Reflections on America at 250 intensify this June, with a number of intriguing presentations coming up across the city. We’re especially looking forward to a session on what the bicentennial means in this semiquincentennial year, plus a Manhattan Revolutionary War battlefield tour, rum’s role in American independence, and an examination of the moral meaning of America. We’ve also got an eye on Nubian creativity, Buddhism's Four Noble Truths, and Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York.
Monday, June 1: Show solidarity with Amazon Labor Union Co-founders as they present a dual book launch describing an improbable unionization on Staten Island. Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn.
Tuesday, June 2: Join The Wisdom Bar for a semiquincentennial look at the bicentennial and "What 1976 Reveals About America at 250." Fabrik NYC.
Wednesday, June 3: Ground yourself at a General Society Library evening dedicated to humankind's primary building material; sculptor Richard Rhodes shares his recent book Stone: Ancient Craft to Modern Mastery.
Thursday, June 4: Travel back to 1920s New York, beyond flappers and bathtub gin, as author Jonathan Ezra Goldman shares his new book, Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York: From the Suppressed to the Strange. Book Culture.
Friday, June 5: Mull masterpieces with Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Carmen C. Bambach and a closer look at the once-in-a-lifetime current exhibition Raphael: Sublime Poetry.
Saturday, June 6: Ponder the mysteries of twins' languages and the role of cinema in society at an e-flux screening and conversation around Poto and Cabengo (1980) with its director, Jean-Pierre Gorin.
Matt Green/Flickr
Sunday, June 7: Stride through a lesser-known part of the Bronx as The Bronx County Historical Society hosts a walk around Longwood.
Monday, June 8: Focus on the solution side of climate change with the Center for Brooklyn History and an expert panel targeting the possibilities for collective effort.
Tuesday, June 9: Unpack language with author and linguist Adam Aleksic, as he shares the hidden meanings embedded in tech at a live recording of CNN's Terms of Service with Clare Duffy. The Paley Center for Media.
Wednesday, June 10: Question “How Big is Infinity? How Big is Your Mind?” at a Museum of Mathematics session that explores if infinity can be different sizes.
Thursday, June 11: Explore the connection between beauty and philosophy at a Think Olio session that offers a guided appreciation of the Met’s Raphael exhibition and "The Ecstasy of Beauty."
Guardian figure. Middle Kingdom (12th Dynasty) ca. 1919–1885 BCE.
Friday, June 12: Unearth the lesser-known creativity of Nubia, the land of the Nile Cataracts, with The National Arts Club and Dr. Rita Freed, curator emerita at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.
Saturday, June 13: Adventure through theory and image at Giorno Poetry Systems and a celebration of the publication of Repetition and Ruins: The Art of Radical Political Thinking.
Sunday, June 14: Peek the other side at “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” and an afternoon ghost tour of the Merchant's House Museum.
Monday, June 15: Delve into an effort to break free of paradigms of Blackness and masculinity with Emmy Award-winning director Phill Branch and his new memoir The Double Dutch Fuss. Greenlight Bookstore.
Tuesday, June 16: Get a harbor-level view of 25 years of NYC waterfront reinvention, led by urban planner and tour guide Moses Gates and an Open House New York cruise.
Wednesday, June 17: Revisit the American Revolution through a forgotten English duke and a hidden story of radical ideas that shaped two worlds with Harvard political philosopher Danielle Allen. Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
Thursday, June 18: Rocket off to Mars on "a journey where science and fiction, observation and fantasy, and nature and technology intertwine"; speculative fiction titan Kim Stanley Robinson joins Pioneer Works Director of Sciences, astrophysicist Janna Levin in conversation.
Friday, June 19: Mark Juneteenth at Flushing Town Hall with an evening of storytelling and song led by actress and singer April Armstrong.
Wally Gobetz/Flickr
Saturday, June 20: Uncover overlooked Deco gems with architectural historian Matt Postal and the Art Deco Society of New York on "A Deco Stroll Through Chelsea."
Sunday, June 21: Experience the first American victory of the Revolution at an Untapped Cities excursion to the Battle of Harlem Heights: Revolutionary War Walking Tour.
Monday, June 22: Drink in the story of rum’s origins and its impact on the American Revolution with Jordan B. Smith, author of The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity. Fraunces Tavern Museum.
Tuesday, June 23: Contemplate how the narrative of the American Revolution has evolved with a diverse Museum of the City of New York panel looking at Revolution Remembered, Stories Forgotten.
Wednesday, June 24: Glean insight into an American original as National Humanities Medal-winning biographer Ron Chernow speaks on his latest bestseller, Mark Twain. Plymouth Church.
Thursday, June 25: Follow Lama Aria Drolma through a guided session on Buddhism's Four Noble Truths and how they can help navigate life’s challenges. New York Insight Meditation Center.
Friday, June 26: Foresee your future with Rhonda Alin, offering tarot readings in a historic Morgan Library & Museum space in conjunction with new exhibition Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions.
Saturday, June 27: Shift a liability into a strength at a New Center for Holistic Learning NY writing workshop on The Transformative Power of Shame.
Sunday, June 28: Reveal the Secrets of the East River: NYC's Hidden Infrastructure by Ferry on a New York Adventure Club cruise past the overlooked systems that keep the city running.
Monday, June 29: Visualize attending a Morbid Anatomy online talk on Jung, Eternal Aion, and the Dawn of the New Age, led by religious studies scholar Dr. Hereward Tilton.
Tuesday, June 30: Throw down for a Lectures on Tap shining a light on the grit and glam of The Women of Pro-Wrestling: Untold Story, Vital History.
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