Gloria Steinem, Francine Prose, and a day of free museums highlight our picks for the best smart things to do in NYC this weekend.

Friday, September 22

Stand on your own at Finding Otherness: Developments in Independent Politics, a discussion with independent movement leader Jackie Salit on the political opportunities for those who feel left out of the mainstream conversation. NYU School of Law.

Composer and director Michel van der Aa and collaborators discuss the creation of the visually stunning chamber opera and 3D film Blank Out, which runs through the 27th. The Park Avenue Armory.

Saturday, September 23

Get your free ticket to a host of New York museums as Smithsonian magazine hosts Museum Day Live!.

Sims Municipal Recycling: John Majors, Aerial & Architectural Photos of NJ

Climate change will be the timely topic of the conversation “How to Make Living Sustainable” between artist-activist Mel Chin and climate justice attorney Elizabeth Yeampierre, moderated by GrowNYC President and CEO Marcel Van Ooyen. The setting will be more than tangential: Brooklyn’s state-of-the-art recycling plant on the Sunset Park waterfront.

Amuse yourself on this tour of Coney Island and the history behind the “People’s Playground.” New York Local Tours.

Catch beloved novelist and critic Francine Prose in the next edition of Person Place Thing with “The Ethicist” Randy Cohen at Bowery Poetry.

Gloria Steinem joins Deborah Jiang-Stein, author of the memoir Prison Baby, for a Brooklyn Museum conversation on the damage inflicted on women and communities by our industrial prison complex.

Sunday, September 24

Open your ears at a deep listening workshop that aims to heighten your awareness of the sounds around you. With Tomie Hahn, Director of the Center for Deep Listening at RPI. Rubin Museum of Art.

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.