Join us for a timely event featuring the legendary whistle-blower who revealed the Pentagon Papers, an eyewitness exposé of the dangers of America’s Top Secret, seventy-year-long nuclear policy that–chillingly–continues to this day. In 1961, Daniel Ellsberg, a consultant to the Department of Defense and the White House, drafted Secretary Robert McNamara’s plans for nuclear war. Later he leaked the Pentagon Papers. He lectures and writes on the dangers of the nuclear era and the need for whistle-blowing. Ellsberg is the author of Secrets and the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America. He is also a key figure in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film about the Pentagon Papers, The Post, scheduled to be released in December 2017. 

Jenifer Lewis has appeared in more than three hundred television and film roles. She currently stars as the spirited grandmother, Ruby Johnson, on the Emmy-nominated ABC hit black-ish, now in its fourth season. The “Mega Diva” and star of Black-ish looks back on her memorable journey to fame and the unforgettable life lessons she learned along the way. 

From the author of the bestselling Why We Suck, comes a searing comic look at these divisive times, skewering liberals and conservatives alike with a signature dose of sarcasm and common sense.  He is an actor, writer, producer, singer and comedian. He was the star and co-creator of Rescue Me, which ran for seven seasons. His film credits include playing Captain George Stacy in Marc Webb’s film, The Amazing Spider-Man, Cleveland Browns Head Coach Vince Penn in Ivan Reitman’s film, Draft Day, and as the voice of Francis in A Bug’s Life and Diego in the Ice Age franchise. From 2015 to 2016, Leary wrote and starred in the comedy series, Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll on FX.

Dan Rather is one of the world’s best-known journalists. He’s interviewed every president since Eisenhower over his six-decade career, and covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. His work has earned him Emmy and Peabody Awards. At a moment of crisis over our national identity, Dan Rather has been reflecting—and writing passionately almost every day on social media—about the world we live in, what our core ideals have been and should be, and what it means to be an American. Now, in a collection of original essays, the venerated television journalist celebrates our shared values and reminds us about what matters most in our great country. What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism is a must-read for everyone engaged in the urgent national conversation right now.

Dan Rather is one of the world’s best-known journalists. He’s interviewed every president since Eisenhower over his six-decade career, and covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world. His work has earned him Emmy and Peabody Awards. At a moment of crisis over our national identity, Dan Rather has been reflecting—and writing passionately almost every day on social media—about the world we live in, what our core ideals have been and should be, and what it means to be an American. Now, in a collection of original essays, the venerated television journalist celebrates our shared values and reminds us about what matters most in our great country.

Tim Ferris is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of four #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, and Tools of Titans. His influential podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, has exceeded 200 million downloads and been selected for “Best of iTunes” three years running. His latest book is Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World.

Over five decades, John Mauceri’s extraordinary career has brought him not only to the world’s greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, as well as the most prestigious halls of academia. Regarded as the world’s leading performer of the music of Hollywood’s émigré composers, he has taken the lead in the preservation and performance of many kinds of music and has supervised/conducted premieres by composers as diverse as Debussy, Stockhausen, Korngold, Bernstein, Hindemith, Elfman, Ives, and Shore. Mauceri has over 70 albums to his name, and is the recipient of Grammy, Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Edison, Cannes Classique, Billboard, two Diapasons d’Or, three Emmys, and four Deutsche Schallplatten Awards. In Maestros and Their Music: The Art and Alchemy of Conducting delves inside the enigmatic art and craft of conducting for a popular audience.

Matthew Weiner has been entertaining audiences for two decades, most recently as writer, creator, executive producer, and director of Mad Men, one of television’s most honored series. He also worked as a writer and executive producer on The Sopranos, along with several comedy series. Critics have described Matthew Weiner’s writing as compelling, seductive, smart, insightful, and original.  Now comes this master storyteller’s brilliant, unnerving debut novel, Heather, The Totality. He will be interviewed by Susan Orlean.

Tim O’Reilly is one of the most prescient observers of emerging technology. Inc Magazine dubbed him “the Oracle of Silicon Valley” and Wired,  “the trend spotter.” In his new book — both probing and prophetic — WTF?: What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us,  he explores the burning questions posed by technology and the future. O’Reilly shares some of the techniques his pioneering company has used to make sense of and predict innovation waves. He then applies those same techniques to provide a framework for thinking about how technologies such as on-demand services, networks and platforms, and artificial intelligence are changing the nature of business, education, government, financial markets, and the economy as a whole. Finally, he examines the choices we have to make a society moving forward in this brave new world.  

Chris Matthews is the host of MSNBC’s Hardball. He is the author of Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero; Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked; Kennedy and Nixon; Hardball; and now Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit.

With his bestselling biography Jack Kennedy, Chris Matthews shared a new look at one of America’s most beloved Presidents and the patriotic spirit that defined him. Now, with Bobby Kennedy, Matthews returns with a gripping, in-depth, behind-the-scenes portrait of one of the great figures of the American twentieth century.