Zócalo Public Square

Jean-Martin Bauer is the author of “The New Breadline: Hunger and Hope in the Twenty-First Century” and the winner of the 2025 Zócalo Public Square Book Prize. He’ll visit Zócalo to explore the role hunger plays in our world today, and what it takes to help people come together and feed one another. This discussion is moderated by Ertharin Cousin, Food Systems for the Future CEO. Zócalo Public Square is proud to award the 2025 Zócalo Poetry Prize to Jennifer Blackledge for her poem "Mt. Trashmore." The 2025 Zócalo Book and Poetry Prizes are generously sponsored by Tim Disney. Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow along on X: twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square

This program is inspired by "Coatlicue & Las Meninas: The Stanford Edition" (2007/2025) by Mexican American artist Pedro Lasch, commissioned by IAJS and on view at Asheville Art Museum from April 16 to July 13, 2025. Asheville Art Museum associate curator Jessica Orzulak and artist Pedro Lasch discuss the work’s larger themes, including how mirrors encourage viewers to reflect on the movement of people, ideas, and objects across time and space. Then, a panel featuring Stanford IAJS founding faculty co-director Tomás Jiménez, philosopher and ethicist Kwame Anthony Appiah, immersive journalism and extended reality (XR) pioneer Nonny de la Peña, and immigrant integration advocate Federico Rios will discuss the ways Americans, old and new, see ourselves in each other. This is the first program in “What Can Become of Us?”, a collaboration between the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies (IAJS) and Zócalo Public Square, envisioning new perspectives on migration, America’s diverse communities, and how

America’s high-poverty cities and counties have suffered for decades, enduring skyrocketing inequality, the opioid epidemic, rising housing costs, and widespread disinvestment. Governments have offered a variety of failed solutions, from luring wealthy outsiders to slashing public services. But four communities are turning inward instead: Stockton, California; rural Josephine County, Oregon; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Detroit, Michigan. In these diverse places—all of which went broke in the wake of the Great Recession—locals are building networks and trust in one another and their institutions, to promote health, wealth, and opportunity. In Stockton, this meant designing organizations to help residents cope with trauma. In Josephine County, people convinced freedom-loving, government-averse voters to increase taxes. Lawrence is building a new model to secure living wages. Detroit is battling to stabilize low-income housing. What did these strategies look and feel like on the ground? How can other strugglin

Live from the Arizona State University California Center Broadway in Los Angeles, CA: As coalitions, partnerships, and allegiances shift and emerge, Zócalo and an alliance of partners convene two back-to-back panels to discuss how we might best ally to survive this moment in history. The first panel explores how alliances are rebuilding Los Angeles in the wake of January’s fires, and features Altadena business owner Nadeerah Faquir, Center for Cultural Innovation president and CEO Angie Kim, climate action strategist Nina Knierim, and California Community Foundation president and CEO Miguel Santana, moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano. The second panel explores state, national, and global governance as a new U.S. administration takes power, featuring American diplomat Nina Hachigian, immigrant rights advocate Angelica Salas, and global democracy expert Laura Thornton, moderated by Zócalo columnist and Democracy Local founder Joe Mathews. This program was co-presented by Zócalo Publi

Live from the Natural History Museum Commons Theater in Los Angeles, CA: Artist Tanya Aguiñiga, paleobotanist and curator Regan Dunn, climate mobility scholar Liliana Gamboa, and New Nomad Institute co-founder Badruun Gardi discuss what it would take to build a more interconnected, resilient, and nomadic world on the international, community, and individual levels. Moderated by New York Times international correspondent Simon Romero. This program is co-presented by Zócalo Public Square and Carnegie California, in partnership with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and Flavors from Afar. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. X: https://x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zocalopublicsquare/

Actors and athletes alike dress up and stage plays to entertain large audiences. Why is queerness so readily exhibited and accepted in the theater and still so taboo on the field? Can history show us how song and dance can break through the rigid heterosexuality ubiquitous in American sports? What if we made sport a place to play with gender and sexuality, and give voice to our authentic selves—to who we are as a people, community, nation, team? Theater-maker Taylor Mac and former NFL player, LGBTQ+ advocate, and singer Esera Tuaolo join Zócalo and ASU 365 Community Union for a conversation around song, sports, and making queer history. This program was co-presented by Zócalo Public Square and ASU 365 Community Union.

Live from the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, CA: Child Care Law Center executive director Maisha Cole, child care worker and administrator Juanita Gutierrez, National Domestic Workers Alliance president Ai-jen Poo, and Child Development Consortium of Los Angeles executive director Lisa Wilkin visit Zócalo to discuss what a good job looks like in the field right now, and their vision for a more sustainable and nurturing future. This discussion is moderated by Rebecca Gale, staff writer with the Better Life Lab at New America. This is the last and seventh program of the “What Is a Good Job Now?” series, co-presented with the James Irvine Foundation. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow along on X: https://x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square

Live from the Arizona State University California Center Broadway in Los Angeles, CA: A panel of civically engaged Gen Zers and young millennials from across the political spectrum visit Zócalo to stand up and speak for themselves: progressive political digital media specialist Annie Wu Henry, youth civic engagement advocate Ava Mateo, and former Iowa State representative Joe Mitchell, moderated by Christian Paz, senior politics reporter at "Vox." This program was co-presented with LAist 89.3, Los Angeles Local News Initiative, Boyle Heights Beat, and CalMatters, with generous support from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Support Zócalo: https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/support-zocalo/ Follow along on X: https://x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-squar

This program is in Spanish. For a version with English audio interpretation, please visit: https://youtube.com/live/A9zQSsOYdhk Zócalo Public Square y la Universidad de Guadalajara transmiten en vivo desde la feria de libro LéaLA en la LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes en el centro de Los Ángeles. Únete a una conversación moderada por Alfredo Corchado, editor ejecutivo del PUENTE News Collaborative, con Irasema Coronado, directora y profesora de la School of Transborder Studies de Arizona State University; Anita Herrera, artista, curadora, y consultora cultural; y Víctor Zúñiga, profesor de sociología en la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. Visita https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ para leer nuestros artículos y aprender más sobre próximos eventos. X: https://x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/zocalopublicsquare

Live from the Arizona State University California Center Broadway in Los Angeles, CA: Zócalo convenes two back-to-back panels moderated by KQED correspondent and co-host of “The California Report” Saul Gonzalez to discuss when and how protest makes a difference. The first panel features scholars and thinkers who can offer larger context for the current moment: urban journalism professor Danielle K. Brown, constitutional law professor and former director of the ACLU LGBT Project Matt Coles, and First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh. The second panel features practitioners who have engaged in historic protests in Los Angeles and beyond: co-founder of the day laborer band Los Jornaleros del Norte Pablo Alvarado, Los Angeles Police Department former assistant chief Sandy Jo MacArthur, and immigrant rights and labor justice activist Victor Narro. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn ab

Live from Sherwood Elementary in Salinas, CA: Agriculture worker and student José Anzaldo, agricultural consultant James Nakahara, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas executive director & co-founder Mily Treviño-Sauceda, and retired farmworker attorney Juan Uranga visit Zócalo in “America’s salad bowl” to discuss what it would take to make life in California sustainable for the people whose work helps sustain us all. This is the sixth event of the “What Is a Good Job Now?,” co-presented with the James Irvine Foundation. This discussion is moderated by Los Angeles Times staff writer Rebecca Plevin. This program is part of Zócalo's series "What Is A Good Job Now?" supported by the James Irvine Foundation. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow along on X: https://x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zocalopublicsq

The Inland Empire exemplifies an ongoing tension between hate and resistance, harboring grassroots movements that have banned lessons about race in public schools at the same time as it celebrates the opening of the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. This duality makes the region a perfect place to grapple with the history of hate in California, and understand past and present efforts to strike back and fight for justice. Can the region’s battles against discrimination chart a path forward for the rest of the state, and nation? California State Assemblymember Corey A. Jackson, Mapping Black California project director Candice Mays, and ACLU SoCal Senior Policy Advocate and Organizer Luis Nolasco discuss hate’s impact on the Inland Empire, and highlight efforts to resist. This program was co-presented with California Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, United We Stand, UCR Arts, and UCR College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Follow along on X: twitter.com/thepublicsquare In

Is “Latino” a race or an ethnicity? Is it European or American? Is it a source of strength or of subjugation? And does it bring people together—around shared histories of migration and resilience—or is it born from racial ideas about “the other,” borders, and national identity? Journalist and novelist Héctor Tobar is a professor of English and Chicano/Latino studies at UC Irvine, a native Angeleno, and the son of Guatemalan immigrants. He is the winner of the 2024 Zócalo Public Square Book Prize for Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino,” which wrestles with these questions and many more around identity, history, and culture. Tobar visits Zócalo to discuss the epic journey the book took him on—across the country, to Guatemala, and back again—and the epic American journeys that define the “Latino” experience. Zócalo Public Square is proud to award the 2024 Zócalo Poetry Prize to Melanie Almeder for her poem “Coyote Hour.” The 2024 Zócalo Book and Poetry Prizes are gen

Live from the CalMatters Ideas Festival in Sacramento, CA: XPRIZE Foundation CEO Anousheh Ansari, Public Policy Institute of California president and CEO and retired Chief Justice of California Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, and Ian Klaus, founding director of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace California Center, visit Zócalo at the CalMatters Ideas Festival to discuss the state of new ideas in the Golden State. This discussion was moderated by Joe Mathews, California columnist & democracy editor at Zócalo Public Square. This program was presented in partnership with CalMatters. Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow along on X: twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square

Live from the ASU California Center Broadway in Los Angeles, CA: Artist and sculptor Charles Dickson and Destination Crenshaw founding lead historian Larry Earl visit Zócalo to discuss Dickson’s sculpture, “Car Culture,” which will be on permanent display in Sankofa Park, and how monumental public art projects and cruising scenes throughout Southern California can bring people together across zip codes. This discussion was moderated by Destination Crenshaw’s Director of Public Art Projects Heather Heslup. Presented in partnership with Destination Crenshaw, with generous support from Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Akieva and Martin Jacobs. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow along on X: https://twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square

Live from the Crenshaw High School Performing Arts Center in Crenshaw, CA: Architect Gabrielle Bullock and Los Angeles City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson join Destination Crenshaw senior art advisor V. Joy Simmons on the Zócalo stage at Crenshaw High School to discuss Destination Crenshaw’s genesis and design. This program was presented in partnership with Destination Crenshaw, with generous support from Akieva and Martin Jacobs and Supervisor Holly Mitchell. Follow along on X: https://twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square

Live from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA: Artist and Bloom & Plume founder Maurice Harris, sports agent and former NFL player Jacques McClendon, and poet aja monet visit Zócalo and Kinsey Collection at SoFi Stadium to discuss what one of the world’s largest private collections of Black art and historical objects is doing at one of the world’s grandest football stadiums, why it matters, and where similar efforts are scoring big. This discussion is moderated by Khalil Kinsey, curator of the Kinsey African American Art & History Collection.

Live from the New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CA: Gig worker and advocate Sergio Avedian, Gigs founder and CEO Allen Narcisse, and the Workers Lab chief research officer Shelly Steward visit Zócalo to help us understand how we might make gig work good work. This is the fifth event in Zócalo's series “What Is a Good Job Now?,” co-presented with the James Irvine Foundation. This discussion is moderated by CalMatters reporter Levi Sumagaysay. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events.

Maxwell L. Stearns, constitutional law professor and author of the new book Parliamentary America, visits Zócalo to outline a three-part plan to turn the United States into a multi-party parliamentary democracy that could make our politics less maddening, more collaborative—and perhaps even more fun. What are the legal, constitutional, and political steps needed to modernize American democracy and reignite civic zeal and joy? And how different might the U.S. look if governed by a parliament of multi-party coalitions? This program is co-presented by the Los Angeles Times, and is moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith. This program is part of Zócalo’s inquiry, “Can Democracy Survive This Election Year?,” an editorial and event series about voters’ experiences around the world in 2024, the biggest election year in history.

What are the best ideas and models for finding good jobs for the formerly incarcerated? How can we improve the low pay and challenging working conditions in those industries that are most likely to employ people who have been in the system? And what policies and economic changes would open more possible career paths and economic opportunities for this population? Amity Foundation president and CEO Doug Bond, Root & Rebound executive director Carmen Garcia, and Anti-Recidivism Coalition executive director Sam Lewis visit Zócalo to discuss how to build better career pathways for formerly incarcerated people. This is the fourth program in Zócalo's series “What Is a Good Job Now?” supported by the James Irvine Foundation, and was presented on January 24, 2024. Visit https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ to read our articles and learn about upcoming events. Follow Zócalo on X: https://twitter.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zocalop