Ideas

Can a Side Hustle Be a ‘Proper’ Job?

Forget ‘Good’ or ‘Bad,’ Workers Want Something Real

This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo/The James Irvine Foundation public program and editorial series, “What Is a Good Job Now?” which investigates low-wage work across California. Register for the event “What Is a Good Job Now?” In Gig Work on Wednesday, March 13 in Oakland, CA—live in person and online.

By all accounts, the 29-year-old woman I interviewed was a successful freelancer. She described herself as an “arts worker able to support myself in New York.” When the pandemic started, she lost all of her gigs, …

by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle |

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More In: Ideas

Tips and Tricks From an Uber Driver

Don’t Talk Politics, Store a Towel in Your Trunk, and Let Them Sing Their Songs

by TONY PIERCE |

This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo/The James Irvine Foundation public program and editorial series, “What Is a Good Job Now?” which investigates low-wage …

Karen Bass stands in front of a podium with both her hands raised in an open gesture at L.A. City Hall. Two council members are sitting and are visible in the background.

Let’s Make L.A.’s New Charter a DIY Project

The City’s Quasi-Constitution Is Up for Reform. Everyday People—Not the Political Class—Should Control It

by Joe Mathews |

If Los Angeles is going to rewrite its city charter, should everyday Angelenos take charge of the effort?

The people who run Los Angeles government are skeptical.

Mayor Karen Bass, City Council …

What Is 21st-Century Truth?

Propaganda Has Trapped Us in Plato’s Cave—the Shadows Aren’t Real but the Sun Is Blinding

by Jennifer Mercieca |

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 …

Two men sitting, one on stool, and man to right standing is holding a thick stick. The men sitting have weaved baskets at their feet. Surrounded to left by large piles of coconut husks and shells that are split. Background of colonial buildings and behind tropical foliage including palm trees

How Samoans Resisted Coconut Colonialism

In the Early 20th Century, the Fruit’s Farmers Sowed the Seeds of Today’s Global Labor Struggle

by Holger Droessler |

Coconuts are everywhere. If you walk into a grocery store pretty much anywhere in the United States, you’ll find a cornucopia of coconut products: coconut water, coconut oil, coconut macaroons, …


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