25 Talks, Readings and Discussions to Attend this January

In January, Tony Award winners, bestselling authors, beloved news anchors and others take the stage for conversations and discussions. Here, our top picks of NYC lectures and talks for the month.

1. Longtime Hayden Planetarium presenter Ted Williams teaches about the shifting poles and explains the north and south poles in our solar system. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 2, 6:30 at the American Museum of Natural History

2. Join the Tony Award-winning stars of The Bridges of Madison County for an evening of conversation, discussion and about this bestselling novel turned film turned Broadway. When & Where: Sunday, Jan. 5, 7:30 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

3. Meet beloved actress Cameron Diaz when she announce her guide to healthy and happy living The Body Book: the Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength, and Other ways to Love Your Amazing Body. When & Where: Monday, Jan. 6, 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Union Square

4. Join New York Times financial journalist Peter Lattman when he speaks to William D. Cohan, author of Money and Power How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World, and Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Fall of RJR Nabisco about wealth and the role of Wall Street throughout history. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 6:30 p.m. at Museum of the City of New York

5. Author Ishmael Beah, whose first book A Long Way Gone soared to the top of bestseller lists in 2007, returns with his first novel about postwar life in Sierra Leone: Radiance of Tomorrow. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble Union Square

6. For the first time in 92nd Street Y history, the head of the National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell will speak on stage about the league’s changes and challenges. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m. at the 92Y Street

7. Presenting a new memoir titled Little Failure, author Gary Shteyngart speaks about his life at Symphony Space. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m. at Symphony Space

8. Artists, city agents, conservation experts and others gather to discuss transportation and the Second Avenue Subway construction and development. When & Where: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 6:30 p.m. at the National Academy School & Museum

9. Take an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Park Avenue Armory and its extraordinary Gilded Age interiors. Armory historian Kirsten Reoch leads the tour. When & Where: Sunday, Jan. 12, 11 a.m. at the Museum of the City of New York

10. The past and present collide when former Noguchi museum team member Alexandra Snyder May, who served from 1985-1990, and current museum director discuss the development of exhibition Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930. When & Where: Sunday, Jan. 12, 3 p.m. at Noguchi Museum

11. Explore the private lives of New York City with author of Habitats: Private Lives in the Big City Constance Rosenblum. She was also the longtime editor of The New York Times‘s City section and former editor of the paper’s Arts and Leisure section. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Skyscraper Museum

12. Pioneering TV anchors Jane Pauley and Tom Brokaw reunite for a discussion about the “lucky generation” of boomers who are at the age of 50 (or older) finding their true callings. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 8:15 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

13. Marc Eliot, author of a new revealing biography of Jack Nicholson explores the star’s working-class childhood in New Jersey, his tumultuous relationships and his extraordinary body of work. When & Where: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 12 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

14. Fran Lebowitz, beloved author, humorist and Manhattanite, is joined by friend and fellow New York icon Martin Scorsese. When & Where: Thursday, Jan. 16, 8 p.m. at Brooklyn Academy of Music

15. Attend a free symposium to investigate Artists, Audiences and Collectors of Biblical Imagery. There will be two sessions and a roundtable discussion with a wine and cheese reception. When & Where: Friday, Jan. 17, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Museum of Biblical Art

16. A panel of international scholars, curators and artists, including Mark Godfrey of London’s Tate Modern, artist Christopher Wool and Suzanne Hudson of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, address questions of painting and abstraction at PTG: Abstraction Since 1980. When & Where: Friday, Jan. 17, 2 p.m. at the Guggenheim Museum

17. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman presents WORDLESS!, a hybrid of slides, a talk and musical performances developed in collaboration with jazz composer Phillip Johnston. When & Where: Saturday, Jan. 18, 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Academy of Music

18. Join artists in conversation as they discuss the exhibitions Chagall: Love, War, and Exile and issues in contemporary painting since Chagall’s death in 1985. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 6:30 p.m. at The Jewish Museum

19. Historians and experts examine the trials and tribulations of the John F. Kennedy‘s 34-month presidency. When & Where: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 6:30 p.m. at the New-York Historical Society

20. Mother-daughter duo Joan and Melissa Rivers share the spotlight to discuss their family life and the challenges they have faced in their lives. When & Where: Wednesday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

21. Sportswriter and author of Mickey and Willie: Mantle and Mays, the Parallel Lives of Baseball’s Golden Age Allen Barra analyzes two of baseball’s greatest players. When & Where: Thursday, Jan. 23, 12 p.m. at  92nd Street Y

22. Enjoy an evening of conversation and music with award-winning author James McBride who will speak about his latest book The Good Lord Bird, and will also perform with his quintet. When & Where: Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m. at the New York Public Library – Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

23. Explore the New European Paintings Galleries at The Met with curator Andrea Bayer along with a curator, filmmaker and biographer. When & Where: Sunday, Jan. 26, 3 p.m. at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

24. Examine newly opened Vatican archives with David Kertzer, author of The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe. Playwright Tony Kushner joins in conversation. When & Where: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 8:15 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

25. Hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, author Ian Rankin drops by to introduce his latest book Saints of the Shadow Bible. Meet the No. 1 international bestselling author and Edgar Award winner to hear about his latest suspense novel. When & Where: Thursday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble – Upper East Side

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