Events
Simon Winchester with Ted Habte-Gabr
Rainn Wilson with Valarie Kaur
Actor, producer, writer, and New York Times bestselling author Rainn Wilson, cofounder of the media company SoulPancake, explores the benefits of spirituality as a means to creating solutions for an increasingly challenging world.
.
You may know Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute on TV’s “The Office.” But he’s also a writer, thinker and media executive. In his new book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution, he talks about the need for profound healing that can only be provided by faith and the sacred. Sparked by his personal struggles with loss, addiction and mental health, Wilson delves into ancient wisdom for answers to life’s deepest questions.
.
Rainn Wilson is a three-time Emmy nominated actor best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on NBC’s The Office. Besides his many other comedic and dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is the co-founder of the media company SoulPancake and host of the docuseries Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, coming early summer on Peacock. Rainn is the author of The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy, as well as the coauthor of SoulPancake: Chew on Life’s Big Questions, a New York Times bestseller. He lives in Oregon and California with a lot of animals, his wife and son.
.
“… the insightful exploration of spirituality that we desperately need right now. As we all seek answers amidst an unceasing news cycle of chaos and doom, Rainn Wilson’s SOUL BOOM funnily but gently and lovingly opens a door to a deeper way to process all that is happening around us..”—TV host Lisa Ling .
.
“Serving up a delicious smorgasbord of existential philosophy, self-reflection, social science, and Star Trek, Rainn Wilson explores the missing role of spirituality in the modern world. It will light up your brain, warm your heart, and tickle your funny bone.”—Adam Grant, New York Times. bestselling author of Think Again
.
Valarie Kaur is a civil rights leader, lawyer, award-winning filmmaker, educator, and author of the #1 LA Times Bestseller SEE NO STRANGER. A daughter of Punjabi Sikh farmers in California, she has led visionary campaigns to tell untold stories and change policy on issues ranging from hate crimes to digital freedom. In Fall 2022, President Biden honored Valarie at the White House in the first-ever Uniters Ceremony, naming
her as one of 16 leaders whose work is healing America. Her work has ignited a national movement to reclaim love as a force for justice. Today, she leads the Revolutionary Love Project to inspire and equip people across America to build the beloved community..
.
Rainn Wilson photo credit: Kwaku Alston Peacock TV 2023 Peacock TV LLC
Laura Dern & Diane Ladd with Cleo Wade
Join award-winning actress and activist Laura Dern and her mother, legendary actress Diane Ladd, for a deeply personal conversation on love, art, ambition, and legacy, inspired by her own heart-to-hearts.
.
Laura Dern is an award-winning actress, producer, creator, and activist. She has received a number of accolades, including an Academy Award, an Emmy, and five Golden Globe Awards. Dern is also a passionate environmentalist..
.
Diane Ladd is an international award-winning actress, receiving a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and Women of the Year award. She is a three-time Oscar and three-time Emmy nominee, having appeared in more than 187 film and television shows. She is a director, writer, producer, and author with degrees in esoteric psychology/nutrition, a lifetime member of the Actors Studio, and on the National Board of Directors for SAG/AFTRA..
.
“Neither of these women ever takes one moment for granted. They ponder life’s biggest questions fearlessly, always aware of how precious and fleeting our days can be.” –Reese Witherspoon (from the book’s forward)
.
To combat the sudden onset of a life-threatening illness, Diane Ladd’s doctors prescribed long walks. Her daughter, Laura Dern, found the best way to distract her mother from the exertion was to get her to join her to talk and share stories. The two had always been close. But these conversations – about love, sex, marriage, divorce, art, ambition and legacy—broke down traditional barriers between mothers and daughters, and drew them even closer.
.
They’ve documented these candid exchanges in an intimate tour of their lives titled Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding), which includes photos, family recipes and other mementos.
.
Cleo Wade is a writer and poet whose work explores love, freedom, healing, and the power of community. She is the New York Times best-selling author ofWhat the Road Said, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life,and Where to Begin: A Small Book About Your Power to Create Big Change.
Michio Kaku with Terrence McNally
Abraham Verghese with Aimee Liu
Gretchen Rubin with Scott Barry Kaufman
New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project discovers a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses.
.
Seeking a life of more energy, creativity, luck and love? Gretchen Rubin, the New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project,returns to our stage to share wisdom from her new book, Life in Five Senses. In this journey of self-experimentation, Rubin shares how she was lifted from a fog of preoccupation by rediscovering the power of her senses. Drawing on cutting-edge science, philosophy, and literature, she investigates the profound power of tuning in to the physical world.
.
Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential observers of happiness and human nature. Her books have sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide in more than thirty languages. She hosts the award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, where she explores practical solutions for living a happier life. She’s the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Outer Order, Inner Calm; The Four Tendencies; Better Than Before; and The Happiness Project.
.
“Right now, what the world needs most is people who have come to their senses—who have reunited with the power and wisdom of their bodies. Gretchen Rubin’s Life in Five Senses—woven with research, practice, and a compelling story—invites us into the seismic shift toward a life grounded in sensation, vitality, and innate intelligence.”—Glennon Doyle, New York Times bestselling author of Untamed and founder of Together Rising
.
Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., is a cognitive scientist and humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He is a professor at Columbia University and director of the Center for Human Potential. He has authored 10 books, including Choose Growth: A Workbook for Transcending Trauma, Fear, and Self-Doubt (with Jordyn Feingold), Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. He is also host of The Psychology Podcast and in 2015, he was named one of “50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world” by Business Insider. He received a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Yale University and has taught courses at Columbia University, Yale, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.