City Arts & Lectures

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Michio Kaku May 14, 2023

Show notes

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.

Richard Mosse May 07, 2023

Show notes

Richard Mosse is a photographer and filmmaker who’s documenting some of the world’s most significant environmental and humanitarian crises – and his work lies at the intersection between journalism and conceptual art. For his recent projects, Mosse used military-grade cameras to create detailed images from miles away. It’s a way to humanize his subjects and give new perspective on urgent issues. His new immersive video installation “Broken Specter” is on display at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco, where he came to the studios of KQED on May 2, 2023, to be interviewed by Steven Winn.

Jeffrey Toobin and Jane Mayer Apr 30, 2023

Show notes

The definitive account of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the tragic legacy of Timothy McVeigh, leading to the January 6 insurrection, comes from jourrnalist Jeffrey Toobin (The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court,The Run of His Life: The People vs. O.J. Simpson). In Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right Wing Extremism, Toobin has combed nearly a million previously unreleased tapes, photographs, and documents, including detailed communications between McVeigh and his lawyers, as well as interviews with such key figures as Bill Clinton. Jane Mayer talks to Toobin about how McVeigh’s principles and tactics have flourished, reaching an apotheosis on January 6 when hundreds of rioters stormed the Capitol, and how the story can serve as a warning for the future.

The last few minutes of this program are an excerpt from a 2017 appearance by actor, filmmaker, and author Tom Hanks, who will appear later this spring to discuss his debut novel. filmmaker, and author Tom Hanks, who will appear later this spring to discuss his debut novel, The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece.

Clint Smith and Terisa Siagatonu Apr 23, 2023

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Poets Clint Smith and Terisa Siagatonu address issues like climate change, while also looking back at American history. Clint Smith is the author of the best-selling narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America and the poetry collection Counting Descent. His latest, Above Ground, traverses the vast emotional terrain of fatherhood, particularly Black fatherhood.

Terisa Siagatonu is an award-winning poet, teaching artist, mental health educator, and community leader born and rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her writing blends the personal, cultural, and political in a way that calls for healing, courage, justice, and truth.

On April 12, 2023, Clint Smith and Terisa Siagatonu came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco.

Nita Farahany and Preet Bharara Apr 16, 2023

Show notes

What is “cheating” in the era of generative AI and cognitive enhancers? What rights do we have against institutional misuse of AI and nanotechnology? These technologies have permeated everything from criminal justice to the future of work – and without proper safeguards, they have the power to wreak havoc on our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, podcast host, and author Preet Bharara (Doing Justice) talks with futurist and legal ethicist Nita Farahany (The Battle for Your Brain) about these questions, and how we can navigate the complex legal and ethical dilemmas that lie ahead. They also discuss the charges against former President Donald Trump. This program was recorded at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on April 6, 2023.

Laurel Braitman and Samin Nosrat Apr 09, 2023

Show notes

Laurel Braitman is the Director of Writing and Storytelling at The Medicine and the Muse Program at Stanford School of Medicine. There, she helps clinical students, staff, and physicians communicate more clearly and vulnerably – for their own benefit as well as that of their patients. Braitman is also the founder of “Writing Medicine”, a global community of health care professionals. Her new memoir, What Looks Like Bravery: An Epic Journey Through Loss to Love, examines grief and chronicles a life spent learning how to outfish fishermen, keep bees, and fix cars – all against the backdrop of a parent with terminal illness. On March 31, 2023, Laurel Braitman came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater for an on-stage conversation with her longtime friend Samin Nosrat. Nosrat’s a cook, teacher, podcaster, and the author of the cookbook Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, which became a Netflix series.

Atul Gawande Apr 02, 2023

Show notes

Atul Gawande is a surgeon and author who’s well-known for his clear and eloquent writing on medicine. He was a staff writer for “The New Yorker” magazine from 1998 until 2022, when President Biden appointed him to lead global health at the US Agency for International Development. Gawande is the author of four best-selling books including “The Checklist Manifesto,” and most recently, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End”. In that book, Gawande considers what medicine can not overcome - death. Along with the lessons he’s learned treating patients who are facing death, Gawande writes about his own family’s experience as his father’s health declined. Dr. Gawande’s unique perspective on the practice of medicine, especially things not so often discussed, has inspired us to invite him back to our stage numerous times. This conversation - with cognitive neuroscientist Indre Viskontas - is from 2017. It was recorded at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco.

Jennifer Egan Mar 26, 2023

Show notes

This week, our guest is Jennifer Egan, who writes with nuance on an astounding range of subjects and disciplines. Her novels include The Invisible Circus, Look at Me, and Manhattan Beach, That intellectual breadth also shows up in her journalism, featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and elsewhere. Her most recent novel, The Candy House, is a sort of sibling to the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad, featuring some of that book’s most beloved characters. It’s set in a near-future in which a technology allows you to access any memory you’ve ever had. From first person plural, to third person, to a chapter written in tweets, The Candy House demonstrates why Egan is one of the most acclaimed fiction writers in recent years. On March 16, 2023, Jennifer Egan came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Steven Winn.

Encore: Michael Pollan Mar 19, 2023

Show notes

For more than thirty years, Michael Pollan has been writing books and articles about the places where the human and natural worlds intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in our minds. His many acclaimed titles include How to Change Your Mind, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and The Botany of Desire. In his recent essay collection, This is Your Mind on Plants, Pollan takes a deep dive into three psychoactive plants: opium, caffeine, and mescaline. Pollan co-founded the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. The center combines research, training, and public education to explore the psychological and biological effects of psychedelics on cognition, perception and emotion.

Pollan was interviewed on stage at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on July 26, 2022, by Lauren Schiller. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book It’s a Good Day to Change the World, and the creator and host of Inflection Point, an award-winning podcast and public radio show about how women rise up, build power and lead change.

Tsitsi Dangarembga & Angela Davis Mar 12, 2023

Show notes

Tsitsi Dangarembga is a novelist, playwright, activist, and filmmaker. She is the author of the Tambudzai Trilogy, which traces the life of a rural girl from her childhood in colonial Zimbabwe to her adulthood in a country repressed by political elites. The first novel in the series, Nervous Conditions, was “hailed as one of the 20th century’s most significant works of African literature”. On February 28, 2023, Tsitsi Dangarembga came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater to read from her new essay collection, Black and Female, and to talk with the legendary Black activist Angela Davis.

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