Her Voice Memos and My Grief

A Friend’s Digital Messages in a Bottle Carry on a Centuries-Long Tradition of Auditory Remembrance

One of my best friends died recently.

It still doesn’t feel real. The last time I saw her was the day after the Fourth of July. Her smile always lit up the room, but that night, the joy seemed to seep out of her, so much so that even the person who took our order at dinner commented on it.

Life was coming together. She’d gone back to school to become a speech-language pathology assistant and was on track to complete her program in the fall. Unfailingly patient, positive, and compassionate, her …

Anything ChatGPT Can Do, My Students Can Do Better

Why a Media History Professor Is Welcoming AI Into Her Classroom

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 …

We Can Keep Dianne Feinstein in the Senate Forever

From Fundraising to Legislating, AI Can Do the Job

The fight over Dianne Feinstein’s future is a foolish waste of time. Both sides in the controversy over whether she should resign her seat now, or serve out her term, …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Internet Scholar Ethan Zuckerman

Technology Thrills Me All the Time

Ethan Zuckerman is an associate professor of public policy, communication, and information, and director of UMass’s Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, focused on reimagining the internet as a tool for civic …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Godmother of Virtual Reality Nonny de la Peña

I Was Scared of Flying, So I Took Flying Lessons

Nonny de la Peña is a journalist, filmmaker, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) pioneer, who is the founding director for the Narrative and Emerging Media program at Arizona State University. Before joining this …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Future Tense’s Torie Bosch

In My Family Technology Was a Girl Thing

Torie Bosch is the editor of Future Tense, which explores the intersection of technology, policy, and society. Editor-in-residence and lecturer at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School for Journalism and …