John Cleese in conversation with Eric Idle at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2026-09-18 | John Cleese in conversation with Eric Idle at Live Talks Los Angeles
Claire Bidwell Smith in conversation with Alua Arthur at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-05-02 | Claire Bidwell Smith in conversation with Alua Arthur discussing her book,"Conscious Grieving: A Transformative Approach to Healing from Loss." The event took place on March 12, 2024 in Los Angeles.From one of the leading grief therapists, Conscious Grieving is a compassionate and accessible guide to grieving offering a new framework for understanding and navigating loss..Claire Bidwell Smith is a therapist specializing in grief and the author of four books of nonfiction, published in 22 countries: The Rules of Inheritance, After This: When Life is Over Where Do We Go?, Anxiety: The Missing Stage of Grief, and Anxious Grief: A Clinician’s Guide to Supporting Grieving Clients. Claire offers numerous online programs for grief in addition to working with people one-on-one, as well as training other clinicians to work in the field of grief and loss. Led by her own experiences with grief, and fueled by her work in hospice and private practice, Claire strives to provide support for all kinds of people experiencing all kinds of grief. Claire has written for and been featured in many publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Scientific American, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, Forbes, The Today Show, The Chicago Tribune, Oprah Magazine, and Psychology Today. She is devoted to expanding the conversation about grief and loss. Visit her website. Conscious Grieving is a book for anyone seeking guidance and support after loss. What does it mean to grieve consciously? Most of the time, when we lose someone we love, it feels like grief is just happening to us. We feel out of control, and overwhelmed. Claire reminds us that while loss is something that inevitably happens to all of us, how we choose to grieve is up to us. When we can consciously engage with our grief, rather than avoiding it, we can access profound pathways to healing.Conscious Grieving offers a new framework for each stage of grief: Entering, Engaging, Surrendering, and Transforming.* Entering – staying present and taking care of ourselves as we navigate the shock and upheaval of a new loss. * Engaging – navigating that first year after a loss by staying in tune with our needs as more complicated feelings of depression, guilt or anger surface. * Surrendering – facing the changes to our identity and who we are becoming in the face of loss. *Transforming – through ritual, honor, hope, and grace, and learning to carry our grief with intention so that we can continue to grow, heal, and thrive. Grief asks a lot from us. But the ability to grieve is a birthright. We grieve throughout our lifetimes. We grieve the deaths of loved ones yes, but also moves, divorce, illness, injustice, time lost, changes in the world and healing from these losses requires that we evaluate everything we ever considered meaningful. Healing means making our lives worth the pain we endure when we lose someone we love. And transforming through grief is an opportunity afforded to all. Alua Arthur is a death doula, recovering attorney, and the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization that exists to support people as they answer the question, “What must I do to be at peace with myself so that I may live presently and die gracefully?” Going with Grace works to improve and redefine the end-of-life experience for people rooted in every community using the individual lived experience as the foundation. Alua has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Vogue, Refinery29, The Doctors, and InStyle. Arthur is the author of the upcoming book, Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End.
Rebel Wilson in conversation with Jess Cagle at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-04-30 | Rebel Wilson in conversation with Jess Cagle at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her memoir,"Rebel Rising." The talk took place on April 8, 2024 in Los Angeles.The scene-stealing star of Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids comes to our stage with a candid and hilarious memoir that chronicles her unconventional journey to Hollywood success. Rebel Wilson is an Australian actress, director, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She’s known for her roles in the Pitch Perfect series, Bridesmaids, How to be Single, Senior Year, The Hustle, Jojo Rabbit, and more.Jess Cagle is SiriusXM’s Chief Entertainment Anchor and host of The Jess Cagle Show. Before joining SiriusXM in 2019, Cagle was Editor In Chief of People magazine and Editorial Director of Entertainment Weekly. He has co-hosted ABC’s Oscar red-carpet pre-show and appeared as a critic and contributor for CBS News. He is currently a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.For decades, actress Rebel Wilson focused on her career, making a name for herself through her iconic roles in Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids, and Isn’t It Romantic. Now, she’s ready to chronicle the emotional and physical lessons she learned, as well as her most embarrassing experiences. Rebel Rising follows Wilson’s incredible journey of “making it,” as she continuously questioned, “Am I good enough? Will I ever find love? Will I ever change and become healthy?” From fertility issues, weight gain and loss, sexuality, overcoming shyness, rejections, it’s all here. This memoir shows us how to love ourselves while making us laugh uncontrollably.
Abraham Verghese in conversation with Aimee Liu at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-04-29 | Abraham Verghese in conversation with Aimee Liu at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his novel,"The Covenant of Water. The event took place in Los Angeles on May 9, 2023.From the bestselling author of Cutting for Stone comes The Convenant of Water, a stunning and magisterial epic of love, faith, and medicine set in Kerala, South India.A shimmering evocation of a bygone era, Abraham Verghese’s latest novel, fourteen years in the making, is a masterful literary feat—a hymn to progress in medicine and to human understanding, and a humbling testament to the difficulties undergone by past generations for the sake of those alive today.Abraham Verghese’s acclaimed earlier books are My Own Country, The Tennis Partner, and Cutting for Stone, which spent over two years on the New York Times bestseller list, was translated into more than 20 languages, and sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. It’s currently being adapted for film. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Dr. Verghese practices medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine“The novel is full of compassion and wise vision. . . . I feel I changed forever after reading this book, as if an entire universe had been illuminated for me. It’s an astonishing accomplishment to make such a foreign world familiar to a reader by the book’s end.”—Sandra Cisneros on Cutting for StoneAimee Liu is the author of four novels, most recently Glorious Boy, as well as the memoirs Gaining and Solitaire and numerous other nonfiction works. Her books have received a Literary Guild Super Release and Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Aimee earned her MFA at Bennington College and taught for many years in Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing Program.
Billy Dee Williams in conversation with Sam Rubin at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-03-30 | Billy Dee Williams in conversation with Sam Rubin at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his memoir,"What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life." The conversation took place on Feb 26, 2024.Billy Dee Williams recalls his remarkable life of nearly eight decades—a heralded actor who’s played the roles he wanted, from Brian’s Song to Lando in the Star Wars universe—unchecked by the racism and typecasting so rife in the mostly all-white industry in which he triumphed..Billy Dee Williams was born and raised in Harlem in 1937. He studied painting, first at the High School of Music and Art with fellow student Diahann Carroll, and then at the National Academy of Fine Art, before setting out to pursue acting with Herbert Berghof, Stella Adler, and Sidney Poitier. He has starred in forty movies, seven Broadway plays, and has made more than forty television shows and TV movies combined. .In What Have We Here: Portraits of a Life, Williams writes of landing the career-making role of a lifetime in 1971, co-starring alongside James Caan in Brian’s Song, the made-for-television movie that was watched by an audience of more than fifty million people. Williams calls it “the kind of interracial love story America needed.”And when, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, he became a true pop culture icon, playing Lando Calrissian in George Lucas’s The Empire Strikes Back (“What I presented on the screen people didn’t expect to see”). It was a role he reprised in the final film of the original trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, and in the recent sequel The Rise of Skywalker.This heralded actor tells, in his own words, all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure. Sam Rubin is the entertainment anchor for the KTLA Morning News. He is a multiple-Emmy winner; has received the Golden Mike Award for best entertainment reporter; has received a lifetime achievement award from the Southern California Broadcasters Association; and has been named best entertainment reporter by the Los Angeles Press Club.
Kara Swisher in conversation with Ted Sarandos at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-03-30 | Kara Swisher in conversation with Ted Sarandos at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her book, "Burn Book" A Tech Love Story." The event took place on March 4, 2024.From award-winning journalist Kara Swisher comes a witty, scathing, but fair accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead.Award-winning journalist Kara Swisher is the host of the podcast On with Kara Swisher and the cohost of the Pivot podcast with Scott Galloway. She was also the cofounder and editor-at-large of Recode, host of the Recode Decode podcast, and co-executive producer of the Code conference. A former contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and host of its Sway podcast, Swisher has also worked for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. This is her third book.Burn Book: A Tech Love Story is part memoir, part history and, most of all, a necessary recounting of tech’s most powerful players— the inside story we’ve all been waiting for of modern Silicon Valley and the biggest boom in wealth creation in the history of the world. It’s a witty, scathing, but fair accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead.While tech titans bragged they would “move fast and break things,” Kara Swisher was moving faster and breaking news. Covering the explosion of the digital sector in the early 1990s, she developed a long track record of digging up and reporting the truth of this new world order. Her consistent scoops drove one CEO to accuse her of “listening in the heating ducts” and for Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg to once say: “It is a constant joke in the Valley when people write memos for them to say, ‘I hope Kara never sees this.’”It’s only a slight exaggeration to say Swisher has interviewed everyone. Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Bob Iger, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Meg Whitman, Peter Thiel, and Mark Zuckerberg are just a few who Swisher made sweat—figuratively and, in one famous case, literally.Ted Sarandos was named co-CEO of Netflix in July 2020. He has been responsible for all content operations since 2000, and led the company’s transition into original content production that began in 2013 with the launch of the series House of Cards, Arrested Development and Orange Is the New Black among numerous others. Ted was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2013 and received the Producers Guild of America Milestone Award in 2019. He is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, a trustee of the American Film Institute, and on the boards of Exploring the Arts and Spotify.
Ed Zwick in conversation with Patty Jenkins at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-03-28 | Ed Zwick in conversation with Patty Jenkins at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book,"Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood." The talk took lace on February 15, 2024.A heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.Ed Zwick’s long career has spanned four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). His filmography as director includes Glory, Legends of the Fall, Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire, Love & Other Drugs, and Defiance; with producing credits including Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic and Shakespeare in Love, for which Zwick won the Academy Award. From early-career, breakout performances from Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, to career-defining roles for Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, and more, Zwick has directed many of Hollywood’s biggest stars. His mark on television is equally impressive, including two series he co-created with longtime creative partner Marshall Herskovitz: the Emmy award-winning thirtysomething, regarded as one of the most influential dramas in modern TV history; and ABC’s Emmy-winning ensemble drama, Once and Again.“Ed Zwick is responsible for some of the best entertainment of the last forty years. (His new book) takes its place alongside Adventures in the Screen Trade and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls as an indispensable behind-the-scenes books for fans of movies and television.” –Aaron SorkinPatty Jenkins is an award-winning writer and director best known for directing the blockbuster Wonder Woman and her debut Oscar-winning feature Monster. She also directed the pilot and series finale of AMC’s hit show The Killing, for which she received a Primetime Emmy nomination and the 2012 DGA Best Director Award. In 2017, Jenkins became the first woman in history to direct a live action film with a budget over $100 million with her critical hit Wonder Woman. Following the success of the first, Jenkins directed, wrote, and produced the equally successful sequel Wonder Woman 1984, making her the first woman to helm a live action film with a budget over $200 million. Up next, Jenkins is set to developing Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which would make her the first female to direct a Star Wars feature film. She is also writing an original project and producing the anticipated Gal Gadot-starring Cleopatra, Chris Pine’s Poolman, and Best Men, a film based on Sid Karger’s novel.
Chris Anderson in conversation with Irwin Miller at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-03-27 | Chris Anderson in conversation with Irwin Miller at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, "Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading." The event took place on Feb 7, 2024 in Los Angeles.From bestselling author, media pioneer, and curator of TED, comes an inspiring guide to amplifying kindness and igniting a movement on both an individual and global scale.Chris Anderson has led TED since 2001, overseeing its transformation from an annual conference to a nonprofit with global reach, sharing TED Talks, podcasts, and TED-Ed videos freely to all.Today’s culture seems to be trending ever meaner and more divisive: INFECTIOUS GENEROSITY offers an antidote. Chris Anderson argues that by rethinking generosity in this connected era, we can shape it into a force that can spread across the world. Generosity? Really?! It seems too small a force arrayed against today’s problems. But the pandemic taught us that even a tiny virus can have global impact by virtue of being infectious. So what does it take to make generosity infectious? There are dozens of inspiring people out there, toiling away from the limelight, who have demonstrated how this is possible. The book is filled with their stories, which collectively offer a playbook we can all make use of. The result? A fundamentally more hopeful view of human possibility in the 21st century.As the curator of TED for over twenty years, Anderson has seen first-hand the ways in which ideas can spread. Through the power of the internet, he has helped the world’s boldest thinkers share their most uplifting and world-changing concepts and with INFECTIOUS GENEROSITY, Anderson encourages all of us to harness the internet as a force that brings people together instead of driving them apart. Through a combination of inspiring stories, cutting-edge psychological research, and practical guidance INFECTIOUS GENEROSITY serves as both a manifesto and a playbook for embarking on a journey of generosity. Broken into three sections, WHY Infectious Generosity’s time has come; HOW we each can play part; WHAT IF? Imagining a world in which Infectious Generosity has claimed its rightful place.Irwin Miller is an award-winning designer, artist and thought leader who has worked in the design industry for over 30 years with a focus of architecture and interior design. He had been a Principal and Design Director at Gensler for 20+ years working on projects of every scope and scale around the world. Before that, he worked with a variety of international architects throughout Europe after receiving degrees from RISD and Harvard Graduate School of Design. His current passion is ceramic work – and stop motion animation for television and music videos.
Rainn Wilson in conversation with Valarie Kaur at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-03-06 | Rainn Wilson in conversation with Valarie Kaur at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book,"Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution." The event took place on May 7. 2023.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.“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 AgainValarie 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..
Michele Lamont in conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-02-19 | Michele Lamont in conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her book, "Seeing Others: How Recognition Works―and How It Can Heal a Divided World." The event took place on February 8, 2024.Michèle Lamont is a Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, where she is also the Robert I. Goldman Professor of European studies. She served as the 108th President of the American Sociological Association and her research has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from six countries. The author or coauthor of over a dozen books, she can be found on MicheleLamont.org. Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. He is the author of The Sympathizer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and soon to be an HBO Original Series; its sequel, The Committed; the short story collection The Refugees; the nonfiction book Nothing Ever Dies, a finalist for the National Book Award; and is the editor of an anthology of refugee writing, The Displaced. He is the Aerol Arnold Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur foundations. “A thoughtful recipe for building social justice” (Kirkus Reviews) from acclaimed Harvard sociologist Michèle Lamont that makes the case for reexamining what we value—the quest for respect—in an age that has been defined by growing inequality and the obsolescence of the American dream.In this capstone work, Michèle Lamont unpacks the power of recognition—rendering others as visible and valued—by drawing on nearly forty years of research and new interviews with young adults and cultural icons—from Nikole Hannah Jones and Cornel West to Michael Schur and Roxane Gay.Decades of neoliberalism have negatively impacted our sense of self-worth, up and down the income ladder, just as the American dream has become out of reach for most people. By prioritizing material and professional success, we judge ourselves and others in terms of self-reliance, competition, and diplomas. The foregrounding of these attributes of the upper-middle class in our values system feeds into the marginalization of workers, people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and minority groups. The solution, Lamont argues, is to shift our focus towards what we have in common while actively working to recognize the diverse ways one can live a life. Building on Lamont’s lifetime of expertise and revelatory connections between broad-ranging issues, Seeing Others delivers realistic sources of hope: by reducing stigma, we put change within reach.Just as Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone did for a previous generation, Seeing Others strikes at the heart of our modern struggles and illuminates an inclusive path forward with new ways for understanding our world.
Adam Grant in conversation with Jennifer Garner at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2024-01-08 | Adam Grant in conversation with Jennifer Garner* at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book,"Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things." This event was taped on November 14 in Los Angeles.*Rainn Wilson was originally the interviewer for this event, but had to cancel on the day of the event, and Jennifer Garne Kindly stepped in.The New York Times bestselling author of Think Again illuminates how we can elevate ourselves and others to unexpected heights...Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. His books include Think Again, Give and Take and Originals and have sold millions of copies. His TED talks have been viewed more than 30 million times, and he hosts the hit podcast Re:Thinking. He has been recognized as one of the world’s ten most influential management thinkers and Fortune‘s 40 Under 40, and has received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. Grant received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver. “This brilliant book will shatter your assumptions about what it takes to improve and succeed. I wish I could go back in time and gift it to my younger self. It would’ve helped me find a more joyful path to progress.”—Serena Williams, 23-time Grand Slam singles tennis champion“I read Hidden Potential in one sitting, loved it, and have been thinking about it ever since. Which is the highest praise I can give a book. This is Adam Grant‘s finest work—it will inspire you to bigger dreams.”—Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and host of Revisionist HistoryHow can anyone rise to achieve? Adam Grant’s latest book, Hidden Potential, weaves together groundbreaking evidence that shows progress depends less on how hard you work than how well you learn. Growth is not about the genius you possess—it’s about the character you develop. Grant explores how to build the character skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked.Jennifer Garner has enjoyed a successful career at the top of her field in both film and television, and has also taken on the role of philanthropist and entrepreneur. Her credits include roles in Alias, Dallas Buyers Club and Juno – Jennifer starred in HBO’s Camping and STX action film Peppermint and on Netflix’s Yes Day, a comedy based on the children’s book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, which she stars in and produced. She has held the position of Artist Ambassador for Save the Children for over 10 years. In 2017, Jennifer co-founded the organic-food company Once Upon a Farm with Cassandra Curtis and former Annie’s president John Foraker. Together the visionaries have grown the company with a goal of providing children with the best tasting, most nutritious and highest quality food utilizing sustainable methods.
David Brooks in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-12-20 | David Brooks in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, "How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen." This event was taped on November 20 in Los Angeles.A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Road to Character and The Second MountainDavid Brooks is one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators. He is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, a writer for The Atlantic, and appears regularly on PBS Newshour. He is the bestselling author of The Second Mountain, The Road to Character, The Social Animal, Bobos in Paradise, and On Paradise Drive.If you want to know someone, what kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person’s story should you pay attention to? In How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, best-selling author David Brooks sets forth a practical, heartfelt guide.Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, history, and education, he presents a hopeful, integrated approach to fostering deeper human connections—and a possible remedy for a society that is riven by fragmentation, hostility and misperception.The act of seeing another person, Brooks argues, is profoundly creative: How can we look somebody in the eye and see something large in them, and in turn, see something larger in ourselves? How to Know a Person is for anyone searching for connection, and yearning to be understood.Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for more than 25 years. He can currently be heard as host of Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air on The Ringer Podcast Network. The show features Wilmore’s unique mix of humor and wit as he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond. Filmo and TV credit include: Jerry and Margo Go Large, alongside Bryan Cranston and Annette Benning on Paramount+; Reasonable Doubt for Hulu’s Onyx Collective; Amend: The Fight for America on Netflix; The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on Comedy Central; Insecure on HBO; Black-ish on ABC; The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; In Living Color, The Office and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also served as creator, writer, and executive producer of The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him a 2002 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” and a 2001 Peabody Award.
Jeff Tweedy in conversation with Nick Offerman at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-12-20 | Jeff Tweedy in conversation with Nick Offerman at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, "World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music." This aired as a virtual event and aired on Nov 13, 2023. It was taped on the Wilco tour bus in Los Angeles.An exciting and heartening mix of memories, music, and inspiration from Wilco front man and New York Times bestselling author Jeff Tweedy, sharing fifty songs that changed his life, the real-life experiences behind each one, as well as what he’s learned about how music and life intertwine and enhance each other.Jeff Tweedy is the founding member and leader of the Grammy Award–winning American rock band Wilco, and before that the cofounder of the alt‐country band Uncle Tupelo. He is one of contemporary music’s most accomplished songwriters, musicians, and performers. He has released four albums, written original songs for thirteen Wilco albums, and is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc. and How to Write One Song. What makes us fall in love with a song? What makes us want to write our own songs? Do songs help? Do songs help us live better lives? And do the lives we live help us write better songs? Jeff Tweedy’s new book is about why we listen to music, why we love songs, and how music can connect us to each other and to ourselves. Featuring fifty songs that have both changed his life and influenced his music—including songs by the Replacements, Mavis Staples, the Velvet Underground, Joni Mitchell, Otis Redding, Dolly Parton, and Billie Eilish—as well as Jeff’s “Rememories,” dream-like short pieces that related key moments from Jeff’s life.Nick Offerman is the New York Times bestselling author of Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living, Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers, and Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop, as well as co-author of The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, with his wife, Megan Mullally. Offerman is the narrator for the audiobook of Wendell Berry’s latest, The Need to Be Whole, and co-stars in Episode 3 of The Last of Us.
Adam Kinzinger in conversation with David Ono at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-12-20 | Adam Kinzinger in conversation with David Ono at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book,"Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country." This event was taped with an audience in Los Angeles on November 16.Once a rising star of the Republican Party, Adam Kinzinger became a traitor when he voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. Now he shares a gripping firsthand account of the events that led to this moment, and the sacrifice required to do what is right.Adam D. Kinzinger served in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023, representing Illinois’ Sixteenth Congressional District. During his tenure, he served on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, as well as the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to being elected to Congress, Kinzinger served in the Air Force in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard and a Senior Political Commentator on CNN.David Ono is the anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News at 4pm and 6pm.David has produced multiple award winning documentaries, two of which have made their way to the Smithsonian Institution. He’s the creator of the multi-award winning series FACEism, about promoting a better understanding about inclusion in America. He’s also the creator of Defining Courage, a stage show about the legacy of the Nisei Soldier in World War. David has won 10 Edward R. Murrow awards, 31 Emmys, is the recipient of the Distinguished Journalist Award by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Lifetime Achievement award by the LA Press Club.On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the US Capitol in attempts to overturn the presidential election. It was a betrayal of our Constitution, and one of the darkest days in recent history. Yet to former congressman Adam Kinzinger it was also the culmination of a cultural and political rupture he’d long seen coming. Constructive criticism from within the Republican Party was no longer enough. It was time to stand up, even if it meant betraying his own party.In Renegade, Kinzinger tells his story of faith, service, and political duty in a democracy under siege. From the small Illinois county board where he got his start, to his years in the Air Force flying tanker missions over Iraq, to his final tumultuous term in Congress as one of the few Republican members to vote to impeach Trump and join the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol, Kinzinger takes readers inside the most critical moments and pivotal decisions of the last years. The result is both a searing examination of the rise of extremism and the GOP’s subsequent descent into a dysfunctional and destructive force, and a rousing call to return to unity.
Hilarie Burton Morgan in conversation with Sophia Bush at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-12-10 | Hilarie Burton Morgan in conversation with Sophia Bush at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her book, "Grimoire Girl: A Memoir of Magic and Mischief." The event took place on October 18, 2023.The long-awaited next book from actress and New York Times bestselling author of The Rural Diaries, Hilarie Burton Morgan. Through memoir essays and magical practices, Grimoire Girl connects us to the enchantment that exists inside us all.Hilarie Burton Morgan is an actor, producer, farmer, candy dealer, kid chauffeur, and New York Times bestselling author. Known for her roles as Peyton on One Tree Hill, Sara Ellis on White Collar, her work as an MTV VJ, and her leading roles in popular Lifetime movies, she lives with her husband, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, in New York’s picturesque Hudson Valley with their son Gus, daughter George, and a whole menagerie of animals.Sophia Bush is an actress, producer, activist, and entrepreneur. Some of her television and film projects include False Positive, Good Sam, Hard Luck Love Song , John Tucker Must Die, Incredibles 2, One Tree Hill, Dick Chicago PD, This Is Us and Love, Victor. She made her West End debut in2023 in 2:22 a Ghost Story the Olivier-nominated thriller play written by Danny Robbins. She hosts a podcast, Work in Progress, as well as co-hosts the iHeartRadio podcast Drama Queens alongside Hilarie Burton Morgan and Bethany Joy Lenz, during which they relive and reclaim nine seasons of CW drama, One Tree Hill. Sophia devotes her free time to bettering girl’s education and the environment. She also General Partner at Union Heritage Ventures, a majority African-American and women-owned venture capital firm.Since childhood, Hilarie Burton Morgan has felt the call to record, keep, and catalogue life in all its strange wonder. It was a whimsical habit, with no clear goal. And then, when she became a mother, the importance of all that collecting snapped into focus. In an effort to patchwork together an anthology of traditions, curiosity, and magical thinking that she could pass down, Burton Morgan realized she was crafting a grimoire. In her most intimate book yet, Burton Morgan shares how she’s creating an inheritance of mischief and magic that will outlive her. What’s more, she shows readers how they too can look at the elements of their lives and collect the pieces into a tangible collection of a lifetime of learning. Because in its purest form, a grimoire was a guide to keep you alive.Like the grimoires of old, full of life-saving wisdom, these pages record the people, places, ideas and habits that have kept Burton Morgan alive, in her signature voice that is at once honest, witty, and charming. Accompanied by whimsical two-color illustrations by Olivia Faust, the book also includes Simple Spells, which are ways to bring magic into your daily life such as: create an altar that delights and inspires; practice candle magic and poetry spells; make an oracle deck; channel your inner kitchen witch with recipes and potionsSo begin creating your own inheritance, take a long look inward and decide…What wisdom will be written on the pages of your Grimoire?
John Stamos in conversation with Josh Peck at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-12-06 | *** Signed books can be purchased in the link in the comments.***John Stamos in conversation with Josh Peck discussing his memoir, "If You Would have Told Me." This event was taped with an audience on November 6, 2023 in Los Angeles.John Stamos is a two-time Emmy Award-nominated television, film, and Broadway theater actor, as well as a producer. He rose to stardom on General Hospital, and his career includes performances on Big Shot, Grandfathered, ER, You, Full House, and Fuller House, and on the stage in Cabaret, Bye Bye Birdie, and Nine. He is also a musician, having toured, recorded, and collaborated with The Beach Boys for over thirty years. Stamos is an ambassador for Childhelp.A universal story about friendship, love, loss, and the courage to embrace love once more, John Stamos’s memoir is filled with some of the most memorable names in Hollywood, both old and new. Funny, deeply poignant, and brutally honest, If You Would Have Told Me is a portrait of a boy who went from believing in Disney magic to a man who learns that we have to create our own magical moments in life.Josh Peck is an actor, writer and podcast host. TV and film credits include: Oppenheimer, Hulu’s How I Met Your Father, iCarly on Paramount+, 13: The Musical on Netflix, the Disney+ reboot of Turner & Hooch and the upcoming film Summer Camp alongside Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, and Alfre Woodard. His memoir Happy People are Annoying was published in 2022 and he co-hosts the podcast, Good Guys with Ben Soffer.
Arnold Schwarzenegger in conversation with Jamie Lee Curtis at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-28 | Arnold Schwarzenegger in conversation with Jamie Lee Curtis at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, "Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life." The talk took place on October 13, 2023.The seven rules to follow to realize your true purpose in life—distilled by Arnold Schwarzenegger from his own journey of ceaseless reinvention and extraordinary achievement, and available for absolutely anyone.….Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born bodybuilder, actor, businessman, philanthropist, bestselling author, and politician. He served as the thirty-eighth governor of California.The world’s greatest bodybuilder. The world’s highest-paid movie star. The leader of the world’s sixth-largest economy. .In his new book, he details the seven tools he believes we all need to follow to find true purpose and success. During his childhood in a rural Austrian town, the chief lesson his father drilled into him above all, and which serves as his title, is Be Useful. Spend an evening with Arnold to learn more about his life-changing successes and life-threatening failures alike—some of them famous, and some shared here for the first time ever.Jamie Lee Curtis is an actor, author, activist, producer and creator. She won both a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award and SAG Award this year for her work in Everything Everywhere All At Once and has received numerous accolades and nominations in a decades long career. Her film debut in Halloween in 1978 brought her to attention of audiences worldwide. When she reprised that role 40 years later in 2018 its opening weekend was the biggest debut ever, for any movie in any genre, to feature a female lead character over 55 years of age.
Rachel Maddow at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-26 | (Note: this monologue preceded the conversation with Jacob Soboroff. The video of the hour long conversation is available in our YouTube channel)Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing her book, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism." The event took place on October 22, 2023.Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis. Rachel Maddow is host of the Emmy Award–winning The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Drift and Blowout, and the New York Times bestselling co-author of Bag Man. She has also written, produced and hosted three original podcasts for MSNBC—Rachel Maddow Presents: Bag Man, Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra, and most recently the six-episode series Rachel Maddow Presents: Deja News. Maddow received a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Stanford University and earned her doctorate in political science at Oxford University. In her new book, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, based on research for her podcast, Ultra, Maddow traces the rise of a radical strain of authoritarianism that has been alive and well in America for the better part of a century. Taking readers back to the early days of World War II, Maddow introduces us to a clandestine network of far-far-right American radicals, who through a series of sophisticated and shockingly well-funded efforts—including an astonishing amount of support among serving members of Congress—would bring America into a much closer flirtation with fascism than we want to remember. .The resistance of journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens ensured that their goal was never achieved, but the seeds of extremism were planted and have reached forward through history into our present. As we navigate through our own disquieting times, Prequel offers a roadmap from U.S. history, marked both with heroics to emulate and traps and pitfalls to avoid. Jacob Soboroff is an NBC News correspondent and the author of the New York Times best seller, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy. For his reporting on the Trump administration’s child separation policy, he received the Walter Cronkite Award for Individual Achievement by a National Journalist and the Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism. He is also the recipient of a Ruben Salazar Journalism Award from the California Chicano News Media Association, and in 2022 was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy® Award for his reporting from Haiti. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Nicole Cari and their two children.
Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-26 | Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing her book, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism." The talk took place on October 22, 2023.(Note: the monologue that preceded the conversation is available to watch in our YouTube channel)Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis. Rachel Maddow is host of the Emmy Award–winning The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Drift and Blowout, and the New York Times bestselling co-author of Bag Man. She has also written, produced and hosted three original podcasts for MSNBC—Rachel Maddow Presents: Bag Man, Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra, and most recently the six-episode series Rachel Maddow Presents: Deja News. Maddow received a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Stanford University and earned her doctorate in political science at Oxford University. In her new book, Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism, based on research for her podcast, Ultra, Maddow traces the rise of a radical strain of authoritarianism that has been alive and well in America for the better part of a century. Taking readers back to the early days of World War II, Maddow introduces us to a clandestine network of far-far-right American radicals, who through a series of sophisticated and shockingly well-funded efforts—including an astonishing amount of support among serving members of Congress—would bring America into a much closer flirtation with fascism than we want to remember. .The resistance of journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens ensured that their goal was never achieved, but the seeds of extremism were planted and have reached forward through history into our present. As we navigate through our own disquieting times, Prequel offers a roadmap from U.S. history, marked both with heroics to emulate and traps and pitfalls to avoid. Jacob Soboroff is an NBC News correspondent and the author of the New York Times best seller, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy. For his reporting on the Trump administration’s child separation policy, he received the Walter Cronkite Award for Individual Achievement by a National Journalist and the Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism. He is also the recipient of a Ruben Salazar Journalism Award from the California Chicano News Media Association, and in 2022 was nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy® Award for his reporting from Haiti. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Nicole Cari and their two children.
Caster Semenya in conversation with Diana Nyad at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-24 | Caster Semenya in conversation with Diana Nyad at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her memoir, "The Race to Be Myself." The event took place on November 2, 2023.World champion runner Caster Semenya offers an empowering account of her extraordinary life and career, and her trailblazing battle to compete on her own terms.Caster Semenya, OIB, is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women’s 800 meters. The Race to Be Myself is her debut. She lives in Pretoria, South Africa.“Caster’s story isn’t just a tale of perseverance and poise, it’s a story that makes us all interrogate our humanity and the world we build with our actions every day. An essential read.”― Trevor NoahOlympian and World Champion Caster Semenya is finally ready to share the vivid and heartbreaking story of how the world came to know her name. Thrust into the spotlight at just eighteen years old after winning the Berlin World Championships in 2009, Semenya’s win was quickly overshadowed by criticism and speculation about her body, and she became the center of a still-raging firestorm about how gender plays out in sports, our expectations of female athletes, and the right to compete as you are.Told with captivating speed and candor, The Race to Be Myself is the journey of Semenya’s years as an athlete in the public eye, and her life behind closed doors. From her rural beginnings running free in the dust, to crushing her opponents in record time on the track, to the accusations and falsehoods spread about her in the press, the legal trial she went through in order to compete, and the humiliation she has been forced to endure publicly and privately. This book is a searing testimony for anyone who has been forced to stop doing what they love.Diana Nyad is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and lomng-distance swimmer. Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan (28 miles) and in 1979 when she swam from North Bimini, The Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida (102 miles). In 2013, on her fifth attempt and at age 64, she became the first person to have swum from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage, swimming from Havana to Key West (110 miles).
Nicole Avant in conversation with Rashida Jones at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-24 | Nicole Avant in conversation with Rashida Jones discussing her memoir,"Think You’ll Be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude." The event took place on October 24, 2023.A spirit-lifting memoir on how to turn pain into purpose, how to live always in gratitude, and how to face down tragedy and turn it into love.Nicole Avant is a philanthropist and filmmaker, as well as a former diplomat. After a career in entertainment and political fundraising, she served as the United States Ambassador to the Bahamas under President Obama. In 2019, she produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary The Black Godfather, and in 2022, she produced Trees of Peace, a film about the Rwandan genocide. Avant grew up surrounded by some of the most extraordinary artists of our time: Bill Withers, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Sidney Poitier. Her parents—entertainment mogul, Clarence Avant, and legendary philanthropist, Jacqueline Avant—turned their home into a place of refuge and inspiration for a generation of geniuses. Nicole drew on that magical upbringing to create a stellar career in the music business, become the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, and produce critically acclaimed award-winning films and documentaries. Then, an unthinkable tragedy struck: her mother was fatally shot in December 2021.In this searing and inspiring memoir, Nicole turns the pain of her family’s loss into the fuel that pushes her forward into an even more committed life of love and activism: “We can’t banish evil,” she writes. “We have to learn to swim through trauma and live for all of those who can’t.” Turning tragedy into inspiration, Think You’ll Be Happy—her mom’s last words to Nicole—provides a roadmap for anyone working to remain positive and anchored in hope. “At some point in every life, we are faced with a challenge that we think we can’t overcome. This book should be required reading for anyone wanting to understand how to trust in the light even at the darkest times. Drawing on her own grit, grace and gratitude – not to mention a deep and abiding faith – Nicole Avant has gifted us a roadmap out of the darkness of her own profound loss and into a life filled with meaning, purpose and service.” — Jay Shetty, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Think Like A Monk.Rashida Jones is an actor, writer, producer, director and podcaster. Her Film & TV credits include: Sunny, Silo, On the Rocks, #blackAF, Duncanville, Klaus, Spies in Disguise, The Social Network, Celeste and Jesse Forever, The Muppets and I Love You, Man. Additional credits include Angie Tribeca, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Boston Public, Freaks and Geeks, Chappelle Show and Portlandia.She recently launched a podcast with Bill Gates, Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions with their premiere episode featuring Dr. Anthony Fauci. Directing credits include Quincy, and the music video for Sara Bareilles’ Brave and episodic work on #blackAF, Angie Tribeca and Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On.
Michael Lewis in conversation with D.A. Wallach at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-24 | Michael Lewis in conversation with D.A. Wallach at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book,"Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon." This event was taped with an audience on October 25, 2023.From the best-selling author of The Big Short and Flash Boys, the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center.Michael Lewis is the best-selling author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, The Undoing Project, and The Fifth Risk. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his family. He has appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles for his last four books: Flashboys(with Malcolm Gladwell); The Undoing Project (with Mindy Kaling); The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy (with Larry Wilmore); and for The Premonition: A Pandemic Story (with Geraldine Brooks). He also interviewed Walter Isaacson for his book, Leonardo da Vinci.When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side?In Going Infinite Lewis sets out to answer this question, taking readers into the mind of Bankman-Fried, whose rise and fall offers an education in high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies, philanthropy, bankruptcy, and the justice system. Both psychological portrait and financial roller-coaster ride, Going Infinite is Michael Lewis at the top of his game, tracing the mind-bending trajectory of a character who never liked the rules and was allowed to live by his own—until it all came undone.D.A. Wallach is a venture capital investor and an acclaimed recording artist who Fast Company named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. As co-founder and General Partner of Time BioVentures, he brings this experience to a new generation of talented entrepreneurs in the life sciences. His band Chester French, was signed by Interscope Records, where they released two full-length albums. He has toured with Lady Gaga, Weezer, and Blink 182, performed on TV Shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In 2011, D.A. stopped touring in order to focus on his other passion, investing. He has since built a parallel career as a venture capitalist, backing a series of industry-defining technology companies including Spotify, SpaceX, Ripple, The Boring Company, and Memphis Meats. He publishes essays on a range of topics on his website.
Julia Fox in conversation with Joey Soloway at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-21 | Julia Fox in conversation with Joey Soloway at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her memoir,"Down the Drain." The talk took place on Oct 23, 2023.Julia Fox is a multidisciplinary artist. She’s had a fashion label, published art books, and held numerous exhibitions in New York and Los Angeles. She inspired the character in her break out role in the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems and has acted in numerous films since. She’s a strong advocate for sustainability and a do-it-yourself attitude. She cohosts a podcast called Forbidden Fruits. She is a single mom and currently lives in New York City with her son Valentino.Joey Soloway is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and LGBT activist. Soloway is the creator of the groundbreaking Amazon original series Transparent. Over the course of its five-season run, Transparent” received 24 Emmy nominations and eight Emmy awards — including two for Solowayʼs directing – as well as two Golden Globes. Soloway launched their arts career in Chicago’s Off-Loop theatre movement in the 1990s, creating the underground hit The Real Live Brady Bunch. Other TV and film credits include: Six Feet Under, I Love Dick, Grey’s Anatomy, United States of Tara and Afternoon Delight, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Soloway is co-writer and producer of stage play A Transparent Musical. They are adapting the book The Ethical Slut, developing a comedic travel series called The Godyssey and The South Commons Experiment a personal documentary investigating what it meant to grow up in a “racial utopia”. Soloway launched The Disruptors Fellowship, a program supporting emerging television writers of color who identify as transgender, non-binary, disabled, and/or undocumented/ formerly undocumented.Julia Fox is famous for many things: her captivating acting, such as her breakout role in the film Uncut Gems; her trendsetting style, including bleached eyebrows, exaggerated eyeshadow, and cutout dresses; her mastery of social media, where she entertains and educates her millions of followers. But all these share the trait for which she is most famous: unabashedly and unapologetically being herself.This commitment to authenticity has never been more on display than in Down the Drain. Fox recounts her turbulent path: her parents’ volatile relationship that divided her childhood between Italy and New York City and left her largely raising herself; a possessive and abusive drug-dealing boyfriend whose torment continued even from within Rikers Island; her own trips to jail as well as to a psychiatric hospital; her work as a dominatrix that led to a complicated entanglement with a sugar daddy; a heroin habit that led to New Orleans trap houses and that she would kick only after the fatal overdose of her best friend; her own near-lethal overdoses and the deaths of still more friends from drugs and suicide; an emotionally explosive, tabloid-dominating romance with a figure she dubs “The Artist”; a whirlwind, short-lived marriage and her trials as a single parent striving to support her young son. Yet as extraordinary as her story is, its universality is what makes it so powerful. Fox doesn’t just capture her improbable evolution from grade-school outcast to fashion-world icon, she captures her transition from girlhood to womanhood to motherhood. Family and friendship, sex and death, violence and love, money and power, innocence and experience—it’s all in her memoir, in raw, remarkable and riveting detail.
Schuyler Bailar in conversation with Dylan Mulvaney at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-21 | Schuyler Bailar in conversation with Dylan Mulvaney at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing his book, "He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters." The talk took place on November 8, 2023Go‑to expert on gender identity, Schuyler Bailar, offers an essential, urgent guide that changes the conversation.Schuyler Bailar (he/him) is an educator, author, and advocate. He is also the first transgender athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA Division 1 men’s team. His work has earned him numerous honors including NYC Pride Grand Marshall, the Out 100, LGBTQ Nation’s Instagram Advocate of the year, and the Harvard Varsity Director’s Award. In addition to being one of the top LGBTQ+ educators and advocates, Schuyler is a leading DEI speaker and advisor. Schuyler also hosts the podcast “Dear Schuyler” on gender and culture and is the creator of the LaneChanger.com gender literacy online learning series. He holds a degree in Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology from Harvard, and works in four research labs focusing in clinical psychology and public health.Dylan Mulvaney (she/they) is a trans actress, comic, and content creator of the viral TikTok series “Days of Girlhood,” which raised $200,000 for The Trevor Project to support LGBTQIA+ teens in crisis. Winner of the 2022 “TikTok Trailblazer” award, Queerty “Groundbreaker Award,” THEM “Now Award,” a Webby “Special Achievement Award,” and many others, Mulvaney was invited by President Joe Biden to speak at the White House about trans rights. Pre-pandemic, Dylan played Elder White in the “Book of Mormon” Broadway musical. She now lives in LA where she works to bring trans stories to the mainstream.Anti-transgender legislation is being introduced in state governments around the United States in record-breaking numbers. Trans people are under attack in sports, healthcare, school curriculum, bathrooms, bars, and nearly every walk of life. He/She/They addresses fundamental topics, from why being transgender is not a choice and why pronouns are important, to more complex issues including how gender-affirming healthcare can be lifesaving and why allowing trans youth to play sports is good for all kids. With a relatable narrative rooted in facts, science, and history, Schuyler helps restore common sense and humanity to a discussion that continues to be divisively coopted and deceptively politicized.Schuyler Bailar didn’t set out to be an activist, but his very public transition to the Harvard men’s swim team put him in the spotlight. His choice to be open about his transition and share his experience has touched people around the world. His plain-spoken education has evolved into tireless advocacy for inclusion and collective liberation. In He/She/They, Schuyler uses storytelling and the art of conversation to give us the essential language and context of gender, meeting everyone where they are and paving the way for understanding, acceptance, and, most importantly: connection. He/She/They speaks to trans folks directly, answering the question, “does it get better?” with a resounding yes, celebrating radical trans joy. Myth-busting, affirming, compassionate, and fierce, He/She/They is a crucial, urgent–and lifesaving–book that forever changes the conversation about gender.
Sheila Johnson in conversation with Lee Daniels at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-21 | Sheila Johnson in conversation with Lee Daniels at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing her book, "Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph." The talk took place on November 9, 2023.The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life.Sheila Johnson is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, cofounder of BET, founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts, and the only African American woman to have a principal shareholder stake in three professional sports teams.Lee Daniels is an Academy Award® nominated filmmaker whose credits include MONSTER’S BALL, making Daniels the first African American producer of an Academy Award®-winning and nominated film; PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE; THE BUTLER and THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY. His next film is THE DELIVERANCE (Netflix) which he wrote and directed and produced. TV credits include EMPIRE.From humble beginnings as a schoolgirl and young violinist in Maywood, Illinois, Sheila Johnson rose to become one of the most accomplished businesswomen in America. A cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, she became an entrepreneur and philanthropist at the highest levels.But that success came at a painful personal cost.Sheila grew up in a middle-class family that encouraged her love of the arts and music. But her idyllic childhood ended at age sixteen when her beloved father announced he was leaving for another woman, an act that shattered her mother and destroyed Sheila’s trust. She vowed she’d never be in her mother’s position—dependent on a man for her sense of self-worth and for financial security. Yet when she was barely out of her teens, Sheila married a man who would take her right down that same unfortunate path.Filled with sharply drawn, emotionally powerful scenes, Walk Through Fire traces the hardships Sheila faced in her marriage and her professional life. Despite her skills as a violinist and music teacher, as well as her obvious entrepreneurial talent, she had to fight to overcome self-doubt and fears of failure. Sheila vividly details her struggles, including battling institutional racism, losing a child, suffering emotional abuse in her thirty-three-year marriage, and plunging into a deep depression with her divorce. And yet, out of that pain came renewed purpose and meaning. In the third act of her life, Sheila Johnson has not only made her mark as the founder of Salamander Hotels & Resorts and the only Black female co-owner of three professional sports teams, she has also, finally, found true love.Walk Through Fire is a uniquely American success story. And it is the deeply personal portrait of one woman who, despite heartache and obstacles, finally found herself and her place in the world.
Ed Begley Jr. with Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-19 | Ed Begley Jr. with Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing his memoir, "To the Temple of Tranquility…And Step On It!" The talk too place on October 11, 2023.Beloved actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. shares hilarious and poignant stories of his improbable life, focusing on his relationship with his legendary father, adventures with Hollywood icons, the origins of his environmental activism, addiction and recovery, and his lifelong search for wisdom and common ground. Ed Begley, Jr. is an actor and environmental activist. He has appeared in hundreds of films, television shows, and stage performances. He played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the television series St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988. The role earned him six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Since 1970, Begley has been an environmentalist, well known for his travels in an electric car, reducing trash and recycling, and becoming a vegan. In To the Temple of Tranquility…And Step On It!, Ed Begley Jr. shares hilarious and poignant stories of his improbable life—from his relationship with his legendary father, to adventures with Hollywood icons, and the origins of his environmental activism, addiction and recovery. He is known equally for his prolific film and television career and his environmental activism. From an appearance on My Three Sons to a notable role in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman to starring in St. Elsewhere—as well as films with Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and mockumentarian Christopher Guest—Begley has worked with just about everyone in Hollywood. He shares insightful and surprising tales about about Marlon Brando, Annette Bening, The Beatles, Monty Python, Richard Pryor, Cesar Chavez, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Waits, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carrie Fisher, and so many more luminaries. Behind all the stories, Begley has wisdom to impart. His memoir is about family, friends, addiction, failure, and redemption.Mary Steenburgen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning actress best known for her work in the films Melvin and Howard, Parenthood, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Philadelphia, Stepbrothers, and Book Club and television shows Justified, Orange is the New Black, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Last Man on Earth. Most recently, Steenburgen starred for two seasons as Maggie Clarke in NBC’s musical television sensation Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Ted Danson is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actor known for an array of of performances, most memorably for his portrayal of Boston bartender Sam Malone on NBC’s multi-award winning and iconic comedy Cheers, which ran for 11 seasons and won three Emmys as Best Comedy Series. More recently, Danson starred in the NBC comedy The Good Place, for which he was nominated for his 14th Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor and received a Critics Choice Award for his role as ‘Michael’. Danson also played himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Bob Odenkirk & Erin Odenkirk in conversation with Rhea Seehorn at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-19 | Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 8pmBob Odenkirk & Erin Odenkirk in conversation with Rhea Seehorn at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing their book, "Zilot & Other Important Rhymes". The talk took place on October 17, 2023.Emmy Award-winning and New York Times bestselling writer, comedian, and actor Bob Odenkirk and his daughter, illustrator Erin Odenkirk, present poetic nonsense for all ages perfect for fans of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky!Bob Odenkirk’s TV credits include Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and feature films like Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and for writing lots of comedy sketches for TV shows (Saturday Night Live and Mr. Show with Bob and David). He’s been writing silly stuff his whole life because he sees the world as a mostly funny, pretty ridiculous place. Bob’s other books include A Load of Hooey, a collection of comedic essays, and Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, his New York Times bestselling memoir, for which he appeared at Live Talks Los Angeles in 2021.Erin Odenkirk has been creating art as long as she can remember, having first found inspiration in drawing real and made-up animals. Now a graduate of Pratt Institute, she lives in Brooklyn, New York with a lot of pencils and one bunny.Rhea Seehorn is an Emmy nominated actress and is widely known for her leading role as ‘Kim Wexler’ in AMC’s hit series Better Call Saul. Seehorn can also be seen in AMC’s mini-series Cooper’s Bar for which she both acts and produces. Next up, she will be seen in the untitled Vince Gilligan Apple TV series and will be joining the Bad Boys franchise for their fourth installment.Bob Odenkirk began writing these poems with his children when they were little, compiling the poetry into a homemade book entitled Olde Time Rhymes. He wanted Nate and Erin to understand that actual people had written the books the family loved to read and to instill in them the feeling that they could be writers and illustrators themselves. Almost twenty years later, when the Odenkirks found themselves quarantined under the same roof, they revisited these mostly silly, sometimes poignant works. It wasn’t until Erin began to create illustrations to accompany the words, though, that the book grew to be something much bigger than an Odenkirk family treasure.
V.E. Schwab in conversation with J. Elle at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-19 | Thursday, September 28, 2023, 8pm.V.E. Schwab in conversation with J. Elle at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her novel, "The Fragile Threads of Power." The talks took place on September 28, 2023.New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, opens another door to a new fantasy series set in the dazzling world of Shades of Magic.Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the Shades of Magic series, Villains series, and the Monsters of Verity duology. Her work has received critical acclaim; been featured in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post and more; been translated into more than a dozen languages; and been optioned for television and film. When she’s not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.J. Elle is the New York Times bestselling author of young adult and middle-grade fantasy fiction and a 2022 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth and Teens. The former educator credits her nomadic lifestyle and humble inner-city beginnings as inspiration for her novels. When she’s not writing, Elle can be found on the hunt for desserts without chocolate, looking for any excuse to get dressed up, and road-tripping her way across the country with her two dogs in tow.Prepare for tangled schemes and perilous adventures with friends old and new in The Fragile Threads of Power. Once, there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. Until the magic grew too fast and forced the worlds to seal the doors between them in a desperate gamble to protect their own. The few magicians who could still open the doors grew more rare as time passed and now, only three Antari are known in recent memory―Kell Maresh of Red London, Delilah Bard of Grey London, and Holland Vosijk, of White London.But barely a glimpse of them have been seen in the last seven years―and a new Antari named Kosika has appeared in White London, taking the throne in Holland’s absence. The young queen is willing to feed her city with blood, including her own―but her growing religious fervor has the potential to drown it instead.And back in Red London, King Rhy Maresh is threatened by a rising rebellion, one determined to correct the balance of power by razing the throne entirely.These two royals from very different empires now face very similar struggles: how to keep their crowns―and their own heads.Amidst this tapestry of old friends and new enemies, a girl with an unusual magical ability comes into possession of a device that could change the fate of all four worlds.Her name is Tes, and she’s the only one who can bring them together―or unravel it all..
Heather Cox Richardson in conversation with Adam Felber at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-16 | Heather Cox Richardson in conversation with Adam Felber at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing her book, "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America." The event took place on October 3, 2023.From historian and author of the popular daily newsletter LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN, a vital narrative that explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters on the brink of autocracy — and how we can turn back.Heather Cox Richardson is Professor of History at Boston College. She has written about the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the American West in award-winning books whose subjects stretch from the European settlement of the North American continent to the history of the Republican Party through the Trump administration. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and The Guardian, among other outlets. “A vibrant, and essential history of America’s unending, enraging and utterly compelling struggle since its founding to live up to its own best ideals… It’s both a cause for hope, and a call to arms.”–Jane Mayer, author Dark MoneyTwo million people subscribe to the wisdom and insights history professor Heather Cox Richardson dispenses online via her newsletter. Her writing is like having a world-class scholar talk to you over the dinner table, decoding a confusing world and making you feel smarter and more knowledgeable than you did before. In Democracy Awakening, Richardson crafts a compelling and original narrative, explaining how, over the decades, a small group of wealthy people have made war on American ideals. By weaponizing language and promoting false history they have led us into authoritarianism — creating a disaffected population and then promising to recreate an imagined past where those people could feel important again. She argues that taking our country back starts by remembering the elements of the nation’s true history that marginalized Americans have always upheld. Their dedication to the principles on which this nation was founded has enabled us to renew and expand our commitment to democracy in the past. Richardson sees this history as a roadmap for the nation’s future.Adam Felber is a writer, performer, and a regular panelist on NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.” He spent 11 season’s on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and has written several screenplays and books, including the recent “Confessions of a PuppetMaster” (HarperCollins). He’s the co-host of the long-running podcast “Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone,” and the director/co-writer of the new eco-comedy YouTube series, “Unf***ing the Planet.”
Matthew McConaughey in conversation with Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-14 | Matthew McConaughey in conversation with Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt discussing his book, "Just Because." This event took place on September 16, 2023.Matthew McConaughey is the Academy Award–winning actor New York Times bestselling author of Greenlights. He also created Greenlights: Your Journal, Your Journey. Matthew and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. He is a professor of practice and a Minister of Culture for the University of Texas at Austin. Matthew is a storyteller, a tree house builder, and a pickle expert. You can visit Matthew on Instagram or on Twitter.Renée Kurilla is the author and illustrator of many books for young readers. She has a BFA in illustration and a minor in graphic design from Lesley University College of Art and Design. You can visit Renée’s website, or on Instagram and Twitter.Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt is a New York Times bestselling author, animal advocate and host of the weekly Instagram Live series Before, During & After (BDA) Baby, in which she discusses a variety of topics surrounding pregnancy, fertility, motherhood and more with notable guests and experts. As a passionate animal advocate, Katherine works as an ambassador for Best Friends Animal Society and the ASPCA, lending her time, voice, and energy to spread awareness about animal rescue. As an author, Katherine has translated her own personal experiences into all four of her books that speak to her generation. Filled with his trademark humor and wisdom, Matthew McConaughey has crafted a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility.
Adam Nagourney in conversation with Lisa Napoli at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-14 | Adam Nagourney in conversation with Lisa Napoli at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing his book, "The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism." The talk took place on October 19, 2023 in Los Angeles.A sweeping behind-the-scenes look at the last four turbulent decades of “the paper of record,” The New York Times, as it confronted world-changing events, internal scandals, and faced the existential threat of the internetAdam Nagourney covers national politics for The New York Times. Since joining the newspaper in 1996, he has served as Los Angeles bureau chief, West Coast cultural affairs reporter, chief national political correspondent, and chief New York political reporter. He is the co-author of Out for Good, a history of the modern gay rights movement..Lisa Napoli has had a long career in journalism, including staff reporting jobs at public radio’s Marketplace, the pioneering New York Times CyberTimes, and as a columnist/correspondent at MSNBC. She is the author, most recently, of Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR. Her previous books include Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News; a biography of the McDonald’s heiress, Joan Kroc, Ray & Joan, and a memoir about media’s impact on the tiny kingdom of Bhutan, Radio Shangri-La. She is also the co-creator of the Bio Podcast..In The Times, Adam Nagourney, who’s worked at The New York Times since 1996, examines four decades of the newspaper’s history, from the final years of Arthur “Punch” Sulzberger’s reign as publisher to the election of Donald Trump in November 2016. Nagourney recounts the paper’s triumphs—the coverage of September 11, the explosion of the U.S. Challenger, the scandal of a New York governor snared in a prostitution case—as well as failures that threatened the paper’s standing and reputation, including the discredited coverage of the war in Iraq, the resignation of Judith Miller, the plagiarism scandal of Jayson Blair, and the high-profile ouster of two of its executive editors.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents and letters contained in the newspaper’s archives and the private papers of editors and reporters, The Times is an inside look at the essential years that shaped the newspaper. Nagourney paints a vivid picture of a divided newsroom, fraught with tension as it struggled to move into the digital age, while confronting its scandals, shortcomings, and swelling criticism from conservatives and many of its own readers alike. Along the way we meet the memorable personalities—including Abe Rosenthal, Max Frankel, Howell Raines, Joe Lelyveld, Bill Keller, Jill Abramson, Dean Baquet, Punch Sulzberger and Arthur Sulzberger Jr.—who shaped the paper as we know it today. We see the battles between the newsroom and the business operations side, the fight between old and new media, the tension between journalists who tried to hold on to the traditional model of a print newspaper and a new generation of reporters who are eager to embrace the new digital world.Immersive, meticulously researched, and filled with powerful stories of the rise and fall of the men and women who ran the most important newspaper in the nation, The Times is a definitive account of the most pivotal years in New York Times history.
Mustafa Suleyman at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-13 | Mustafa Suleyman in conversation with Ted Habte-Gabr at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing his book, "The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest Dilemma"The talk took place in Los Angeles on September 26, 2023.Ted Habte-Gabr is founder and producer of Live Talks Los Angeles.An urgent warning of the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance—from a co-founder of the pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMindMustafa Suleyman is the co-founder and CEO of Inflection AI. Previously he co-founded DeepMind, one of the world’s leading AI companies. After a decade at DeepMind, Suleyman became vice president of AI product management and AI policy at Google. “A fascinating, well-written, and important book.”—Yuval Noah Harari“Essential reading.”—Daniel Kahneman“An excellent guide for navigating unprecedented times.”—Bill Gates.The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century’s Greatest DilemmaWe are approaching a critical threshold in the history of our species. Everything is about to change. Soon you will live surrounded by AIs. They will organise your life, operate your business, and run core government services. You will live in a world of DNA printers and quantum computers, engineered pathogens and autonomous weapons, robot assistants and abundant energy. None of us are prepared. As co-founder of the pioneering AI company DeepMind, part of Google, Mustafa Suleyman has been at the centre of this revolution. The coming decade, he argues, will be defined by this wave of powerful, fast-proliferating new technologies. In The Coming Wave, Suleyman shows how these forces will create immense prosperity but also threaten the nation-state, the foundation of global order. As our fragile governments sleepwalk into disaster, we face an existential dilemma: unprecedented harms on one side, the threat of overbearing surveillance on the other. Can we forge a narrow path between catastrophe and dystopia? This groundbreaking book from the ultimate AI insider establishes “the containment problem”—the task of maintaining control over powerful technologies—as the essential challenge of our age.
Bernie Taupin in conversation with Cameron Crowe at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-11-05 | Bernie Taupin in conversation with Cameron Crowe at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his memoir, "Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me." The talk took place on September 19, 2023.An evocative, clear-eyed, and revealing memoir by Bernie Taupin, the lyrical master and long-time collaborator of Elton JohnBernie Taupin has worked in partnership with legendary singer, composer and pianist Elton John since 1967—one of the most successful and long-running musical collaborations in music history. Taupin wrote the lyrics for most of John’s famous hits, including “Rocket Man,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Your Song,” “I’m Still Standing.” John and Taupin received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a lifetime achievement Grammy, an Academy Award, and many more. In 2022, Taupin was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to music. In "Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me," Taupin grants access to history-making events from his singular perspective. As a child growing up in the East Midlands of England, Taupin’s imagination was sparked by the American mytho-poetics of country music and cowboy culture. Before long, he found himself in the center of the glittering, star-studded fishbowl of ’70s and ’80s Beverly Hills. Readers visit Los Angeles with Bernie and Elton on the cusp of global fame; spend time in Australia at an infamous rock ‘n’ roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs and spend late-night hours with John Lennon, Bob Marley, and Frank Sinatra. And beyond the world of popular music, he shares memorable encounters with writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and scores of notable misfits, miscreants, eccentrics, and geniuses, known and unknown. And of course, even if they’re not famous in their own right, they are stars on the page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as “Tiny Dancer,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and The Jets,” and so many more. “In Bernie Taupin’s miraculous memoir Scattershot you’ll meet legends, cowboys, geniuses, unforgettable faces in the night, shady purveyors of outrageous fortune, warriors of the heart, and most of all, Taupin himself. Hilarious and so emotionally true, Scattershot is like a letter from a cherished friend. You’ll want to keep it close, so you can read it again and again.” —Cameron Crowe Cameron Crowe is a journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe famously began his career as a teenaged journalist covering rock bands on tour for Rolling Stone magazine in 1973.
Cedric the Entertainer with Kevin Frazier at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-10-04 | Cedric the Entertainer in conversation withKevin Frazier, Co-host of Entertainment Tonightdiscussing his novel, "Flipping Boxcars."The first novel from one of the original Kings of Comedy, Cedric “The Entertainer,” an engaging and entertaining crime caper that is a valentine to close-knit black families and tightly woven communities struggling to get by during the Depression and World War II.Actor/comedian Cedric Kyles (a.k.a. Cedric The Entertainer) career spans more than thirty years as a performer on the stage, in film, and on television. He is the star and executive producer of the CBS Television hit comedy The Neighborhood, for which he won a 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. Cedric’s other television credits include the comedy series The Soul Man and The Steve Harvey Show.Kevin Frazier is an American is co-host of Entertainment Tonight and the founder and owner of the urban entertainment website HipHollywood.com.Flipping Boxcars: A NovelBabe is a charismatic and widely loved man, a gambler with a gift for gab that often gets him out of tricky situations. He’s also a dreamer, something he shares with his patient and loving wife, Rosie. They both yearn for financial stability and see the land they own as insurance for future generations. But when Babe and a few comrades enlist in a scheme that improbably falls apart, he endangers the little security the family has. On the verge of losing everything, what’s a family man to do?If you’re a gambler like Babe, you double down and risk it all for one big score—this time, a plan involving railroad boxcars.Will Babe succeed? Will Rosie continue to support her husband? Are the Feds on to his make-or-break scheme?Flipping Boxcars is Cedric “The Entertainer” at his most engaging best—a charming, fast-paced novel that pays homage to his beloved grandfather and a generation past, anchored by rich, multi-dimensional characters and oozing with irresistible charm.
Daniel Ziblatt in conversation with Terrence McNally at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-09-29 | Daniel Ziblatt in conversation with Terrence McNallydiscussing his book, Tyranny of the Minority:Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking PointA call to reform our antiquated political institutions before it’s too late—from the New York Times bestselling authors of How Democracies DieDaniel Ziblatt is a professor of government at Harvard University and the co-author of the New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, which won the Goldsmith Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize, and was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Time, and Foreign Affairs. “Old democracies tend to last, and so do rich democracies, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt point out in this searing, unsettling, and essential new book, but American democracy, which is both old and rich, is dying. In Tyranny of the Minority, they explain why, and they explain, too, how to save it.”—Jill Lepore, author of These TruthsAmerica is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it?With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples—from 1930s France to present-day Thailand—to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies—from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand—have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind.In this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to reform our politics. It’s a daunting task, but we have remade our country before—most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all.Terrence McNally was the longtime host of Free Forum on KPFK. He now hosts a weekly interview show on the Progressive Voices Network on TuneIn and a monthly podcast for a science institute at Harvard. All his podcasts can be found at iTunes and
Michael Lewis in conversation with Geraldine Brooks at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-08-09 | Michael Lewis in conversation with Geraldine Brooks discussing his book, “The Premonition: A Pandemic Story” at Live Talks Los Angeles on May 19, 2021.Michael Lewis is the best-selling author of several New York Times bestselling books including The Fifth Risk, The Undoing Project, Flash Boys, The Big Short, Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side. Movie adaptations of The Big Short, Moneyball and The Blind Side were all nominated for Academy Awards. He is host of the podcast Against the Rules. He is a columnist for Bloomberg View and a contributing writer to Audible. His articles have also appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Gourmet, Slate, Sports Illustrated, Foreign Affairs, and Poetry Magazine. He grew up in New Orleans and but now lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, Tabitha Soren, and their three children. Geraldine Brooks is an Australian-born journalist and novelist. As foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal she covered crises in the Mideast, Africa and the Balkans. She has written five novels, including the 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner, March, and the bestsellers Year of Wonders and People of the Book. For those who could read between the lines, the censored news out of China was terrifying. But the president insisted there was nothing to worry about.Fortunately, we are still a nation of skeptics. Fortunately, there are those among us who study pandemics and are willing to look unflinchingly at worst-case scenarios. Michael Lewis’s taut and brilliant nonfiction thriller pits a band of medical visionaries against the wall of ignorance that was the official response of the Trump administration to the outbreak of COVID-19.The characters you will meet in these pages are as fascinating as they are unexpected. A thirteen-year-old girl’s science project on transmission of an airborne pathogen develops into a very grown-up model of disease control. A local public-health officer uses her worm’s-eye view to see what the CDC misses, and reveals great truths about American society. A secret team of dissenting doctors, nicknamed the Wolverines, has everything necessary to fight the pandemic: brilliant backgrounds, world-class labs, prior experience with the pandemic scares of bird flu and swine flu…everything, that is, except official permission to implement their work.Michael Lewis is not shy about calling these people heroes for their refusal to follow directives that they know to be based on misinformation and bad science. Even the internet, as crucial as it is to their exchange of ideas, poses a risk to them. They never know for sure who else might be listening in.
Colson Whitehead in conversation with Steph Cha LiveTalksLA 2023-08-01 | Colson Whitehead in conversation with Steph Chadiscussing the writing life and his novel, "Crook Manifesto."Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning Colson Whitehead continues his Harlem saga in a powerful and hugely-entertaining novel that summons 1970s New York in all its seedy glory.Colson Whitehead brings his latest novel to our stage: Crook Manifesto, a kaleidoscopic portrait of 1970s Harlem. In his trademark scalpel-sharp prose and with unnerving clarity and wit, he writes about a city that runs on cronyism, threats, ego, ambition, incompetence and even, sometimes, pride. It’s the continuing story he began in Harlem Shuffle, which the Associated Press called a “wildly entertaining romp that delivers a devastating, historically grounded indictment of the separate and unequal lives of Blacks and whites in mid-twentieth century New York.” Colson Whitehead is the bestselling author of eleven works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, for which he won Pulitzer prizes. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, he lives in New York City. He was recently awarded a National Humanities Medal.Steph Cha is the author of Your House Will Pay, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the California Book Award, and the Juniper Song crime trilogy. She’s a critic whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, where she served as noir editor, and is the current series editor of the Best American Mystery & Suspense anthology.
Frances Haugen with Brian Merchant at Live Talk Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-07-06 | Frances Haugen in conversation with Brian Merchant at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing her book, "The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook"The inside story of one woman’s quest to bring transparency and accountability to Big Tech, by the Facebook whistleblower who is determined to help us all retake control of our lives.Frances Haugen is an American data engineer and scientist, and whistleblower. A graduate of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and Harvard Business School, she worked at Google, Yelp, and Pinterest before joining Facebook in 2019 and working in its civic integrity department. In the spring of 2021, she disclosed tens of thousands of internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Wall Street Journal, revealing Facebook’s awareness and complicity in radicalization and political violence around the world..Brian Merchant is the bestselling author of The One Device. His work has appeared in WIRED, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, The Guardian, and beyond. He is the founder of Terraform, VICE Media’s speculative fiction publication, and Automaton, a special project examining AI and automation at Gizmodo. He lives in Los Angeles and is currently a writer for the Los Angeles Times. His newest book, BLOOD IN THE MACHINE: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech, is on sale September 5, 2023.In 2021, when news outlets feasted on “the Facebook Files,” Frances Haugen went public as the former employee who blew the whistle on the company by copying tens of thousands of pages of documents. She testified to Congress and spoke to the media. She was hailed at President Biden’s first State of the Union Address. She made sure everyone understood exactly what the documents revealed: Facebook knew it had accidentally changed its algorithm to reward extremism and refused to fix it; it knew that its customers were using the platform to foment violence, to spread falsehoods, to diminish the self-esteem of young women, and more. But how was it that Haugen was the only employee at the company who dared to step forward? Her story is an inspiring tale of one young woman’s life and the choices she made. From an isolated childhood in Iowa to an unaccredited college, to one among the few women at Google in its heyday, Frances Haugen learned how to focus on what mattered, and to ignore her critics. To harness the strength of standing in the truth.
Andy Cohen in conversation with Danielle Schneider & Casey Wilson at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-30 | Andy Cohen in conversation with Danielle Schneider & Casey Wilson at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing his book, "The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up."The event took place on May 18, 2023.New York Times bestselling author Andy Cohen, everyone’s favorite busiest man in show business, goes from bottle service to baby bottles in a hilarious, heartwarming, and name-dropping account of the most important year of his life.From bottle service to baby bottles. Entertainer and best-selling author Andy Cohen returns to the Live Talks Los Angeles stage with his fifth memoir, The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up. How has having two kids changed Cohen’s once-glamorous existence? Hear what he has to say about shifting from the clubs to the playground as he digests the most important job of his life.Andy Cohen is the author of four New York Times bestselling books. He is the host and executive producer of Watch What Happens Live, Bravo’s late-night interactive talk show. He also serves as executive producer of the Real Housewives franchise and hosts the network’s highly rated reunion specials. He’s won an Emmy and two Peabody Awards for his work, and he lives in New York City with his two children. He last appeared on the Live Talks stage in 2021 with his book Glitter Every Day: 365 Quotes From Women I Love in conversation with Amber Tamblyn. You can watch that talk here. And here’s the video from his earlier appearance with RuPaul in 2016 where they discussed Cohen’s bestselling Superficial.“Andy Cohen isn’t afraid to talk about anything in his life….the TV exec-turned-talk show host still manages to bring new meaning to the words “tell-all…” ―People (on Cohen’s Superficial)Danielle Schneider is a writer/performer with a background in improv and sketch comedy. Her credits with her writing partner, Dannah Phirman include Standing By, Cola Wars, Clone High, Black Monday, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, KenanandThe Hotwives of Orlandoand The Hotwives of Las Vegas.She most recently guest starred on Hacks and previously starred in Champaign Ill, and on Community.She previously recurred on Marry Mewhile also working as a staff writer on the show, and co-wrote and starred in the show Eye Candy. Her other television credits include Players, Happy Endings, How to Cheat on Your Wife,and Reno 911.Danielle’s film credits include Spring Breakdownand Step Brothers.She is co-host of the podcast B*tch Sesh: A Real Housewives Breakdownwith Casey Wilson. Danielle also performs regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.Casey Wilson is an actress, writer, director and podcaster who was last seen starring in Showtime’s Black Mondayand Apple TV+’s The Shrink Nextdoor. Casey was a featured player on SNL for two seasons and starred in ABC’s cult classic series Happy Endings. Her film roles include Gone Girland Bride Warsin which she also served as screenwriter. For the last seven years, Casey has co-hosted the hit podcast B*tch Sesh. She is author of a collection of essays, The Wreckage of My Presence.
Daniel Siegel with Luthern Williams at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-30 | Daniel Siegel with Luthern Williams at Live Talks Los Angeles, May 23, 2023, discussing his book"IntraConnected: MWe (Me + We) as the Integration of Self, Identity, and Belonging.'Daniel Siegel explores the nature of how our experience of what we call “self” emerges across the lifespan. How do we build an inclusive understanding of self in relation to others that promotes well-being? Dr. Daniel J. Siegel’s new book, Intraconnected: MWe (Me & We) as the Integration of Self, Identity and Belonging combines personal reflections with scientific discussions of how the mind, brain and our relationships shape who we are.Our culture may give us a message of separation as a solo, isolated self, Dr. Siegel says, but a wider perspective unveils that who we are may be something more—broader than the brain, bigger even than the body—and fundamental to social systems and the natural world.Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute. He is the founding editor of Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB) and best-selling author of Awake, Mind, The Mindful Therapist, and The Mindful Brain.“In this personally engaging and philosophically illuminating work, Dr. Dan Siegel takes his unique explorations of the human experience of self and mind to a yet deeper level… Eloquently and expertly, he guides us back towards our true nature: intra- and inter-being with all others and all that is.”—Gabor Maté, MD, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture .Luthern Williams is the Head of School at New Roads School in Santa Monica, California. He holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an Ed.M. in School Leadership from Harvard University. Luthern has over twenty-five years of experience as an administrator and English teacher in independent schools in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles. Throughout his career, he has drawn on his extensive knowledge of education to align schools’ programs with their missions and to build educational models where all children thrive; learn love, respect, empathy, and compassion; and develop the tools to create a world based on the inherent dignity and worth of each individual. Luthern is deeply committed to democratizing meaningful access to high quality education for socio-economically disadvantaged students and developing schools, built on wellbeing, that are catalysts for societal transformation.
Michael Milken in conversation with Frank Luntz at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-30 | Michael Milken in conversation with Frank Luntzdiscussing his book, "Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health"Michael Milken says the best is yet to comefrom an astonishing medical revolution.What if cleaning early-stage cancers from your body could become as routine as going to the dentist to clean your teeth, or if a single vaccine could protect you against multiple viruses, or if gene editing could eliminate many birth defects and slow the aging process? Milken believes these, and many other advances, are within reach.Beginning with a description of the culture that helped shape Milken’s early views, Faster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health traces the life-extending acceleration of progress in medical research, public health, and clinical treatments over the seven decades since Milken’s childhood—and shows how he helped transform the process of developing disease cures to accelerate medicine’s evolution from a dark past to a bright future.After two decades of actively supporting medical research as a philanthropist, Milken became a patient in 1993 when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Over the last three decades, he has increased his focus on making the research process more effective and efficient.“It’s a primer on leadership from the brilliant mind of Mike Milken.” –Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer SocietyFrank Luntz is a three-time New York Times best-selling author, a sought-after political, business and media consultant, a professor at almost a dozen universities and a regular commentator on television, radio and newspapers.For more than a decade, Frank was the “Focus Group Czar” for Fox News and he served for five years as a news analyst for CBS News, focusing on corporate and business communications before moving to ABC News in 2017. Luntz has written, supervised, and conducted more than 2,500 surveys, focus groups, ad tests, and dial sessions for more than 50 Fortune 500 companies and CEOs in more than two dozen countries and six continents over the past 30 years.With his eyes now focused on helping to save America’s Democracy, Frank currently works on policy and education rather than partisan politics. He is dedicating his time and energy to developing the “Words that Work” to bridge our country’s deep divide.
Debbie Harry & Chris Stein with Rob Roth at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-21 | Debbie Harry & Chris Stein in conversation with Rob Roth at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her memoir, "Face It."This event was held on October 4, 2019.Debbie Harry is best known as the face of Blondie, one of the most trailblazing and influential bands of our time. With co-founder Chris Stein, they brought the worlds of rock, punk, disco and ska together with Heart of Glass and Call Me and broke ground by combining hip-hop and pop on Rapture. Blondie was inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. As a solo artist, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards co-produced her first release Koo Koo in 1981 and she continued to defy expectations with such genre-busting efforts as French Kissing in the U.S.A., Rush Rush, Rain, and The Jam Was Moving. Debbie has also had a long running collaboration with the critically acclaimed American jazz group, The Jazz Passengers, stalwarts of New York’s free-jazz scene. Her spectacular voice drips with a sophisticated elegance rarely heard in pop music and she continues to infuse her work with an exquisite artistic sensibility. With more than 50 million albums sold worldwide and acclaimed solo projects, Debbie has also engaged in a successful acting career with over 30 film and television roles to her credit (including Videodrome, Hairspray, and Heavy to name a few). She has become and still remains a true national treasure, one whose influence continues to impact the worlds of music, fashion and art. Debbie Harry will forever be synonymous with that punk spirit that lives somewhere in all of us.Chris Stein is co-founder, songwriter and guitarist of the iconic punk band and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Blondie, whose most recent studio album, Pollinator, was named one of Rolling Stone‘s 20 Best Pop Albums of 2017. Stein is also an acclaimed photographer whose eye for the perfect snapshot has given us some of the most indelible photos of the seminal people and places of New York City’s punk and new wave era. His coffee-table book, Negative – Me, Blondie and the Advent of Punk (Rizzoli), documents both the private and public moments of his remarkable life. It is also an intimate look at one of the most enduring creative partnerships in pop music: the collaboration between Debbie Harry and Stein, which has continued to enrich the magic of Blondie throughout the band’s illustrious career. Rob Roth is a multidisciplinary artist and director. He works in a variety of media including theater, video, sculpture and performance. He has created works and collaborated with such music artists as Debbie Harry/Blondie, Lady Gaga, David Bowie and Rihanna, as well as performance artists, Narcissister, Julie Tolentino, Justin Vivian Bond (Kiki and Herb) among others. As an artist and believer in theater as ritual, Roth creates lyrical and mysterious works within a deconstructed narrative, including the site specific sound installation Night Paving on NYC’s Highline. Roth recently debuted his original multi layered performance piece Soundstage at HERE Arts featuring actor Rebecca Hall which the New York Times described as “deftly evokes the fleeting transition from wakefulness to dreaming”. He also directed the politically charged music video “Doom or Destiny” by Blondie featuring Joan Jett which appeared on several “Best of 2017” lists. Additionally Roth also just finished creative direction for Debbie Harry’s memoir Face It. Face ItIn an arresting mix of visceral, soulful storytelling and stunning visuals that includes never-before-seen photographs, bespoke illustrations and fan art installations, Face It upends the standard music memoir while delivering a truly prismatic portrait. With all the grit, grime, and glory recounted in intimate detail, Face It re-creates the downtown scene of 1970s New York City, where Blondie played alongside the Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie.Following her path from glorious commercial success to heroin addiction, the near-death of partner Chris Stein, a heart-wrenching bankruptcy, and Blondie’s breakup as a band to her multifaceted acting career in more than thirty films, a stunning solo career and the triumphant return of her band, and her tireless advocacy for the environment and LGBTQ rights, Face It is a cinematic story of a woman who made her own path, and set the standard for a generation of artists who followed in her footsteps—a memoir as dynamic as its subject.
Craig Johnson in conversation with Lee Goldberg & cast members of Longmire at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-21 | Craig Johnson in conversation with Lee Goldberg & cast members of Longmire at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, "Land of Wolves," and the Walt Longmire series.Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen full-length novels in the Walt Longmire mystery series, as well as three works of short fiction featuring the beloved sheriff. His acclaimed books have won the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award, the Will Rogers Medallion Award for fiction, the Watson Award for a mystery novel with the best sidekick, and the Wyoming Historical Association’s Book of the Year award. They have been named best books of the year by Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Spirit of Steamboat was chosen as the first One Book Wyoming selection. The series has been adapted for television by Warner Bros. as the hit show Longmire, now an original program on Netflix. Johnson lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.In the fifteenth installment of the Longmire series, Land of Wolves, Johnson once again draws readers in to the rugged and colorful world of Wyoming’s glorious landscape. With millions of devoted readers, the series is also the inspiration for Longmire, the hit Netflix show—now streaming all six seasons.“Like the greatest crime novelists, Johnson is a student of human nature. Walt Longmire is strong but fallible, a man whose devil-may-care stoicism masks a heightened sensitivity to the horrors he’s witnessed.”—Los Angeles TimesIn Johnson’s last book, Depth of Winter, Walt’s beloved daughter Cady was kidnapped by his longtime nemesis, Tomás Bidarte, an international hit man and the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico. In Land of Wolves, while attempting to recover from his harrowing experiences in Mexico,Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire is neck deep in the investigation of what could or could not be the suicidal hanging of a shepherd. With unsettling connections to a Basque family with a reputation for removing the legs of Absaroka County sheriffs, matters become even more complicated with the appearance of an oversize wolf in the Bighorn Mountains to whom Walt finds himself feeling more and more empathetic.Lee Goldberg is the bestselling author of over thirty novels, including fifteen Monk mysteries, five internationally bestselling Fox & O’Hare books co-written with Janet Evanovich, True Fiction, and the new police procedural Lost Hills, coming out in January. He’s also written and/or produced dozens of TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe, SeaQuest and Monk, and co-created the hit Hallmark network series Mystery 101.
Richard North Patterson in conversation with Ted Habte-Gabr at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-18 | Richard North Patterson in conversation with Ted Habte-Gabr at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his new book, "Trial, and the challenges he had getting it published. In his new novel, Trial, veteran writer Richard North Patterson returns to the legal dramas that have been the hallmark of his long career. This propulsive narrative centers around the most incendiary flash points of race: voter suppression, discriminatory law enforcement, the political exploitation of racial anxiety, and the frequent failure of our legal system to provide fair trials for Black defendants. The story culminates in a nationally televised murder case. This is a gripping, frank and deeply felt novel about the complications of love, family, politics and the law.Richard North Patterson is the best-selling author of 22 previous novels. He’s also written extensive non-fiction, including Fever Swamp, a narrative of the 2016 Presidential campaign derived from his essays and reporting for the Huffington Post. A former trial lawyer, he was the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor, and has served on the boards of several Washington advocacy groups.“For all its timely discussion, Trial is first and foremost a novel of irresistible suspense. This is a barnburner of a book whose huge drama, large characters, and elemental conflicts grab you from page one.” –Scott Turow, bestselling author of Presumed Innocent and Suspect
Daniel Ellsberg in conversation with Robert Scheer at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-16 | Daniel Ellsberg in conversation with Robert Scheer at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing his book, "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner."This is a video of part of the conversation that took place on December 13, 2017. 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. A Senior Fellow of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 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 film about the Pentagon Papers, "The Post," which was released in December 2017. In his book former high level defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg reveals his shocking first-hand account of America’s nuclear program in the 1960s. From the remotest air bases in the Pacific Command, where he discovered that the authority to initiate use of nuclear weapons was widely delegated, to the secret plans for general nuclear war under Eisenhower, which, if executed, would cause the near-extinction of humanity, Ellsberg shows that the legacy of this most dangerous arms buildup in the history of civilization–and its proposed renewal under the Trump administration–threatens our very survival. No other insider with high level access has written so candidly of the nuclear strategy of the late Eisenhower and early Kennedy years, and nothing has fundamentally changed since that era.Framed as a memoir–a chronicle of madness in which Ellsberg acknowledges participating–this gripping expose reads like a thriller and offers feasible steps we can take to dismantle the existing “doomsday machine” and avoid nuclear catastrophe, returning Ellsberg to his role as whistleblower. The Doomsday Machine is thus a real-life Dr. Strangelove story and an ultimately hopeful–and powerfully important–book about not just our country, but the future of the world.Robert Scheer is a journalist with over 30 years experience. His columns have appeared in newspapers across the country. Between 1964 and 1969, he was Vietnam correspondent, managing editor and editor in chief of RAMPARTS magazine. From 1976 to 1993, he served as a national correspondent for the LOS ANGELES TIMES, where he wrote articles on such diverse topics as the Soviet Union, arms control, national politics and the military. He is currently a columnist for THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, as well as a contributing editor for THE NATION magazine. Scheer has interviewed every president from Richard Nixon on through Bill Clinton. He conducted the famous 1976 PLAYBOY interview with Jimmy Carter, in which the then-presidential candidate admitted to have lusted in his heart. Scheer has written six books including THINKING TUNA FISH, TALKING DEATH: ESSAYS ON THE PORNOGRAPHY OF POWER; WITH ENOUGH SHOVELS: REAGAN, BUSH AND NUCLEAR WAR and AMERICA AFTER NIXON: THE AGE OF MULTINATIONALS.
Michio Kaku in conversation with Terrence McNally at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-09 | Michio Kaku in conversation with Terrence McNally at Live Talks Los Angelesdiscussing his book, "Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything." The event took place on May 5, 2023.An exhilarating tour of humanity’s next great technological achievement—quantum computing—which may eventually illuminate the deepest mysteries of science and solve some of humanity’s biggest problems, like global warming, world hunger, and incurable disease, by the bestselling author of The God Equation.Some are touting quantum computing as humanity’s next great technological achievement—as revolutionary as the transistor and microchip before it. Now, Dr. Michio Kaku—bestselling author of The God Equation—explores how it might illuminate the deepest mysteries of science and impact every aspect of our daily lives.Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything, including helping us live longer, healthier lives.Already, automotive companies, medical researchers, and consulting firms are betting on quantum computing, hoping to exploit its power to design more efficient vehicles, create life-saving new drugs, and streamline industries to revolutionize the economy. That, Dr. Kaku argues, is just the beginning.Dr. Michio Kaku is one of the most charismatic, beloved and visible figures in science today. Besides serving as national science contributor for CBS This Morning, he also hosts the radio programs Science Fantastic and Exploration. He’s also the author of the best-seller, The Future of the Mind, and a professor of physics at the City University of New York.Terrence McNally was the longtime host of Free Forum on KPFK. He now hosts a weekly interview show on the Progressive Voices Network on TuneIn and a monthly podcast for a science institute at Harvard. All his podcasts can be found at iTunes and TerrenceMcNally.net
Dave Barry in conversation with Paul Levine at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-05 | Dave Barry in conversation with Paul Levine discussing the writing life and his new novel,"Swamp Story." The talk took place on May 11, 2023 in Los Angeles.Pulitzer Prize–winning bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns to our stage with his latest—Swamp Story, a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.You’re guaranteed to laugh as Barry tells us about life as a humorist on the ground down in Florida and how it inspired his latest novel. In short, Swamp Story tells the tale of a woman trapped in the Everglades and how she’s terrorized by an ex who’s a reality TV star, a TikTok mob—and a presidential hopeful.Dave Barry is the author of more bestsellers than you can count on two hands, including Lessons from Lucy, Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys, Dave Barry Turns Forty, and Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up. A wildly popular syndicated columnist best known for his booger jokes, Barry won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He lives in Miami.Dave was the first event at Live Talks Los Angeles in 2010 and was interviewed by Jane Smiley. He has appeared several times on our stage, most recently in conversation with Alan Zwiebel, and one of his earlier appearances was in conversation with Matt Groening.“I’m frankly tired of Dave Barry being so funny. Yet, he’s done it again to the benefit and delight of all of us. A hilarious new work.”—Steve MartinThe author of twenty-three novels, Paul Levine won the John D. MacDonald Fiction Award and has been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, International Thriller, Shamus, and James Thurber prizes. A former trial lawyer, he also wrote twenty episodes of the CBS military drama JAG and co-created the Supreme Court drama First Monday starring James Garner and Joe Mantegna. The international bestseller To Speak for the Dead was his first novel and introduced readers to linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter. His 2023 novel Early Grave was termed a “witty and complex legal thriller” by Publishers Weekly. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Solomon vs. Lord series of legal capers.
Simon Winchester in conversation with Ted Habte-Gabr at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-02 | Simon Winchester in conversation with Ted Habte-Gabr, discussing his book, "Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic." The talk took place on May 15, 2023 in Los Angeles.From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes. In Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic, Simon Winchester examines how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds.With the advent of the internet, any topic we want to know about is instantly available with the touch of a smartphone button. With so much knowledge at our fingertips, what is there left for our brains to do? At a time when we seem to be stripping all value from the idea of knowing things—no need for math, no need for map-reading, no need for memorization—are we risking our ability to think? As we empty our minds, will we one day be incapable of thoughtfulness? And what will the world be like if no one in it is wise?Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were bestsellers. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He lives in western Massachusetts.“The acclaimed Winchester leaps nimbly from cuneiform writings through Gutenberg to Google and Wikipedia as he examines … how we acquire, retain, and pass on information—and how technology’s current capability to do those things for us might be threatening our ability to think.” — Library JournalTed Habte-Gabr is founder and producer of Live Talks Los Angeles.
Gretchen Rubin in conversation with Scott Barry Kaufman at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-06-02 | Gretchen Rubin in conversation with Scott Barry Kaufman at Live Talks Los Angeles (April 24, 2023) discussing her book, "Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World"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.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.
Rep. Katie Porter in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-05-31 | Rep. Katie Porter in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her book, "I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan"This event was taped on April 14, 2023.An honest, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud funny memoir about re-energizing our politics and standing up to corporate America—while carting three kids around in a minivan. .Having never run for office, Katie Porter charted a new path in 2018 when she was elected to Congress as a Democrat in historically conservative Orange County, California. Chided for her progressive values, Porter defied expectations. Using her signature whiteboard, she began to take CEOs and corrupt government officials to task in Congressional hearings. The videos went viral, introducing Americans to her no-nonsense style, and making her a coveted guest on cable news and late-night television. .I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan explores what it’s really like to serve in Congress, particularly as a single mom. How did an Iowa farmgirl, diverted to the Ivy League, come to see herself as a Californian, teaching law and raising three kids? Learn how she made the jump from academia to politics and quickly mastered the art of making CEOs and cabinet members squirm.Full of candid and inspiring stories—from how she loaned Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a pair of sneakers during the Capitol attack to her kids’ lightly illegal campaign hijinks—this is a book by an exhausted, committed parent who just doesn’t have the time for nonsense, either in her house or in the House of Representatives.Before Katie Porter was elected to Congress, she was a law professor and consumer finance expert. She lives with her three school-aged kids in Irvine, California. Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for more than 25 years. He can currently be heard as host of Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air on The Ringer Podcast Network. The show features Wilmore’s unique mix of humor and wit as he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond. Larry can also be seen in the Paramount+ film Jerry and Margo Go Large, alongside Bryan Cranston and Annette Benning. He also serves as executive producer alongside Kerry Washington, in the upcoming legal drama Reasonable Doubt for Hulu’s Onyx Collective which premieres this Fall. He also appeared in and executive produced Netflix’s Amend: The Fight for America. Wilmore is perhaps best known for his role as host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, which debuted in January 2015 and ran for nearly two years. Wilmore serves as co-creator and consulting producer on HBO’s Insecure. He also helped to launch ABC’s black-ish as an executive producer and is a co-creator of the spin-off Grownish. Previously, Wilmore made memorable appearances as the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and hosted his own Showtime “town hall”-style comedy specials, Larry Wilmore’s Race, Religion & Sex. He has written for In Living Color, The PJ’s (which he co-created), The Office (on which he has appeared as Mr. Brown, the diversity consultant), and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also served as creator, writer, and executive producer of The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him a 2002 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” and a 2001 Peabody Award.
Doris Kearns Goodwin in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles LiveTalksLA 2023-05-30 | Doris Kearns Goodwin in conversation with Larry Wilmore at Live Talks Los Angeles discussing her book, "Leadership: In Turbulent Times."This event was taped on October 7, 2018.In this culmination of five decades of acclaimed studies in presidential history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin offers an illuminating exploration of the early development, growth, and exercise of leadership.Doris Kearns Goodwin’s interest in leadership began more than half a century ago as a professor at Harvard. Her experiences working for LBJ in the White House and later assisting him on his memoirs led to her bestselling Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream. She followed up with the Pulitzer Prize–winning No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. She earned the Lincoln Prize for the runaway bestseller Team of Rivals, the basis for Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning film Lincoln, and the Carnegie Medal for The Bully Pulpit, the New York Times bestselling chronicle of the friendship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Follow her on Twitter @DorisKGoodwin.Are leaders born or made? Where does ambition come from? How does adversity affect the growth of leadership? Does the leader make the times or do the times make the leader?In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope.Leadership tells the story of how they all collided with dramatic reversals that disrupted their lives and threatened to shatter forever their ambitions. Nonetheless, they all emerged fitted to confront the contours and dilemmas of their times.No common pattern describes the trajectory of leadership. Although set apart in background, abilities, and temperament, these men shared a fierce ambition and a deep-seated resilience that enabled them to surmount uncommon hardships. At their best, all four were guided by a sense of moral purpose. At moments of great challenge, they were able to summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others.This seminal work provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field. In today’s polarized world, these stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency.Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for more than 25 years. He can currently be heard as host of Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air on The Ringer Podcast Network. The show features Wilmore’s unique mix of humor and wit as he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond.Wilmore is perhaps best known for his role as host of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, which debuted in January 2015 and ran for nearly two years. Off-screen, Wilmore serves as co-creator and consulting producer on HBO’s Insecure, a half-hour comedy series starring Issa Rae that details the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman. Wilmore also helped to launch ABC’s Black-ish as an executive producer.Previously, Wilmore made memorable appearances as the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and hosted his own Showtime “town hall”-style comedy specials, Larry Wilmore’s Race, Religion & Sex. He has written for In Living Color, The PJ’s (which he co-created), The Office (on which he has appeared as Mr. Brown, the diversity consultant), and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also served as creator, writer, and executiveproducer of The Bernie Mac Show, which earned him a 2002 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” and a 2001 Peabody Award.In April 2016, Wilmore hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC. His first book, I’d Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts, in January 2009.
