Zócalo Public Square (Audio)

How Does Democracy Survive Demagoguery?

In California, few environmental issues are as hotly debated as fracking. A Zócalo/UCLA "Thinking L.A." event explored the roots of the fervor surrounding the oil and gas extraction technique in California, and attempted to dispel many misconceptions regarding its effects--both detrimental and beneficial. Moderated by Los Angeles Times environmental reporter Julie Cart, the panel discussion included UCLA geologist Aradhna Tripati, California Council on Science and Technology researcher and author of a report on fracking in California Jane Long, senior physical scientist at RAND Corporation and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School Aimee E. Curtright, and Faculty Co-Director of the

A melting pot. A bento box. Chop suey. Wontons with chips.Hawaii is such an assortment of races, ethnicities, and cultures that it’s hard to pick just one way to describe its unique mix. So what can it teach the rest of America about how different people can all live together? At the Kaka‘ako Agora in Honolulu, a panel moderated by Leslie Wilcox of PBS Hawaii took on this question at a Zócalo/Smithsonian "What It Means to Be American" event in partnership with the Daniel K. Inouye Institute. The speakers were Marketing executive Guy Kawasaki, Maya Soetoro-Ng of the University of Hawaii College of Education, vice president at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Corbett Kalama, and actor and director Daniel Dae Kim.

"Finish the job." That was the focused message of Phillip Washington, the new CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), at a Zócalo/Metro event. Washington, who came to Los Angeles three and a half months ago after years of heading Denver’s Regional Transportation District, spoke passionately with moderator Conan Nolan, an NBC 4 reporter, about the need for Los Angeles to finish the build-out of its transportation infrastructure -- and for the country as a whole to devote far more attention and money to infrastructure.

As their state continues to crawl through an extended period of drought, Californians are increasingly coming to terms with the fact that the water shortage isn’t ending anytime soon -- and looking for new ways to combat it. At a "Thinking L.A." event co-presented by UCLA, four panelists took a broad look at the state of water technology in California, and discussed both the importance and difficulty of implementing desalination plants, water-recycling facilities, and other tools to help California make better use of its scarce water resources. Orange County Register economy reporter Margot Roosevelt moderated the conversation, which featured Celeste Cantú, general manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, Eric Hoek, UCLA professor and CEO of Water Planet, R. Rhodes Trussell, chairman of Trussell Technologies, Inc., and Madelyn Glickfeld, of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

It’s no secret that how much money you make can affect how healthy you are. At an event co-sponsored by the California Wellness Foundation, Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Anna Gorman moderated a panel discussion about the barriers that keep low-income Americans out of fancy yoga classes and away from organic vegetable stands. Roshan Bastani, director of UCLA’s Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, LaVonna Lewis of the USC Price School of Public Policy, and Tracie McMillan, author of The American Way of Eating, talked about what can be done to level the playing field.

Community-based arts programs in California’s Inland Empire are facing big challenges today. Funds are diminishing. Audiences are disappearing. So how can small-scale performers and venues survive? And what can Redlands, which has a rich performing arts history, teach organizations across the nation about how to stay relevant? These were the questions tackled at a "Living the Arts" event co-presented by the James Irvine Foundation and moderated by Redlands Daily Facts editor Toni Momberger. The panel discussion featured Redlands University theater professor Victoria Lewis, executive director of Redlands Community Music Association Beverly Noerr, president of LifeHouse Theater Wayne R. Scott, and CEO of Music Changing Lives Josiah Bruny.

From the Boston Tea Party to the recent protests in Baltimore and Ferguson, Americans have a long history of using violence to combat oppression and push for social change. But what are the sparks that set off urban riots? Who are the people who get involved, and do they ever actually make a difference? Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson moderated a “Thinking L.A.” event co-presented by UCLA that took a broad look at the history of inner-city riots in America and why they continue to erupt. He was joined in the discussion by California State Senator Holly Mitchell, urban sociologist Max Herman, and UCLA historian Robin D.G. Kelley.

Los Angeles has been talking about ending homelessness for years. But the problem has only been getting worse: In the past two years, the homeless population has jumped 12 percent. At an event co-presented by UCLA and Zócalo and moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, four panelists--L.A. County Housing for Health director Marc Trotz, UCLA psychiatrist Kenneth Wells, Ocean Park Community Center executive director John Maceri, and Christine Margiotta, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs alumna and vice president of community impact at United Way of Greater Los Angeles--discussed the conditions that continue to force people on the streets, and the actions that can be taken to prevent them.

Every year, Los Angeles needs more than 4,000 affordable new homes to accommodate low-income residents, but builds only 1,000 -- and loses 3,000. One solution to keeping life affordable in L.A., and the many cities across America following the same trend, may be transportation. At a discussion co-presented by Metro and moderated by Curbed L.A. editor Adrian Glick Kudler, four panelists -urban planning policy analyst Joan Ling, developer Tony Salazar, L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin, and Metro managing executive officer for countywide planning & development Calvin Hollis -- considered ways new transit projects can connect people to jobs and make city living less expensive.