How I Learned to Blowdry My Hair at 40

And Other Lessons from Growing Out My Locks in Middle Age

In March 2020, I stopped cutting my hair. Like many, I wasn’t about to risk a COVID infection for a trip to Floyd’s barbershop. Unlike many, however, I have yet to return to the barbershop chair. I am now 41, my hair falls halfway down my back, and I have almost no clue what to do with it.

I never intended to go four years without a haircut. I teach fourth grade. During year one of the pandemic, in the name of social distancing, our school halved class sizes and moved …

More In: Ideas

Are Venture Capitalists Silicon Valley’s Biggest Villains?

They Get Lauded for Funding Innovation—But What They Really Fund Is Exponential Growth That Lines Their Own Pockets

This essay was published alongside the Zócalo and CalMatters public program, “What Makes a Great California Idea?” Click here to watch the full conversation.

Will …

California’s Budget Deficit Is Not the Problem

Don’t Worry About Balancing the Books. It’s Our Kafkaesque State Constitution That Needs Fixing

You can tune out Gov. Newsom when he talks about the state’s big budget deficit. Ignore the pleas of Democrats who control the legislature, too. And turn the volume down …

In L.A., Driving the Road to Black Empowerment

For Families Like Mine, Cars Were an Engine of Social and Economic Mobility

This essay published alongside next week’s Zócalo and Destination Crenshaw event, “Is Car Culture the Ultimate Act of Community in Crenshaw?” Click here to watch …

What Does ‘Neutral’ Mean in the Chemistry Lab?

Words Are the Major Currency in Scientific Communication—We Should Get Them Right

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 …

Bono for Mayor | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Bono for Mayor

It Could Be a ‘Beautiful Day’ for Local Democracy in Dublin and Around the World

“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.” —James Joyce, “The Dead,” Dubliners

Dear …