Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, December 12, 7pm at Central Library

Zócalo and the Huntington-
USC Institute on California and the West
Present

"L.A. vs. New York: Who's Got the Scoop on Hollywood?"
Moderated by Dana Harris, film editor at Variety

Four ace Hollywood journalists--Sharon Waxman and Laura Holson of The New York Times and Patrick Goldstein and John Horn of the Los Angeles Times--visit Zócalo to discuss how the Industry is perceived on opposite coasts. Does L.A.'s hometown paper have the edge in covering the quintessential Los Angeles business? Or does the New York Times bring an outsider's perspective that enlivens that newspaper's coverage of "the Industry"? Join us for a lively discussion of the trends and trendsetters of the film industry from the perspective of four experts. (This event is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation of Los Angeles.)

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Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, November 14, 7pm at Central Library

Margaret Wertheim, "Space versus Spirit: Why the Battle between Science and Religion is Driving us Crazy"

Science and religion are often viewed as two competing and utterly opposed worldviews--one based on faith, the other on reason.  Yet both are systems that attempt to make sense of the world and of humanity's place within a wider cosmological scheme. Religions usually posit that the material realm is just one part of a larger whole that also includes an immaterial spiritual domain, while modern science speaks only of a physical realm. But at the birth of modern science in the seventeenth century no one imagined that science was articulating the whole of reality. Los Angeles-based science writer Margaret Wertheim will trace the history of how any notion of a spiritual realm was written out of Western science. She will examine the social, psychological, and cultural effects of this transformation and urge us to acknowledge the intellectual gifts we derive from both sides of this maddening divide.

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Zócalo in Little Tokyo

Wednesday, November 8, 7pm at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy

Max Boot, "How Revolutions in Military Affairs have Shaped History"

Historian and LA Times columnist Max Boot visits Zócalo to discuss how innovations in weaponry and tactics have not only transformed how wars are fought and won but also have guided the course of human events, from the formation of the first modern states 500 years ago, to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the coming of al-Qaeda. The award-winning author of The Savage Wars of Peace, and the recently published War Made New, Boot will put forth a new intellectual framework for understanding contemporary geopolitics as well as examine what America must do to survive and prevail in the Information Age.

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Zócalo in Pasadena

Tuesday, October 17, 7:00 pm at the California Institute of Technology

Zócalo and the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
In Conjunction with the Huntington-
USC Institute on California and the West
Present

"An Evening with Niall Ferguson"
Moderated by Andrés Martinez, Times Editorial Page Editor

Niall Ferguson courts controversy. One of the most brilliant economic and military historians of his generation, the British Harvard professor and L.A. Times columnist has written books comparing the "per kill" cost of World War I armies, and praising the British empire. Ferguson's The Pity of War was a sensation in Britain for its assertion that the country would have been better off staying out of World War I. A prolific contributor to such publications as Time and The New Yorker and author of several books--including the recently published The War of the World--Ferguson visits Zócalo to discuss everything from Günter Grass's past to the amateurish American empire.

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Zócalo in Little Tokyo

Tuesday, October 10, 7pm at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy

Michael Tomasky, "What's Wrong with Liberalism?"

Last May, Michael Tomasky published an essay in The American Prospect, the respected liberal opinion magazine he edits, that set Washington on its ear. "Party in Search of a Notion" was Tomasky’s call for the Democrats to rise above the politics of interest-group particularism and become the party of the common good. The influential essay got front-page treatment in The New York Times and is one of the most widely quoted magazine essays of the past decade. Tomasky will discuss his ideas, his critics, and the new historical opportunity for progressive politics.

((Audio Broadcast)))* –

Zócalo at The Music Center

Wednesday, October 4, 7pm in the Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 

Zócalo and The Music Center
In Conjunction with the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
Present

An Evening with Jorge Castañeda
Moderated by Andrés Martinez, Times Editorial Page Editor

In his 1994 book Utopia Unarmed, Jorge Castañeda blended his academic pedigree--Princeton, the Sorbonne, a series of professorships at prominent universities--with his practical experience as a political activist and advisor to examine the failed movements of the Latin American left. The Los Angeles Times Book Review praised the work for its honesty, its lack of dogmatism and its success in "[restoring] direction to the Latin American left." More than ten years later and after serving as Mexican President Vicente Fox's foreign secretary, Castañeda visits Zócalo to reexamine Latin America's left and its latest incarnations--including Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Mexican presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador--in a lecture followed by a discussion with Andrés Martinez.

((Audio Broadcast)))* –

Zócalo in Little Tokyo

Tuesday, September 19, 7pm at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy

Denise Dresser, "Will Mexico Survive its Presidential Election?"

The razor thin margin of its recent presidential election has left Mexico deeply divided and the future of its democracy in question.  Mexican political scientist and columnist Denise Dresser visits Zócalo to discuss candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador's challenge to the election's outcome and the credibility gap that a Felipe Calderón presidency would inevitably face.  Known for her bold, insightful, and unbiased commentary on Mexican politics, Dresser will share the backstory of this long and winding presidential campaign as well as deliver the definitive analysis on its historic outcome.

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Zócalo in Little Tokyo

Tuesday, August 15, 7pm at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy

Zócalo and the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
Present

Rich Friends, Poor Us: Is Status Anxiety the Newest Form of Depression?
A Conversation with Meghan Daum, Nicole Holofcener and Sandra Tsing Loh

The subject of social class may the last taboo. No one likes to talk about it, but we spend a lot of time thinking—and worrying—about where we fit into the culture of conspicuous consumption. But is “class” really a matter of money? What do tastes and values say about our relationship to our own social class? Does anyone really believe America is a “classless society”? Does Los Angeles still subscribe to the theory of “you are your car” or has the cult of real estate become our primary mode of aspiration and personal expression? Join three of LA's wittiest and most insightful social observers--L.A. Times columnist Meghan Daum, filmmaker Nicole Holofcener ("Friends With Money," "Lovely & Amazing") and author/performer Sandra Tsing Loh ("Mother on Fire," "A Year in Van Nuys,")-- for a frank and provocative discussion about social class in Los Angeles and beyond.

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Zócalo in Mid-City

Wednesday, July 19, 7pm at The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center

Zócalo and the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
Present

"Do Immigrants Really Take Our Jobs?"
Moderated by Andrés Martinez, Times Editorial Page Editor

Immigration may be a national issue, but its economic implications are felt locally. Is it true that immigrants are taking jobs away from U.S.-born Angelenos? Or do those who come across the border take the work that Americans just won’t do? Join Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, civil rights attorney Connie Rice, Fernando J. Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles, and Times op-ed columnist Erin Aubry Kaplan as they discuss the economics of immigration and how they affect local politics and race relations.

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Zócalo in Little Tokyo

Tuesday, July 11, 7pm at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
Eric Liu, "The Politics of Purpose"

Democrats recently have been working overtime to get reacquainted with the language of faith.  But is the salvation of progressive politics truly to be found in the Bible?  Before we rush to do keyword searches of the great religious texts, we should return to first questions:  What is the purpose of progressivism?  What, beyond defending the edifice of the Great Society and New Deal, is the promise of progressivism in this age of change?  Eric Liu -- former speechwriter and policy adviser to President Clinton and author of Guiding Lights: The People Who Lead Us Toward Our Purpose in Life-- speaks on the deeper needs, fears and hopes that must inform a renewal of progressive politics.

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Zócalo in Little Tokyo

Wednesday, June 21, 7pm at National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
Francis Fukuyama, "The Neoconservative Legacy and the Future of American Foreign Policy"

One of America's most formidable intellectuals, Francis Fukuyama, visits Zócalo to discuss his new book America at the Crossroads and to explain his very public break with neoconservative foreign policy. Always brilliant, incisive, and compelling, Fukuyama will outline his vision of a "Realistic Wilsonianism" that he thinks ought to guide America's future relations with the outside world.

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Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, June 6, 7pm at Central Library
Robert K. Ross, M.D., "What's Wrong With Philanthropy in LA?"

Are private foundations doing enough to help improve the quality of life in Los Angeles? Robert K. Ross, M.D., President and CEO of The California Endowment, the state's largest private health foundation, will visit Zócalo to discuss the challenges the philanthropic community faces in LA.

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Zócalo on the Westside

Tuesday, May 16, 7pm at Kirk Douglas Theatre
Do Popular Artists Have a Moral Responsibility?
A Conversation with Amy Brenneman and Brad Silberling

Acclaimed actress, Amy Brenneman, creator and star of CBS' hit series "Judging Amy," and Brad Silberling, director, writer and producer whose films include "City of Angels" and "Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events", visit Zócalo to discuss what role morality plays in the creative process. Husband and wife and occasional coworkers, Brenneman and Silberling will compare notes, assess the state of their industry, and welcome audience input as they explore what kinds of responsibility artists have to both their audience and themselves.

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Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, May 2, 7pm at Central Library
William Deverell, "The Redemptive West"

Historian William Deverell, the director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, visits Zócalo to deliver a groundbreaking lecture on the role that the American West played in healing the wounds inflicted by the Civil War.  After all, it was questions about the future of the West that provoked the war in the first place. Unable to reconcile antagonistic positions regarding the expansion of slavery into western territories, North and South capitulated to four years of catastrophic warfare.  Then what?  Did the post-war American West become a region in which to heal the wounds of disunion? Deverell explores themes of reunification through stories of the convalescence of individuals and the re-fashioning of what it meant to be an American after the Civil War.

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Zócalo on the Eastside

Thursday, April 27, 7pm at the Arroyo Seco Library Branch in Highland Park

Zócalo and the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
Present

"Is This the End of Crime as We Know it?"
Moderated by Andrés Martinez, Times Editorial Page Editor

Since the late 1970s, urban police departments have watched crime rates fall drastically.  But not everyone agrees on why it happened.  George Kelling one of the country's foremost experts on crime policy and the co-author of the "broken windows" theory, and Mark A.R. Kleiman, professor of public policy at UCLA, joins Times columnist Erin Aubry Kaplan and editorial writer Robert Greene to explore the competing theories on why crime has dropped as well as to discuss what this means for developing new crime prevention strategies for the 21st century.

(((Audio Broadcast)))* – Real Audio - 59min, 20mb

Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, April 4, 7pm at Central Library
Antonio Damasio, "Understanding Emotions and the Brain"

World-renowned neuroscientist and best-selling author Antonio Damasio will take us on a journey through his latest research on the mysterious yet inextricable link between the human brain and the human heart.  He will discuss new breakthroughs in emotion research and explain why it is relevant in medicine and in society. Knowing how the brain processes emotion can help us manage conditions such as depression and drug-addiction. It can also provide the key to understanding day-to-day decision-making, social behavior, and creativity.

(((Audio Broadcast)))* –

Zócalo at Central Library

Monday, March 6, 7pm at Central Library

Zócalo and the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
Present

An Evening with Dan Glickman
Moderated by Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board

Dan Glickman, the Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), joins us to discuss the state of the film industry at a pivotal moment in its history. As Hollywood's point man in global capitals from Washington to Beijing, Glickman works to open markets to the studios' goods, battle piracy and promote the movie industry. In a wide-ranging interview, he will discuss everything from box office trends and the advent of high-definition home video to the challenge posed by bootlegged DVDs. He will also talk about the opportunities presented by the industry's experiments with digital cinema as well as Hollywood's ongoing battle to access movie screens around the world.

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Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, February 7, 7pm at Central Library
Steve Wasserman, "Do Books Have a Future in the Digital Age?"

Is the Age of Gutenberg finished?  Has the Internet now become so widespread as to render books obsolete?  Are publishers dinosaur institutions? Is the crisis of American literacy also a crisis of American democracy? Does it matter? Steve Wasserman, former editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review, will argue that books will survive as long as the human species is defined by its opposable thumb and its obsessive need to tell each other stories.

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Zócalo on the Westside

Wednesday, February 1, 7:30 pm at the Ince Theatre in The Culver Studios

Zócalo and the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages
Present

"Can Hollywood Survive the Internet?"
A Discussion with the Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages

Yair Landau, president of Sony Pictures Digital, and Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne, will join Los Angeles Times editorial writers Jon Healey and Michael Newman to discuss the challenge the Internet poses to the entertainment industry. With most Internet users switching to broadband connections, the Net is becoming an increasingly important source of music, movies and games -- to the detriment of many entertainment companies' traditional business models. But the increasingly interconnected, on-demand world also presents opportunities to companies that are willing to take chances. The panel will explore how the entertainment industry is reacting to the changes and the risks it faces (including online piracy and increasing competition for consumers' attention), as well as some promising new ways to distribute music and movies online.

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Zócalo at Central Library

Tuesday, January 10, 7pm at Central Library
Greg Critser, "Generation Rx:How Prescription Drugs Are Altering American Lives, Minds, and Bodies"

Los Angeles-based author Greg Critser will deliver a lecture based on his new book, Generation Rx: How Prescription Drugs Are Altering American Lives, Minds, and Bodies, which  explores the overmedication of Americans--from children taking ADD medication to senior citizens taking larger and occasionally fatal drug cocktails. Critser applies his incisive reporter's eye--honed from years of covering the pharmaceutical industry and the politics of medicine--to find out why so many Americans now pop prescription pills like candy. 

(((Audio Broadcast)))* – mpeg - 59min, 27mb