Up For Discussion

Does Charisma Make or Break a Leader?

Personality Can Inspire, But It Just Might Be Overrated

Beyond achieving results, what do great leaders have in common? Charisma is one trait we tend to agree can draw people in and inspire them to do great things—but we’re not quite sure what good it does beyond that. After all, psychopaths are charismatic, too. And there have been plenty of people who have led by example rather than relying on personality. In advance of the Zócalo event “Would Better Leaders Fix Our Problems?”, we asked a number of writers and thinkers who study leaders and management, how important is …

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Life Under Our Despotic Edifice-Drawing Overlords

Do Architects Have Too Much Say Over How We Live?

If you’ve seen neighborhoods razed and replaced by entirely new sorts of structures, you might think it’s all a bit heavy-handed. And one of the key visionaries behind the effort …

It’s Retirement Security, Not Social Security

Beyond the Narrow Budget Debate Over Entitlements, Two Different Ideas on How to Save Retirement Programs

In Washington, President Obama is expected to present his plans for changes in entitlements, including Social Security. Congress is taking up the debate. But when Social Security is discussed these …

Are U.S. Presidents Lame?

Untangling Whether the White House Has Too Much Power—Or Too Little

It’s routinely called the most powerful job in the world, but the U.S. presidency can seem astonishingly impotent. Ideas proposed in the State of the Union go nowhere once they …

Adopt Mayor Villaraigosa

After June 30, He’s Going To Need a Home. Can You Make the Best Case For Why He Should Choose Your L.A. Neighborhood?

This spring, Los Angeles and its neighborhoods face a peculiar challenge. A distinguished citizen, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is about to be made homeless, and very publicly so. When he leaves …

Move Over, Moore’s Law

What Comes After the Silicon Computer Chip?

The silicon computer chip is reaching the limits of Moore’s Law, Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore’s observation that the number of transistors on chips would double every two years. Moore’s …


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