In the Green Room
New at Zócalo
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Essay
Writing the Truth in a World of Lies
German Playwright Bertolt Brecht Found in His Work—and Characters—a Vehicle For Change
What can we do?
As we stare at a broken world, malignant and sense-deadening, what response—as thinking, feeling people—are we left to have? What action can we take? No matter who …
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The Takeaway
What Will First Contact Be Like?
Imagining the Alien Arrival Is a Creative Endeavor—One That Might Just Bring Humanity Together
An “ineffable sense of wonder” filled last night’s Zócalo event, “How Should We Prepare for Aliens to Arrive on Earth?,” an event produced as part of Experience ASU, a month-long …
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Connecting California
Can Fighting Money with Money Create Fairer Elections?
Less Than 1 Percent of the Population Donates to Local Races. In Oakland, Giving Voters ‘Democracy Dollars’ Might Even the Playing Field
Would our democracy work better if all of us were campaign donors?
That’s the proposition posed by democracy vouchers, an idea with Seattle origins that has reached the Golden State.
This fall, …
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Essay
Why Do We Want to Find Aliens?
Humanity’s Fascination with ‘Little Green Men’ Dares Us to Imagine What’s Out There
The most memorable taxi ride of my life occurred when I stepped into a cab driven by a man named John, back in 2016. We fell into a conversation about …
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In the Green Room
Comedian and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Kristina Wong
No, You’re Not Going to Cut up Your Kid’s Underpants!
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Culture Class
Why Is Fantasy Stuck in the Middle Ages?
From the Latest Tolkien Adaptation to the New Thrones Series, a Genre Is Reckoning With Its Most Well-Known Setting
The pre-industrial Western landscape of wizards and magic, good and evil, elves and dwarves of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination has become a well-worn part of our cultural geography. Amazon’s shiny new …