New York Thought: Smart Things to Do in NYC This Weekend

Gloria Allred, Hasan Minhaj, and an exploration of “the natures of time and infinity” highlight our picks for the best smart things to do in NYC this weekend.

Friday, November 16

Former Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj has recently become the first Indian-American host of a weekly comedy series. Catch him on political comedy in the age of Trump. 92nd Street Y.

Former Dean of the International Space University, Founding President of the Society of Satellite Professionals International, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Dr. Joseph N. Pelton gives a presentation on the new global economy we can scarcely imagine now. Catch The New Gold Rush: The Riches of Space Beckon at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Hear from chef Marcus Samuelsson and poet Denice Frohman at this live recording of NPR’s Code Switch.

Join the Simons Foundation for a panel conversation and book signing focused around two new publications: Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire and The Prime Number Conspiracy. Among the tantalizing topics of discussion: “whether our universe is ‘natural,’ the natures of time and infinity, our strange quantum reality, the origin and evolution of life, the role of mathematics in science and society, and where all these questions are taking us.”

Saturday, November 17

Nerd out at this Nerd Nite featuring a talk by best-selling author Mary Pilon on an Olympian’s “Truman Show”-like experience. Littlefield.

Look back at lost worlds with journalist and photographer Frank Van Riper, who discusses his new book of black and white images, Recovered Memory: New York and Paris 1960-1980. Albertine.

Sunday, November 18

Go back to New York’s colonial history on this walking tour of Westchester Square in the Bronx. The Municipal Art Society of New York.

From vaccine misinformation to climate change denial, it seems there’s more bunk than ever. Join a celebration for the release of the second edition of Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk, where philosopher Massimo Pigliucci questions the root causes of pseudoscientific belief, creating “a ‘taxonomy of bunk’ that explores the intersection of science and culture at large.”

Join The Park Avenue Armory for The First United Lenape Nations Pow Wow & Standing Ground Symposium, a day of native art, food, dance competitions, and special performances, in addition to a symposium headlined by Inuit (Inuk) experimental vocalist and artist Tanya Tagaq.

Hear from feminist firebrand attorney Gloria Allred at a 92nd Street Y screening of the new Netflix original documentary, Seeing Allred. She’ll be joined by co-director Sophie Sartain, TV writer and producer Marta Kauffman, and FOLCS director Thane Rosenbaum as moderator.

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.