Jean Strouse sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winner Hernan Diaz to discuss her latest book Family Romance: John Singer Sargent and the Wertheimers . Strouse's account illuminates a period of tumultuous social change that saw the declining fortunes of the British aristocracy, the dramatic rise of new wealth on both sides of the Atlantic, and the birth of the modern art market.
Dec 24, 2024•58 min
In her new biography, The Elements of Marie Curie, Dava Sobel explores not just on Curie’s legendary genius, but the 45 women who worked in her lab—from Marguerite Perey, who discovered the element francium, to Curie’s elder daughter, Irène, winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Sobel chronicles Curie’s remarkable life of discovery alongside the lives of the women who followed down the trail she blazed. Sobel discusses her new book with science journalist Angela Saini.
Dec 17, 2024•58 min
Daniel Saldaña París speaks with Chloé Cooper Jones about his latest book Planes Flying over a Monster , which explores the cities where París has lived, each one home to a new iteration of himself. These now diverging, now coalescing selves raise questions: Where can we find authenticity? How do we construct the stories that define us? What if our formative memories are closer to fiction than truth?
Dec 10, 2024•55 min
Dive into the Library’s collections for true tales of crime and chicanery from some of the city’s most outstanding lawbreakers. Beloved actors and performers read stories mined from the Library’s collections about the words and deeds of New Yorkers who lived on either side of the letter of the law.
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Beloved artist and author Maira Kalman sits down with author Rumaan Alam to discuss her new collection of illustrations, Still Life with Remorse , her most autobiographical and intimate work to date.
Nov 26, 2024•52 min
Celebrating The Joy of Connections, the last book of beloved icon (and long-time New Yorker) Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Co-authors Allison Gilbert and Pierre Lehu are joined by Dr. Ruth's children, Dr. Miriam Westheimer and Dr. Joel Westheimer, in a conversation moderated by WABC-TV's Bill Ritter.
Nov 19, 2024•53 min
Glory Edim, the founder of Well-Read Black Girl , discusses her new memoir, Gather Me , an ode to the power reading has had on her life and to books’ ability to help us understand ourselves.
Nov 12, 2024•55 min
Clara Bingham discusses her new book, The Movement , the first oral history of the decade that built the modern feminist movement.
Nov 05, 2024•58 min
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, the beloved marine biologist and policy expert imagines an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min
The U.S. Poet Laureate and Caldecott honoree Illustrator discuss their transcendent picture book featuring a poem that will travel into space aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper.
Oct 22, 2024•55 min
Author Richard Powers discusses his latest novel, Playground, which intertwines tales of technology, race, friendships, and the environment.
Oct 15, 2024•58 min
Not all evangelical churches fit the stereotypes. In their latest books, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Eliza Griswold and the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute, Hahrie Han, bear witness to two churches who break the mold. In Circle of Hope, Griswold chronicles the ravaging and ultimately destructive results to a group of progressive-leaning Philadelphia evangelicals who attempt a racial reckoning. In Undivided, Han follows four members of a conservative Midwest church whose lives...
Oct 08, 2024•58 min
DéLana R.A. Dameron is in conversation with author Renée Watson about her debut novel Redwood Court.
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Connie Chung talks with Walter Isaacson about her new memoir, Connie . The book delves into her storied career as the first Asian woman to break into an overwhelmingly white, male-dominated television news industry. Chung is the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News and the first Asian to anchor any news program in the U.S.
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr
Brodesser-Akner, the author of Fleishman is in Trouble, came by the Library to talk about her latest novel, Long Island Compromise, the story of an American family and the dark moment that shatters the myth of their suburban paradise. She spoke with New York Times Magazine editor-in-chief, Jake Silverstein.
Sep 19, 2024•58 min
Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v. Wade with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , the future of abortion access, reproductive rights, and women’s healthcare is murkier than ever. In this episode of Library Talks , a panel of experts examines the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision, including what they’re seeing on the ground and where we might be headed in this significant election year. Featuring Lourdes Rivera, President of Pregn...
Sep 03, 2024•59 min
The renowned novelist and the revered artist discuss their new book, An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children , a unique collaboration that explores the hidden history of the plant world.
Aug 20, 2024•47 min
Artist, producer, and former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe recently published his fourth book of photography, Even the birds gave pause , which features a series of works-in-progress in plaster, concrete, rotocast plastics, ceramics, bookmaking, and darkroom photographic printing. On this episode of Library Talks, Stipe sits down with artist Taryn Simon to discuss his book and creative practice.
Aug 06, 2024•53 min
Neel Mukherjee speaks with fellow author Hanya Yanagihara about his latest book, an explosive novel about the ramifications of choice.
Jul 23, 2024•58 min
In this episode of Library Talks, Stephen Breyer, retired Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, delivers the annual Robert B. Silvers Lecture. Breyer’s talk is inspired by his most recent book, Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism , which examines some of the most important cases in the nation’s history.
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 15 min
In this episode of Library Talks, investor and climate champion Tom Steyer sits down with New York Times columnist David Wallace-Wells to discuss his new book, Cheaper, Faster, Better: How We'll Win the Climate War .
Jun 25, 2024•57 min
In this episode of Library Talks, Colm Tóibín sits down with Irish writer Caoilinn Hughes to discuss his latest book, Long Island , which takes place twenty years after the events of his bestselling and beloved novel Brooklyn .
Jun 11, 2024•56 min
The groundbreaking translator and professor of classics reads from and discusses her masterful new English version of the greatest literary landmark of antiquity. Actors Ben Shenkman and Morgan Spector will read selections from Wilson's translation.
May 28, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Social and technology critic Ruha Benjamin examines the power of our imagination to challenge systems of oppression and to create a world in which everyone can thrive.
May 14, 2024•59 min
Legendary novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson discusses her new book, Reading Genesis, with author Ayana Mathis. Often overlooked as a piece of literature, Robinson reconsiders The Book of Genesis and its exploration of themes that resonate throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Apr 30, 2024•57 min
Hillary Rodham Clinton sits down with author Jennifer Weiner to discuss books, politics, and much more.
Apr 16, 2024•57 min
Journalist and the author Sasha Issenberg sits down with the New York Times’ senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman to discuss his latest book, The Lie Detectives .
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr
The Accidental Icon Lyn Slater, a fashion and culture influencer, talks about her new book, How to Be Old , and reflects on life in her 60s. She speaks with Chloé Cooper Jones, author of the bestselling memoir Easy Beauty.
Mar 19, 2024•57 min
Author and journalist Benjamin Balint sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Joshua Cohen to discuss Balint’s latest book Bruno Schulz , a fresh portrait of the Polish-Jewish writer and artist that draws on extensive new reporting and archival research.
Mar 05, 2024•57 min
The author of Sudden Death returns with a new novel that reimagines the destinies of Tenochtitlan.
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 2 min