Matthew Desmond is a professor of sociology at Princeton University and the principal investigator at The Eviction Lab, a research group that published the first-ever dataset of evictions in America, going back to 2000.  His Pulitzer-Prize-winner book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City quickly made Desmond one of America?s most important thinkers and activists. His new book, Poverty, By America, broadens the scope of his research, demonstrating how wealthy Americans keep poor people poor. On March 27, 2024, Matthew Desmond came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Bernice Yeung, the managing editor of Berkeley Journalism?s Investigative Reporting Program. Her first book, In a Day?s Work: The Fight to End Sexual Violence Against America?s Most Vulnerable Workers, was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize.

Our guest today is Angela Davis, one of the world?s most important voices for justice. The philosopher and activist came to prominence in the 1960s. Six decades later, Davis is still on the front lines fighting for equality and freedom on a range of issues from prison abolition to racial justice to gender rights. On March 20, 2024, the iconic activist and scholar came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk about her new book "Abolition, Volume 1" with Hilton Als, New Yorker staff writer and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Our guest today is award-winning novelist Tommy Orange. Orange?s debut novel, There There, centered on a Native American experience that is less commonly featured in US literature - the lives of urban Native Americans. It was one of 2019?s most critically acclaimed books, and now, he?s written a followup. It?s called Wandering Stars. This new book features many of the same characters, while tracing the traumatic legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and government-run boarding schools, like the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. On February 27th, 2024, Orange came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to author Dave Eggers. Hundreds of students and teachers attended - and among other things, Orange talked about what it?s like to have his book as assigned reading in schools.

Our guest today is Tariq Trotter, also known as Black Thought. He?s a founding member of the seminal hip hop band, The Roots and the author of the memoir The Upcycled Self. Trotter?s released more than a dozen albums and these days, he can be seen every week on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.  In his new memoir, Trotter paints a riveting portrait of his childhood in South Philadelphia and life as a young artist, from meeting Questlove in high school to finding his own path in the music industry. On February 24, 2024, Trotter came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Jelani Cobb, Dean of the Columbia Journalism School.

 Our guest is Calvin Trillin.  The journalist, humorist, poet, and novelist started his professional career in the early 1960?s at Time Magazine, and soon after became a staff writer for The New Yorker, where he continues to contribute.  He also writes for The Nation.  He is the author of 32 books, including memoir, novels, verse, and food writing.  His new book,?The Lede: Dispatches From A Life in the Press?, collects writings about journalism and its practitioners.  This conversation with writer Steven Winn was recorded at the studios of KQED in San Francisco on February 22, 2024.

This was hardly Trillin?s first appearance on City Arts & Lectures - he?s been on our stage more than any other guest, a total of 19 times since his first appearance in 1982.  So we close out this hour with excerpts from three of those programs that showcase some of Trillin?s many talents beyond serious journalism. 

Calvin Trillin began writing about regional food specialties during his travels as a reporter, and then in books like ?American Fried? and ?Alice, Let?s Eat?. In 2008, Trillin was joined by two distinguished women of the culinary world, former Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl. and the founder of Berkeley?s Chez Panisse, Alice Waters - to discuss one of his obsessions ? Buffalo chicken wings.  

Calvin Trillin also developed a journalistic sideline that he describes as ?Deadline Poet? and in 2012, he explained how that got started to Steven Winn.

And finally, no Calvin Trillin City Arts & Lectures program would be complete without the story of the tic-tac-toe-playing chicken of New York?s Chinatown.  In a 1998 appearance, Trillin introduced the chicken to actor and comedian Robin Williams and interviewer Wendy Lesser.

Throughout every era of digital technology, from the dot com bubble to artificial intelligence, journalist Kara Swisher has been a key figure in understanding the rapid growth in Silicon Valley, whether reporting for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other major outlets, or as co-host of the podcast Pivot. Swisher is founder of the All Things Digital conference and the technology news website Recode, and the author of three books, including her new memoir, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.

On March 7, 2024, Kara Swisher came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by one of the technology leaders she frequently covers ? Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI.

This week, our guest is Ada Limón, he United States Poet Laureate. Limon has published six books of poetry, including The Carrying, The Hurting Kind, and Bright Dead Things. On February 22nd, 2024, Limón came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Alexis Madrigal about the ways in which the natural world inspires her work ? from the landscape of her youth in Sonoma County, California, to Kentucky, where she lives today. She also talked about writing a poem to be engraved on a NASA spacecraft that will launch in the autumn of 2024. Limon says that poetry isn?t just meant to be read ? it?s meant to be read out loud - and this program also includes her reading several poems.

Our guest today is Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist at UC San Francisco who studies abortion and adoption. Her new book, ?Relinquished?, is the culmination of a decade-long study in which Sisson interviewed mothers from across the country who had given their children up for adoption. Sisson examines the myths and realities associated with these mothers ? for example, only 14% are teenagers. But the majority live in poverty - over half have an income of less than $5,000 a year, and some experts suggest up to 20% are homeless. On February 6, 2024, Gretchen Sisson came to the studios of KQED in San Francisco to talk about ?Relinquished? with Lara Bazelon, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law and the author of "Ambitious Like A Mother".

This week, a pair of studio conversations with the authors of recently published books. First, New Yorker writer Nick Romeo talks about his new book "The Alternative: How To Build a Just Economy" with Courtney Martin. It examines how people around the world are reshaping economies and businesses to be more equitable and ethical. Then, poet Kaveh Akbar talks with Corey Antonio Rose about his debut novel "Martyr". It centers around a young Iranian-born American coping with grief, addiction, and family drama.

This week, we reach into the archives for a 2009 appearance by the late A. S. Byatt.  The author and critic published 11 novels, 6 collections of short stories, and 9 volumes of short stories, as well as editing the Oxford Book of English Short Stories and several other anthologies.  Byatt?s best-known novel, Possession, won the Booker Prize and was made into a film; the book she discusses in this City Arts & Lectures appearance, The Children?s Book, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.  In 1999, she was made a Dame of the British Empire for her contributions to English literature.  On October 26, 2009, A. S. Byatt came to the Herbst Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by poet Robert Hass.

This week, we present an encore of our 2016 conversation with songwriter and musician Paul Simon. Simon has been the recipient of many honors and awards including 12 Grammy Awards, three of which (?Bridge Over Troubled Water?, ?Still Crazy After All These Years? and ?Graceland?) were albums of the year. In 2003 he was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as half of the duo Simon and Garfunkel. He is in the Rock n? Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist. He was a recipient of The Kennedy Center Honors in 2002 and was named as one of Time Magazine?s ?100 People Who Shape Our World? in 2006. In 2007, Mr. Simon was awarded the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

On June 6, 2016, Paul Simon came to the Nourse Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Dave Eggers, after performing at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on June 3 and 4.  His album ?Stranger to Stranger? had been released that same week.  Paul Simon?s latest work, ?Seven Psalms? came out in 2023.

Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Benjamin Moser is the author of biographies of Susan Sontag and Claire Lispector. He?ll talk to us about his most recent book, The Upside-Down World: Meetings with Dutch Masters. It?s about the lives of artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer, as well as lesser known figures of the Dutch Golden Age. It?s a coming of age story too; Moser spent twenty years working on the book. He was interviewed on January 18, 2024, arts critic and journalist Steven Winn interviewed Moser in the studio.

Our guest is Dr. Jen Gunter, an OB-GYN and pain medicine physician.  Gunter?s work both as a clinician and a writer, is aimed at helping women understand and care for their bodies.  That includes countering a large amount of misinformation about women?s health - which she does with great wit on social media.  Her books include ?The Vagina Bible?, ?The Menopause Manifesto? and her newest, ?Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation?.  On January 9, 2024, Jen Gunter came to the studios of KQED in San Francisco to talk with Indre Viskontas. 

Our guest is renowned neuroscientist and primatologist Robert Sapolsky.  He?s spent his career investigating behavior across the animal kingdom, including humans.  In books like The Trouble With Testosterone and Why Zebras Don?t Get Ulcers, Sapolsky translates decades of research into fascinating stories and lessons accessible to non-scientific audiences. His latest book, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, offers a marvelous synthesis of what we know about how consciousness works?the tight weave between reason and emotion and between stimulus and response in the moment and over a life. On January 3, 2024, Sapolsky joined Caterina Fake for a conversation recorded at the studios of KQED in San Francisco.

Tracy K. Smith is the author of five acclaimed poetry collections, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Life on Mars. Her memoir, Ordinary Light, was a finalist for the National Book Award. From 2017 to 2019, she served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States. In 2020, heartsick from constant assaults on Black life, Smith found herself soul-searching, and digging into the historical archive for help navigating the ?din of human division and strife.? In her new book, To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul, Smith draws on several avenues of thinking ? personal, documentary, and spiritual? to understand who we are as a nation and what we might hope to mean to one another. On November 10, 2023, Tracy K. Smith came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with john a. powell, Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute and a Professor of Law and Professor of African American Studies and Ethnic Studies at the University of California.

This week, an encore of one of last year?s most popular programs - a conversation between two unconventional artists, director, visual artist and author, John Waters and Aubrey Plaza, actor, comedian and producer.

For nearly 50 years, John Waters has been making subversive films that playfully push all sorts of boundaries - movies like ?Pink Flamingos?, ?Hairspray?, and ?Serial Mom?.

Actor and comedian Aubrey Plaza cites Waters as a major influence of hers. She's best known for roles in ?Parks and Recreation? and the second season of HBO?s ?The White Lotus?.

On May 9, 2023, John Waters and Aubrey Plaza came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for a rapid-fire conversation on a variety of topics -  including Waters? first novel, ?Liar Mouth: A Feel-Bad Romance?.  As any fan of John Waters would expect, the night was as filthy as it was hilarious, so this program may not be suitable to all listeners.

This week, our guest is David Brooks. As an Op-Ed contributor to The New York Times, Brooks writes about subjects ranging from politics and foreign affairs, to cultural trends and spirituality. Brooks started as a humorist, penning satires for his college paper, before becoming a film critic and then a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. You can see him regularly on the PBS Newshour. He?s also the author of bestselling books like Bobos in Paradise and The Social Animal. Like several of his more recent books ? including The Second Mountain ? his newest is more personal in nature. It?s called  How To Know A Person, and it?s a guide to fostering deeper relationships, at home, in the workplace, or elsewhere. On November 18th, 2023 Brooks came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Steven Winn about what it means to really see each other.

NOTE: This program was not broadcast, because as you?ll hear, it contains a lot of explicit language and content - so much that we felt it would be hard to listen to with all the bleeps and edits that would be necessary for the radio. The language in this podcast has NOT been edited or bleeped, so please listen to it with that in mind.

Leslie Jones is a three-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee as well as a Writer?s Guild Award and NAACP Award nominee for her work on Saturday Night Live.?She has also been honored as one of Time Magazine?s 100 Most Influential People.?Jones recently wrapped production on season two of the MAX series ?Our Flag Means Death?. In January 2023, Jones kicked off a new era of The Daily Show as the program?s first guest host. She also co-hosts the podcast THE FCKRY with comedian Lenny Marcus. Her new memoir is ?Leslie F*cking Jones?.

On October 24, 2023, Leslie Jones came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater for an on-stage conversation with novelist Jasmine Guillory.

Viet Thanh Nguyen's debut novel, The Sympathizer, earned him the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Now he?s written A Man of Two Faces. It?s a memoir about his family, as well as larger stories of refugeehood, colonization, and ideas about Viet Nam and America. On November 9, 2023, Nguyen came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Shereen Marisol Meraji to talk about the new book - why he chooses to call himself a refugee, not an immigrant - and his conflicted feelings about his hometown, San Jose, California.

Since 1978, when her very first cartoon appeared in The New Yorker Magazine, Roz Chast has been chronicling modern life?s anxieties and absurdities. Neurotic characters with frizzy hair and mouths agape sit on sofas or walk along New York sidewalks worrying, observing, and making us laugh. Her more than a dozen books include Can?t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, a memoir about her parents aging, and a collaboration with Steve Martin called The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!.  On November 2, 2023  Chast came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to share stories from her newest book, I Must Be Dreaming.

This week, legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog. He?s made over 70 movies ? most of them documentaries like Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and Grizzly Man. Herzog?s style is so distinctive that his films are recognizable practically from the moment they start. His techniques can be controversial too, when it comes to his unusual casting, and his own presence in the stories he?s telling. On Oct 21st, 2023, Herzog came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Caterina Fake about filmmaking and writing, including his new memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All.

This week, comedian Maria Bamford. She?s been called one of the most unusual ? and bizarre ? comedians performing today - addressing her own mental health struggles including obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. You can see her semi-autobiographical television series, Lady Dynamite, on Netflix. On October 14th, 2023, Bamford came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to podcaster and author Anna Sale about her work and experiences ? much of which is explored in her memoir, Sure I?ll Join Your Cult.

This week, we?ll hear from journalist Michael Lewis about a year in the life of crypto-currency king Sam Bankman-Fried. The FTX founder became the world?s youngest billionaire. Now, he?s been convicted of taking billions of dollars in customer deposits to fund political donations, luxury real estate and his own personal investments. It?s the subject of Lewis? newest book, Going Infinite. On November 13, 2023, Lewis came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Indre Viskontas about Bankman-Fried?s rise and fall.

This week, a conversation about global aid efforts, and another one about the power of art to address humans? relationships with animals.

In the first part of the program, Dr. Raj Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation, talks about his work addressing global health crises and economic challenges both within the private sector and government. It?s the topic of his new book, Big Bets: How Large-Scale Change Really Happens. On October 25th, 2023, Shah came to the KQED studios in San Francisco to talk to Indre Viskontas.

Award-winning photographer Jo-Anne MacArthur?s work explores our complex relationship with animals. From conservation efforts to the fashion and food industry, her images show the ways in which humans impact the lives of animals.  On October 18th, 2023, MacArthur came to KQED studios in San Francisco to talk to Indre Viskontas about the challenges of her work - which includes shooting in feedlots and other restricted areas. Her photos are featured in a new book: Women Photographers Expose our Planet.

Our guest this week is writer Jhumpa Lahiri. Her debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, earned Lahiri a Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Many short story collections followed, as well as novels like The Namesake, which was the basis of a 2006 film directed by Mira Nair. Lahiri now translates and produces her own work in Italian too. On October 13, 2023, Jhumpa Lahiri came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Peter Stein about her latest collection, Roman Stories - which centers around Rome, not as a setting, but as a protagonist. Translated from Italian, the stories capture Rome as both a metropolis and a monument, multi-faceted and metaphysical, suspended between past and future ? and prove that Lahiri is now master of form in her adopted language.

Comedian Keegan-Michael Key is best known for his work with Jordan Peele, performing in numerous skits as half of the comedy duo ?Key & Peele.? One of his most famous roles was President Obama?s anger translator, a part he played at the 2015 White House Correspondents? Dinner with Obama himself. Now, alongside wife and collaborator Elle Key, he?s written a book ? The History of Sketch Comedy.? On October 7th, 2023, the Keys came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk about it with Jesse Thorn, host of the podcast ?Bullseye.? The program was co-presented with SF Sketchfest.

This week, George Saunders, a wildly inventive writer with an equally colorful background: Saunders worked as a geophysical prospector in Indonesia, a roofer in Chicago, and a doorman in Beverly Hills. Saunders? short stories are often funny and frequently take place in a slightly futuristic, dystopian America. His novel ?Lincoln in the Bardo? earned him the prestigious Man Booker Prize. On October 11th, 2023, George Saunders came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with KQED?s Alexis Madrigal.

This week, Sir Patrick Stewart, best known for the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek. After a working-class childhood in Yorkshire, Stewart trained as a classical actor at England?s Royal Shakespeare Company, where he appeared on stage for more than two decades. In 1986, he was invited to star in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. No one could predict the success of the program, in fact, when Stewart traveled to California to take the role, he didn?t expect the show to last beyond than that first season. The program continued for seven years, and was followed by four films and three seasons of a sequel starring Stewart, "Star Trek: Picard". On October 8th, 2023, Stewart came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Alexis Madrigal on the occasion of the publication of his memoir ?Making It So?.

It doesn?t feel so long ago that Zadie Smith exploded onto the literary scene with her stunning debut novel, ?White Teeth.? Twenty-three years later, she has cemented her reputation as one of the most important voices of her generation, whether in the form of fiction, criticism, or cultural observation. Her many novels include ?Swing Time? and ?On Beauty? - and her new book - ?The Fraud. ? It?s a work of historical fiction set in Victorian England. On September 22th, 2023, Smith came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Cathy Park Hong, poet and author of ?Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning.?

This week, Dr. Bettina Love? Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and author of ?We Want to Do More Than Survive.?  Her writing, research, teaching, and educational advocacy focus on abolitionist teaching, antiracism, Black joy, and educational reparations. Love?s new book ?Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal? is an unflinching reckoning with the impact of forty years of racist public school policy on generations of Black lives. On September 19th, 2023, Dr. Bettina Love came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to comedian, activist, and  W. Kamau Bell. You can see Bell?s new documentary, ?1000% Me: Growing up Mixed.? on HBO. The evening was presented in association with San Francisco?s Museum of the African Diaspora.  Join us now for a conversation with Dr. Bettina Love and W. Kamau Bell.

Bobby Berk is the interior designer on the hit Netflix series Queer Eye. It?s a reality makeover show in which Berk and 4 other hosts, each an expert in a different category, transform peoples homes, wardrobes, and cultural tastes. The series has won two Emmys. On September 16th, 2023, Berk came to one of the San Francisco locations of independent bookstore Books Inc., to talk to writer Rebecca Handler*,* author of the novel ?Edie Richter is Not Alone.? The two discussed Berk?s role on Queer Eye, and his new book ?Right at Home: How Good Design Is Good for the Mind.?

Our guest is writer, bookstore owner, and literary evangelist Ann Patchett. She?s the author of several novels including the best-selling Bel Canto, about a hostage situation at a lavish opera-themed birthday party. Patchett?s other books include The Patron Saint of Liars, and Commonwealth; and her newest novel, Tom Lake. It?s the story of three sisters in their 20s as they return home to Michigan during the pandemic, and the lives their parents lived before they were born. .On September 8th, 2023, Ann Patchett came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Steven Winn about the new book, her early experiences as a budding writer, and her book recommendations.

This week, our guest is poet Natalie Diaz in conversation with essayist and author Hilton Als.  Natalie Diaz is an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian community and is the director of the Fort Mojave Language Recovery Program, where she works with the last remaining speakers of the Mojave language. Language and loss are explored throughout Diaz?s poetry, in collections including When My Brother Was an Aztec and Postcolonial Love Poem, which won her the Pulitzer Prize.

Hilton Als is another writer whose work explores American identity, in theater reviews, articles, and essays for The New Yorker, where he?s contributed since 1989. Als received the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism, ?for bold and original reviews that strove to put stage dramas within a real-world cultural context.?  His writing explores race, sexuality, class, art, and American identity provocatively, exploding the boundaries of the genre in which it is contained.  His most recent book is a memoir, My Pinup.

On February 9, 2023, Natalie Diaz and Hilton Als came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an onstage conversation, during which Diaz read from her work.

In the first half of this program, literary critic Carmela Ciuraru talks about her new book, Lives of the Wives, which shines a light on the lesser-known partners of historic literary giants. Weaving together themes of marriage, power, ego, and equity, this riveting deep dive explores relationship dynamics that are still relevant today.

Then, artist and author Paul Madonna, who?s known for combining drawing and stories in a wide range of genres - from his enigmatic art series All Over Coffee which ran for twelve years in the San Francisco Chronicle, to his large-scale public murals, to his entertaining and sharply-plotted mystery novels. Madonna?s new book, The Commissions, is a riveting mystery set between San Francisco and Amsterdam.

This week, we talk to the authors of two new books ? one about our relationship to work, and another one about hospice and art. In the first half of this program, we talk to Simone Stolzoff. He?s the author of a new book, ?The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming life from Work?. It takes a critical look at the way work has become so central to our identities - oftentimes at the expense of family, community and health.

For artist Wendy MacNaughton, drawing is a vehicle for connection. Her subjects are often people and places typically over-looked. That?s certainly the case with her new book, ?How to Say Goodbye.? It?s a collection of portraits she drew during her time as artist in residence at a hospice center in San Francisco.  MacNaughton was joined in this interview by her colleague Ladybird Morgan - a nurse, social worker, and palliative care consultant.

Both interviews were conducted in the studios of KQED in San Francisco on August 14, 2023, by neuroscientist, musician, and podcaster Indre Viskontas.

This week, a conversation with two brothers, both distinguished members of the federal judiciary, Justice Stephen Breyer and his brother, Judge Charles Breyer. Stephen Breyer retired in summer 2022 after nearly 28 years as a member of the Supreme Court. Prior to that, he served nearly 14 years as a Court of Appeals Judge. He is especially appreciated for his pragmatism, issuing decisions most often informed by their real life consequences, and his firm belief that judges are loyal to the law, not to a political party. Born in San Francisco, both he and brother Judge Charles Breyer attended Lowell High School. Their father served as legal counsel to the San Francisco Board of Education, and their mother focused on public service. Senior United States District Judge Charles Breyer has served on the bench for 25 years. He was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from 1973 to 1974, and then entered private practice 1974 to 1997, interrupted by a brief stint as chief assistant district attorney of San Francisco in 1979.  On January 7, 2023, the Breyer brothers appeared on stage at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Judge Vince Chhabria, who served as a law clerk for both Breyers.  This is an encore presentation of a program which originally aired in January 2023.

This week, a conversation between two unconventional artists, director, visual artist and author, John Waters and Aubrey Plaza, actor, comedian and producer.

For nearly 50 years, John Waters has been making subversive films that playfully push all sorts of boundaries - movies like ?Pink Flamingos?, ?Hairspray?, and ?Serial Mom?.

Actor and comedian Aubrey Plaza cites Waters as a major influence of hers. She's best known for roles in ?Parks and Recreation? and the second season of HBO?s ?The White Lotus?.

On May 9, 2023, John Waters and Aubrey Plaza came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for a rapid-fire conversation on a variety of topics -  including Waters? first novel, ?Liar Mouth: A Feel-Bad Romance?.  As any fan of John Waters would expect, the night was as filthy as it was hilarious, so this program may not be suitable to all listeners.

Ocean Vuong was not quite 30 years old when his debut novel, On Earth We?re Briefly Gorgeous, became a major literary sensation. It?s a coming of age story about a queer Vietnamese refugee, set against a backdrop of violence, poverty, and addiction. Much of it parallels Vuong?s own upbringing. Vuong is also the author of the poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and a new collection, Time is a Mother. On June 9th, 2023, Vuong came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San francisco to talk to writer/director Mike Mills, whose films include Beginners, 20th Century Women, and C?mon C?mon. 

Epidemiologist Dr. Monica Gandhi will talk about the lessons learned from COVID-19 and why she thinks new vaccines and public health methods make us well-prepared for future pandemics.  It?s the subject of her new book ?Endemic: A Post-Pandemic Playbook?. She?s director at Ward 86, the HIV clinic at San Francisco General Hospital, and a professor at the University of California San Francisco.  Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Gandhi was a leading voice on every aspect of the disease, from its transmission to its treatments.  On July 24, 2023, Gandhi talked to Indre Viskontas at the studios of KQED in San Francisco.

In 2020, Brandon Taylor burst onto the literary scene with Real Life, a novel about a gay black doctoral student and his predominantly white colleagues.  A finalist for the Booker Prize, Real Life offered a comedic take on themes like privilege and prejudice. Taylor followed that with another book about young creatives, the short story collection Filthy Animals. His highly anticipated new novel, The Late Americans, follows a circle of lovers and friends during a volatile year of self-discovery. On June 2, 2023, Brandon Taylor came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Kate Schatz. Schatz is the bestselling author of the ?Rad Women? book series, and Do the Work! An Antiracist Activity Book, co-written with W. Kamau Bell. 

Up-and-coming comedian Jamie Loftus has drawn comparisons to Andy Kaufman and Maria Bamford  for work that?s equal parts absurd and intellectual ? from a web series born from an exercise with her therapist, to a podcast about the comic strip character Cathy.  Her new book Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, invites you to ?grab a dog, lay out your picnic blanket, and dig into the delicious and inevitable product of centuries of violence, poverty, and ambition, now rolling around at your local 7-Eleven.? On May 24, 2023, Jamie Loftus came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with writer, podcaster, and media critic Sarah Marshall ? which culminated in a hot dog eating contest.

By the time Javier Zamora was just five years old, both his parents had fled El Salvador to escape a United States-funded Civil War.  Zamora lived with his grandparents until the age of nine. That?s when he migrated to the U.S. In his debut memoir, Solito, Zamora retells the experience of traveling alone as a young child.  The nine-week odyssey took him across Guatemala, Mexico, and the Sonoran Desert ? before he was able to reunite with his parents in California. The memoir has resonated deeply with other asylum seekers in this country. And Zamora has gone on to become an activist and acclaimed poet. On May 18th, 2023, Zamora came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Courtney Martin about being an adult, writing a book from his perspective as a child, overcoming trauma, and what it means to be an outsider in the country you call home.

Our guest is actor and author Tom Hanks. From his breakout role in ?Splash,? to his award-winning performances in ?Philadelphia? and ?Forrest Gump,? Hanks has mesmerized audiences for nearly four decades.  On May 16, 2023, Tom Hanks came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed by activist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs. Always a storyteller, Hanks shared anecdotes about author Nora Ephron, studying acting at Chabot Community College in Hayward, California and some of his most famous roles. He also talked about the crew members and other people on set who inspired his first novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.

Nancy Pelosi has represented San Francisco in Congress for more than 35 years. She served as the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. Pelosi made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency ? the first person to do so in more than six decades. As Speaker, Pelosi spearheaded passage of the historic Affordable Care Act in the House and led the Congress in passing strong Wall Street reforms. Her legislative accomplishments also include the passage of historic investments in college aid, clean energy and innovation, and initiatives to help small businesses and veterans.

On June 19, 2023, Nancy Pelosi came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Jelani Cobb, the Dean of Columbia University?s School of Journalism and a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2015.

Award-winning television host and producer Andy Cohen is best known for Watch What Happens Live, Bravo?s late-night interactive talk show, and as executive producer of the Real Housewives franchise. His new memoir, The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up, details his experience as a glamorous but ultimately human father. Late-night parties are replaced by early mornings, Housewives drama is no match for what happens on the playground, and Cohen finds meaning in the most important job of his life.

On May 19, 2023, Andy Cohen came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage interview with Manny Yekutiel.

Stacey Abrams is a political leader, voting rights activist, and bestselling author. She served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and she was the first Black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history.  Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, effective public policy, and voting rights. She was instrumental in driving an enormous number of voter registrations in Georgia and those voters were central to turning Georgia blue in the 2020 presidential election and the Senate races. She?s the author of the non-fiction books Lead from the Outside and Our Time is Now; eight romance novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery; and the legal thrillers While Justice Sleeps and her new book, Rogue Justice.  On June 3, 2023, Stacey Abrams came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of the popular political podcast, Pod Save America, and a former senior advisor to President Obama.

Abraham Verghese is a best-selling novelist, and a physician whose focus on healing and empathy stands out in an era when technology often overwhelms the human side of medicine. His novel Cutting for Stone is the story of twin brothers in Ethiopia coming of age on the brink of the country?s revolution. That book remained on the NYT Bestsellers List for over two years. His newest novel, The Covenant of Water, tells much of the story of twentieth-century India through a single family. Verghese?s nonfiction books are My Own Country: A Doctor?s Story and The Tennis Partner. Abraham Verghese is Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the School of Medicine at Stanford University.

On May 11, 2023, Abraham Verghese came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Michael Krasny, host of the Grey Matters podcast and former host of the award-winning KQED program Forum. Krasny is the author of Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio and Literary Life, Let There Be Laughter, and Spiritual Envy.

Siddhartha Mukherjee is the author of The Gene: An Intimate History, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, and The Laws of Medicine. Told in six parts and laced with his own experience as a researcher, doctor, and a prolific reader, Mukherjee?s new book The Song of the Cell, tells the story of how scientists discovered cells, began to understand them, and are now using that knowledge to create new humans. Mukherjee is an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University and a cancer physician and researcher.  On November 10, 2022, Mukherjee came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an onstage conversation with Indre Viskontas, a cognitive neuroscientist who co-hosts the popular science podcast Inquiring Minds. This is an encore broadcast.

Actor Laura Dern has been captivating audiences since her breakout role in Blue Velvet in 1986. Since then, she?s appeared in dozens of films including Jurassic Park, Wild At Heart, Rambling Rose, The Last Jedi, Little Women, and Marriage Story, for which she won an Academy Award. Her television appearances include Enlightened, Twin Peaks: The Return and Big Little Lies. Her new book, Honey, Baby, Mine, co-written with her mother and fellow actor Diane Ladd, is a collection of intimate reflections, photos, family recipes, and other mementos. On May 7, 2023, Laura Dern came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater for an onstage conversation with Cheryl Strayed, the author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film - starring Laura Dern.

This week, a conversation with theoretical physicist and futurist Dr Michio Kaku. Kaku is a co-founder of string field theory and he's one of today's most recognizable scientists appearing regularly on news programs, documentary films and as host of two weekly radio programs, Exploration and Science Fantastic. In his latest book, Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything, Kaku suggests how powerful computers might eventually solve some of humanity's biggest problems from incurable disease to global warming and world hunger. On May 4th, 2023, Dr Kaku came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Caterina Fake, a serial entrepreneur, investor at Yes VC, and host of the upcoming podcast ingenious. Join us now for a conversation with Dr. Michio Kaku.