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From proteinmaxxing and fibermaxxing, today’s extreme fad diets are couched in the language of optimization. Health influencers and celebrities say we need to squeeze as much of these specific nutrients into our meals as possible to maximize how we look or how long we live. Diet, like so many aspects of our lives, has become something that everyone should optimize. ...

Anand Pandian is the winner of the 2026 Zócalo Book Prize for Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down. The 16th Zócalo Book Prize recipien...

Deborah Ager is the winner of the 2026 Zócalo Poetry Prize. Before reading her winning poem, “Letter from Indialantic,” at the 16th Zócalo Book Prize event, “

Mike Madrid is the co-founder of the Lincoln Project and author of The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy. Before moderating the 16th Zócalo Book Prize event, “

Sticks, meaning something did not
    go well. Just a small mess,
       a broken cup. Not to be
    confused with fiddle music,
the phrasing and crescendo. Something
    you might dance to unless it’s one
       of those contemplative pieces,
    magic of tone and duration, and you feel
like you’re holding in your arms the lost child
    who m...