Library Talks

For this week's episode we're bringing you a conversation between two Nigerian authors whose works include plays, novels, poetry, essays and more. Chris Abani is known as an international voice on humanitarianism, art, ethics and our shared political responsibility. Wole Soyinka won of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986 and has received accolades for his work in writing and advocating for huma...

For this week's episode, we're bringing you a conversation between two public intellectuals who have contributed immensely to our understanding of history, literature, cultural criticism, and politics, Macarthur Fellow Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Pulitzer Prize winner Margo Jefferson. In 2006, Gates and Jefferson sat down at the Library for a special event on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabi...

This week we're joined by two legendary women from very different artistic backgrounds, performance artist Marina Abramović and rock singer Debbie Harry of Blondie. The two share stories and insights from their lives and art as they discuss Abramovic's new memoir, Walk Through Walls.

This week, we're bringing you a conversation with author and policy advisor Tim Wu. In his new book The Attention Merchants, Wu makes the case truly paying attention is both incredibly rare and incredibly valuable. He's joined in conversation by conversation by writer, documentarian, and Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics at CUNY/Queens, Douglas Rushkoff.

Four hundred years after William Shakespeare's death, Margaret Atwood retells one of his most beloved plays, The Tempest, with a dark and fantastical interpretation in her new book, Hag-Seed. This week on the podcast, Atwood is joined in conversation by celebrated actress Fiona Shaw for a discussion of the Bard and his influence on their work.

The original Antigone may be from antiquity, but our current era abounds with women fighting unabashedly for what they believe. This week on the podcast, we welcome journalist, feminist, and author of Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution, Mony Eltahawy. As you'll hear is a force to be reckoned with and an embodiment of this spirit. She is joined by yet another fier...

Perhaps the most permanent - and essential - character in Sally Mann's work is that of place: the American South. Her home of Lexington, VA is not just the set for her most powerful work; it is also the place where she met fellow artist and friend, Cy Twombly. The photographs from her new book, Remembered Light: Cy Twombly in Lexington, are featured in an exhibition at Gagosian Gallery; and she ha...

Yanis Varoufakis considers himself a politician by necessity, not by choice. An economist and academic by training, he became Greece's finance minister amidst the country's financial crisis, creating an image for himself both beloved and reviled. He came to the Library last April to discuss this complicated role and his recent book, And the Weak Suffer What They Must?: Europe's Crisis and America'...

He enthralls audiences with his colorful roles, but Alan Cumming's real-life adventures pack just as much punch. This week we're bringing you the first event from our Fall LIVE series as Paul Holdengräber and the award-winning actor in a conversation as whimsical and mischievous as Cumming's new book of photographs and essays, You Gotta Get Bigger Dreams: My Life in Stories and Pictures.

This week, we're going back into the archives to bring you a conversation with Hatian-American novelist and short story writer Edwidge Danticat. When she came the Library in 2010, she discussed her book CREATE DANGEROUSLY: The Immigrant Artist at Work with NYPL's Paul Holdengraber. Their conversation covered central questions of her book including what it means to be an immigrant and an artist, an...

This week, we celebrate legendary film director Werner Herzog's birthday with a thrilling conversation from the archives. In 2012, Herzog came to the Library to discuss his most recent film, "Into the Abyss," as well as his four-part television series, "Death Row." In this conversation with NYPL's Paul Holdengraber, Herzog talks about crime, human nature, and why he stands so firmly against capita...

On this week's podcast, we welcome basketball legend, activist, and bestselling author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who came to the Library this summer for a conversation with his hero, critically acclaimed author Walter Mosley. In this thought-provoking conversation, Abdul-Jabbar and Mosley talk about fiction, racial injustice, and the nature of truth.

Bestselling author Maggie Nelson's latest book, "The Argonauts," received the 2016 National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism. In this conversation with poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum, Nelson talks about justice, empathy, and the nature of grief.

Macarthur Award-winning author Colson Whitehead's latest book, "The Underground Railroad," was released August 2nd to widespread critical acclaim and recently named an Oprah's Book Club Pick. The author, a former fellow at NYPL's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, came to the Library in 2015 to discuss his book "The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky & Death," which chronicles his experience as...

Award-winning poet Kevin Young will be joining the NYPL family this fall as the new director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He came to the Library last November for a talk with chef and writer Gabrielle Hamilton, owner of the acclaimed New York City restaurant Prune and author of the memoir "Blood, Bones, & Butter." In this wide-ranging conversation, co-presented by The Aca...

Renowned cancer physician and researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee came to the Library this spring to discuss his new book "The Gene: An Intimate History," a fascinating examination of our understanding of human heredity and its influence on our personalities, fates, and choices. In this conversation with "The New Yorker" editor David Remnick, Mukherjee talks about medicine, writing, and the links betw...

Writer, artist and vocalist Laurie Anderson, one of America's most renowned and daring creative pioneers, came to the Library this spring to discuss her life and work. In this conversation with NYPL's Paul Holdengraber, Anderson talks about art, inspiration, and trusting the physical.

We're celebrating Ernest Hemingway's birthday with an event from the archives. Nobel Prize winning poet Derek Walcott gives us a new appreciation of Hemingway as a great and influential Caribbean writer, discussing Hemingway's influence on his writing, and paying tribute to him with readings of his own poems.

This week, we're thrilled to welcome acclaimed author and Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro in a talk with Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor John Lithgow. In a conversation that covers drama, language, and the relationship between history and art, the two discuss Shapiro's latest book, "The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606"—which examines how tumultuous events in England in 1606 af...

This week, we're bringing you a very special episode produced in partnership with Public Radio International. Along with a panel of speakers including NYPL's Denise Hibay, the World in Words' hosts Patrick Cox and Nina Porzucki examine the state of endangered languages around the world: Why do languages become endangered, and how have some speakers worked to ensure a future for their native tongue...

Award-winning English author Geoff Dyer came to the Library this spring to discuss his latest book, "White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World." In this conversation with NYPL's Jessica Strand, Dyer talks about travel, unexpected awareness, and looking for meaning in the world around you.

Award-winning photographer Bruce Davidson's prolific body of work includes documentations of the 1960s Civil Rights movement and the gritty underbelly of New York City in the late 70s. He came to the Library this spring for a conversation with Academy Award-winning actor Matt Dillon, who is a great admirer and collector of Davidson's work. In this riveting discussion between the two great artists,...

Padma Lakshmi, author and Emmy-nominated host of "Top Chef," came to the Library to mark the release of her debut memoir, "Love, Loss, and What We Ate." In this conversation with NYPL's Jessica Strand, Lakshmi talks about food, family, and the importance of being raised by strong women.

This week, we bring you a conversation with the 2016 winner of The Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Each year the award is given to journalists whose books have brought clarity and public attention to important issues, events, or policies. This year's winner, Jill Leovy, explores the country's murder epidemic and the long-standing plague of black homicide in her bestselling...

Award-winning artist and designer Maya Lin first achieved fame at the age of 21 as the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and her work today encompasses large-scale environmental installations, intimate studio artworks, architectural works, and memorials. Her latest design project, "What is Missing?," raises awareness about the crisis surrounding biodiversity and habita...