In a personal account of the communal power of women to change history, the founder of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace chronicles the unthinkable violence she's confronted living through civil war and the peace she helped to broker by empowering her countrywomen and others around the…
In a provocative and controversial history, Winkler, a constitutional lawyer, disputes that guns--not abortion, race, or religion--are at the heart of America's cultural divide. Co-presented with the Council of the Library Foundation
From the best-selling author of 1491-a study of the pre-Columbian Americas- comes a deeply engaging new history that explores the most momentous biological event since the death of the dinosaurs.
Reiss, a leading expert on dolphins (adviser for the Oscar-winning film, The Cove), offers both a scientific revelation and an emotional eye-opener in this reflection on one of the greatest intelligences on the planet.
Common, the Grammy award-winning hip-hop artist and actor was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. on Chicago's rough South Side. In his soulfully candid memoir, he unleashes himself line by line--from his childhood to tragic losses, from addiction to love--revealing the inner-makings of an extraordinary…
In this sequel to Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller returns to Africa and her unforgettable family in a multilayered narrative that contrasts the perfectly lit, Happy Valley-era Africa of her mother's childhood and the darker, civil war-torn Africa of her own.
Mycoskie, the man behind TOMS Shoes and Goldhirsh, founder of GOOD, discuss alternatives for creating work that simultaneously fulfills our hunger for material success, philanthropic impact, and personal meaning.
It took fifty years and more before a former real-estate billboard atop Mt. Lee became the world-wide symbol of Hollywood. How did it happen? A master interpreter of popular culture examines why the Hollywood sign is unique in the way cities show themselves to the world.
When a massive wildfire blazed across California in June 2008, five monks risked their lives to save Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Pyne-- wildfire expert and the country's pre-eminent fire historian-- and Busch-- author and longtime Zen student-- discuss the ways of wildfires in the West and what…
Four veteran Los Angeles crime writers discuss the genre they love and the stories that keep them up at night. Paula L. Woods (Charlotte Justice mystery series) talks murder and mayhem with Haywood (Cemetery Road), Hirahara (Blood Hina), and Smith (Moist).
McMillen--part sculptor, installation artist, printmaker, cultural anthropologist and L.A. native-- has been creating environmental installations with architectural references that deal with themes of time, change, and illusion since the 1970s, and his work is the subject of a current retrospective…
In this popular, long-running event, six talented Los Angeles poets present short readings of their work. Hosted by Suzanne Lummis, Los Angeles Poetry Festival, and Richard Modiano, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center
The Hollywood home of Laura and Aldous Huxley, psychedelic pioneer and author of Brave New World, was a hotspot for the West Coast artistic avant-garde like Igor Stravinsky and Christopher Isherwood. Join us for a discussion of the Huxleys' influence on American culture, plus excerpts from Mary Ann…
