Zócalo Public Square (Audio)

Mickey Edwards, a former Oklahoma Republican congressman and author of The Parties Versus the People: How to Turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans, visited Zócalo to talk about how America's two political parties are hurting the nation--and what can be done to fix our ailing system.

How much are elections costing America? Zócalo's Joe Mathews talked with political scientist Samuel L. Popkin and campaign finance expert Richard L. Hasen about America's election dysfunction--and election reform--campaign finance, fundraising, and how candidates talk about money.

Studies show that happier, more optimistic people live longer, perform better in work and school, and lead healthier lives than their unhappy, pessimistic counterparts. But what can we do in our everyday lives to make ourselves both happier and healthier? “The Happiness Psychiatrist” Sheenie Ambardar and life coach Cynthia Loy Darst talked with Southern California Public Radio healthcare reporter Stephanie O’Neill about why it’s good to be happy, and how happiness can be achieved.

Time magazine's Michael Grunwald, author of The New New Deal, explains why, contrary to popular opinion, President Obama's 2009 stimulus has been a tremendous force for change in America. It created millions of jobs and lifted the nation's economy out of a free fall. But it is also transforming healthcare, energy, education, and the country's infrastructure.

Novelist Lisa Zeidner, memoirist Jeanne Darst, critic Heather Havrilesky, and Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum discussed how humor differs between the sexes in its creation and reception. They agreed that the debate about whether women are as funny as men are is tired, but there are still a number of obstacles that face women who are creating comedy.

Californians and their leaders need to move beyond longstanding battles over minor policy changes and begin new, broad debates about how to transform the state’s economy and educational system, argued Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom during an interview with NBC4 Los Angeles' Conan Nolan.

What if there were a drug out there that cost nothing to produce, required no prescription, and made people live longer, feel happier and less stressed, and sleep better? There’d be a run on the pharmacies. But this wonder drug isn’t a drug. It’s altruism and compassion, a team of experts in the benefits of helping others--bioethicist Stephen G. Post, neurosurgeon James Doty, and Big Sunday founder David Levinson--told a crowd at an event co-presented by Kaiser Permanente and moderated by KQED's Lisa Aliferis.

For much of American history, newspapers held an exclusive role as democracy’s watchdog, sounding the alarm at any sign of corruption and abuse from those in power. But today there are fewer journalists than ever before, which means fewer people keeping watch. What does the death of newspapers mean for holding powerful institutions accountable? Voice of San Diego CEO Scott Lewis, Reportero director Bernardo Ruiz, and investigative journalist Carrie Lozano talk with Zócalo's Joe Mathews about who will become the guardian of democracy.

In California, the end-of-life care you receive may have more to do with where you live than what you want. Shannon Brownlee, acting director of the New America Foundation Health Policy Program, discusses what’s behind this variation, and what can be done to make sure all patients get the care they want and need - rather than the care dictated by where they live.

We tend to think that both democracy and diversity are good things; many of us even say that diversity is a strength. But others have argued that our polyglot nation is too big, too complex—simply too diverse—to boast a healthy and vibrant democracy. The Almanac of American Politics author Michael Barone, University of California Irvine sociologist Jennifer Lee, and City University of New York scholar Richard Alba examined America's divisions in a Zócalo/Cal Humanities event moderated by Zócalo California editor Joe Mathews.