City Arts & Lectures

This week on City Arts & Lectures, pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris talks about how exposure to violence and stress affects the developing brains and bodies of children - resulting in increased instances of substance dependence, and even heart disease or cancer. Harris is the founder of the Center for Youth Wellness and author of The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adv...

Kirsten Gillibrand has represented New York in the US Senate since 2009, where her major accomplishments include leading the effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and providing permanent health care and compensation to 9/11 first responders. She talks with KQED’s Marisa Lagos about her time in the Senate, being a mother and a legislator, the MeToo movement, and her new childrens’ book “Bold and...

Our guest is Jonathan Franzen, the author of celebrated novels including “The Corrections” and “Freedom.” On November 27, 2018, Franzen came to the Nourse Theater in San Francisco to read from his new essay collection, “The End of The End of The Earth.” Part social criticism, part personal examination, the essays consider Franzen’s love of birding, his writings and ruminations on climate change, a...

Our guest is comedian Al Madrigal, best known for his role as the "Senior Latino Correspondent" for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where he helped shed light on racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. The veteran of stand-up comedy has gone on to co-found the podcast network "All Things Comedy". Madrigal currently stars in Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here”. He was interviewed at the Nourse Theater in...

Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”, is an accomplished playwright, actor, and now - marathoner, and author of the new book “The Incomplete Book of Running”. Sagal came to the Nourse Theater on November 9, 2018. He talked to Michael Krasny about the work of putting together one of public radio’s most popular humor news programs, as well as his dedication to running.

Eileen Myles is the author of more than twenty books of essays, fiction, and poetry including “Chelsea Girls” and “I Must Be Living Twice.”  On November eighth, 2018, Myles came to the Nourse Theater in San Francisco to read from the new poetry collection, “Evolution,”and to talk with Stephen Best about struggling to be a writer in 1970s New York, running for president, and the experimental writin...

Our guest is Abbi Jacobson, a comedian and author who’s best-known as half of the creative duo behind the series “Broad City” On November 3, 2018, Jacobson came to the Nourse Theater for a conversation with her longtime friend and fellow comedian, D’Arcy Carden. The two talked about friendship, collaboration, and Jacobson’s solo cross-country road trip last year on the heels of a devastating break...

Does artificial intelligence reflect the biases of those who create it? Can discrimination live on digital platforms and become part of the logic of everyday algorithmic systems? Kate Crawford, co-founder of the AI Now Institute at New York University and an expert on the social impacts of big data, discusses bias in artificial intelligence with Indre Viskontas.

This program presents a gathering of feminist thought leaders to celebrate the publication of Jill Soloway’s book “She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy.”  Soloway is the creator and showrunner of “Transparent” and “I Love Dick”. On October twenty-fifth, 2018, City Arts & Lectures hosted Hannah Gadsby, best-known for her comedy performance “Nanette”, Lili Loofbourow, Susan S...

Director, producer, and writer * Barry Jenkins * has received sweeping critical acclaim for his films, which notably depict black and queer experience through a nuanced and expressive lens. His 2016 film  Moonlight  received the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture — Drama. Jenkins is currently in production on  The Undergro...

A staff writer for  The New Yorker  since 1992,  Susan Orlean  has written with wit and endless curiosity about subjects ranging from umbrella inventors to origami artists, from the figure skater Tonya Harding to treadmill desks, gospel choirs, and taxidermy. She is the author of  Rin Tin Tin  and  The Orchid Thief , which was the basis for the feature film adaptation starring Meryl Streep. In her...

Doris Kearns Goodwin ’s new book, Leadership in Turbulent Times , is a culmination of five decades of studying American Presidents. Combining her signature storytelling with essential lessons from four of our nation’s presidents—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson—Goodwin explores their unique journeys to recognize themselves as leaders, the ways in wh...

This week, City Arts & Lectures features Michelle Goldberg, Jennine Capó Crucet, and Roxane Gay, all of whom are contributors to the New York Times Op-Ed section. The program includes stand-up comedy, conversation, and a live version of Roxane Gay’s advice column. This co-presentation with The New York Times was recorded at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco on October 19, 2018, and hosted by...

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads,  Fran Lebowitz  stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Often considered heir to the crown of Dorothy Parker, her essays and interviews have been featured in Interview and Mademoiselle. Her books include  Metropolitan Life, Social Studies , the children’s book  Mr. Chas and Lisa Sue Meets the Pandas , and...

Our guest is Sally Field. She got her start acting on TV in situation comedies like “Gidget" and “The Flying Nun”, before doggedly pursuing a career in film at a time when television talent was not always welcome in Hollywood. Against those odds, Field went on to portray dozens of iconic characters, in films including “Steel Magnolias,” “Norma Rae,” and “Lincoln.” Her new memoir is “In Pieces”. On...

The host of the New York Times podcast The Daily, Michael Barbaro, the show’s producer Annie Brown, and frequent guest Kevin Roose, discuss how they create the show and the role of social media.

Writers Mohsin Hamid and Pico Iyer talk about the space where art and politics converge.

Gary Shteyngart reads from his latest book, "Lake Success", and talks with Isabel Duffy about his writing methods, his love of luxury watches and roadside diners, and Soviet humor.

This week, Questlove and Boots Riley join us for a conversation about art, activism, and the creative process. Questlove is a founding member of The Roots , a seminal hip hop band out of Philadelphia. Boots Riley is the writer and director of the film Sorry to Bother You and frontman of The Coup , a radical hip-hop band from Oakland. On April twenty-first, 2018, Questlove and Boots Riley were inte...

Hilton Als spoke with Stephen M. Best on February 8, 2018 at the Sydney Goldstein Theater.