New at Zócalo

  • Essay

    Why Is Accessing Good Dental Care Like Pulling Teeth?

    The Science Is There. The Societal Will to Provide and Pay For It—Not So Much

    by Megan Chong |

    In early January 2018, I began to have a recurring dream. I’m sitting comfortably at the kitchen table surrounded by friends, when one of my teeth falls out. I reach …

  • Sketchbook

    Nature’s Balancing Act

    by Petra Holländer |

    Petra Holländer is an artist and illustrator from Vienna, Austria. A graduate of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, her work combines bold characters with organic shapes, vibrant colors, and …

  • Connecting California

    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

    by Joe Mathews |

    President Biden should drop out of the presidential race, but not because he is too old or too infirm.

    He should drop out because he is not criminal enough to win.

    The …

  • Essay

    Look to California to Understand Jim Crow

    The Violence Black Americans Face Today Is Rooted Everywhere—Including the Nation’s Most Progressive State

    by Lynn M. Hudson |

    This essay was published alongside the Zócalo public program “How Does the Inland Empire Strike Back Against Hate?,” presented in partnership with California Humanities, …

  • Poetry

    August at Oceti, One Year Later

    by Teresa Dzieglewicz

     

    Standing Rock, 2017

    Crawl beyond barbed wire. Stand in the place you stood,
        where you burned your fingers on the barely-live

    embers of the Sacred Fire’s final night, looked
        at …

  • Essay

    Riding the Cablebús Over Mexico City

    A New Gondola System Has Been a Game-Changer for Marginalized Neighborhoods. Will Tourism Ruin It?

    by Natalia Escobar |

    I’ve lived in Iztapalapa—Mexico City’s most populous borough, with over 1.8 million inhabitants—for the last 26 years. The borough is considered part of the “periphery” of Mexico City, …

  • Connecting California

    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

    by Joe Mathews |

    If you’re ever inside the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale and hear laughter ringing through the hallways, it’s probably me visiting the tomb of Culbert …

  • Essay

    A Baseball Umpire’s Guide to Neutrality

    Be Invisible, Defuse Conflict, and Value Safety Above All Else

    by Calvin Wells |

    Can we, and should we, ever really be neutral? In a new series, Zócalo explores the idea of neutrality—in politics, sports, gender, journalism, international …

  • Election Letters

    What’s at Stake for Northern Ireland in the U.K. Elections?

    Changing Demographics and Post-Brexit Tensions Could Mean a Reconciled and Reunified Ireland

    by Amanda Ferguson |

    Working in media I walk a tightrope every day trying to adequately reflect the nuance of life and political perspectives on the island of Ireland, in particular Northern …

  • Poetry

    To ghost is to stay.

    by Douglas Kearney

     

    grieving gets its discipline done,
    that’s who’s not gone’s abiding
    rehearsal—biding’s ghost shit,
    right? supernatch: cabinets,
    corridors, doors soon rapped at;
    chill heavy in grim, dim scenes;
    bleak dispatches bleed …

  • Democracy Local

    Why the U.K. Can’t ‘Level Up’

    Weak Cities Are the Real Story Behind the British Crisis

    by Joe Mathews |

    What makes a country great?

    Great cities.

    That is a lesson the United Kingdom once knew well. Britain reached its imperial heights in the late 19th century in part because its municipalities …

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