Past Events

October 2

An Evening with

Yotam Ottolenghi

We’e excited to welcome Yotam Ottolenghi back to our stage. He is the author of Plenty and Plenty More, and co-author of NOPIOttolenghi, and Jerusalem, which was awarded Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Best International Cookbook by the James Beard Foundation. All five books were New York Times bestsellers.  Now Yotam Ottolenghi is sharing his secrets for making the very best baked goods, desserts, and confections in Sweet. The book features more than 120 recipes for delicious cookies, cakes, mini cakes, cheesecakes, confectionary, tarts, pies, puddings, and more.

September 27

Daniel Goleman with Lisa Napoli

Dan Goleman unveils new research that shows what meditation can really do for the brain. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the groundbreaking book Emotional Intelligence. A psychologist and science journalist, he reported on brain and behavioral research for The New York Times for many years. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including three accounts of meetings he has moderated between the Dalai Lama and scientists, psychotherapists, and social activists. Goleman is a founding member of the board of the Mind and Life Institute, a cofounder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, and co-director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.

September 25

David Litt with Matt Walsh

There was a time when presidents spoke in complete sentences instead of in unhinged tweets. In his comic, coming-of-age memoir, David Litt takes us back to the Obama years – and charts a path forward in the age of Trump. David Litt entered the White House in 2011 and left in 2016 as a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. Described as the “comic muse for the president,” David was the lead writer on four White House Correspondents’ Dinner presentations and has contributed jokes to President Obama’s speeches since 2009. He is currently the head writer/producer for Funny or Die’s office in Washington, DC. David has also written for The OnionMcSweeney’s Internet TendencyCosmopolitanVanity FairThe Atlantic, and the New York Times. He lives in Washington with his girlfriend and their two goldfish, Humphrey and Camille.

September 19

Gretchen Rubin with Daniel Siegel

In Gretchen Rubin’s practical and authoritative examination, The Four Tendencies, the bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project identifies the four personality types that motivate everything we do. A member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, Rubin is a thought-provoking and influential writer on the linked subjects of habits, happiness, and human nature.

September 10

Bryan Cranston with Sam Rubin

Bryan Cranston won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter White in AMC’s Breaking Bad. In 2014 he won a Tony Award for his role as Lyndon B. Johnson in the bio-play All the Way. In film, Cranston has won two Screen Actors Guild Awards and received an Academy Award nomination for his leading role in Trumbo. Among his numerous television and film appearances, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and three Emmys for his portrayal of Hal in FOX’s Malcolm in the Middle.  

August 15

Jason Calacanis with Shawn Gold

Jason Calacanis is a technology entrepreneur, angel investor, and the host of the popular weekly podcast This Week in Startups. He’s the founder of a series of conferences that bring entrepreneurs together with potential investors. As a “scout” for top-tier Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and later as an angel investor, Jason has invested in 150 early-stage startups including 4 that have achieved billion-dollar valuations.

July 29

Frmr. Vice Pres. Al Gore w/ Mayor Eric Garcetti

Former Vice President Al Gore spends the majority of his time as the chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit devoted to solving the climate crisis. He is the co-recipient, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, for “informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change.” Gore served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977-83) and to the U.S. Senate (1984-92). He was inaugurated as the 45th vice president of the United States on January 20, 1993, and served eight years.  The follow-up to his best-selling book, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power is an action handbook to help you learn the science, find your voice, and help solve the climate crisis. A companion documentary will be simultaneously released, opening July 28, 2017.

July 8

Senator Al Franken with Chelsea Handler

Sen. Al Franken has represented Minnesota in the United States Senate since 2009. Before entering politics, Al spent 37 years as an award-winning comedy writer, author, and radio talk show host. In this candid personal memoir, the honorable gentleman from Minnesota takes his army of loyal fans along with him from Saturday Night Live to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and/or hilarious moments of his new career in politics.

June 26

An Evening with

Nathan Hill

Nathan Hill‘s short fiction has appeared in many literary journals, including The Iowa Review, AGNI, The Gettysburg Review, and Fiction, where he was awarded the annual Fiction Prize. A native Iowan, he lives with his wife in Naples, Florida. The Nix is his first novel.  John Irving says, “The Nix is a mother-son psychodrama with ghosts and politics, but it’s also a tragicomedy about anger and sanctimony in America. . . .  Nathan Hill is a maestro.” 

June 22

Brian Merchant on the history of the iPhone

 June 29, 2017, marks the 10th anniversary of the device that changed our world—the iPhone.  In the One Device, Brian Merchant dives into the secret history of the invention that changed everything-and became the most profitable product in the world.  The One Device is a roadmap for design and engineering genius, an anthropology of the modern age, and an unprecedented view into one of the most secretive companies in history. This is the untold account, ten years in the making, of the device that changed everything.