Zócalo Public Square

Documentary film can bear witness, challenge assumptions, and give voice to communities too often unheard. Where Hollywood and fictional films often rely on stereotypes and reductive plotlines, documentaries can close the representation gap. When the right teams make, distribute, and platform documentary films, they not only capture the world, but can change it. By centering complex realities, can docs shift hearts and minds? Where do the inspiration and funding for “for-us-by-us” stories come from? And how do documentaries and the teams responsible for distributing them move people from witnessing to taking action? PBS SoCal producer Angela Boisvert, Film Independent director of artistic development and head of non-fiction storytelling lab Angela C. Lee, and social impact strategist Gretel Truong come together to discuss the power of the screen, collaborative storytelling—and what it takes to make films that make a difference. This program featured a screening of 5 short films produced by Girls' Voices Now in 2025 and 2026. To watch the full program video including the short films and filmmaker Q&A, visit Zócalo's website or Youtube. This program was co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, Women’s Voices Now, Women in Film, Borderlands Cinematic Arts, and the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at ASU Timestamps: 00:00 - Introductions 03:50 - Panel: Cristina Ibarra, Angela Boisvert, Angela C. Lee, Gretel Truong Watch the full program on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGy5xIUKFL8

The United States has had an epic run on the world stage. Two hundred fifty years of independence and imperial aspirations. Eighty years of hosting the U.N. headquarters. But today the country has abdicated many of its leadership roles, from champion of free trade, global health, and climate regulation to defender of democracy and keeper of peace. As the U.S. marks its semiquincentennial, how should Americans understand their country’s place in the world, and calibrate a nation’s aims? Does a less-dominant U.S. offer new opportunities? For whom? What can we learn from past empires? And what do other world powers, like India, have to say about it? This program features two urgent conversations about the shifts redrawing old maps and forging new ambitions for the U.S., India, and the wider world. First, a keynote discussion between politician and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor and UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations director Kal Raustiala. Then, a panel moderated by foreign policy columnist Seema Sirohi including Harvard historian and Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire author Caroline Elkins, former U.S. ambassador Nina Hachigian, and Viet Thanh Nguyen, a novelist exploring empire, memory, and American identity. This program was co-presented by JLF Los Angeles, Zócalo Public Square, UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and produced by Teamwork Arts Timestamps: 00:00 - Introductions 04:30 - Keynote discussion Kal Raustiala and Shashi Tharoor 29:11 - Panel: Seema Sirohi, Caroline Elkins, Nina Hachigian, Viet Thanh Nguyen

There are 150 food deserts in Los Angeles County, areas where affordable, nutritious food is out of reach. Some frontline efforts to combat the issue have transformed unused spaces like front lawns, schools, and alleyways into sustainable microfarms. There, neighbors are growing their own grains, fruits, and vegetables—feeding friends and family and transforming the cityscape, block by block. In these localized oases, can food build political and social power? Can urban farming protect against crises facing food systems worldwide, such as drought, fire, and inflation? Can gardens reconnect and regenerate community? And why is it more sustainable to grow a squash than a carrot? Urban farming leader Jamiah Hargins of Crop Swap L.A. and Carola Di Poi, head gardener of The Huntington's Ranch and Kitchen Gardens, come together to engage with questions inspired by THIS LAND IS … and discuss food justice, community empowerment, and urban farming in The Huntington’s Kitchen Garden. Moderated by Bianca Collins, Director of Public Programs, Zócalo Public Square. This program was co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, The Huntington and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

With the largest population of public school students in the country, and an even larger workforce, California has a lot riding on educating its future workers. Pressed by economic and technological shifts and facing enrollment declines, how will the state think outside the box—employing non-traditional learning approaches to remain competitive? Will this mean reimagining the state’s mission to provide quality public higher education, or devising new ways to leverage “cradle-to-career” data to drive student and worker success? Will AI be student, teacher, or aide in our classrooms? And how will regions like the Inland Empire forge strong career pathways for future workers who want to join booming healthcare, manufacturing, and green technology sectors? Health workforce manager Vicky Bocanegra, higher education and workforce policy leader Su Jin Jez, and Growing Inland Achievement president and CEO Ashish Vaidya discuss how best to prepare California’s students for the big, bright world ahead. Moderated by Adam Echelman (Higher Education and Workforce Reporter, CalMatters) Co-presented by Zócalo Public Square and Inland Empire Community Foundation, in partnership with California Humanities, with generous support from The James Irvine Foundation. This program is part of Zócalo's series “What Connects California?,” marking the 175th anniversary of California’s statehood.

Climate debates are going nowhere. Highly ideological, they end in gridlock more often than solutions. And younger generations, long worried about living on a warming planet, are moving from anxiety to frustration, feeling like they’re left with all the problems but no decision-making power. The world needs a new approach. What new climate narratives, and which media messengers, will bring us together to effect progress across politics, state lines, national borders, and vast oceans? Featured guests: Carlos Curbelo (Former Florida U.S. Representative) Heela Rasool-Ayub (Director, Planetary Politics at New America) Kate Yoder (Senior Staff Writer, Grist) Moderated by Uwe Jean Heuser (Journalist and 2026 Thomas Mann Fellow) This program is co-presented by Thomas Mann House and Zócalo Public Square, in partnership with ASU Global Futures Laboratory and Palisadian-Post. Visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org/ for more programs, interviews and essays.