Zócalo Public Square’s podcast connects people to ideas and to each other through an innovative blend of ideas journalism and live events. Listen to conversations on topics ranging from politics and science to art and pop culture.
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
22 Sept 2026
What Is the New World Order?
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
9 Sept 2026
Can We Squash Food Deserts?
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.
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