Posts by Live Talks LA

Listening in the Dark breathes new life into an ancient wisdom by taking a fresh and powerful look at our relationship to intuition and how we can harness it to change our everyday lives and the world. .
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Amber Tamblyn is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominated actress, writer, and director, and the author of seven books across genres, including Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution and the best seller, Dark Sparkler, a poetry collection on the lives and deaths of child star actresses, as well as the novel, Any Man about a female serial rapist who attacks men. In 2016 she directed and co-wrote the 2016 film Paint it Black starring Alia Shawkat and Janet Mcteer based on the novel by Janet Fitch which can be seen on Amazon. Tamblyn was a founder of the Times Up Organization and reviews books of poetry by women for Bust Magazine. She is a contributing writer for The New York Times and The Cut on issues pertaining to gender inequality and women’s rage. 
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Roxane Gay’s writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney’s, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, and Hunger and the nationally bestselling Difficult Women. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. She also has a newsletter, The Audacity and a podcast, The Roxane Gay Agenda.
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Listening in the Dark: Women Reclaiming the Power of Intuition

This remarkable anthology includes essays from Jessica Valenti, Lidia Yuknavitch, Jia Tolentino, Samantha Irby, Meredith Talusan, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Amy Poehler, America Ferrera, Ada Limón, Huma Abedin and many others, who all share how intuition has helped to shape and alter their life choices.
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Have you ever had a feeling about something that you just couldn’t explain, but knew was right or wrong? Something that was telling you in your gut what decision to make, which direction to go in, or what to believe? For generations, women have been taught to ignore their intuitive intelligence, whether in their personal lives or professional ones, in favor of making logical, evidence-based decisions. But what if that small voice or deeper knowing was our greatest gift, an untapped power we could use to affect positive change?
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Edited by author, activist, and actress Amber Tamblyn, Listening in the Dark is a compilation of some of today’s most striking women visionaries across industries—in literature, science, art, education, medicine, and politics—who share their experiences engaging with their own inner wisdom in pivotal, crossroad moments.
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Filled with deeply personal and revelatory essays, Listening in the Dark will empower readers to reconnect with their own unique intuitive process, to see it as the precious resource it is, and to be unafraid to listen to all that it has to say and all that it has to offer. 

A former US senator and legal scholar examine the ongoing effort to radically change the laws of our land, and articulate a plan for how to handle it.
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Russ Feingold, as a lawmaker, diplomat, attorney, and professor has devoted his career to protecting the Constitution’s bedrock guarantees. He served as United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. Feingold was the only senator to vote against the Patriot Act, citing civil liberty concerns, and cosponsored the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act), the most important campaign finance reform in decades. He sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and chaired its Sub-committee on the Constitution.
 
Feingold has also served as a U.S. special envoy and taught at Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and Marquette Law Schools. He is now president of the American Constitution Society, the nation’s leading progressive legal organization, and an affiliated scholar of the Stanford Constitutional Law Center. He is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. His previous book, While America Sleeps: a Wake-up Call for the Post-9/11 Era, was a New York Times bestseller.
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Peter Prindiville is a nonresident fellow at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center. He previously was a fellow on the Senate Judiciary Committee and a high school history and civics teacher. Prindiville earned a law degree from Stanford; master’s degrees from Notre Dame and University College Cork, Ireland, where he was a Mitchell Scholar; and an undergraduate degree from Georgetown.
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“A page-turning and eye-opening examination of the many forces working to alter the bedrock foundation of our nation: the Constitution itself.”
—Senator Cory Booker

“A well-crafted book about the history, relevance, challenges, and future of the Constitution’s amendment process. This book is for all citizens who want to better understand our Constitution and why it is the core and soul of our democracy—Senator Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense and U.S. Senator
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Over the last two decades, a fringe plan to call a convention under the Constitution’s amendment mechanism—the nation’s first ever—has inched through statehouses. Delegates, like those in Philadelphia two centuries ago, would exercise nearly unlimited authority to draft changes to our fundamental law, potentially altering anything from voting and free speech rights to regulatory and foreign policy powers. Such a watershed moment would present great danger, and for some, great power.
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In this important book, Feingold and Prindiville distill extensive legal and historical research and examine the grave risks inherent in this effort. But they also consider the role of constitutional amendment in modern life. Though many focus solely on judicial and electoral avenues for change, such an approach is at odds with a cornerstone ideal of the Founding: that the People make constitutional law, directly. In an era defined by faction and rejection of long-held norms, The Constitution in Jeopardy examines the nature of constitutional change and asks urgent questions about what American democracy is, and should be.

 

A radically compassionate plan for turning inward and lifting the heaviness that prevents us from healing ourselves and the world, from the New York Times bestselling author of Clarity & Connection

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Diego Perez is a meditator and New York Times bestselling author who is widely known on Instagram and various social media networks through his pen name Yung Pueblo. The name is meant to convey that humanity is entering an era of remarkable growth and healing, when many will expand their self-awareness and release old burdens. He has an audience of over 2.2 million people online, and his writing focuses on the power of self-healing, creating healthy relationships, and the wisdom that comes when we truly work on knowing ourselves. His two books, Inward and Clarity & Connection were both instant bestsellers. 
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Sah D’Simone is a yogi, mystic, artist, best-selling author, top-rated Spiritually Sassy podcast host, and creator of The Somatic Activated Healing (SAH) Method. He is pioneering a heart-based healing movement rooted in science-backed, tried-and-true techniques, in which joy and authenticity illuminate the path to enlightenment. His enthusiasm for healing is grounded in a masterful and revolutionary synthesis of ancient Buddhism, modern contemplative psychotherapy, meditation, breathwork, and integrative nutrition… all delivered in his own radiant, approachable, and playful style.  His teachings have helped enrich the lives of millions of people, and inspire a new generation of change-makers. His books include 5-Minute Daily Meditations and Spiritually Sassy: 8 Radical Steps to Activate Your Innate Superpowers. Find Sah on Instagram and TikTok: @SahDSimone
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“Facing a pivotal moment, Yung Pueblo turned inward and learned that through investigation he could build a new way to think and live. He learned that true love of self is possible. Lighter shares his journey in a way that will touch you deeply, as he offers hope that peace is possible for ourselves and the world.”—Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness
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A radically compassionate plan for turning inward and lifting the heaviness that prevents us from healing ourselves and the world, from the New York Times bestselling author of Clarity & Connection

“During the years when I had abandoned myself, my mind felt undeniably heavy. I knew I needed to find a clear way to help me feel lighter.”
 
yung pueblo’s path to deep healing began only after years of drug abuse had taken a toll on his mind and body. Searching for a way forward, he found that by honestly examining and addressing the anxieties and fears that he had been running away from, he no longer felt like a stranger inside of his heart and mind. And once he dedicated himself to meditation and trusting his intuition, he started to finally feel mentally lighter, with more love emerging from within. This was not an easy journey, and it’s one that he is still on, but it showed him that real healing is possible.

In Lighter, yung pueblo demonstrates how we can all move forward in our healing, from learning self-compassion to letting go to becoming emotionally mature. As the heaviness falls away, our minds will finally stop feeling overburdened with tension and we’ll be able to reconnect with the present. And the world around us will hopefully become more inviting in crisp and newly vibrant ways. But these are just the first steps. As we grow stronger and expand our self-awareness, it’s our responsibility—and also part of the healing journey—to take actions to support the health and harmony of all people. The final section of Lighter shows how we can and must contribute to building a world that is no longer structurally harmful but, instead, structurally compassionate. 

yung pueblo’s hope is that as more of us heal, our actions will become more intentional, our decisions will become more compassionate, our thinking will become clearer, and the future will become brighter.

A powerful and poignant memoir-in-essays from Constance Wu, the star of Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers.
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Constance Wu is the Golden Globe Award–nominated star of Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers.  Her breakthrough role was starring as Jessica Huang in the television comedy Fresh Off the Boat(2015–2020). She has been nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award, two Television Critics Association awards, and four Critics Choice awards. Time has honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential People of the Year.
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Sandra Tsing Loh is a writer/performer whose off-Broadway solo shows include: Aliens in America and Bad Sex With Bud Kemp. Repertory theatre: Sugar Plum Fairy (Geffen, Seattle Rep, East West Players), I Worry (Woolly Mammoth, Kennedy Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville) , the Madwoman in the Volvo (South Coast Rep, Pasadena Playhouse, Berkeley Rep), and The Bitch Is Back (Broad Stage),  Her comic memoirs include the Madwoman and the Roomba, Madwoman in the Volvo, Mother on Fire, A Year in Van Nuys, and Depth Takes a Holiday.  A contributing editor to the Atlantic, Loh has been featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” PRI’s “Marketplace,” and Ira Glass’ “This American Life.”  Since 2004, she has hosted the syndicated daily radio minute (KPCC/NPR)“The Loh Down on Science.”
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“There were times when I was reading Making a Scene that I didn’t realize I was holding my breath; it’s that riveting and personal. Making a Scene is a treasure and so is Constance Wu. I feel so lucky to call this talented and hilarious woman my friend.” —Mindy Kaling, author of Why Not Me?
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Growing up in the friendly suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, Constance Wu was often scolded for having big feelings or strong reactions. “Good girls don’t make scenes,” people warned her. And while she spent most of her childhood suppressing her bold, emotional nature, she found an early outlet in local community theater—it was the one place where big feelings were okay—were good, even. Acting became her refuge, her touchstone, and eventually her vocation. At eighteen she moved to New York, where she’d spend the next ten years of her life auditioning, waiting tables, and struggling to make rent before her two big breaks: the TV sitcom Fresh Off the Boat and the hit film Crazy Rich Asians.
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Through raw and relatable essays, Constance shares private memoires of childhood, young love and heartbreak, sexual assault and harassment, and how she “made it” in Hollywood. Her stories offer a behind-the scenes look at being Asian American in the entertainment industry and the continuing evolution of her identity and influence in the public eye.
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“MAKING A SCENE is a tribute to the people and events that have shaped my humanity and determined the direction of my life. Writing it taught me to look back on formative memories with curiosity and attention, rather than my old patterns of judgment and shame. It was a practice I found healing and heartening. My hope for this book is that it might encourage readers to look at their own lives in this way, too. My hope is that it will be helpful,” Constance wrote. Through her poignant, raw, and courageous essays, MAKING A SCENE paints an intimate portrait of the pressures and pleasures of existing in today’s world, and is sure to resonate with fans and readers everywhere.

A landmark book that reveals, celebrates, and advocates for the special minds and contributions of visual thinkers.
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Temple Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and the author of the New York Times bestsellers Animals in Translation, Animals Make Us Human, The Autistic Brain, and Thinking in Pictures, which became an HBO movie starring Claire Danes. Dr. Grandin has been a pioneer in improving the welfare of farm animals as well as an outspoken advocate for the autism community. She resides in Fort Collins, Colorado.
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Luthern Williams is the Head of School at New Roads School in Santa Monica, California. He holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an Ed.M. in School Leadership from Harvard University. Luthern has over twenty-five years of experience as an administrator and English teacher in independent schools in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles. Throughout his career, he has drawn on his extensive knowledge of education to align schools’ programs with their missions and to build educational models where all children thrive; learn love, respect, empathy, and compassion; and develop the tools to create a world based on the inherent dignity and worth of each individual. Luthern is deeply committed to democratizing meaningful access to high quality education for socio-economically disadvantaged students and developing schools, built on wellbeing, that are catalysts for societal transformation.
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“Temple Grandin has concocted a delicious dish of provocative ideas and new research, served in clear, logical, fluid prose. What I love most about her work is herseamless fusion of scientific detachment and passionate empathy.” —Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
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A quarter of a century after her memoir, Thinking in Pictures, forever changed how the world understood autism, Temple Grandin—the “anthropologist on Mars,” as Oliver Sacks dubbed her—transforms our awareness of the different ways our brains are wired. Do you have a keen sense of direction, a love of puzzles, the ability to assemble furniture without crying? You are likely a visual thinker.
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With her genius for demystifying science, Grandin draws on cutting-edge research to take us inside visual thinking. Visual thinkers constitute a far greater proportion of the population than previously believed, she reveals, and a more varied one, from the photo-realistic object visualizers like Grandin herself, with their intuitive knack for design and problem solving, to the abstract, mathematically inclined “visual spatial” thinkers who excel in pattern recognition and systemic thinking. She also makes us understand how a world increasingly geared to the verbal tends to sideline visual thinkers, screening them out at school and passing over them in the workplace. Rather than continuing to waste their singular gifts, driving a collective loss in productivity and innovation, Grandin proposes new approaches to educating, parenting, employing, and collaborating with visual thinkers. In a highly competitive world, this important book helps us see, we need every mind on board.

 

Meet the people inside the presidency and go behind the scenes of the West Wing—into the Oval Office and Situation Room, aboard Air Force One, and beyond—with #1 bestselling author and former presidential photographer Pete Souza.
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Pete Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer for the entire tenure of the presidency of Barack Obama. He is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Obama: An Intimate Portrait and Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents.  A photojournalist since the late 1970s, Souza was also an official White House photographer during the Reagan administration, a freelance photographer for Life and National Geographic, and the Washington-based national photographer for the Chicago Tribune. A documentary about his work in the White House, The Way I See It, was nominated for an Emmy, and its premiere was the highest-rated non-news, non-live program in MSNBC history. He is a professor emeritus at Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication. In 2021, Souza was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame.
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Pete Souza appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles for both of his books, Obama and Shade. Before his talk for Shade, he did an interview with David Kennerly who was White House photographer under President Ford. Watch the video.    
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Pete Souza has spent more time in the Oval Office than almost any person in history. During the Obama administration alone, Souza was inside the presidential bubble for more than 25,000 hours and made nearly 2 million photographs. The result is an unprecedented view of how our democracy really works.
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Now Souza invites you into the inner sanctum of the American presidency, sharing rarely seen photographs and untold stories of life and work in the White House and traveling with the President around the world.
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The West Wing and Beyond takes you behind the scenes of consequential moments and traditions with the people who define our nation’s highest office—from the senior White House staff to the Oval Office valets. It delivers new insights into the role of the Secret Service, the seriousness of decisive meetings in the West Wing, and even some fun moments aboard Air Force One.
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Brimming with gorgeous photographs paired with fascinating storytelling, The West Wing and Beyond offers a one-of-a-kind look into the personalities, intrigues, and fascinating details that comprise the modern presidency. It is an essential book for every citizen who believes in American democracy.