In the Green Room
New at Zócalo
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Essay
Can a Side Hustle Be a ‘Proper’ Job?
Forget ‘Good’ or ‘Bad,’ Workers Want Something Real
This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo/The James Irvine Foundation public program and editorial series, “What Is a Good Job Now?” which investigates low-wage …
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Essay
Tips and Tricks From an Uber Driver
Don’t Talk Politics, Store a Towel in Your Trunk, and Let Them Sing Their Songs
This piece publishes as part of the Zócalo/The James Irvine Foundation public program and editorial series, “What Is a Good Job Now?” which investigates low-wage …
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Connecting California
Let’s Make L.A.’s New Charter a DIY Project
The City’s Quasi-Constitution Is Up for Reform. Everyday People—Not the Political Class—Should Control It
If Los Angeles is going to rewrite its city charter, should everyday Angelenos take charge of the effort?
The people who run Los Angeles government are skeptical.
Mayor Karen Bass, City Council …
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The Takeaway
One Nation … Under Parliament?
The Zócalo and Los Angeles Times Event ‘Would Parliamentary America Have More Fun?’ Considers a U.S. Governed by Multi-Party Coalitions
“Convince me,” Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith told Maxwell L. Stearns, the author of the forthcoming book Parliamentary America: The Least Radical Means of Radically Repairing Our Broken …
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Essay
What Is 21st-Century Truth?
Propaganda Has Trapped Us in Plato’s Cave—the Shadows Aren’t Real but the Sun Is Blinding
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 …
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Essay
What Is a Fun Palace?
How a Once-Defunct Idea for Community-Driven Joy Springs to Life Every Year
This piece publishes alongside the Zócalo/Los Angeles Times program “Would Parliamentary America Have More Fun?,” tomorrow, Friday, February 23, at 7 PM PST. Register here …
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Essay
How Samoans Resisted Coconut Colonialism
In the Early 20th Century, the Fruit’s Farmers Sowed the Seeds of Today’s Global Labor Struggle
Coconuts are everywhere. If you walk into a grocery store pretty much anywhere in the United States, you’ll find a cornucopia of coconut products: coconut water, coconut oil, coconut macaroons, …
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Connecting California
California Is Taking a Page From Shohei Ohtani’s $700 Million Deal
Newsom’s Proposed State Budget Has More Deferrals Than the Baseball Star’s Contract
Shohei Ohtani is famous for being the world’s best baseball player, the only major leaguer of the past century who can both hit and pitch at an elite level.
Perhaps he …
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Where I Go
Where I Go: L.A.’s Oldest Standing Black-Owned Bar
I Didn’t Know How to Make a Cadillac Margarita. The Living Room Still Offered Me a Job—And a Community
The Living Room is the oldest standing Black-owned bar in Los Angeles. Located in the heart of the West Adams district and previously known as Barry’s Cocktail Lounge, the bar …