20 Talks, Readings and Discussions to Attend this December

A talk and performance with Sheryl Crow, a conversation with funnymen Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and a an after-hours winter solstice party and night-sky viewing are some of the lectures and discussions that top our list this December.

Join Sheryl Crow at the TimesCenter.

1. Nine-time Grammy Award-winner Sheryl Crow sits down with New York Times chief pop music critic Jon Pareles to talk about her career and foray into the country music world. When & Where: Monday, Dec. 2, 6:30 p.m. at the TimesCenter

2. Join Uma Thurman as she interviews Robert Thurman and Sharon Salzberg on how and why anger can become addictive, drawing notes from new book Love Your Enemies: How to Break the Anger Habit & Be a Whole Lot Happier. When & Where: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 8:15 p.m. at the 92nd Street Y

3. Examine the materials and techniques used by Robert Motherwell in his collages at an after-hours in-gallery program with exhibition catalogue contributor and paper conservator. When & Where: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m. at the Guggenheim Museum

4. Girl With a Pearl Earring: You recognize it just by its name. Learn how Vermeer’s masterpiece gained its fame. When & Where: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m. at The Frick Collection

5. Enjoy a night of cocktails and intellectual conversations at an after-hours SciCafe talk on the fascinating co-evolution between plants and humans. When & Where: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m. at the American Museum of Natural History

6. Meet up with architects, conservation experts and critics to discuss the urban revitalization and rezoning of East Harlem. When & Where: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m. at the National Academy School & Museum

Art Spiegelman, Self-Portrait with Maus Mask, 1989. Copyright ©1989 by Art Spiegelman.

7. You’re in for a treat at an evening with not one, but two Pulitzer Prize winners: comic artist and author Art Spiegelman and playwright Tony Kushner who will discuss authorship and identity through the lens of new exhibition Art Spiegelman’s Co-Mix: A Retrospective. When & Where: Thursday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. at The Jewish Museum

8. Keep it classy with Will Ferrell who will be in character as Ron Burgundy alongside co-writer of Anchorman 2 Adam McKay and journalist Lynn Hirschberg. When & Where: Friday, Dec. 6, 8 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

9. Part of the Public Forum series, The Long Christmas Dinner is read and discussed by leading voices in media and the arts and examines 90 years in the life of an American family. When & Where: Tuesday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m. at the Public Theater, Joe’s Pub

10. Meet the rock star chef and mastermind behind one of New York’s most popular restaurant Momofuku David Chang and enjoy an evening of luscious tales. When & Where: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. at Symphony Space

American designer Kenneth Cole sits down with fashion industry icon Fern Mallis.

11. Join fashion industry leader Fern Mallis when she sits down with American designer and humanitarian Kenneth Cole about his riveting new HBO documentary The Battle of amfAR (amfAR is the Foundation for AIDS Research). When & Where: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 7:30 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

12. Meet Andre Noel, creator of a dance troupe of prison alumni, who testifies to the salient effect of dance on men and women in prison. Hear powerful stories of how dance moves people. When & Where: Friday, Dec. 13, 8 p.m. at 92nd Street Y

13. Peer into the life and works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the controversial leader of the British Romantic movement with biographer Richard Holmes. When & Where: Saturday, Dec. 14, 4:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

14. Join a discussion of how the Church adapted its Jewish roots and how Jews developed their own stories of miraculous births in light of Christian claims. When & Where: Sunday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m. at 92nd Street Y

15. Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera discusses Die Fledermaus with Jerey Sams, director, and playwright Douglas Carter Beane. When & Where: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 6 p.m. at The Metropolitan Opera

Examine drawings of Leonardo da Vinci at The Morgan Library & Museum.

16. Explore French painting of the 1850s, from Delacrois to Courbet, and how the stage was set for the Impressionist revolution. When & Where: Thursday, Dec. 19, 11 a.m. at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

17. Curator of the department of drawings and prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art examines Leonardo da Vinci as an artist and scientist at this after-hours talk and gallery viewing. When & Where: Thursday, Dec. 19, 6:30 p.m. at the Morgan Library & Museum

18. Get together with astronomers and members of the Amateur Astronomers Association to view the night sky on the final night of fall and learn how to observe these celestial objects. When & Where: Thursday, Dec. 19, 6:30 p.m. at the American Museum of Natural History

19. Learn how to create sparkling Champagne cocktails, just in time for holiday entertaining, with premier bartender Laurie Davis who has been featured in Food Network Magazine, Cosmopolitan. When & Where: Friday, Dec. 20, 6:30 p.m. at Astor Center

20. Join the 35th celebration of Kwanzaa at the Natural History museum when it’s transformed into an international marketplace. Among others, bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker MK Asante introduces his landmark film narrated by Maya Angelou, which is followed by a screening and book signing of his new memoir. When & Where: Saturday, Dec. 28, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the American Museum of Natural History