Zócalo Public Square

How Does Modesto Keep the Show Going On?

July 10, 2014 23:00 - 44 minutes - 21.4 MB

How do you engage a community in the arts--especially when resources, attention spans, and time are all limited? A panel of local musicians--MoBand director George Gardner, Modesto street corner singer Dellanora Green, and singer-guitarist Patty Castillo Davis--addressed this question and others from Modesto Bee editor Joseph Kieta at a "Living the Arts" event co-presented by the James Irvine Foundation in Modesto.

Eric Garcetti: Rock Star or Bureaucrat?

June 23, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 29.2 MB

At a "Thinking L.A" event co-presented by UCLA and moderated by KCRW's Saul Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Newton, political organizer and activist Torie Osborn, and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Dean Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. disagreed on what Mayor Garcetti’s first year in office tells us about what’s next for L.A., and on whether Garcetti is truly a rock star or a bureaucrat.

A Screening of Jon Favreau's 'Chef'

June 19, 2014 23:00 - 37 minutes - 18.2 MB

The man behind the Kogi Korean BBQ phenomenon, Roy Choi, hosted a screening of the movie Chef along with KCRW and Zócalo for a massive crowd at the Million Dollar Theatre. Choi introduced the film, on which he served as a co-producer and technical consultant. Then, after the screening, Choi sat down to to talk with KCRW Good Food host Evan Kleiman--and were joined by a surprise guest, Chef writer, director, and star Jon Favreau. The three discussed the making of the movie, how Choi helped Fav...

Should Our Drinking Water Come from the Ocean or the Toilet?

June 17, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 29.7 MB

California's historic drought has forced local communities to find new water supplies. But where? Some coastal cities are looking to the ocean, contemplating desalination projects that once were dismissed as too energy-intensive and expensive. Meanwhile, some counties have looked to the toilet--turning sewage into drinking water in a process called toilet to tap. At an event co-presented by Occidental College, West Basin Municipal Water District public information and conservation manager Ron...

Can We Thank Barry Goldwater for this Libertarian Moment?

June 05, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 115 MB

At a panel co-presented by Arizona State University, ASU historian Michael Rubinoff, Slate political reporter Dave Weigel, and Arizona Republic columnist Robert Robb talked with 12 News Sunday Square Off host Brahm Resnik about Barry Goldwater's legacy in Arizona and America today. They tackled postwar libertarianism, Rand Paul, the Tea Party, Arizona history, and what Goldwater would think about contemporary issues like surveillance, drones, Obamacare, and illegal immigration.

Where Do Food Fads Come From?

June 03, 2014 23:00 - 45 minutes - 21.7 MB

Food fads are, in a sense, inevitable: Once we developed the economic means to select from a variety of foods, some tastes became more popular than others. But what determines which foods become trendy when? How do marketers, farmers, scientists, doctors, and even governments create food crazes? At L.A.'s Grand Central Market, journalist David Sax, author of The Tastemakers: Why We’re Crazy For Cupcakes But Fed Up With Fondue, explained why certain dishes take hold of our collective passion, ...

Brigid Schulte: Why Americans Can't Balance Work, Love, and Play?

May 22, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 31.1 MB

Washington Post staff writer Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, visited Zócalo to discuss why Americans haven't figured out how to lead balanced lives, and what we can do as individuals and a nation to get some relief from the chaos of modern life.

Ethan Zuckerman: How to Escape Your Online Echo Chamber

May 09, 2014 23:00 - 53 minutes - 25.7 MB

Ethan Zuckerman, winner of the 2014 Zócalo Book Prize for Rewire: Becoming Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection, explained why the Internet has made our understanding of the world more narrow rather than more rich and global—and how we might be able to change that. The 2014 Zócalo Book Prize was sponsored by the California Community Foundation.

My Kid Has Autism. Now What?

May 08, 2014 11:00 - 56 minutes - 28.3 MB

My Kid Has Autism. Now What?

What Does Southern California Need From the 710 Freeway?

May 07, 2014 23:00 - 49 minutes - 23.5 MB

At an event co-presented by Metro, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies director Brian Taylor, former California Environment Secretary Linda S. Adams, L.A. Chamber of Commerce president Gary Toebben, and Southern California Association of Governments executive director Hasan Ikhrata talked with NBC4 reporter Conan Nolan about the future of the embattled 710, and what it means for the entire Southern California region.

Will Obamacare Fail Fresno?

April 30, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 68.9 MB

Has the Affordable Care Act failed in Fresno, and will it be able to succeed? KPCC Southern California Public Radio health reporter Rebecca Plevin posed this question to Deborah Martinez, the deputy director of the Fresno County department of social services, Kevin Hamilton, deputy chief of programs at Clinica Sierra Vista in the Central Valley—the country's second-largest community health center—and Margarita Rocha, the executive director of Clinica la Familia, a Fresno nonprofit at a panel ...

Will Obamacare Really Help L.A.'s Immigrants?

April 15, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 56.3 MB

Will Obamacare Really Help L.A.'s Immigrants?

Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame?

March 20, 2014 23:00 - 56 minutes - 62.5 MB

Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame?

Will We Ever Have Clean Water for All?

March 17, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 31.9 MB

At an event co-presented by Occidental College, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Jeffrey Kightlinger, California State Water Resources Control Board chair Felicia Marcus, Arizona State University sustainability scholar Michael Hanemann, and Natural Resources Defense Council water program director Steve Fleischli talked with Occidental political economist Sanjeev Khagram about why water is so difficult to transport and distribute, and why clean water re...

What Kind of Newspaper Does Los Angeles Deserve?

March 10, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 30.1 MB

The early 21st century has not been kind to newspapers in Southern California. But in an era of technological change and in a city of great demographic change, what kind of newspaper does L.A. deserve? At an event presented with the support of L.A.’s Department of Cultural Affairs at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Zócalo California and innovation editor Joe Mathews posed this question to Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks, former L.A. city councilman and dean of Cal Poly Pomona’s Colleg...

Is the News Driving Us Crazy?

March 06, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 30.7 MB

We’re obsessed with the news. Most of us check the headlines on our mobile devices up to eight times a day. But at a Zócalo/Getty Center event, philosopher Alain de Botton, author of The News: A User’s Manual, asks us to consider why: "What on earth are we looking for?"

Can Homegrown Innovation Change Africa?

March 05, 2014 23:00 - 44 minutes - 21.4 MB

Africa is transforming--but the West is choosing not to see how people across the continent are improving their lives and countries through business, technological, and social innovation. Dayo Olopade, author of The Bright Continent: Breaking Rules and Making Change in Modern Africa, offers examples of African dynamism and how Americans can reorient themselves to the continent.

Is Factory Farming Destroying Rural America?

March 03, 2014 23:00 - 50 minutes - 24.3 MB

American meat has become plentiful and cheap over the past half century. How did this happen, and what does it mean for our diets, our agriculture system, and our culture? Christopher Leonard, author of The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America's Food Business, tells the story of a changing industry--and the damage it's done to rural America.

Where Does Art Reach Us?

February 26, 2014 23:00 - 53 minutes - 25.5 MB

At a "Living the Arts" panel co-presented by Zócalo and the James Irvine Arts Foundation at Arte Americas in Fresno, California, the Rogue Festival's Renée Newlove, graffiti artist Erik Gonzalez, and sculptor Chris Sorensen of Fresno's ArtHop talked with KVPR's Joe Moore about the state of the arts in Fresno and the Central Valley. They discussed the different ways they bring the arts to the community, the challenges they’ve faced, and where they draw their inspiration.

How Can We Make Higher Education More Inclusive?

February 18, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 30.5 MB

At a Zócalo/UCLA Thinking L.A. event, Michele Siqueiros, executive director of the Campaign for College Opportunity, Century Foundation senior fellow Richard D. Kahlenberg, and UCLA associate vice chancellor for enrollment Youlonda Copeland-Morgan talked with L.A. Times reporter Kurt Streeter about why racial diversity matters, how to bring more underrepresented students to campus, and what can be done to make such students feel welcome at universities in California and around the country.

Is China Destined to Rule the World?

February 13, 2014 23:00 - 47 minutes - 22.9 MB

Former Financial Times Beijing bureau chief Geoff Dyer, the author of a new book The Contest of the Century: The New Era of Competition With China—and How America Can Win, explains that the U.S. is entering a new era of geopolitical competition with China. But while China's rise is inevitable, the odds remain in America’s favor.

Do the Arts Make Us Better People?

February 11, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 29.3 MB

At a Zócalo/Getty event, writer Susan Orlean, Segerstrom Center for the Arts president Terrence W. Dwyer, and Getty CEO James Cuno weren’t entirely in accord about why and how art changes people’s lives—and on whether all art is created equal in that respect.

How Should Schools Discipline Children?

January 21, 2014 23:00 - 1 hour - 30.4 MB

The way discipline is enforced in American schools is changing quickly, as zero-tolerance policies have given way to "restorative justice" programs that encourage student responsibility and empathy. At a Zócalo/California Endowment event, LAUSD high school teacher Carlos Castillo, Maisie Chin, co-founder of South L.A.’s CADRE parents’ organization, and Walt Buster, the founding director of the Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute, discussed the future of school discipline in L.A., ...

Why Won’t Angelenos Vote?

December 05, 2013 00:00 - 1 hour - 39.5 MB

So few Angelenos voted this year that Eric Garcetti was elected mayor with just 222,300 votes—the same number it took to get elected mayor in the 1930s, when L.A. was half its present size. UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Dean Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., Tracy Zeluff of GroundWorks Campaigns, and Loyola Ma rymount University political scientist Fernando Guerra talked about why Angelenos are so reluctant to go to the polls, whether it matters, and what might change things.

Why Do We Need Glamour?

November 20, 2013 23:00 - 55 minutes - 32.9 MB

What defines glamour, and why do we need it? Bloomberg View columnist Virginia Postrel, author of The Power of Glamour: Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion, offered her thoughts on what makes up this elusive quality—as well as her thoughts on what glamour is not—at a Zócalo/Getty Center event.

The State of L.A.’s Plate

November 18, 2013 00:00 - 58 minutes - 27.9 MB

KCRW Good Food host Evan Kleiman talks with a panel of people who look at food from different angles--UCLA epidemiologist Alex Ortega, food blogger Javier "The Glutster" Cabral, and former Bon Appetit editor Barbara Fairchild--about what L.A. is eating right now. Los Angeles is a city of two food worlds, richer and poorer. We're home to many farmers markets and world renowned restaurants. But a million people here go to bed hungry, and obesity is a large problem.

How Can San Francisco's Bay Delta Be Saved?

November 12, 2013 00:00 - 1 hour - 30.3 MB

Delta farmer Russell van Loben Sels, PPIC senior fellow Ellen Hanak, deputy operating officer for the Santa Clara Valley Water District Joan Maher, and executive officer of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Campbell Ingram talk with San Francisco Chronicle deputy editorial page editor Lois Kazakoff about a major source of California's water supply, the California Delta, at a panel co-presented by Occidental College. Will the Bay Delta Conservation Plan work? What are the biggest pr...

Did Rupert Murdoch Save Journalism?

November 11, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 30 MB

For years, Rupert Murdoch has been “the most influential and important media figure in the English-speaking world,” according to National Public Radio media correspondent David Folkenflik, author of Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires. Folkenflik spoke with L.A. Observed publisher Kevin Roderick about how Murdoch has changed journalism not just at his own holdings but around the world at a program co-presented by ASU's Cronkite School of Journalism.

Why Is Arizona Failing Third Graders?

November 07, 2013 23:00 - 55 minutes - 27.5 MB

A new law in Arizona requires the state to fail— and hold back—third graders who haven’t learned to read. An estimated 1,500 students will be held back this year. Why are so many 9-year-olds struggling with literacy, how can schools and teachers best help them? Arizona Republic education reporter Cathryn Creno talks with ASU literacy education scholar Frank Serafini, City of Phoenix youth and education program manager Tim Valencia, and Phoenix elementary school instructional coach Daniela Rob...

Will Iran Be Our New Best Friend?

November 05, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 26.6 MB

U.S. President Barack Obama and Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, have spoken by phone. It appears that Rouhani, a moderate, wants to negotiate and change the two countries’ relationship. Does Iran actually want a rapprochement, and will this be possible? How do Iranians feel about the United States? How do Americans--our leaders and the public alike--feel about Iran? Occidental College political scientist Hussein Banai, Asia Society vice president of global policy programs Suzanne DiMagg...

Why Do We Need Saints?

October 30, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 30.8 MB

Wildly famous. Frequently scandalous. Speakers of truth to power. Action heroes. Acclaimed by the people. Romantic, rebellious, charismatic, inspirational. These were just a few of the ways saints were described at a Zócalo/Getty panel that asked a group of scholars of art, history, and religion, “Why Do We Need Saints?” Documentary filmmaker Jody Hassett Sanchez speaks with Cabrini College folklorist Leonard Primiano, UC Riverside medieval art historian Conrad Rudolph, and University of Notr...

How Do We Break the Deadlock in the Gun Debate?

October 29, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 33.1 MB

The debate over gun rights is so contentious in America that it often seems the two sides are speaking different languages. The fight continues, bitterly—and yet nothing seems to change. At an event co-presented by the California Wellness Foundation, Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell, USC legal scholar Jody David Armour, and Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Executive Director Robyn Thomas offered their thoughts to a standing-room-only crowd at the RAND Corporation on what, if anything, ...

How Will We Survive the Water Wars? - When Water Kills

October 13, 2013 23:00 - 53 minutes - 25.6 MB

Occidental College biologist Gretchen North, RAND Corporation senior scientist Robert Lempert, and UC Irvine hydrologist James S. Famiglietti talk with Occidental College historian Thaddeus Russell about the different ways water is threatening humanity today. Drought and finding clean water have always been issues in different parts of the world, but climate change is making the wet parts of the world wetter and the dry parts drier, which is complicating the search for solutions.

How Will We Survive the Water Wars? - How Much Should Water Cost?

October 13, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 33.5 MB

Joe Mathews, California editor of Zócalo Public Square, talks with Westlands Water District Chief Deputy Manager Jason Peltier, Chance of Rain publisher Emily Green, environmental attorney Peter Culp, and Steven Solomon, author of Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization, about how much water should cost. In a time of scarcity, this is the most important question, and it's one that's being wrestled with all over the world today.

How Will We Survive the Water Wars? - Learning to Live With (Less) Water

October 13, 2013 23:00 - 51 minutes - 24.4 MB

Los Angeles Times water and environmental reporter Bettina Boxall talks with Southern California Water Committee executive director Richard W. Atwater, Maven's Notebook publisher Chris Austin, and Reason science correspondent Ronald Bailey about how Californians are learning to live with less water. They explained what Californians, and the institutions that govern us, can do to decrease our consumption and usage of water.

Why Are There So Few Women in L.A. Politics?

September 23, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 29.6 MB

Just one woman in Los Angeles is currently an elected city official; we're one of the most progressive places in the country, and in 2001 we had a total of five women on the council. What's happened, and is there a way to change this trend? Los Angeles News Group opinion editor Mariel Garza spoke with Robin Kramer, former chief of staff to Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Richard Riordan, KPCC politics reporter Alice Walton, and former deputy mayor and mayoral candidate Linda Griego about gend...

Can The Left Survive Without Labor?

September 12, 2013 10:59 - 1 hour - 29.1 MB

Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson talks with New York Times reporter Jennifer Medina about the past, present, and future of American unions, and their relationship with the American left. Labor is struggling to stay relevant, but by bringing in people who aren't in unions and by forming alliances with other organizations, the movement can again have power in American politics.

Why Do the Santa Anas Blow Our Minds?

September 06, 2013 23:00 - 54 minutes - 26 MB

We know them when we feel them, or when we hear them blowing through the trees--and we can quote L.A. writers Raymond Chandler and Joan Didion on their power to inspire murderous thoughts and unease. But what exactly are the Santa Ana winds? How do they wreak destruction on Southern California? And why have their legends persisted? UCLA meteorologist Robert Fovell, L.A. County Fire Captain Drew Smith, and novelist Janet Fitch talked with Libros Schmibros founder David Kipen about the myths, h...

Does L.A. Appreciate Its Wild Animals?

August 09, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 29.3 MB

Zoobiquity coauthor Kathryn Bowers talked with Natural History Museum environmental educator Lila Higgins, City of L.A. wildlife specialist Greg Randall, and Beth Pratt, the California director of the National Wildlife Federation about the biodiversity hot spot that is Los Angeles. We share our city with mountain lions and bears, as well as amphibians, snails, and songbirds--and it's time we learn to appreciate these wild neighbors.

Will the Bicycle Kill the Car in L.A.?

July 12, 2013 23:00 - 53 minutes - 25.5 MB

Los Angeles Times transportation reporter Laura J. Nelson talks with LADOT bicycle coordinator Nate Baird, director of advanced mobility research at Art Center College of Design Geoff Wardle, and Move LA executive director Denny Zane about whether the bicycle will ever become Angelenos' primary method of transportation. Even if that doesn't happen, though, the panelists agreed that it's time for a truce among bicyclists and drivers in Southern California. It's time, too, they said, to secure ...

What’s Next for Marriage Rights?

July 09, 2013 23:00 - 1 hour - 32.1 MB

The 2013 decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court settled some questions: Federal discrimination against same-sex marriages is now unconstitutional. California must now reopen marriage to same-sex couples. But the decisions have also raised broad new legal and political questions—not to mention literally thousands of technical questions about how to apply existing statutes and regulations to same-sex marriages. L.A. Times federal courts reporter Maura Dolan talks with UCLA Williams Institute resea...

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