Posts by Live Talks LA
Sarah Dunn with Ali Wong
8pm
in conversation with Ali Wong
The Arrangement
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$43 Reserved Section seat + a copy of The Arrangement
$20 General Admission Seat
$30 Reserved Section Seat
Sarah Dunn is a novelist and television writer whose credits include Spin City (for which she co-wrote Michael J. Fox’s farewell episode) and the critical darling Bunheads, which you would have loved. Her debut novel, The Big Love, is available to read in nineteen languages. Dunn is also the creator and executive producer of the 2016 ABC series, American Housewife. She lives outside New York City with her family and their seventeen chickens.
“Daring and darkly funny, Sarah Dunn’s The Arrangement is this summer’s must-read. Her take on middle-age and family life is wry, poignant and spot-on. Readers will recognize themselves and their friends in this wonderfully comic novel.”
―Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City
“A hilarious, spot-on comedy of the heart about middle-aged marriage and what happens when it goes off the rails.”
―Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Ali Wong is a comedian, actress, and writer living in Los Angeles, CA. On Mother’s Day 2016, Netflix released her first stand-up special, Baby Cobra which was filmed when she was 7 months pregnant. Wong is currently shooting ABC’s new sitcom American Housewife as well as writing on Fresh off the Boat. Wong has performed on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show and Comedy Underground with Dave Attell. She has also appeared in Oliver Stone’s Savages and was a series regular on NBC’s Are You There Chelsea? and the ABC drama, Black Box opposite Vanessa Redgrave and Kelly Reilly. She makes regular appearances on Chris Hardwick’s late-night game show @Midnight, and Inside Amy Schumer.
When friends at a wine-soaked dinner party reveal they’ve made their marriage open, sensible Lucy balks. There’s a part of her, though-the part that worries she’s become too comfortable being invisible-that’s intrigued. Why not try a short marital experiment? Six months, clear ground rules, zero questions asked. When an affair with a man in the city begins to seem more enticing than the happily-ever-after she’s known for the past nine years, Lucy must decide what truly makes her happy-“real life,” or the “experiment?”
P.J. O’Rourke with Adam Felber
8pm
P. J. O’Rourke
in conversation with Adam Felber
How the Hell Did This Happen?
The Election of 2016
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$42 Reserved Section seat + a copy of How the Hell Did This Happen?
$20 General Admission Section Seat
$30 Reserved Section Seat
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm) + Reserved Section Seat
+ copy of How the Hell Did This Happen?
An essential take on the stranger-than-fiction (and stranger-than-fact) 2016 presidential elections from a quintessential voice on American politics and culture
P. J. O’Rourke has written eighteen books on subjects as diverse as politics and cars and etiquette and economics. Parliament of Whores and Give War a Chance both reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. He is a contributing editor at the Weekly Standard, H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute, a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me, and a columnist for The Stansberry Digest investment letter.
This election cycle was so absurd that celebrated political satirist, journalist, and diehard Republican P. J. O’Rourke endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. As P.J. put it, “America is experiencing the most severe outbreak of mass psychosis since the Salem witch trials of 1692. So why not put Hillary on the dunking stool?”
In his latest book, P.J. brings his critical eye and inimitable voice to some seriously risky business. Starting in June 2015, he asks, “Who are these jacklegs, high-binders, wire-pullers, mountebanks, swellheads, buncombe spigots, four-flushers and animated spittoons offering themselves as worthy of America’s highest office?” and surveys the full cast of presidential candidates including everyone you’ve already forgotten and everyone you still wish you could forget.
P.J. offers a brief history of how our insane process for picking who will run for president, concluding: “Consistency is not a hallmark of American politics, but exceptions are made when the constant is stupidity. Today’s primaries are as stupid as they’ve always been.” He takes us through the debates and key primaries and analyzes everything from the campaign platforms (or lack thereof) to presidential fashion sense, rising from the depths of despair to come up with a better way to choose a president (starting with a road trip). Following his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary and the Beginning of End Times in November, PJ reckons with a new age: “America is experiencing a change in the nature of leadership. We’re getting rid of our leaders. And we’re starting at the top.” How the Hell Did This Happen? answers the key questions of a presidential election where both candidates were running against the most formidable of opponents—themselves.
Adam Felber is an American political satirist, author, radio personality, actor, humorist, novelist, television writer, and comic book writer. Felber attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and graduated as an English major in 1989. He has lived in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in Los Angeles, California.
He is a regular panel member (and occasional guest host) of the NPR radio quiz show, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!. Felber is the author of the novel Schrödinger’s Ball, which uses as a conceit the concept of Schrödinger’s cat.[1] He has also written for several television shows including Real Time with Bill Maher, Talkshow with Spike Feresten, Arthur, The Smoking Gun, and Wishbone.
Felber also wrote the second Skrull Kill Krew limited series for Marvel Comics in 2009 as part of the Secret Invasion event.[2]
Felber’s mother is the late romance novelist, Edith Layton.
Jami Attenberg with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
8pm
in conversation with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
All Grown Up
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$40 Reserved Section seat + a copy of All Grown Up
$20 General Admission Section Seat
$55 Two Reserved Section Seats + one copy of All Grown Up
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Middlesteins comes a wickedly funny novel about a thirty-nine-year-old single, childfree woman who defies convention as she seeks connection.
Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including The Middlesteins and Saint Mazie. She has contributed essays about sex, urban life, and food to The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Lenny Letter, among other publications. She divides her time between Brooklyn and New Orleans.
“Jami Attenberg’s sharply drawn protagonist, Andrea, has such a riveting, propulsive voice that All Grown Up is hard to put down, but I urge you to resist reading it in one sitting. Both the prose and the author’s knowing excavation of one woman’s desires, compromises, strengths, and fears deserve closer attention. Like Andrea herself, this novel is beautiful and brutal, intelligent and funny, frank and sexy.”—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times best-selling author of The Nest
“Hilarious, courageous, and mesmerizing from page one, All Grown Up is a little gem that packs a devastating wallop. It’s that rare book I’m dying to give all my friends so we can discuss it deep into the night. I’m in awe of Jami Attenberg.” —Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Who is Andrea Bern? When her therapist asks the question, Andrea knows the right things to say: she’s a designer, a friend, a daughter, a sister. But it’s what she leaves unsaid—she’s alone, a drinker, a former artist, a shrieker in bed, captain of the sinking ship that is her flesh—that feels the most true. Everyone around her seems to have an entirely different idea of what it means to be an adult: her best friend, Indigo, is getting married; her brother—who miraculously seems unscathed by their shared tumultuous childhood—and sister-in-law are having a hoped-for baby; and her friend Matthew continues to wholly devote himself to making dark paintings at the cost of being flat broke.
Reza Aslan with Gotham Chopra
8pm
Reza Aslan
in conversation with Gotham Chopra
United Talent Agency
9336 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Gotham Chopra is a filmmaker, author, and entrepreneur. Most recently, along with NFL icons Tom Brady and Michael Strahan, he created and launched the original documentary series The Religion of Sports, which was just renewed for a second season and will air later this year. He’s also currently working on TV projects with both LeBron James and Ronda Rousey. Chopra’s past TV credits include multiple ESPN projects and his critically acclaimed documentary Kobe Bryant’s Muse, which was the highest performing sports documentary ever on the Showtime Network. Gotham is also behind the feature film Decoding Deepak about his father, spiritual guru Deepak Chopra. As a former journalist, Gotham reported from countless warzones and interviewed a wide range of global leaders – from President Clinton to the Dalai Lama giving him a unique worldview. Gotham’s varied experience in journalism, publishing, and entertainment had him identified by Newsweek Magazine as one of the “most powerful and influential” South Asians worth watching. Gotham currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son and is passionate about his hometown of Boston’s sports teams
Raghavan Iyer
6:30-7:30pm Reception
An Evening with
Raghavan Iyer
discussing his latest cookbook
Smashed, Mashed, Boiled, and Baked—and Fried, Too! a celebration of potatoes in 75 irresistible recipes
William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$35 Reserved Seat + Book
$20 General Admission Seat
$95 Reserved Seat + Book + Reception*
*Reception (6:30-7:30pm) includes selections prepared from the book
Raghavan Iyer received a 2016 James Beard Award for his online video series Indian Curries: The Basics & Beyond. He is the author of 660 Curries, Indian Cooking Unfolded, Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking, and The Turmeric Trail. He is also the host of the Emmy Award–winning documentary Asian Flavors and a member and past President (2014–2015) of the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
A native of Mumbai who is fluent in six languages, Raghavan is a culinary educator, spokesperson, and consultant to numerous national and international clients including General Mills, Target, and Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMCO), where he helped launch an Indian meals program and trained all BAMCO chefs across the United States in Indian cuisine and global vegan cuisine through more than 75 national workshops.
He has written for Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, Saveur, Weight Watchers Magazine, EatingWell, Gastronomica, and many others. Raghavan is also cofounder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes, an organization dedicated to the preservation, understanding, and enjoyment of the culinary arts of Asia. He has a line of roasted spice blends, Turmeric Trail, and an app, Raghavan’s Indian Flavors, available through iTunes and the Android Market.
In Smashed, Mashed, Boiled, and Baked—and Fried, Too! A Celebration of Potatoes in 75 Irresistible Recipes, Raghavan pays tribute to his favorite ingredient in a continent-by-continent celebration of the amazing potato. Its recipes, inspired by a diversity of cuisines and accompanied by enticing full-color photographs, feature scrumptious starters, like Ecuadorean Llapingachos and Sweet Potato Samosas. Hearty mains: Canadian Lamb-Potato Tortiѐre, Moroccan Potato Stew with Saffron Biscuits, Potato Lasagna. Plus rich gratins, a boundary-defying Mojito Potato-Pomegranate Salad, luscious sauces and condiments, and even desserts.
Brad Stone with Nick Bilton
8pm
Senior Executive Editor, Global Technology
Bloomberg News
Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair
The Upstarts: How Uber, Airbnb, and the Killer Companies of the New Silicon Valley Are Changing the World
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$45 Reserved Section seat + a copy of The Upstarts
$20 General Admission Seat
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm) + Reserved Section Seat
+ copy of The Upstarts
Brad Stone is senior executive editor of global technology at Bloomberg News and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. He has covered Silicon Valley for more than 15 years and lives in San Francisco.
“Brad Stone gives us a lively, fascinating picture of the new new thing in technology—startups like Uber and Airbnb that are disrupting old businesses across the world. He provides a much needed glimpse into the companies that fail as well as the ones that make it big. And he points to the broad policy issues raised by these new technologies, which are surely no fun for the people whose lives are being disrupted.”—Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post-American World and host of CNN’S “Fareed Zakaria GPS”
The world today is vastly different than it was even ten years ago, and it is due to the upstarts. In THE UPSTARTS, Brad Stone provides the rollicking narrative that shows the how our latest–and perhaps greatest–technological wave was born.
Nick Bilton is a Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair, where he writes about technology, politics, business and culture. He is also a contributor to CNBC, and a former columnist and reporter for The New York Times.
He has written three books, including The New York Times bestseller, Hatching Twitter, which chronicled the turmoil and chaos inside Twitter as it grew from a fledgling startup to a multi-billion dollar company. The book is currently being turned into a TV show for Lionsgate.
His next book, American Kingpin, will be published in May, 2017. The book tells epic story of the hunt for the Dread Pirate Roberts, who created The Silk Road marketplace, which sold guns and drugs on the dark web.
Over the years, Bilton’s columns and articles have led to investigations by the U.S. government, and helped press the Federal Aviation Administration to overturn a rule requiring people to turn off devices during takeoff and landing.