Zócalo Public Square

2018 was the seventh straight year of record tourist arrivals to Hawai‘i. Visitor spending has grown rapidly too, generating historically high tax receipts and new jobs. But as more tourists crowd the islands and slow traffic, it’s time to ask: How much tourism can Hawai‘i really handle? Should more priority be placed on diversifying the local economy? What effect has catering to tourists had on Hawai‘i’s culture and environment? And what can Hawai‘i learn from other popular destinations about how to preserve infrastructure, culture, and identity in the face of mass tourism? Executive director of the Center for Responsible Travel Martha Honey, public policy researcher and former president of the Hawai‘i Economic Association John Knox, cultural tourism specialist and former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Peter Apo, and Frank Haas, marketing consultant and former vice president of tourism marketing at the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, visited Zócalo to consider the perils of overtourism for the Aloha State and

Health involves both measures, like taking our blood pressure, and perceptions—the ideas we hold in our heads about what it means to be healthy. As California attracted a more diverse cross section of people from around the world, those ideas began to change, and once-risky enterprises—from acupuncture to eating very spicy foods or drinking a glass of wine every day—are now recognized as paths to wellness. How have immigrants and their families influenced the way we understand health? What lessons are we learning—about everything from birthing to diet to meditation—from global Californians? And what is the connection between immigration and today’s greater emphasis on a holistic sense of health, which includes the quality of our relationships with neighbors and family? Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA School of Medicine David Hayes-Bautista, journalist and author of The Immigrant Advantage Claudia Kolker, and UCLA medical anthropologist Marjorie Kagawa-Singer visited Z

A Saudi journalist living in the United States is murdered by agents of a government to which America provides arms. President Trump openly favors autocratic rulers from Russia to Hungary to the Philippines, and even expresses “love” for North Korea’s dictator. What does it mean when the president of the United States, a country long cast as a defender of freedom, sides with repressive regimes and even withdraws from democratic alliances? Is American financial and rhetorical support for autocrats really responsible for the decline of liberal democracy, or are other factors driving the rise of authoritarianism globally? And what specific U.S. actions strengthen authoritarians around the world—and which policies and institutions might frustrate or weaken them? Director of the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations Kal Raustiala, Washington Post Global Opinions editor Karen Attiah, and UCLA political scientist Richard D. Anderson visited Zócalo to examine how America’s turn away from promoting democracy

The United States is envied around the world for its unparalleled wealth. But its riches would not have been possible without what Alan Greenspan has called America’s “unique tolerance” for the messy effects of capitalism’s creative destruction. What is so special about our brand of capitalism that generations of Americans have been willing to endure so much wrenching change in its service? What moments in history have shaped America’s complicated relationship with capitalism? And how have Americans tried to balance our tolerance of economic inequality with our nation’s long-stated principles of fairness and justice? On January 24, 2019, The Economist’s political editor Adrian Wooldridge, co-author of “Capitalism in America: A History,” visited Zócalo to examine America’s enduring affection for an economic system that produces so much pain alongside its gains. The event, a conversation with Warren Olney, host of KCRW’s “To the Point,” took place at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Litt

It’s age-old wisdom: Every single new justice creates a brand-new U.S. Supreme Court. But some legal scholars suggest that the court taking shape now, with a conservative majority established by President Trump’s second appointee, could make especially broad changes in the law. Long-established precedents on matters of race, sex, religion, and privacy could be overturned. And the basic structure of our government—the power of the presidency, the limits of regulation, access to the court system itself—could be transformed. If the highest court in the land is about to make major legal history, in what ways will Americans feel the effects? What aspects of our economy, our culture, our work, and our lives are most likely to be disrupted? And if this Supreme Court defers to the most powerful people and institutions in society, will their decisions threaten American democracy—or inspire its revival? UCLA specialist in constitutional law Adam Winkler, University of Chicago legal scholar Justin Driver, and UCLA Law S

The pursuit of happiness is foundational to the United States, and happiness has become an international obsession as nations seek to measure happiness and enact policies to increase it. But this is also an era of disruption, dislocation, and great unhappiness; in the U.S., half of all adults suffer from anxiety, according to some estimates. Are the meanings and measures of happiness changing as the world is transformed by the digital revolution, climate change, and populist politics? Which factors—from job satisfaction and free time, to wealth, personality, and the quality of our relationships—have the biggest impact on our happiness? And what strategies allow us to find happiness even in the midst of uncertainty, conflict, and unwanted change? UCLA Anderson marketing scholar Cassie Mogilner Holmes, UC Riverside social psychologist and author of The How of Happiness Sonja Lyubomirsky, and UCLA Anderson behavioral psychologist Hal Hershfield visited Zócalo to discuss how people can find happiness in difficult

What Does the Life of Frederick Douglass Tell Us About America?

Americans treat crime as a public scourge. And we attack it via public systems—our prisons, probation departments, and school and youth programs—to intervene before people go wrong. But what if crime isn’t a public problem, but rather an intensely private issue tied to families? Just five percent of American families account for half of all crimes, and 10 percent of families account for two-thirds. And new research suggests crime is a family tradition passed on through multiple generations, even to great-grandchildren. Why does crime run in families? How can we help, treat, or punish families to break their cycles of crime? And what should this reality of crime mean for efforts to reform incarceration and law enforcement in the United States, home to one-quarter of the world’s prison population? Former New York Times national and foreign correspondent Fox Butterfield, author of In My Father's House: A New View of How Crime Runs in the Family, visited Zócalo to explain how crime really works and to explore the

The Aloha State is on the front lines of climate change. The seas surrounding Hawai‘i already have risen as much as 3.5 inches since 1960. Long-term forecasts anticipate massive beach erosion, higher average temperatures, prolonged droughts, heavy flooding linked to volatile trade winds, and increased ocean acidity that could bleach coral and disrupt marine migration. But Hawai‘i also is on the front lines of scientific experimentation that could mitigate the harsher effects of global warming. What can the world learn from this research and the state’s experience with climate change? How can Hawai‘i set an example for sustainable living that other states and countries might emulate? University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa geologist Chip Fletcher, RAND Corporation scientist and contributor to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Robert Lempert, Honolulu chief resiliency officer Joshua Stanbro, and moderator Catherine Cruz, co-host of Hawai‘i Public Radio's "The Conversation" took part in a Zóca

In the United States, a large country defined by its greatest natural wonders, engaging with nature is considered essential to good health and civic virtue. But African Americans, while representing 13 percent of the U.S. population, make up just 7 percent of visitors to our national parks; Latinos and Native Americans are similarly underrepresented among park attendees. The leaders and staffs of America’s major nature organizations—from park services to foundations to public agencies—are much whiter than the country as a whole. And studies show that non-whites rarely show up in media images of people in the outdoors. What explains this phenomenon? How much of the problem lies in a lack of access to the wild and to parks, and how much involves historic and present-day barriers? And what changes must be made before the people enjoying America’s natural beauty actually look like America? REI marketing executive Myrian Solis Coronel, Latino Outdoors founder José González, North Carolina State University environm

Parents dress their children in bee costumes, and the ant has its own Hollywood movie franchise. But the lowly termite has long been best known for causing billions in annual property damages. That might now be changing. Around the world, as scientists try to figure out biology’s underlying rules and harness them to solve problems, they are looking to termites—and their guts, full of rare microorganisms—for guidance on how to transform the way we design new technologies. Can termites show us how to power our cars without worsening climate change? Do the ways termites organize themselves offer insights for creating new communication systems? Do the genes of termites suggest paths to designing new fuels or substances that might allow humans to live with a lighter footprint on Earth? Lisa Margonelli, author of Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology, visited Zócalo with moderator Warren Olney, host of KCRW’s “To the Point,” to chew over the potential of a bug with the power to make, or unmake, the

American intelligence services have unanimously concluded that the Russian government intervened in the 2016 U.S. elections, and seeks to meddle again. One of Russia’s methods is to use social media to distribute disinformation. What’s the big-picture strategy behind this style of attack, and how badly is it damaging our society and politics? Does disinformation have lasting effects on how voters engage with democracy? What vulnerabilities in American society did Russia exploit in its disinformation campaign? And how can the U.S. best fight back? Former FBI counterintelligence special agent and Yale senior lecturer Asha Rangappa, film producer and Russian Media Monitor founder Julia Davis, Virginia Commonwealth University behavioral scientist and media researcher Caroline Orr, and moderator Warren Olney host of KCRW’s “To the Point,” visited Zócalo to discuss the power and peril of weaponizing information, in a Zócalo/Japanese American National Museum Event, held at The National Center for the Preservation of

Women might have more control over their own destinies today than at any previous time in history. But in the great game of geopolitics, contemporary women rulers hold little sway. Even Angela Merkel, often referred to as the world’s most powerful woman, is merely the head of a weak coalition government in Germany, home to just one percent of the world’s people. To find women who truly dominated vast swaths of the planet requires a journey to the past—to the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa, Britain’s Queen Victoria, the 16th-century African warrior Queen Aminatu, China’s Empress Wu. And no women in history have had more power over the known world than the ancient Egyptian rulers Cleopatra and Hatshepsut, who presided over her country’s busiest building era. How did these most powerful of women rulers succeed in a man’s world? And what lessons might their histories offer for a 21st-century world where women remain so badly represented in the uppermost ranks of societies? UCLA archaeologist and author of The Wom

Since its adoption in 1868, the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has inspired advances in legal rights by guaranteeing U.S. citizens and people in the country “the equal protection of the laws.” Except when it hasn’t. From Jim Crow to the World War II-era incarceration of Japanese Americans, from racist police corruption to bans on interracial and same-sex marriages, American governments– federal, state, and local–have repeatedly and systematically discriminated against people despite the amendment’s clear promise of equality. How can we defend equal protection when our governments won’t? What does the Amendment’s “equal protection” really protect us from, when equality remains so elusive? And—as this summer marks the 30-year anniversary of the U.S. government’s “Redress” apology and compensation for the incarceration of Japanese Americans—how can we best remember the lessons of past violations of the 14th? Go for Broke president and CEO Mitchell Maki, Johns Hopkins legal historian Martha S. Jones, Nat

Relentless verbal attacks on Mexican immigrants and Muslims by President Trump and nativist pundits are one piece of a larger phenomenon. Media, academic, and law enforcement surveys point to a rise in racist rhetoric against immigrants in this country and around the world. The effect of such rhetoric on social media has been a subject of study, but less is known about its broader social impact. Do racist words translate into violence? Does such rhetoric inhibit targeted minorities from participating in civic life, interacting with law enforcement authorities, or obtaining the services they need? And what does it mean for children—and for their health, education, and self-esteem—to grow up in an environment where such rhetoric is routine? Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA School of Medicine David Hayes-Bautista, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dean Hansell, UCLA psychologist Patricia Greenfield, and moderator Simon Romero, National Correspondent for The New York Times,

As they confront pollution and climate change, environmentalists have had to grapple with the demands of capitalism. Some see markets and corporations as obstacles to saving the planet, while others seek to weaken the capitalist system through government regulation, litigation, and appeals to the public to limit consumption. But so far, curbs on capitalism have had limited success in mitigating climate change, or producing transformational reversals of environmental damage. How can you change the consumption habits of billions of people? Does human nature require people to see personal benefits–to their health, finances, or status—before they choose to live differently? UCLA Anderson School of Management business economist Magali Delmas, author of The Green Bundle: Pairing the Market With the Planet, visited Zócalo to explain how a revolution in sustainability might be achieved by harnessing the natural human urge to consume, in a conversation moderated by Warren Olney, host of KCRW’s “To the Point.”

At $20 trillion, the national debt of the United States is already bigger than the American economy and rising fast because of $1 trillion annual budget deficits. Political brinksmanship around government shutdowns and extending the country’s debt ceiling has greatly raised the risk of default. So what would happen if the U.S. actually went off the fiscal cliff, and was unable to pay its debts? To answer that question, we have one historical data point: the great debt default of 1933-1935, when Franklin D. Roosevelt, Congress, and the Supreme Court agreed to wipe out more than 40 percent of America’s public and private debts. What were the consequences of that debt default for America and the world? What roles did gold, banks, and the Federal Reserve play in that crisis? And what does this history tell us about the risks and realities of an American default today? UCLA Anderson international economist Sebastian Edwards, author of American Default: The Untold Story of FDR, the Supreme Court, and the Battle Ove

Is there any canyon on earth wider than the gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico? The rhetoric is all about separation—with Americans proposing giant border walls and denigrating Mexican migrants, Mexican leaders condemning U.S. bullying, and each country accusing the other of being a source of violence. But the reality is two neighbors becoming even more intertwined in economic, cultural, and personal relationships. Today, San Diego and Tijuana share a single international airport, Guadalajara and Silicon Valley jointly develop technology, and a more educated and prosperous Mexico has more influence than ever on the food Americans eat, the jobs Americans do, and the entertainment Americans consume. To what extent are the U.S. and Mexico becoming one entity? Do today’s populist politics threaten to reverse the trend of deeper integration, or is a true North American community inevitable? Migration Policy Institute president Andrew Selee, author of Vani

The poke craze that has swept across the U.S. is only the latest sign that Hawaii’s food holds a strong fascination for mainlanders. In recent years, high-profile chefs and experimental restaurants have popularized not only poke, but also Hawaii-nurtured Pan-Pacific dishes like Filipino pork and loco moco—which now can be enjoyed at a food truck in Topeka or a Tiki restaurant in Scottsdale. Although much of the islands’ signature fare (including pineapples) was actually imported during the colonial period, Hawaii conjures mouthwatering images of homegrown Kona coffee and macadamia nuts. And the traditional Hawaiian Luau has become a universal emblem of savory hospitality. Why is the mainland so enraptured by Hawaii’s cuisine? What role does its culinary bounty play in Hawaii’s tourist industry, and what will be its next five-star food export? Is there any downside to the mainland’s embrace—and sometimes kitschy, carb-heavy reimagining—of authentic island dishes? Chef, restaurateur, and television personality

Are Ordinary Virtues More Powerful Than Universal Values?