New at Zócalo

  • The Takeaway

    Boxing Isn’t Only a Labor of Love—It’s Work

    The Industry Will Require Collective Effort to Overcome the Challenges Champions Face in and out of the Ring

    by Talib Jabbar |

    Boxing has big pictures (Raging Bull, Creed), big personalities (Muhammad Ali, the original G.O.A.T.), and big spectacles (pay-per-view fights adorned with flashing lights, raucous crowds, and stylized ring entrances). You …

  • Sketchbook

    by Sarah Campbell |

    Originally from Canada, illustrator Sarah Campbell moved to Australia in 2010. A graduate from the Design Centre Enmore in Sydney, her work is featured in children’s books, editorials, logos and …

  • Connecting California

    We Can Keep Dianne Feinstein in the Senate Forever

    From Fundraising to Legislating, AI Can Do the Job

    by Joe Mathews |

    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, …

  • Essay

    Boxers Know the Power of an Entrance

    The Way a Fighter Steps Into the Ring Communicates Everything From Pride to Protest

    by Rudy Mondragón |

    The first time I really paid attention to boxing ring entrances—the long, celebratory walks fighters take from their dressing rooms to the ring before a bout—was in 1992, when I …

  • Poetry

    by Petra Kuppers

    (The black mold fungus Stachybotrys chartarum was originally discovered on the wall of a house in Prague in 1837. The average person inhales at least 40 conidia (fungus …

  • Essay

    Afghans Built This City

    Laborers From Across the Border Have Left an Indelible Mark on Urban Pakistan

    by Sanaa Alimia |

    Rahimullah waits. In order to get picked for a day’s work, it’s best to get started early. He’s said his morning prayers. Had breakfast. Eggs, bread, and tea. He’s walked …

  • Essay

    Are Hospital Wellness Initiatives Making Doctor Burnout Worse?

    A Physician Suggests Encouraging His Colleagues to Explore, Reflect, and Talk About Their Feelings

    by Jay Baruch |

    This article is a co-publication of Zócalo Public Square and State of Mind, a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University focused on covering …

  • Connecting California

    Heartbreak and Yearning on the Streets of East Oakland

    Columnist Joe Mathews Goes Nightcrawling

    by Joe Mathews |

    Kiara Johnson, 17, lives at the Regal-Hi apartments on High Street in East Oakland—for now.

    She doesn’t have the money for next month’s rent, which her landlord is doubling. She can’t …

  • Essay

    Can Two Friends Agree to Disagree on Abortion in Post-Roe America?

    It’s an Issue Worth Fighting Over—But Not a Good Litmus Test at the Personal or National Level

    by Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox |

    We met through a mutual friend who told us both, “You’ll love her. You get angry about all the same things.”

    That was almost exactly correct. At the time, Joanne had …