James Franco is an actor, director, author, and visual artist. His film appearances include Milk, Pineapple Express, Howl, and 127 Hours, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. He is the author A California Childhood and of the story collection Palo Alto.

Gladwell has been a writer at The New Yorker since 1996. His bestselling books include The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. In 2005, he was named one of Time‘s 100 Most Influential People. Drawing upon psychology, history, science, business, and politics, David and Goliath is about the mighty leverage of the unconventional.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics (Pessl’s bestselling debut novel) was one of the New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year… “Night Film, has been precision-engineered to be read at high velocity, and its energy would be the envy of any summer blockbuster. Your average writer of thrillers should lust for Pessl’s deft touch with character.”—Joe Hill, The New York Times Book Review

“A magnificent new novel by the best-selling author James McBride…a brilliant romp of a novel…with the same flair for historical mining, musicality of voice and outsize characterization that made his memoir, The Color of Water, an instant classic—he pulls off his portrait masterfully, like a modern-day Mark Twain: evoking sheer glee with every page.” —The New York Times Book Review

Reza Aslan, bestselling author of No god but God and How to Win a Cosmic War comes to Live Talks Los Angeles for a conversation with Rainn Wilson to share a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography of Jesus.

From one of the world’s most beloved storytellers––#1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman––comes his first adult novel in eight years. Wondrous and imaginative, and at times deeply scary, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, captures the very essence of childhood fear and uncertainty.

National Book Award winner Colum McCann is bestselling author of the novels Let the Great World Spin, Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Songdogs, as well as two critically acclaimed story collections. Published in thirty-five languages, he has been named one of Esquire’s “Best & Brightest,” and his short film Everything in This Country Must was nominated for an Oscar in 2005.

Phil Jackson is arguably the greatest coach in the history of the NBA. He coached the Chicago Bulls winning six NBA titles; and the Los Angeles Lakers winning five titles. He was a player on the 1970 and 1973 NBA champion New York Knicks teams. Join us for a conversation on motivation and competition at the highest levels; and about what it takes to bring out the best in ourselves and others.

We welcome back Deepak Chopra to Live Talks Los Angeles. We host him with his brother, Sanjiv, and they share their story from childhood of their personal struggles and triumphs as doctors, immigrants, and brothers. “Brotherhood” is a story about two brothers coming over from India—one to pursue Western medicine, the other to pioneer the merging of modern medicine and ancient wisdom.

Burt Bacharach, the legendary songwriter and composer, has written more than seventy Top 40 hits and won three Academy Awards, eight Grammys, and an Emmy, was nominated for a Tony, and received the prestigious Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.