Library Talks

The illustrator and author of more than twenty books for both kids and adults sits down with us to talk about strong female characters, nonlinear storytelling, and drawing outside the lines.

This week, we honor Pulitzer Prize winner and former US poet laureate Mark Strand, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 80. The beloved poet and author joined us this October to discuss art, imagination, and the life of the mind.

This Thanksgiving week, we’re reaching back into the NYPL archives to bring you a story about food, family, and multicultural identity. Internationally acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson describes his remarkable journey from a humble kitchen in Sweden, to some of the most competitive and revered restaurants in the world — and, finally, to the opening of the beloved Red Rooster in Harlem.

This week, we welcome novelist Richard Ford, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Sportswriter," "Independence Day," and "The Lay of the Land." Ford comes to NYPL to talk about his latest book, "Let Me Be Frank with You," a fourth installment in his bestselling Frank Bascombe series, which now finds its protagonist struggling to make sense of his past in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

This week, the NYPL Podcast welcomes George Clinton, the singular musical phenomenon who twisted soul music into funk. Clinton joins us to talk about his life's work, learning from his proteges, and pushing the boundaries of what music can do.

This week on the podcast, Neil Gaiman, the beloved bestselling author of "Coraline," "American Gods," and "The Graveyard Book," joins us on Halloween night for some scary stories and thrilling conversation. He speaks about disobedient adults, why he learned to read, and his own reimagining of "Hansel and Gretel."

This week on the podcast, Sam Roberts joins us to discuss seeing history through objects, productive procrastination, and what he thinks the motto of New York City should be.

This week, the NYPL Podcast welcomes Marjane Satrapi, the graphic novelist, illustrator, film director, and children's book author who brought us Persepolis. She speaks to NYPL's Paul Holdengraber about the liabilities of learning English from American movies, the intelligence required for a sense of humor, and more.

This week, acclaimed author Jane Smiley joins us to discuss the origins of her new trilogy "The Last Hundred Years," the hard part about spending a century with her characters, and her middle school reading tastes.

This week on the podcast, noted legal reformer Philip K. Howard discusses his latest work, "The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government."

This week, the New York Public Library Podcast welcomes Tom Perrotta, whose novels Little Children, Election, and The Leftovers have been adapted into highly-lauded films and television series. He joins us today to discuss his latest work, Nine Inches.

The award-winning poet and author of the novel Leaving the Atocha Station brings his masterful command of words from the page to the stage, celebrating the start of LIVE's Fall 2014 season and his new book, 10:04.

This week on the podcast, acclaimed author Ayana Mathis comes to NYPL to talk about her latest work, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie.

This week, The New York Public Library Podcast features personal stories from adult children who have lost their parents to AIDS, including Alysia Abbott, author of Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father.

This week on The New York Public Library Podcast, internationally renowned artist Robert Morris discusses various aspects of his practice and some of the key themes—time, memory, language, medium, and process—of his work.

The Library for the Performing Arts presents an evening of songs—songs that were cut from this season’s new Broadway musicals, including The Bridges of Madison County, If/Then, and Rocky.

This week, The New York Public Library Podcast welcomes Stephen Schlesinger, as he discusses his new book, The Letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., a collection of his father’s vivid, witty correspondence influential political and cultural figures of his time.

This week on The New York Public Library Podcast, acclaimed author George Prochnik discusses The Impossible Exile, his new book about the life and work of Stefan Zweig, an icon of the Viennese cultural renaissance.

In April 2014, Amazon and Hachette locked horns in what has become a very public, and still ongoing, battle over contract negotiations. After the online retailer removed the pre-order option, imposed shipping delays, and slashed discounts on the book publisher's titles, the reaction against Amazon was swift and fierce. But the story of the Amazon-Hachette dispute is anything but simple, and raises...

When you've written biographies on Sophia Loren, Ernest Hemingway and Doris Day you're bound to have some pretty incredible stories. This week on the podcast we join editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer A. E. Hotchner as he reflects on some memorable moments from impressive career. 

On this episode of The New York Public Library Podcast, Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard dissects the latest volume of his critically acclaimed autobiography, My Struggle—and the controversy that surrounds it—with Jeffrey Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides.

This week on The New York Public Library Podcast, filmmaker John Waters comes to us with tales from his latest book, Carsick, which chronicles his adventures hitchhiking across the United States.

This week, The New York Public Library Podcast welcomes the Irish novelist, playwright, and critic Colm Tóibín to Books at Noon, the Library’s new series of free lunchtime author talks.

This week on The New York Public Library Podcast, renowned visual artist Kara Walker joins Radiolab host Jad Abumrad to discuss her new show at Domino Sugar Factory, and explore the complicated history of sugar, sex, sweetness, and power.

Chuck Palahniuk is best known as the author of the novels Fight Club and Choke. Douglas Coupland is the author of the international bestsellers Generation A and JPod. This week on The New York Public Library Podcast, the two take to the stage at LIVE from the NYPL for a literary conversation that doubles as a social experiment.