Register to join us and
@udg_oficial
for the free program “Are the U.S. and Mexico Becoming One Country?” on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 11 AM PDT at the
@FestivalLeala
at
@LAPlazaLA
in Los Angeles (or watch live online). See you there!
Trump's tent city for children is a concentration camp.
@andreapitzer
, author of "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps," explains why.
Q: What's the best part of being a cat owner?
@AshaRangappa_
: "The challenge. They don't give out their affection super easily, so you're always working for it, and it’s extra rewarding when they snuggle."
Russia’s propaganda campaigns are not directly about Trump. They are fundamentally about undermining democracy, a system that is inconvenient to Putin’s goals. -
@JuliaDavisNews
“Russian information warfare breaks the dichotomy of war and peace. Americans need to get their mind around a threat that is not visible.” -
@JacksonYale
lecturer and former FBI special agent
@AshaRangappa_
At a 2018 Zócalo event, moderator
@warrenolney1
asked Ukraine-born Russian Media Monitor founder
@JuliaDavisNews
who is targeted by Russian misinformation campaigns. Her answer: the entire Western world, because "democracy is an inconvenience for Putin's goals."
Watch the clip:
At last week's Zócalo event, an audience member asked
@AshaRangappa_
how worried she is about secrets Trump could leak after leaving office. Noting the president's $421 million of debt, she responded, "From an intelligence standpoint, he’s vulnerable."
Senator
@maziehirono
chatted about scoring a “10” in
@ratemyskyperoom
thanks to her Anthurium plant, growing up in Koko Head, Hawai’i, and how Ruth Bader Ginsburg reminds her to “fight the good fight."
Legal scholar Asha Rangappa (
@AshaRangappa_
) and political rhetoric historian Jennifer Mercieca (
@jenmercieca
) remind us that no one—not even an ex-president—is above the law in a democracy.
"When propagandists, be they presidents or anyone else, reject any attempt to provide facts in the face of lies, they are rejecting the pillars of truth-finding upon which a democratic society is based."
@jenmercieca
and
@AshaRangappa_
write:
Russian information warfare isn’t pushing a specific narrative. It’s trying to sow confusion. At a certain point, Americans will give up on finding the truth, or believe there is no truth. -Behavioral scientist Caroline Orr
@RVAwonk
Turning to the topic of transitioning between administrations, Rangappa says that her main concern is the national security "vacuum" that is formed by having a president who "does not read the presidential daily brief" and an incoming president who's not allowed to access it.
@AshaRangappa_
&
@jenmercieca
trace the history of "isonomia"—equality before the law—as an indispensable pillar of a democracy, writing: "There is no individual who is above the law, not in a government based on the rule of law." Read:
"What constitutes treason lies in the heart of the beholder, and the framers of the Constitution wisely recognized that relying on lawmakers’ hearts isn’t the best way to rule a democratic society."
—
@AshaRangappa_
Legal scholar Asha Rangappa (
@AshaRangappa_
) and political rhetoric historian Jennifer Mercieca (
@jenmercieca
) trace the use of the Athenian concept of "equality under the law" and argue that the democratic principle applies even to ex-presidents:
“Could the Khalistan referendum become a model for deciding whether breakaway provinces or secession-minded states can leave and form their own nation?” —Democracy Local columnist
@joemmathews
The Aztecs were no strangers to plagues.
They even had rules for new kings faced with contagion, writes author, professor, and translator
@DavidOBowles
.
Rule
#1
: “Do not be a fool.”
1/13
If you want to nail someone for treason, don't talk to a lawyer, writes
@AshaRangappa_
. Instead, pick up Dante—because treason is really a crime of the heart.
When Twitter fact-checks Trump’s tweets, explain
@jenmercieca
and
@AshaRangappa_
in their essay for Zócalo, "it is using a very old and democratic method that goes back to the ancient Greeks."
Zócalo is happy to announce that
@KristNovoselic
has been named chair of our board. On May 20, he will present the 10th Annual Zócalo Book Prize to historian
@william_sturkey
, author of "Hattiesburg: An American City in Black and White"
If studying literature or history were really pointless, authoritarian governments wouldn't bother putting humanities students and professors in jail, writes Irina Dumitrescu.
@irinibus
At yesterday's event about the future of national security,
@JacksonYale
scholar
@AshaRangappa_
and
@julianbarnes
covered everything from the politicization of national security institutions to the likelihood of Trump self-pardoning:
From Michigan to Maine, the rebel flag is now popular well beyond the South.
@LSU
historian Gaines M. Foster, the leading authority on Confederate monuments, explains why.
If you’re looking to nail someone for treason these days, don’t talk to a lawyer. Read 14th-century Italian literature instead, suggests
@AshaRangappa_
Join us on Thursday, November 12 at 1 PM PDT for “What Do We Do Now?”—
@AshaRangappa_
visits Zócalo to discuss the way forward after one of the most traumatic elections in our nation’s history. Register:
Illustrator
@katherinelamart
drew inspiration from cinematography in her sketchbook for Zócalo, making plain spaces come alive with her playful use of shadows and light.
That's a wrap, folks! Join us again after the election on November 12 to discuss "What Do We Do Now?" with
@AshaRangappa_
and
@julianbarnes
. Register here:
Join us on Thursday, November 12 at 1 PM PST for a post-election discussion—“What Do We Do Now?”—with
@AshaRangappa_
and
@julianbarnes
. Register to receive the streaming link:
Today is the day! Join Zócalo at 1 PM PST to discuss what's next after one of the nation’s most traumatic elections in history—with
@AshaRangappa_
and
@julianbarnes
. Register:
.Amar Alfikar (
@amaralfikar
) turned to his faith and family to find his way through the complex journey of trans and queer identity in Indonesia. Read his story:
Join us on Thursday, November 12 at 1 PM PDT for “What Do We Do Now?” with
@AshaRangappa_
and
@julianbarnes
to discuss the way forward after one of the most traumatic elections in our nation’s history. Register:
“Political scientists always assumed that people would be committed to democracy and reject totalitarianism. That is no longer obvious.” -
@Yascha_Mounk
, author of “The People vs. Democracy”
@Harvard_Press
@DKIInstitute
We're excited to see Keri Blakinger (
@keribla
) join
@latimes
. Congratulations! Earlier this year, she joined Zócalo in Susanville, CA for the event "What Would the End of Mass Incarceration Mean for Prison Towns?" and we chatted with her in the green room:
We’re so sad to hear of the passing of Eddie Van Halen. We had the privilege of hosting him with
@amhistorymuseum
in 2015 on the What It Means to Be American stage, where he explained—and demonstrated—how he developed his two-handed style of playing the frets.
#RIPEddieVanHalen
We are proud to announce the launch of our new inquiry, “How Should Societies Remember Their Sins?” Over the next two weeks, we'll be publishing stories that explore why it's so hard for countries & communities to remember—and learn from—past mistakes.
1/
One of the bloodiest nights in L.A. history took place 150 years ago today, on October 24, 1871, when at least 18 Chinese were slaughtered by an angry mob of Angelenos. Why does almost no one know about this event, and could that finally change?
Americans may be used to knowing the results of a presidential race by bedtime on Election Day, but that’s not the norm in many nations.
Author
@sandipr
explains how India’s election “schedule” works—and what America can learn from it on this day:
1/7
When asked what America can learn from Mexican border communities, journalist
@ajcorchado
responded, "I think more humility on the U.S. side of the border would go a long way."
In the latest
#ConnectingCalifornia
@joemmathews
asks if two ex-governors of CA can fill the world's diplomatic void: "As Schwarzenegger tugs at the heart, Brown—concerned about growing conflict between China and the West—hammers on heads."
"There’s a bottom to grief. It doesn’t always feel like there is, but there is. The human heart eventually mends a bit."
@MarySteenburgen
called into our green room to chat songwriting, memories, & acting before joining our first virtual event last March:
"The real danger is not that we will forget how to behave in 'normal' society," writes author
@adamkotsko
in his essay for Zócalo, "but that we will use our discomfort with awkwardness as an excuse to return unthinkingly to our anti-social social norms."