City Arts & Lectures

Bill McKibben, a renowned climate activist and founder of 350.org, sits down with journalist Lauren Markham to discuss his latest book, Here Comes the Sun. They highlight the rapid global adoption of solar energy, particularly in places like Pakistan and Africa, and how it promotes climate justice. McKibben also addresses historical obstacles to solar uptake and local reforms needed for its expansion. He emphasizes the affordability of renewables, engages with audience concerns, and motivates listeners to get involved in the climate movement.

Samin Nosrat, a celebrated chef and author known for her popular work Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, engages in a delightful conversation with Hrishikesh Hirway, co-host of Home Cooking. They explore Samin's creative journey in writing her new book, Good Things, which centers on food rituals and incorporating vegetables. She shares insights on crafting must-have pantry staples, the importance of community dinners, and the joy of adapting recipes. Samin even touches on the connection between poetry and cooking, making for a delectable discussion.

Our guest today is Mary Roach, a science writer who’s often drawn to taboo, or simply squeamish subjects, like sex, cadavers, or the digestive process. In books like Stiff, Bonk, Gulp, and Packing For Mars, Roach teaches her readers about the human body as well as basic – and not so basic – scientific concepts. It’s science through storytelling – and humor. On July 28, 2025. Roach came to KQED’s studios in San Francisco to talk about her new book, Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy, with journalist Alexis Madrigal, the co-host of KQED’s Forum.

Brian Greene, a theoretical physicist renowned for his work on superstring theory, joins journalist Alexis Madrigal to explore captivating concepts of the universe. They discuss the origins of the Big Bang, the nature of time, and the intriguing idea of multiverses, which could reshape our understanding of reality. Greene also highlights the crucial role of scientists in fighting misinformation and touches on how fundamental physics influences technology. This engaging conversation makes complex ideas accessible, sparking curiosity about our cosmos.

This week…. An encore of our 2019 program with Jeff Tweedy, founding member of the band Wilco, in conversation with writer George Saunders. It’s been over thirty years since Wilco formed. The seminal alt-country band still performs together while Tweedy contributes to other projects too, recording solo albums and behind the scenes as a producer and songwriter for the iconic soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples. He’s also the author of several books, including the memoir Let’s Go, So We Can Get Back.On January 11, 2019, Tweedy came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with the writer George Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo. 

This is an encore presentation of a 2022 broadcast.  Patti Smith is a writer, performer, and visual artist who gained recognition in the 1970s for her revolutionary merging of poetry and rock. She has released numerous albums and books including her seminal record Horses, hailed as one of the top 100 albums of all time; Just Kids, a beautifully crafted love letter to her lifelong friend, the late photographer Robert Mapplethorpe; and M Train, a collection of essays about memory, loss, and the simple pleasures of everyday life. Her new book, A Book of Days, is an intimate view into Smith’s life, particularly as it played out during the pandemic, and it features over 365 of her own photographs. The brilliantly idiosyncratic visual book features a year’s worth of images and reflections that chart Smith’s singular aesthetic—inspired by her wildly popular Instagram. Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.  On November 28, 2022, Patti Smith came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with novelist Michael Chabon.

This week…. An encore of our 2016 conversation with legendary musician Paul Simon.  Paul Simon first gained prominence in the 1960s as one-half of duo Simon and Garfunkel. Their hits included The Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, and songs from their fifth and final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. Simon expanded his music beyond traditional American folk rock in a highly successful solo career that included platinum selling albums like Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints. He was twice inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.On June 6, 2016, Simon came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to writer Dave Eggers about his painstaking process, in which he has sometimes taken more than two years to finish a single song -  and about the physics of sound. At the time this program was recorded, Simon was touring and had just performed two concerts at Berkeley’s Greek Theater.  In 2018, he announced he was retiring from public performance, in part because of hearing issues. but in 2025, at the age of 83, he returned to the stage with “A Quiet Celebration Tour”.  

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.

Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, is one of today’s leading voices addressing issues of income inequality.  Reich served in three presidential administrations, and recently retired from teaching at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Policy after nearly 20 years.  His classes were among the most popular on campus, and the end of his teaching career inspired the documentary “The Last Class”.  Reich publishes extensively on social media and is the author of more than 20 books including his new memoir, “Coming Up Short”. On July 23, 2025, Reich spoke with Monika Bauerlein, the CEO of the Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit multimedia news organization that houses Mother Jones magazine and the radio show and podcast Reveal. 

This week, we're going into the archives for a conversation with Bruce Springsteen, recorded in 2016. The legendary rock star had just published his autobiography, Born To Run. It was later adapted into a Tony-award winning one-man-show, Springsteen on Broadway. On October 5, 2016, Springsteen came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Dan Stone about his life in rock and roll. Fans had travelled across the country for the chance to hear “The Boss” and the energy in the room was more stadium concert than book talk. The conversation still managed to be intimate and deeply personal, including Springsteen’s candid thoughts on failure and fame.