The Radical Act of Gardening Silicon Valley

Communities Are Nourishing Themselves—And a Movement to Transform Our Food System—By Planting in Unlikely Soil

Days start early in the garden. As the sun rises over the Santa Clara Valley’s Diablo Range, we’ve already gathered and prepared seed beds for planting. The smell of damp soil fills the air as we carefully place fava beans into the dark earth. The soil under our fingernails and caked onto our knees doesn’t bother us—it reminds us of where our food comes from. We fill our bellies with warm coffee and pan dulce as we plant and discuss what the day will bring.

Silicon Valley …

Are Venture Capitalists Silicon Valley’s Biggest Villains?

They Get Lauded for Funding Innovation—But What They Really Fund Is Exponential Growth That Lines Their Own Pockets

This essay was published alongside the Zócalo and CalMatters public program, “What Makes a Great California Idea?” Click here to watch the full conversation.

Will …

Where Asian Americans Need Affirmative Action

Our Focus on University Admissions Obscures the ‘Bamboo Ceiling’ in the Workplace

Zócalo is celebrating its 20th birthday this year! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of …

Who Will Protect the Global Economy From California?

The Urge to Get Rich Quick Makes the Golden State a Threat to the World

Don’t bank on California, especially when banks are involved.

Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is widely discussed as a harbinger of the future, a sign of problems and disruptions in the technology …

Should California Fight for or Against Silicon Valley? | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Should California Fight for or Against Silicon Valley?

The Growing Federal War on ‘Big Tech’ Poses a Quandary—and Exposes Our Hypocrisy

Which side should California be on in the coming federal war against Silicon Valley?

The question feels less hypothetical after the State of the Union address, when President Biden blasted “Big …

The Victorian Vision of Disruption Is a Tech Bro Fantasy | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

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 …