Events
Nathan Gardels and Nicolas Berggruen with Mayor Eric Garcetti
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
8pm (6:30-7:30pm Reception)
An Evening with
Nathan Gardels and Nicolas Berggruen
in conversation with Mayor Eric Garcetti
Renovating Democracy:
Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$50 Reserved Section Seat + Book
$40 General Admission Seat + Book
$20 General Admission Section Seat
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm), Reserved Section Seat & Book
The rise of populism in the West and the rise of China in the East have stirred a rethinking of how democratic systems work—and how they fail. The impact of globalism and digital capitalism is forcing worldwide attention to the starker divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” challenging how we think about the social contract. Renovating Democracy tears down our basic structures and challenges us to conceive of an alternative framework for governance.
Nathan Gardels is Cofounder of the Berggruen Institute and Editor-in-Chief of The WorldPost, a partnership with the Washington Post. He is the coauthor of Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century: A Middle Way between East and West, a Financial Times best book of 2012. His previous books include American Idol after Iraq, The Changing Global Order and At Century’s End.
Nicolas Berggruen is Founder and Chairman of the Berggruen Institute. He is coauthor of Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century: A Middle Way between West and East and is copublisher of The WorldPost. He is also Chairman of Berggruen Holdings.
Eric Garcetti is the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles. His “back to basics” agenda is focused on job creation and solving everyday problems for L.A. residents.
Garcetti was elected four times by his peers to serve as President of the Los Angeles City Council from 2006 to 2012. From 2001 until taking office as Mayor, he served as the Councilmember representing the 13th District which includes Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Atwater Village — all of which were dramatically revitalized under Garcetti’s leadership.
Garcetti was raised in the San Fernando Valley and earned his B.A. and M.A. from Columbia University. He studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and the London School of Economics and taught at Occidental College and USC. A fourth generation Angeleno, he and his wife, Amy Elaine Wakeland, have a young daughter. He is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy reserve and is an avid jazz pianist and photographer.
“Democracy is in crisis. The rise of populism and nativism has been propelled by social media and propaganda. This fascinating and timely book provides great ideas—sometimes even radical ones—for reclaiming democracy by using social media to bring us together and inform us, rather than the opposite. It offers welcome antidotes to the polarization and paralysis that threatens our society.”—Walter Isaacson
Democracy is in crisis. The populist uprisings in the US and throughout Europe are not the cause of the West’s crisis of governance, but, rather, have exposed the ways in which liberal democracies have failed their citizens by failing to address the dislocations of globalization and the disruptions of rapid technological change. Neither establishment nor populist leaders have proposed any systemic solutions, so governments have become further polarized and paralyzed, compounding the problem.
In Renovating Democracy: Governing in the Age of Globalization and Digital Capitalism Nathan Gardels and Nicolas Berggruen – founders of a think tank and publishers of a Washington Post-affiliated media platform – argue that if we are to save democracy from suicide, we must radically renovate our democratic institutions, our social contract, and our approach to globalization. Specifically, they propose:
- Empowering participation without populism by integrating social networks and direct democracy into the system through the establishment of new mediating institutions that complement representative government
- Reconfiguring the social contract to protect workers instead of jobs while spreading the wealth of digital capitalism by providing all citizens not only with the skills of the future but also with an equity share in “owning the robots”
- Harnessing globalization through “positive nationalism” at home, global cooperation where necessary, and partnership where interests converge to temper the strategic rivalry between China and the US
Gardels and Berggruen have researched, field-tested, and explored these recommendations through their work at the Berggruen Institute, a think tank designed to develop and promote long-term answers to the biggest challenges of the 21st Century, and The WorldPost, a global media platform in partnership with The Washington Post. Their first book, Intelligent Governance for the 21st Century, was named one of the best books of 2012 by the Financial Times.
Dave Barry with Alan Zweibel
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
8pm (6:30-7:30pm Reception)
Dave Barry
in conversation with Alan Zweibel
Lessons from Lucy:
The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$43 Reserved Section Seat + Book
$20 General Admission Seat
$30 Reserved Section Seat
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm), Reserved Section Seat & Book
We welcome Dave Barry back to our stage, Dave Barry in conversation with Jane Smiley was the very first event at Live Talks Los Angeles. Watch the video. He has appeared several times on our stage. He was interviewed by by Matt Groening in 2013 for his novel, Insane City. (Video)
Dave Barry is the author of more than thirty books, including such national bestsellers as the nonfiction I’ll Mature When I’m Dead, Dave Barry’s Money Secrets, Dave Barry Turns 50, and Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys, as well as the novels Insane City, Tricky Business, Big Trouble, Lunatics (with Alan Zweibel), and his Peter Pan prequels (with Ridley Pearson). Two of his books have been made into movies (Big Trouble and Dave Barry’s Guide to Guys), and a play based on his first Peter Pan book, Peter and the Starcatcher, is currently on a national tour and won five Tony Awards on Broadway. For a while, his life was even a television series, Dave’s World. He plays guitar in the all-author rock band, The Rock Bottom Remainders. For many years he wrote a nationally syndicated humor column, which won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
“Lessons from Lucy is extremely funny (in a couple of places I laughed until water ran from my eyes and a slightly thicker fluid came from my nose). You’d expect that from Dave Barry. What you might not expect is how insightful it is, and downright touching. If you’ve grown old along with Dave, you will want to read this book. You’ll also want to read it if you’re a dog lover, but that’s optional. These are very lively life lessons even for the canine-impaired.”— Stephen King
“[Barry] is truly the funniest man living in the three mile ‘safe’ zone off the shores of America.”
—Steve Martin
“Despite years of medication, Dave Barry is still the funniest damn writer in the whole country. Let’s hope he never grows up.”—Carl Hiaasen
Faced with the obstacles and challenges of life after middle age, Dave Barry turns to his best dog, Lucy, to learn how to live his best life. From “Make New Friends” (an unfortunate fail when he can’t overcome his dislike for mankind) to “Don’t Stop Having Fun” (validating his longtime membership in a marching unit that performs in parades—and even Obama’s inauguration), Dave navigates his later years with good humor and grace. Lucy teaches Dave how to live in the present, how to let go of daily grievances, and how to feel good in your own skin. The lessons are drawn from Dave’s routine humiliations and stream-of-consciousness accounts of the absurdities of daily life, which will leave you heaving with laughter and recognition.
Laugh-out-loud hilarious, whether he’s trying to “Pay Attention to the People You Love” (even when your brain is not listening) or deciding to “Let Go of Your Anger,” Dave Barry’s Lessons From Lucy is a witty and wise guide to joyous living.
An original Saturday Night Live writer, Alan Zweibel has won five Emmy, and two Writers Guild of America awards for his work in television which includes It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (which he co-created and produced), The David Letterman Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm. A frequent guest on all of the late night talk shows, Alan’s theatrical contributions include his collaboration with Billy Crystal on the Tony Award winning play 700 Sundays; Martin Short’s Broadway hit Fame Becomes Me; and the off-Broadway play Bunny Bunny – Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy which he adapted from his best-selling book. Alan has written eleven books including the 2006 Thurber Prize winning novel The Other Shulman, the popular children’s book Our Tree Named Steve, and most recently, a parody of the Passover Haggadah titled For This We Left Egypt? that he co-wrote with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach. His humor has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Op-Ed page, The Huffington Post and MAD Magazine. Alan is currently preparing his play Bunny Bunny for a return to New York stage, writing a memoir titled Laugh Lines – 40 Years Trying To Make Funny People Funnier that will be published in 2020, and a new movie he wrote with Billy Crystal is scheduled to start shooting in the fall.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta with Rich Roll
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
8pm
Dr. Sanjay Gupta
in conversation with Rich Roll
discussing his upcoming CNN Original Series (with clips)
Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
3131 Olympic Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
This event is presented in association with CNN.
Tickets are complimentary.
RSVP HERE (2 tickets per person)
Tickets available Friday, March 22, 10am
Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a six-part CNN Original Series that follows multiple award-winning journalist and neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta as he goes on an immersive journey around the world in search of the secrets to living better. His travels bring him to Japan, India, Bolivia, Norway, Italy and Turkey to explore the unusual traditions and modern practices that constitute a healthy and meaningful life.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is the multiple Emmy® Award-winning chief medical correspondent for CNN, and host of the upcoming CNN Original Series Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. A practicing neurosurgeon, Dr. Gupta plays an integral role in CNN’s reporting on health and medical news for all of CNN’s shows domestically and internationally and contributes to CNN.com. His medical training and public health policy experience distinguishes his reporting from war zones and natural disasters, as well as on a range of medical and scientific topics, including the opioid crisis, Pandemic outbreaks, brain injury, disaster recovery, health care reform, fitness, military medicine, and medicinal marijuana.
Rich Roll has been named one of the “25 Fittest Men in the World” by Men’s Fitness and “The World’s Fittest Vegan” by Men’s Health. He is a globally renown, ultra-endurance athlete, wellness advocate, and bestselling author.
At age 40, Rich made a decision to overhaul the sedentary throes of overweight middle age. Walking away from a career in law, he reinvented himself as an ultra-distance endurance athlete, clocking top finishes at the Ultraman World Championships and cementing his place in the pantheon of endurance greats by becoming the first of two people to complete EPIC5 – 5 Ironmans on 5 Hawaiian Islands in under a week.
Rich shares his inspirational story of addiction, redemption and optimal health in his #1 bestselling memoir Finding Ultra and the cookbook & lifestyle guides The Plantpower Way and The Plantpower Way: Italia. When he isn’t lost on a trail or spending time with his family, he hosts the wildly popular Rich Roll Podcast, one of the top 100 podcasts in the world with over 50 million downloads.
Meb Keflezighi
Thursday, March 21, 2019
8pm (6:30-7:30pm Reception)
An Evening with
Meb Keflezighi
26 Marathons: What I’ve Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life From Each Marathon I’ve Run
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$53 Reserved Section Seat + Book
$43 General Admission Seat + Book
$20 General Admission Section Seat
$95 Reception (6:30-7:30pm), Reserved Section Seat & Book
Four-time Olympian and winner of the New York and Boston marathons shares lessons learned from each of the 26 marathons he’s run in his storied career.
Meb Keflezighi ‘s victory at the 2014 Boston marathon made him the first American man to win the race in 31 years. A four-time Olympic marathoner and winner of the New York marathon, Meb is also the founder of the MEB Foundation, which funds programs that promote fitness and other positive lifestyle choices for children. He lives in San Diego, CA.
“Meb is as great a champion as I’ve ever known, and an even better person. 26 MARATHONS is the perfect roadmap for your journey to the top of the mountain. This radiantly brilliant treatise on life through sport, family, faith, perseverance and persistence epitomizes everything that I strive for, and on a path that Meb has already traveled. Thank you, for shining the light, for being the true giant among us, and for showing us that tomorrow is worth the effort to get there.
Run on, beam on, teach on, carry on.” — Bill Walton, Former NBA champion & MVP
When Meb Keflezighi ran his final marathon in New York City on November 5, 2017, it marked the end of an extraordinary distance-running career. As the first person in history to win both the Boston and New York City marathons as well as an Olympic marathon medal, Meb’s legacy is forever cemented.
Meb’s last marathon was also his 26th, and each of those marathons has come with its own unique challenges, rewards, and outcomes. In 26 Marathons, take on those legendary races alongside Meb—every hill, bend, and unexpected turn of events that made each marathon an exceptional learning experience, and a fascinating story.
26 Marathons offers the wisdom Meb has gleaned about life, family, identity, and faith in addition to tips about running, training, and nutrition. He shows runners of all levels how to apply the lessons he’s learned to their own running and lives. Equal parts inspiration and practical advice, 26 Marathons provides an inside look at the life and success of one of the greatest runners living today.
Gretchen Rubin with Annabelle Gurwitch
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
8pm
Gretchen Rubin
in conversation with Annabelle Gurwitch
discussing her book,
Outer Order, Inner Calm:
Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
3131 Olympic Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$40.00 Reserved Section + Book
$30.00 General Admission section + Book
$20.00 General Admission section
Gretchen Rubin writes on the linked subjects of habits, happiness, and human nature. She’s the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, and The Happiness Project. A member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, Rubin’s books have sold more than three million copies worldwide, in more than 35 languages, and on her daily blog, she reports on her adventures in pursuit of habits and happiness. She also has a podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Rubin started her career in law, and was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. She appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles for her two recent books — in conversation with Daniel Siegel for The Four Tendencies. (video), and with Lisa Napoli for Better Than Before (video).
Annabelle Gurwitch is a New York Times bestselling author, actress, and activist. Her most recent book is Wherever You Go, There They Are, Stories About My Family You Might Relate To. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. She was the co-host of the popular series, Dinner and a Movie, and a regular NPR commentator for numerous years. She appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles when her book, I See You Made an Effort: Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50, was published.
“Once you’ve read Gretchen Rubin’s tale of a year spent searching for satisfaction, you’ll want to start your own happiness project and get your friends and family to join you. This is the rare book that will make you both smile and think—often on the same page.” —Daniel H. Pink, Drive
Her new book is, Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness. For most of us, outer order contributes to inner calm. And for most of us, a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t work.
The fact is, when we tailor our approach to suit our own particular challenges and habits, we’re then able to create the order that will make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.
Gretchen Rubin has found that getting control of our stuff makes us feel more in control of our lives. By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, we free our minds (and our shelves) for what we truly value.
With a sense of fun, and a clear idea of what’s realistic for most people, Gretchen Rubin suggests dozens of manageable steps for creating a more serene, orderly environment—one that helps us to create the lives we want.
Isaac Mizrahi with Jenni Konner
Thursday, February 28, 2019
8pm
Isaac Mizrahi
in conversation with Jenni Konner
discussing his book,
I.M.: A Memoir
Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School
Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
PURCHASE TICKETS
$75.00 first three rows (includes book)
$55.00 Reserved Section section (includes book)
$45.00 General Admission section (includes book)
$20.00 General Admission
Isaac Mizrahi (Libra) performs cabaret across the country, has written two books, hosted his own television talk show, and made countless appearances in movies and television. He has directed and designed many productions for the stage and screen. He founded his design company in 1987, was the star and co-creator of the documentary Unzipped, and was the subject of a large-scale, mid-career survey at the Jewish Museum in New York City. He currently develops projects in television, theatre, and literature through his own production company, Isaac Mizrahi Entertainment.
Jenni Konner is a writer, director, and producer best known for executive producing CAMPING, a HBO limited series, and GIRLS, which ran for six acclaimed seasons on HBO. She began her career as a writer on Judd Apatow’s celebrated television series, UNDECLARED. Konner resides in Los Angeles, where she runs her production company I Am Jenni Konner Productions. Konner’s additional producing credits with former producing partner Lena Dunham include the HBO documentaries IT’S ME, HILARY: THE MAN WHO DREW ELOISE and SUITED. Konner and Dunham launched the bi-weekly feminist newsletter Lenny Letter in 2015 and established publishing imprint Lenny Books with Random House in 2017. Konner is currently producing films at Netflix and New Regency and continuing to develop series at HBO.
“I.M. has everything! It’s colorful, hysterical, touching, bold, and heartbreaking. It’s about coming of age, creativity, being yourself, Jewish mothers, fashion, art, loss, and glamour. I loved it.” ―Andy Cohen, New York Times bestselling author of Superficial
“Isaac Mizrahi is a true Renaissance man. He can do it all! He’s managed to live several lives in one lifetime.”
―RuPaul
Isaac Mizrahi is sui generis: designer, cabaret performer, talk-show host, a TV celebrity. Yet ever since he shot to fame in the late 1980s, the private Isaac Mizrahi has remained under wraps. Until now.
In I.M., Isaac Mizrahi offers a poignant, candid, and touching look back on his life so far. Growing up gay in a sheltered Syrian Jewish Orthodox family, Isaac had unique talents that ultimately drew him into fashion and later into celebrity circles that read like a who’s who of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Richard Avedon, Audrey Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey, to name only a few.
In his elegant memoir, Isaac delves into his lifelong battles with weight, insomnia, and depression. He tells what it was like to be an out gay man in a homophobic age and to witness the ravaging effects of the AIDS epidemic. Brimming with intimate details and inimitable wit, Isaac’s narrative reveals not just the glamour of his years, but the grit beneath the glitz. Rich with memorable stories from in and out of the spotlight, I.M. illuminates deep emotional truths.