In the Green Room
New at Zócalo
-
-
Prizes
Announcing the 2023 Zócalo Book Prize Shortlist
Congratulations to Saladin Ambar, Michelle Wilde Anderson, Stephanie Cacioppo, Anand Giridharadas, and Gaia Vince
The books shortlisted for the 2023 Zócalo Book Prize address five of the most urgent issues of our current moment: racial inequality, economic inequality, the struggle for human connection, political …
-
Connecting California
No One in Monterey County Is Good Enough to Serve in the Legislature
A Representative Shutout Reflects Problems with the Scale and Structure of California Democracy
Monterey County is home to Big Sur, Carmel, a world-class aquarium, the planet’s most beautiful golf course, half of America’s lettuce, and more than 437,000 people.
But Monterey County isn’t home …
-
Readings
Our Favorite Essays of 2022
From Behind Prison Walls to a Container Ship Out at Sea to the World’s Largest Refugee Camp, Zócalo’s Contributors Traversed the World to Report on the Human Condition
In 2022, Zócalo’s contributors reported from the front lines of a changing world, looking to foster conversation—and curiosity—about the way we live now.
While selecting just 10 essays from the scores …
-
Readings
Our Favorite Public Programs of 2022
This Year on the Zócalo Stage, Our Panelists Shared Some Jabs, Gave Voice to Resistance, and Reimagined Home
This year on the Zócalo stage, panelists dared us to reimagine home. Showed us that we can build a better America. Reminded us that incarceration is big business. Demonstrated what …
-
Connecting California
The Rose Bowl Game Is Dead
The Granddaddy of Them All Was 121 Years Old. It Was Killed By Two Chronic California Diseases
The Rose Bowl game, an annual sports spectacle embodying cherished California conceptions of beauty and inclusion, is dead.
It was 121 years old.
The causes of death were two chronic California diseases—greed …
-
Essay
How Zozobra, the Original Burning Man, Became Santa Fe’s ‘New Year’ Tradition
For Nearly 100 Years, the City Has Cleared the Emotional Air by Lighting a 50-Foot Effigy on Fire
Grievances, everyday annoyances, unexpected sorrows. A loved one leaves by choice or by a visit from the Grim Reaper. A financial burden turns life upside down. Even a flat tire …
-
-
Essay
Christmas, ’Tis the Season for Scary Stories
The Spectral Tales We Tell Respond to Our Deepest Desires—Especially on a Long, Dark Winter’s Night
Popularized by Charles Dickens in his 1843 A Christmas Carol, as well as in the yuletide editions of his literary magazine, All the Year Round, ghost stories were regular Christmas …
-
-
Essay
The Blackface of White Christmas
The Irving Berlin Song ‘Mandy’ Cloaked Racism in Nostalgia on American Stages and Screens for Nearly 40 Years
White Christmas is a staple of the holiday season. Every winter, the 1954 movie-musical brings Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen into our homes to sing and dance their way through …
-
Essay
The Victorian Vision of Disruption Is a Tech Bro Fantasy
The Real Lesson from the Late 1800s Is That Futures Are Best Made Collectively
Are tech bros the new Victorians? I’m sure they wouldn’t think so. In fact, I’m sure they’d be deeply insulted by the notion. The Victorians of our imagination are staid …