Talks and Lectures This Weekend in NYC
Our picks for the best talks, lectures, and performances in NYC this weekend include a look inside flat-Earth true believers, power and politics, and a 63-philosopher sleepover.
Friday, January 31
The life story of Makchi Shangri Lhagyal, a commander in the Chushi Gangdrug resistance army, has finally reached publication; join the launch of a dual biography and history at Tibet House US.
Join Sarah Pearson, Astrophysicist, CCA, Flatiron Institute and science communicator via “Space with Sarah” as she introduces a look at one of the most troubling of recent human regressions—the people convinced that the world is flat. A Q&A follows a documentary screening at the Simons Foundation.
Saturday, February 1
George N. Barnard/Getty Center [Public domain].
A trio of acclaimed professors looks at past and present at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. The three One Day University talks on power and politics cover whether the U.S. is repeating the mistakes of the Roman Empire; continuities in the relationships between presidents and the press; and an examination of the five most powerful people in the world.
Nerd Nite returns to Littlefield with a trio of talks, alighting on the first vaccine, militias in American thought and politics, and the truth behind the $2 bill.
It’s time again to stay up all night with ideas. Top philosophers from around the world will gather at the Brooklyn Public Library–Central Library for a 12-hour sleepover, complete with debates, screenings, readings, art, and music. French-American economist Esther Duflo, winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, kicks off the evening with a keynote address. A Night of Philosophy & Ideas runs from 7pm until past sunrise Sunday morning.
Sunday, February 2
Novelist, Emmy-winning screenwriter, and critic Robert J. Seidman leads a 138th birthday celebration for James Joyce with the presentation Domesticating Ulysses: The Novel’s Surprising Economy. McNally Jackson.
Ethical Culture Clergy Leader Richard Koral leads a New York Society for Ethical Culture Sunday Platform questioning whether people are inherently good, bad, or lacking in guidelines. Ponder how we strive for goodness in an uncertain world.
Beyond things to do in NYC this weekend, keep up with all kinds of talks, lectures and activities in the big city. Sign up for Thought Gallery’s weekly Curriculum, the best of smart New York delivered right to your inbox.
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