Virtual Culture This Weekend

Quarantine may have restricted our movement, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t live culture still out there. We’ve got some weekend livestreams to keep you informed and entertained—across talks, lectures, and performances.

Friday, August 7

Weigh in on the thing with feathers as a Socrates Salon Conversation takes on hope, how to distinguish it from wishful thinking, and its essential role in times of tribulation.

The pandemic is showing us the ways crises can exacerbate preexisting conditions of unfairness. Join Greenlight Bookstore as it welcomes author and editor John Freeman and contributors to the new anthology Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World.

Adam Riess was part of a trio of physicists awarded the Nobel Prize in 2011 for their work on the accelerating pace of the expansion of the universe. Find Riess in conversation with the director of Columbia’s center for theoretical physics, Brian Greene (Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Expanding Universe). They’ll discuss the mysteries of dark energy and the shattering of paradigms.

Saturday, August 8

cswngd/Flickr

Say a little prayer for virtual touring as the Queens Historical Society leads this year’s Flushing Sacred Sites Tour, from the 1694 Quaker Meeting House to a 1977 Hindu temple.

Make a virtual visit to Bangalore and its Museum of Art & Photography as the series Traditions and Transitions features textile artist Renuka Reddy and researcher, curator, and collector Peter Lee. They’ll examine the history of Kalamkari, a type of hand-printed or hand-block-printed cotton textile.

Sunday, August 9

Reel in a Secret Speakeasy virtual evening with antiques and 16mm movies furthering the theme of Women in Film.

Join Think Olio for a discussion of cancel culture, free speech, and the ethics of the movement. Jeanne Proust, an educator who takes up both philosophical and psychological perspectives, will facilitate a Think Olio conversation.

Beyond things to do in the virtual realm this weekend, keep up with all kinds of talks, lectures and activities all month long. Sign up for Thought Gallery’s weekly Curriculum, the best of smart quarantine culture delivered right to your inbox.