Zócalo Public Square

Zócalo Public Square
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Zócalo Public Square’s podcast connects people to ideas and to each other through an innovative blend of ideas journalism and live events. Listen to conversations on topics ranging from politics and science to art and pop culture.

  1. Jun 28

    The 2026 Zócalo Book Prize: America, Can We Take Down the Walls Between Us?

    The 2026 Zócalo Book and Poetry Prizes are co-presented with The Jar, and generously sponsored by Tim Disney. Americans love building walls, and not just on our international borders. Our houses are bigger and more fortress-like than ever before. We drive cars and trucks designed like mobile suits of armor. We consume media that reflects our point of view back to us, closing off dissenting voices. What are these walls doing to our country, our communities, and our minds? Can we stop building them, or even break them? And what might we put in their place? Johns Hopkins University anthropologist Anand Pandian, winner of the 2026 Zócalo Book Prize for Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down, visits Zócalo to share what he learned from talking to people across the country about what divides us and how we come together. Featuring: Anand Pandian, anthropologist and author of Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down Mike Madrid, political strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project Poetry reading by Deborah Ager, winner of the 2026 Zócalo Poetry Prize Timestamps: 00:00 - Introductions 02:37 - Poetry reading by Deborah Ager 08:23 - Lecture by Anand Pandian 23:57 - Conversation with Anand Pandian and Mike Madrid

  2. Jun 15

    How Does The Central Valley Harness Its Power?

    As an economic powerhouse, California charges forward. The benefits, though, are distributed and felt unequally, especially in places like the Central Valley. Here, thousands of farmworkers feed the nation while facing food insecurity themselves, rural communities struggle to access adequate health care, the housing market is in an affordability crisis, and neighborhood inequality persists. But the region is changing: with steady population growth, reformed labor union legislation, the promise of California High-Speed Rail, and burgeoning arts and culture scenes. And it’s shifting California power dynamics with it, away from the coastal cities and into the Valley’s major cities like Fresno, Bakersfield, Merced, and Stockton. How are leaders in Fresno harnessing these changes to transform their region for the better? And what does it mean for the Central Valley and for California? Featured guests:
Danielle Bergstrom (Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Fresnoland)
Betsy McGovern-Garcia (Vice President, Self-Help Enterprises)
Joe Prado (Director, Fresno County Department of Public Health)
Gurdeep Shergill (Radio Host, “Shaan Punjab Di” and City of Fresno Planning Commissioner) This program is co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, Fresnoland, and Arte Américas, with generous support from The James B. McClatchy Foundation, Central Valley Community Foundation, and The James Irvine Foundation, with media partner KVPR. This program is part of Zócalo's series “What Connects California?,” marking the 175th anniversary of California’s statehood.

  3. Mar 12

    How Do We Dance With Legacy?

    Amid great technological, political, and cultural shifts, who choreographs the great dance of America? Which tales have we inherited, which will we pass down, and what will future generations do with them? And, as this series aims to answer: What can become of us? A panel moderated by IAJS faculty director Tomás Jiménez, and featuring author, poet, and social entrepreneur Ahmed Badr; writer, filmmaker, and powwow dancer Julian Brave NoiseCat; and population geneticist and science journalist Janina Jeff Ringo explores how the stories we tell shape our perspectives on movement and migration, and the legacy of America. This program is inspired by "Durga’s Daughters," an original performance created and directed by Indian American Bharatanatyam choreographer and dancer Mythili Prakash. Visit Zócalo's Youtube channel to watch the performance of "Durga's Daughters": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m000c1FCDdY This is the fourth and final program in “What Can Become of Us?”, a collaboration between the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies (IAJS) and Zócalo Public Square, envisioning new perspectives on migration, America’s diverse communities, and how people come together across differences. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intros 03:00 - Panel: Tomás Jiménez, Ahmed Badr, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Janina Jeff Ringo Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ for more programs and essays in the series. Follow Zócalo on X: x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square/

  4. Feb 24

    How Do Museums Resist Censorship?

    Museums tell America’s story. Exhibit by exhibit, they acquire, study, preserve, and interpret art and artifacts for the public, offering proof to bolster thoughtful interpretations of our national truths. But they haven’t always done so freely. What can museums do when the state imposes revisionist history on them? Can curation be a form of self-censorship? Is censorship ever good? And what have museums done to protect their freedom of expression and the separation between art and state? Featured guests: Devon Akmon (Director, Michigan State University Museum and Chair of the Board, American Alliance of Museums) Ann Burroughs (President and CEO, Japanese American National Museum) Hamza Walker (Director, The Brick and Co-Curator, MONUMENTS) Hamza Walker will discuss how museums resist the erasure and revision of our history and culture, and what this means for how we document our shared past, present, and future. This program is co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, Japanese American National Museum (JANM), and The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ for more programs, interviews and essays.

  5. Feb 13

    How Will AI Reshape Our Elections?

    With the national midterm elections alongside high-profile contests such as the Los Angeles mayoral and California gubernatorial races, voters, election officials, and policymakers alike are being forced to confront AI’s growing role in democratic life. Can AI be responsibly integrated into election systems without compromising transparency or fairness? Who bears responsibility for governing its use—technology companies, election officials, lawmakers, or voters themselves? And what safeguards, norms, or reforms are needed to ensure that innovation serves democracy rather than undermines it? Featured guests: Kristen Muller (Executive Editor, The LA Local) Darwin Mastin, Ph.D. (Founder & CEO, Synaptic Spike Venture Studio & TwinWise AI) Michael Moore (Chief Information Security Officer, Arizona Secretary of State’s Office) Gowri Ramachandran (Director of Elections and Security on the Elections & Government team, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU) This program is co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, LA Local, and the ASU Mechanics of Democracy Lab. Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ for more programs, interviews and essays.

  6. Jan 8

    Where Does Deportation Come From?

    Deportation has impacted communities across California and the country, and has become the face of U.S. immigration policy today. At the culmination of a year marked by violent ICE raids, it’s crucial to understand how we got to this point, and what may lie ahead. Part origin story, part forecast, this conversation between historian and MacArthur Fellow Kelly Lytle Hernández and filmmaker and MacArthur Fellow Alex Rivera illuminates the history of deportation. The pair discuss the first man to be deported under the 19th-century Chinese Exclusion Act, reach further back in time to consider that law’s predecessors, and, finally, return to the present day to pose questions about the future of U.S. banishment. Is deportation an anomaly of our modern era, or does it reflect the very heart of this country’s history? Who is targeted for deportation in America, and why? And where should we look for reform or respite—resistance groups, the courts, political leaders? This program is co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, the MacArthur Foundation, Times of San Diego, and Bread & Salt, as part of Zócalo’s series “What Connects California?,” marking the 175th anniversary of California’s statehood.

  7. 10/22/2025

    Is Hip-Hop America's Biggest Success Story?

    Is hip-hop the driving force behind Black business and economic mobility? What can we glean from its innovative strategies and enterprising spirit? And how do the creative economies hip-hop has brokered affect California’s racially diverse and rapidly changing communities? Tara DeVeaux is a brand marketer influenced by hip-hop culture and Detavio Samuels is a media executive for youth culture storytelling. They discuss hip-hop’s impact on the economy with Robeson Taj Frazier, director of the USC Annenberg Institute for Difference and Empowerment in the Arts, during the opening night of CA FWD’s 2025 California Economic Summit. This program was co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, ASU, and California Forward (CA FWD) in partnership with Stocktonia. Part of Zócalo’s series "California 175 — What Connects California?" Timestamps: 00:00 - Intros 04:23 - Panel: Robeson Taj Frazier, Tara DeVeaux, Detavio Frazier Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ for more programs and essays in the series. Follow Zócalo on X: x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square/

  8. 10/10/2025

    What Is the Language of Taste?

    A panel featuring Stanford IAJS faculty co-director Brian Lowery, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and Jewish cuisine expert Joan Nathan, community organizer and immigration activist Power Malu, and food studies scholar Krishnendu Ray explores how what we eat, and where it’s from, shape our sense of identity. This program is inspired by "Speak Sing Shout: We, Too, Sing America" (2025) by Pakistani American artist Sarah K. Khan. The piece is commissioned by Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies, and will be on view at BRIC in Brooklyn from October 7 to December 23, 2025. Visit Zócalo's Youtube channel to watch a performance by artist Sarah K. Khan: https://youtube.com/live/ztRolqNFXoQ This is the third program in “What Can Become of Us?”, a collaboration between the Stanford Institute for Advancing Just Societies (IAJS) and Zócalo Public Square, envisioning new perspectives on migration, America’s diverse communities, and how people come together across differences. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intros 04:17 - Panel: Brian Lowery, Power Malu, Joan Nathan, Krishnendu Ray Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ for more programs and essays in the series. Follow Zócalo on X: x.com/thepublicsquare Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepublicsquare/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/zocalopublicsquare LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/z-calo-public-square/

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Zócalo Public Square’s podcast connects people to ideas and to each other through an innovative blend of ideas journalism and live events. Listen to conversations on topics ranging from politics and science to art and pop culture.

Information

  • Creator
    Zócalo Public Square
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    500
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Zócalo Public Square

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