Where Asian Americans Need Affirmative Action

Our Focus on University Admissions Obscures the ‘Bamboo Ceiling’ in the Workplace

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

The Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in university admissions early this summer thanks in large part to the charge that Harvard’s practice of race-conscious admissions …

Francis Barraud's 1898 black and white painting of the dog Nipper looking into an Edison Bell cylinder phonograph.

Her Voice Memos and My Grief

A Friend’s Digital Messages in a Bottle Carry on a Centuries-Long Tradition of Auditory Remembrance

One of my best friends died recently.

It still doesn’t feel real. The last time I saw her was the day after the Fourth of July. Her smile always lit up …

Anything ChatGPT Can Do, My Students Can Do Better

Why a Media History Professor Is Welcoming AI Into Her Classroom

Zócalo is celebrating its 20th birthday this year! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of …

We Can Keep Dianne Feinstein in the Senate Forever

From Fundraising to Legislating, AI Can Do the Job

The fight over Dianne Feinstein’s future is a foolish waste of time. Both sides in the controversy over whether she should resign her seat now, or serve out her term, …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Internet Scholar Ethan Zuckerman

Technology Thrills Me All the Time

Ethan Zuckerman is an associate professor of public policy, communication, and information, and director of UMass’s Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, focused on reimagining the internet as a tool for civic …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Godmother of Virtual Reality Nonny de la Peña

I Was Scared of Flying, So I Took Flying Lessons

Nonny de la Peña is a journalist, filmmaker, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) pioneer, who is the founding director for the Narrative and Emerging Media program at Arizona State University. Before joining this …