In procrastination mode while finishing the screenplay for her second film, Miranda July obsessively read the Pennysaver. Who was the person selling Care Bears for two dollars each? She crisscrossed L.A. to meet a random selection of PennySaver sellers, grabbing hold of the invisible world in a book that blends narrative, interviews, photographs and deadpan humor.
Challenging our concept of what science is; how it works; and who it is for, outsider physicist Jim Carter discusses with science writer Margaret Wertheim his own theory of matter, energy, and gravity.
A literary icon for Los Angeles and a cultural visionary for the rest of America, the acclaimed author of The White Album, The Year of Magical Thinking, and most recently, Blue Nights, discusses her current work and life in Los Angeles in the 60s. Part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA 1945-1980
Philip K. Dick dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception, the malleability of space and time, and the relationship between the human and divine. Dick's two daughters and novelist Jonathan Lethem- Exegesis co-editor-serve as guides to exploring the magnificent final work of the author.
Artists, scholars, and cultural activists from Europe, Mexico, and the United States convene in Los Angeles-home to migrants, refugees, and exiles from all over the world-to share their respective experiences with and approaches to border issues. In an age of increased border militarization, how might we redefine borderlands as zones of mutual intermingling, co-existence, and dialogue? Made possible by special funding from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, part of the 2011 Mi...
Having spent the last 40 years examining his experiences in Vietnam, Marlantes, the decorated war veteran and bestselling author (Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War), discusses his visceral new nonfiction book about the psychological and spiritual toll that combat takes on those who fight.
From Chaplin to Schwarzenegger, movie stars have played a leading role in shaping the course of American politics. Join us for a conversation about how Hollywood has evolved into a vital center for American political life.
Twenty years after her testimony in the Clarence Thomas confirmation mesmerized the nation, Hill shifts her focus from the public forum to the private. As today's families are being devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis, Hill speaks out for a new understanding about the importance of home and its place in the American Dream.
In MacArthur Award-winning Whitehead's satiric take on the post-apocalyptic horror novel, a plague has sorted humanity into two types: the infected and the uninfected, the living and the living dead. How will these civilians rebuild their lives? Join this subversive discussion about the 21st century zombie.
How did a 19-year-old undocumented migrant worker toiling in the tomato fields of central California become an internationally renowned neurosurgeon? Join us for a story about the importance of family, of mentors, the fight to cure brain cancer, and of giving people a chance.In association with the exhibition, "A Nation Emerges: The Mexican Revolution Revealed"
From the Russian steppes to Spanish and French anthems for love, liberty and freedom, ¡REVOLUCIÓN! looks at a pivotal historic event-- the Mexican Revolution--through an Internationalist gaze, showcasing a rare ensemble of Chicano musical, visual and performance talent.In association with the exhibition, "A Nation Emerges: The Mexican Revolution Revealed"
Dorfman, one of Latin America's great writers and ally to President Allende, fled Chile in the wake of the military coup in 1973. His passionate memoir describes the transformative decades of exile, his eventual questioning of allegiance to past and party, and the unimaginable outcome of his return to Chile 17 years later.
The Irish author of The Gathering (Man Booker Prize) discusses her new novel-set in suburban Dublin with an unforgettably spirited heroine- that explores the momentous romance of everyday life and the volatile arena of family and marriage.
Award-winning criminologist Kennedy, who orchestrated the \"Boston Miracle\", a revolutionary method for gang intervention in the mid-1990s, writes about this successful approach in his new book, Don't Shoot, and discusses solving the problem of crime in our country today, along with the launch of \"Operation Ceasefire\" in Los Angeles with Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department Charlie Beck.
In a personal account of the communal power of women to change history, the founder of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace chronicles the unthinkable violence she's confronted living through civil war and the peace she helped to broker by empowering her countrywomen and others around the world to take action.
In a provocative and controversial history, Winkler, a constitutional lawyer, disputes that guns--not abortion, race, or religion--are at the heart of America's cultural divide. Co-presented with the Council of the Library Foundation
From the best-selling author of 1491-a study of the pre-Columbian Americas- comes a deeply engaging new history that explores the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs.
Reiss, a leading expert on dolphins (adviser for the Oscar-winning film, The Cove), offers both a scientific revelation and an emotional eye-opener in this reflection on one of the greatest intelligences on the planet.
Common, the Grammy award-winning hip-hop artist and actor was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. on Chicago's rough South Side. In his soulfully candid memoir, he unleashes himself line by line--from his childhood to tragic losses, from addiction to love--revealing the inner-makings of an extraordinary life.
In this sequel to Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller returns to Africa and her unforgettable family in a multilayered narrative that contrasts the perfectly lit, Happy Valley-era Africa of her mother's childhood and the darker, civil war-torn Africa of her own.
Mycoskie, the man behind TOMS Shoes and Goldhirsh, founder of GOOD, discuss alternatives for creating work that simultaneously fulfills our hunger for material success, philanthropic impact, and personal meaning.
It took fifty years and more before a former real-estate billboard atop Mt. Lee became the world-wide symbol of Hollywood. How did it happen? A master interpreter of popular culture examines why the Hollywood sign is unique in the way cities show themselves to the world.
When a massive wildfire blazed across California in June 2008, five monks risked their lives to save Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Pyne-- wildfire expert and the country's pre-eminent fire historian-- and Busch-- author and longtime Zen student-- discuss the ways of wildfires in the West and what it means to meet a crisis with full presence of mind. Program one of four, co-presented with the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West
Four veteran Los Angeles crime writers discuss the genre they love and the stories that keep them up at night. Paula L. Woods (Charlotte Justice mystery series) talks murder and mayhem with Haywood (Cemetery Road), Hirahara (Blood Hina), and Smith (Moist).
McMillen--part sculptor, installation artist, printmaker, cultural anthropologist and L.A. native-- has been creating environmental installations with architectural references that deal with themes of time, change, and illusion since the 1970s, and his work is the subject of a current retrospective at the Oakland Museum of Art. Join us for a glimpse into McMillen's creative process and current obsessions.
In this popular, long-running event, six talented Los Angeles poets present short readings of their work. Hosted by Suzanne Lummis, Los Angeles Poetry Festival, and Richard Modiano, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
The Hollywood home of Laura and Aldous Huxley, psychedelic pioneer and author of Brave New World, was a hotspot for the West Coast artistic avant-garde like Igor Stravinsky and Christopher Isherwood. Join us for a discussion of the Huxleys' influence on American culture, plus excerpts from Mary Ann Braubach's 2009 documentary, Huxley on Huxley.
In her wickedly bittersweet and hilarious novel You Must Go and Win, the Ukrainian-born, critically acclaimed singer traces her bizarre journey through the indie rock world, from disastrous Craigslist auditions with sketchy producers to catching fleas in a Williamsburg sublet. Simone performs songs from her newly released Make Your Own Danger album.
Are the media arts a sensitizing force? What is media art's capacity to respond to political conditions? Cultural practitioners and scholars explore the role artists play as innovators of media technology and instigators in the public and media art realms. Co-presented with Freewaves
HBO's Treme (from the creators of The Wire) is set in the aftermath of the greatest man-made disaster in American history. Join us for a discussion of New Orleans' music and its unique culture as reflected in one of episodic television's most powerful dramas.
