
Library Talks
Join The New York Public Library and your favorite writers, artists, and thinkers for smart talks and provocative conversations from the nation’s cultural capital.
Latest episodes

Oct 1, 2024 • 1h 1min
Library Talks: DéLana R. A. Dameron with Renée Watson: Redwood Court
DéLana R.A. Dameron is in conversation with author Renée Watson about her debut novel Redwood Court.

Sep 25, 2024 • 60min
Connie Chung with Walter Isaacson
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 19, 2024 • 58min
Taffy Brodesser-Akner: Long Island Compromise
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 3, 2024 • 59min
Protecting Reproductive Freedoms: Lourdes Rivera, Meera Shah, Reva Siegel, and Jessica Bruder
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 Pregnancy Justice Dr. Meera Shah, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Reva Siegel, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law at Yale Law School Jessica Bruder, Journalist and Author

Aug 20, 2024 • 47min
Jamaica Kincaid & Kara Walker with Hilton Als: An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children
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 6, 2024 • 53min
Michael Stipe with Taryn Simon: Portraits of Now
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.

Jul 23, 2024 • 58min
Neel Mukherjee with Hanya Yanagihara: Choice
Neel Mukherjee speaks with fellow author Hanya Yanagihara about his latest book, an explosive novel about the ramifications of choice.

Jul 9, 2024 • 1h 15min
Justice Stephen Breyer: Choosing Pragmatism Over Textualism
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.

Jun 25, 2024 • 57min
Tom Steyer with David Wallace-Wells: Winning the Climate War
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 11, 2024 • 56min
Colm Tóibín with Caoilinn Hughes: Long Island
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.