Los Angeles

My Missed Connection Riding the L.A. Metro

A Passenger and Train Conductor Lock Eyes—But Poor Urban Planning and Four Lanes of Traffic Conspire to Keep Them Apart

My Missed Connection Riding the L.A. Metro | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Our eyes met on a Saturday evening in Los Angeles. I wanted to go home. He wanted to take me there.

Could we find our way to each other in this lonely city?

Sure, we were only 30 yards apart. But we were separated by Crenshaw Boulevard—and by the folly of transportation planning in 21st century Southern California.

The object of my gaze was the driver of a Metro train on the Expo Line, which runs from Santa Monica to downtown L.A., and is also known as the E Line. The driver’s features, …

by Joe Mathews |

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Los Angeles Will Always Be a Character in My Story | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Los Angeles Will Always Be a Character in My Story

For Three Generations, a Writer’s Family Has Lived and Loved in the City of Angels

by Daniel Olivas |

It took until the cusp of middle age—the ripe age of 39—for me to write what would become my first book.

The spark for this new stage of my life was …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How Do You Solve a Problem Like L.A.’s City Council?

In This Moment of Pain and Division, There’s Opportunity to Demand Real Change for Our Democracy

by Jackie Mansky |

“Do we even need a city council?” That was the provocative title question posed at last night’s Zócalo/KCRW event at the Herald Examiner Building in downtown Los Angeles.

To get at …

Can Los Angeles Elect a City Council That Reflects Our Values? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Can Los Angeles Elect a City Council That Reflects Our Values?

It’s Hard to Legislate Decency—But Changing Demographics and New Technologies Require New Ethics and Rules

by Michael Woo |

Politics is full of high-stakes battles and strategies concocted behind closed doors. But that’s no excuse for the level of venality, toxicity, self-aggrandizement, condescension, hubris, and racism exposed in the …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Concertmaster and Violinist Roberto Cani

You Get So Deep Into Music, You’re in a Different World

Roberto Cani is the Stuart Canin Concertmaster at the L.A. Opera and a violinist who has performed as a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic, the Orchestra of La Scala in …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Hollywood Bowl Violist Erik Rynearson

Life Is Easier in France

Erik Rynearson is principal violist of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, and has been a regular substitute musician with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. …


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