New at Zócalo

  • Connecting California

    California’s Prop 30 Is So Bad It Might Be Good

    The Contest Over the Measure—and Others to Follow—Will Determine Whether the Climate Crisis Can Be Addressed Within the Current System

    by Joe Mathews |

    Will the fight against climate change finally force the replacement of California’s broken governing system?

    That’s the most interesting question posed by the most interesting measure on this November’s statewide ballot. …

  • Essay

    What We Miss When We See the Plight of the Refugee

    In Bangladesh, the Resettled Rohingya in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp Lead Complicated Lives

    by Mausumi Mahapatro |

    In 2015, the image of a Syrian child, drowned and washed ashore near the Turkish town of Bodram, went viral. This singular, visceral image of the hapless refugee victim spoke …

  • The Takeaway

    California’s Most Remote Classrooms Are Surviving—How Can They Thrive?

    One in Four Attend Rural School. But Sacramento and D.C. Aren’t Giving These Students One-Fourth of Their Time

    by Jackie Mansky |

    When it came to the title question of the Zócalo/California Wellness event, “Can Rural Education Survive the 21st Century?,” the panelists were of one mind. Speaking to the live audience …

  • Poetry

    by Andy Eaton

    Midnight once he stood me
      by the door of our refrigerator
       open, like a wedge of cheese in darkness,

    a milk glass in my hand,
      he yelled, he …

  • Essay

    How Rural Schools Survived the Pandemic

    Educators in the Most Remote Parts of the State Have Faced Unique Challenges—And Found Some Silver Linings

    by Niu Gao |

    In my 15 years researching and working in K–12 education, I haven’t seen anything like the COVID-19 pandemic disruption to education. This is especially true in rural areas, whose remote …

  • Connecting California

    Newsom Isn’t Pursuing His Presidential Ambitions. He’s Trashing Them

    Why Is the California Governor Sacrificing His Chances at the White House?

    by Joe Mathews |

    If former President Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and their followers are going to create space for hate and human rights violations, then why should anyone complain about California Gavin …

  • Essay

    How the Inland Empire Helped Create the Republic of Korea

    Uncovering the Hidden History of Riverside’s Pachappa Camp

    by Edward T. Chang and Carol K. Park |

    How did we forget about the first Koreatown, USA?

    In the early 20th century, Korean Americans flocked to Pachappa Camp in citrus-rich Riverside, California, to gather, live and work together, and …