Zócalo Public Square

At the Café Revue in Fresno, a panel of healthcare providers and journalists discussed the future of rural medicine. Moderator Michelle Levander, the director of the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, Fresno-area clinician and family doctor Marcia Sablan, community health reporter Rebecca Plevin, and Herrmann Spetzler, CEO of Open Door Community Health Centers in northern California, discussed doctor shortages, improving access, the problem of transportation, and the possibilities of telemedicine and technology at an event co-presented by the California Wellness Foundation.

We are on the verge of becoming a society of breadwomen--where women out-earn men--which will change society on many levels. Journalist Liza Mundy, author of The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners is Transforming Sex, Love and Family, explains why this is a good development for men and women alike.

At an event co-presented by Kaiser Permanente, NYU psychologist Gary Marcus chronicled how he learned to play guitar as an adult after being inspired by the video game Guitar Hero. Marcus explained how adults can learn new skills, what music does to our brains and bodies, and what teaching methods work best for musicians of all ages and skill levels.

In a conversation ranging from the effects of global warming on wine production (the English countryside may be the new Champagne region) to the aged carrots served at Copenhagen's Noma restaurant,The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik and L.A. food critic Jonathan Gold discussed the pleasures and perils of foodies and food culture. Fine dining ultimately gives us pleasure, builds community, and can even make us healthier people.

In a conversation ranging from the effects of global warming on wine production (the English countryside may be the new Champagne region) to the aged carrots served at Copenhagen's Noma restaurant,The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik and L.A. food critic Jonathan Gold discussed the pleasures and perils of foodies and food culture. Fine dining ultimately gives us pleasure, builds community, and can even make us healthier people.

UCLA political scientist Michael Ross, author of The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations, explains why oil wealth is bad for developing countries: because of the extraordinary power and kinds of revenue it generates for governments, and because of the industry's lack of transparency. It's not a coincidence that the world's most volatile countries are rich in oil, he argues.

A panel moderated by KNBC's Conan Nolan featuring Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, UCLA football coach Jim Mora, Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer, and UCLA sports economist Lee Ohanian agreed that professional football will return to Los Angeles. They debated which team will come, where will the stadium be located--and whether Angelenos will care--at an event co-presented by UCLA.

Former CNN Tokyo and Beijing bureau chief Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, argues that governments and corporations around the globe are taking away our online freedoms--without the average citizen's knowledge. Her discussion moves from China to the Arab world to the battle over SOPA and PIPA in the U.S.

Former CNN Tokyo and Beijing bureau chief Rebecca MacKinnon, author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, argues that governments and corporations around the globe are taking away our online freedoms--without the average citizen's knowledge. Her discussion moves from China to the Arab world to the battle over SOPA and PIPA in the U.S.

An Evening With Josefina Vázquez Mota (english translated)