City Arts & Lectures

An encore presentation from 2020: Crosstalk is a two-part series of compiled conversations between City Arts & Lectures guests from recent years discussing literary identity and the sometimes pleasurable, sometimes painful, act of writing. Guests include Ocean Vuong, Zadie Smith, Marlon James, Ottessa Moshfegh, Tommy Orange, Eileen Myles, Rebecca Solnit, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Crosstalk is produced by Juliet Gelfman-Randazzo.

A conversation on the science of sleep and how we can improve it for better health with Dr. Matt Walker. Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley and the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science whose research examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease. He is the author of Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreaming and over 100 scientific research studies on everything from sleep’s effects on memory, diet and motor skills to the consequences of sleep deprivation. Indre Viskontas is a cognitive neuroscientist with the University of California, San Francisco and a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has published groundbreaking work on the neural basis of memory and creativity, and co-hosts the popular science podcast Inquiring Minds. This program was recorded at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on June 10, 2022.

In The Ministry for the Future, science fiction novelist Kim Stanley Robinson imagines a near-future where climate change has wreaked havoc, from severe heat waves, to flooding, limited resources, and a global refugee crisis. It’s a terrifying set of circumstances. But it’s not without hope - and Robinson brings to life a possible path for survival.  Robinson has also published a memoir, The High Sierra: A Love Story. On June 7, 2022, Kim Stanley Robinson talked with his friend, author and environmental activist, Bill McKibben, about his work, the challenges facing environmentalists, and how older people can play an important role. This program also includes an excerpt from the audiobook of The High Sierra read by the author, courtesy Hachette Books.

This week, a conversation with one of today’s most beloved and historically imaginative authors: Amor Towles. Towles earned wide critical acclaim and a loyal international audience with his 2016 novel, A Gentleman in Moscow. His new book, The Lincoln Highway, follows four boys on an exhilarating ten-day trip across America, from the farmlands of Nebraska to the bustling streets of New York City. On June 7, 2022, Amor Towles came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Steven Winn. 

Our guest is writer, scholar, and activist Angela Davis. For more than 5 decades, Davis has been fighting for Black liberation, equal rights for women, queer and transgender people. Davis first received national attention in 1969, after being removed from her teaching position at UCLA for her social activism and membership to the Communist Party. In 1970, she was placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List” on false charges, which culminated in one of the most famous trials in recent U.S. history. A massive international “Free Angela Davis” campaign was organized, leading to her acquittal in 1972. Davis is a founding member of Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to dismantling the prison-industrial complex, and the author of books including Freedom is a Constant Struggle and Women, Race & Class. On May 24, 2022, Angela Davis came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to choreographer and activist Alonzo King.

This week, we’ll listen to a conversation with David Mitchell and Pico Iyer, recorded on May 8, 2021. David Mitchell’s many novels include Cloud Atlas, The Bone Clocks, and Ghostwritten. . His most recent novel, Utopia Avenue, follows the strangest British band you’ve never heard of. Mitchell’s stories often weave together the supernatural and the philosophical.  He’s also one of the most structurally inventive writers of our time, featuring nonlinear storylines and multiple genres within a single book. Pico Iyer is a travel writer, essayist, and novelist, whose many books include Video Night in Kathmandu and The Lady and the Monk.

This week,  journalist Michael Lewis is in conversation with his fellow writer and friend Dave Eggers. Michael Lewis is the author of books including Moneyball and The Big Short, and most recently The Premonition: A Pandemic Story. It’s a nonfiction thriller filled with the unforgettable characters that Lewis is known for. His knack for storytelling is also what makes his podcast Against the Rules so captivating.  It’s about the state of “fairness” in American life – and each episode tackles the issue through the lens of people who depend on public trust - from sports referees to health care providers. On May 19, 2022, Michael Lewis came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Dave Eggers about season three of the podcast, and share stories of his own life too.  

This week, our guest is Neil Gaiman. He’s been called one of the modern masters of fantasy writing, but his work includes other genres too, from novels like American Gods and Neverwhere, to song lyrics, and poetry. His groundbreaking series The Sandman was the first comic ever to receive a literary award. It’s now being adapted into a show on Netflix. Coraline, his dark fantasy for children, was made into a movie too. On May 3, 2022, Neil Gaiman appeared at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to read and take questions from fans.

Neil Gaiman has been called one of the modern masters of fantasy writing, but his work includes other genres too, from novels like American Gods and Neverwhere, to song lyrics, and poetry. His groundbreaking series The Sandman was the first comic ever to receive a literary award. It’s now being adapted into a show on Netflix. Coraline, his dark fantasy for children, was made into a movie too. In this bonus podcast taken from his appearance at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco on May 3, 2022 , Gaiman reads his story “Chivalry”, which he published in 1998 as part of the collection “Smoke and Mirrors”. It’s the story of an elderly woman who finds the Holy Grail in a thrift shop. .

This week, our guest is Richard Powers. He’s the author of thirteen novels on everything from neuroscience, to artificial intelligence to the environment. His book, “The Overstory” earned him a Pulitzer prize in fiction. The Financial Times called it “A Great American Eco-Novel.” His latest book is called “Bewilderment”, and it also deals with environmental catastrophe. It’s the story of a widowed father and his son, and their journey into the wilderness.  On April twenty-fifth, 2022, Richard Powers came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to neuroscientist Indre Viskontas. Mutual admirers, the two had much to discuss, from the cognitive basis of creativity to our relationship with the natural and digital worlds.