Huell Howser Lives!

One Chronicler of Our State Offers His Take on Another

Zócalo is celebrating its 20th birthday! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of our most impactful stories and public programs. 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.

“Do you know Huell Howser?”

I got that question recently while chatting with a counter guy at Erick Schat’s …

by Joe Mathews | April 30, 2024

If Small Towns Want to Survive, They Need a Plan B

To Fill Up the Storefronts Again, It Takes Talented, Enterprising Folks Who Aren’t Acting Alone

by Tim Holt | April 20, 2022

This country is littered with dying small towns that lacked a plan B, one they should have had in place before the mill shut down or the factory moved to …

Is Independence Still Worth Celebrating?

Contemplating Dependence and Interdependence on the Nation’s Birthday in Remote Independence, California

by Joe Mathews | July 4, 2021

Why do Californians celebrate Independence Day when we’ve given up on our independence?

That question occurred to me on a recent visit to Independence, California, a settlement of 600 people on …

Small Towns Can Create Big Change

From Banning Private Prisons to Universal Broadband and Pre-K, Necessity and Opportunity Allow California Communities to Punch Above Their Weight

by Sarah Rothbard | June 18, 2021

Before answering the question of the evening—“What Makes a Good Small Town?”—the panelists at a Zócalo/California Wellness Foundation event had to choose a definition. What, asked moderator and Los Angeles …

What the Fictional Town of Virgin River Gets Right About California’s Future

It’s Not Exactly Romantic, but the Golden State’s Urban and Rural Areas Should Embrace Their Shared Destiny

by Joe Mathews | June 16, 2020

Melinda “Mel” Monroe, a 32-year-old nurse practitioner and midwife, is working at a major L.A. County hospital when her husband suddenly dies. Grief-stricken and seeking to get away, she takes …

In Search of ‘the Commons’ in Modern America

My Rhode Island Town Has Had a Communal Green Since 1694, but Today’s Public Spaces Are Complicated and Splintered

by Steven Lubar | September 18, 2019

Zócalo’s editors are diving into our archives and throwing it back to some of our favorite pieces. This week: Historian Steven Lubar searches for …

Get More Zócalo