart, whose playlist is a love letter to South L.A., where she was born and raised. Peart’s list celebrates life, community, and rich traditions, with tracks ranging from “Dedication” by Nipsey Hussle featuring Kendrick Lamar to El General’s “’Rica y Apredaita” featuring Anayka …
What Does Brown Mean?
In a World That Often Feels Black and White, I’ve Learned to Embrace My Space in the Middle
Writer, actor, and filmmaker Christopher Rivas reflects on what Brown—as color, as concept—means to him, inspired by the 2017 Zócalo event “What Does Blue Mean?“ …
PHOTOS
Where Asian Americans Need Affirmative Action
Our Focus on University Admissions Obscures the ‘Bamboo Ceiling’ in the Workplace
Columbia University sociologist Jennifer Lee continues to explore race and achievement in America—as in her 2014 essay “Are Mexicans the Most Successful Immigrant Group in the U.S.?“ …
Anything ChatGPT Can Do, My Students Can Do Better
Why a Media History Professor Is Welcoming AI Into Her Classroom
CSUN media history professor Elizabeth Blakey draws inspiration from UCLA behavior ecology professor Peter Nonacs’ 2013 essay, “Why I Let My Students Cheat on Their Exams,” and explains how chatbots can fit into today’s curriculum …
PHOTOS
Recap of “Do We Need More Food Fights?”
Making Pozole and Memorializing Mexico’s Disappeared
Watch the event and read the Takeaway by editor Talib Jabbar.
An exhibition based on Recetario para la memoria, a cookbook that collects recipes and remembrances from these families in collaboration with photographer and creator Zahara Gómez Lucini, is currently on view at LA Cocina de Gloria Molina, a first-of-its-kind museum dedicated to Mexican gastronomy. Zócalo and LA Cocina host Gómez Lucini and culinary historian and Hungry for History podcast co-host Maite Gomez-Rejón to cook pozole in the museum’s demonstration kitchen and discuss what happens when the kitchen becomes a battleground …
PHOTOS
Zócalo’s Annual Book Prize Event Kicks Off Birthday Celebration Festivities
A Recap of the 2023 Book Prize Event Featuring Winner Michelle Wilde Anderson and South L.A.’s Community Coalition President and CEO Alberto Retana
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PHOTOS