Sixth & I LIVE

In Why We’re Polarized, Ezra Klein, the editor-at-large and cofounder of Vox, reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction and what that polarization has done to the way we see the world and one another. In conversation with Jamelle Bouie, an Opinion columnist for The New York Times.  This program was held on January 27, 2020.

From Isabel Allende, the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, comes A Long Petal of the Sea, an epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents as it follows two young people fleeing the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home. In conversation with David Epstein, a former reporter for ProPublica and Sports Illustrated and author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. This program was held in partnership with Politics and Prose on January 21, 2020. 

With primary voting about to start, Barbaro, host of The New York Times podcast “The Daily,” and Rudoren, editor-in-chief of The Forward, engage in a lively discussion of the 2020 political landscape, covering how the issues many Jews care about are playing out in the race and how they view the campaign as journalists who are both Jewish.  This program was held in partnership with The Forward on January 23, 2020. 

Journalists Wajahat Ali (Muslim), Peter Beinart (Jewish), and Liz Bruenig (Christian), a motley group of monotheists, discuss how they bring their faith to bear in their work navigating the frayed political and cultural terrains of today’s political landscape, in a conversation moderated by Rabbi Shira Stutman.

In Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over, New York Times food columnist Alison Roman reinvents what it means to cook for company with low-stress and high-impact recipes designed to make your life easier. This program was held in partnership with Politics and Prose on December 10, 2019. 

With the ties that bind us fraying at alarming speed, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg leads a discussion—based on the magazine’s December special issue, “How to Stop a Civil War“—with writers Yoni Appelbaum, Caitlin Flanagan, and Adam Serwer. This program was held in partnership with The Atlantic on December 9, 2019. 

Debbie Harry evokes many images: seminal rock-n-roll figure, incandescent frontwoman, actor and fashion icon. After decades as a shaper of pop culture, Harry recounts her journey from an irreverent Lower East Side punk goddess to an ambassador of New York cool in her New York Times bestselling memoir, Face It. This event held on December 4, 2019 features Harry in conversation with Blondie co-founder and renowned photographer Chris Stein and multidisciplinary artist and director Rob Roth.

From Lindy West, the New York Times columnist and bestselling author of Shrill, comes The Witches Are Coming, an incisive cultural critique that explains how patriarchy, intolerance, and misogyny are still alive and well. This program was held in partnership with Politics and Prose on November 11, 2019. 

News coverage about Israelis, Palestinians, Jews and Arabs is filled with narratives of right versus wrong. What happens when instead of perpetuating a culture of blame, those on each side of the conflict challenge themselves to listen and build? Rabbi Shira Stutman moderates a conversation with those involved in unlikely partnerships, including Alon-Lee Green and Maisam Jaljuli of Standing Together, and Tawfik Abu-Wael and Joseph Cedar, two of the co-creators of the new HBO series “Our Boys.” This program was held on October 24, 2019.  Standing Together’s visit is made possible through support from the New Israel Fund. This event is underwritten by an anonymous community member.

In We Are the Weather, Jonathan Safran Foer, the bestselling author of Eating Animals, asserts that saving the planet from climate change will involve a reckoning with humans’ reluctance to sacrifice immediate comfort for the sake of the future. In conversation with Libby Casey, the on-air reporter covering politics and accountability for The Washington Post.  This program was held on October 23, 2019.