Zócalo’s 2023 Summer Reading List Delivers Much-Needed R&R

Your Season of Rest and Reads Is Here, Courtesy of Our Friends and Contributors

This summer, we could all use a little R&R—rest and reads, that is. And while Zócalo can’t help you with the first part (though if we could send a beach your way, we would), we’ve got you covered for the latter with a favorite tradition: our annual summer reading list.

We spent the spring surveying Zócalo’s friends and contributors to learn what new (mostly) nonfiction books fed their minds and souls in 2023. They delivered, sending us an eclectic mix of works sure to nourish you—from coming-of-age journeys to global searches …

Heartbreak and Yearning on the Streets of East Oakland

Columnist Joe Mathews Goes Nightcrawling

Kiara Johnson, 17, lives at the Regal-Hi apartments on High Street in East Oakland—for now.

She doesn’t have the money for next month’s rent, which her landlord is doubling. She can’t …

Announcing the 2023 Zócalo Book Prize Shortlist | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Announcing the 2023 Zócalo Book Prize Shortlist

Congratulations to Saladin Ambar, Michelle Wilde Anderson, Stephanie Cacioppo, Anand Giridharadas, and Gaia Vince

The books shortlisted for the 2023 Zócalo Book Prize address five of the most urgent issues of our current moment: racial inequality, economic inequality, the struggle for human connection, political …

Zócalo’s 2022 Summer Reading List Charts New Waters

From Poets to Politicians, Our Friends Suggest Intellectual Travel Companions as We Set Sail for the Season

We at the good ship Zócalo are setting sail for another summer of intellectual exploration. As always, to aid us on this important voyage, we’ve recruited an intrepid crew of …

Announcing the Zócalo 2022 Book Prize Shortlist | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Announcing the Zócalo 2022 Book Prize Shortlist

Congratulations to Authors Heather McGhee, Sam Quinones, Edward Slingerland, and Michael Patrick F. Smith

What is racism costing all of us? How are communities across America battling the opioid crisis? Who are the people drilling in the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota? And …