http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/index.aspx http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=283 In this new novel, the acclaimed author of Motherless Brooklyn portrays a Manhattan that is beautiful and tawdry, tragic and forgiving, devastating and utterly unique. 10/27/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=282 Gail Collins, brilliant New York Times columnist and bestselling author, recounts the astounding revolution in women's lives over the past 50 years. 10/22/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=281 Desbois, a French Catholic priest, has devoted his life to confronting anti-Semitism and furthering Catholic-Jewish understanding. Since 2001 he and his team have crisscrossed the Ukrainian countryside in an effort to locate every mass grave and site at which Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Co-presented with Claremont McKenna College's Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights 10/20/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=280 The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains tells the inspiring tale of Deogratias (Deo), a young medical student from the mountains of Burundi, who narrowly survived civil war and genocide before seeking a new life in America. 10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=279 A shy manifesto and an impractical handbook by one of America's finest writers. 10/13/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=277 A renowned professor of computer science recounts the spiritual odyssey of philosopher Bertrand Russell in a historical graphic novel that explicates some of the biggest ideas of mathematics and modern philosophy. 10/7/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=276 The host and writer of "A Prairie Home Companion" knows how to spin a yarn. Join us for an evening of inspired storytelling, as Keillor converts the "base metal of small town tedium to the gold of comedy." (NYTimes) 10/5/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=275 Sandel--whose Justice course is one of the most popular and influential at Harvard-- hallenges us to think our way through the hard moral challenges we confront as citizens. Co-presented by the Council of the Library Foundation and City National Bank 9/24/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=274 No toilet paper! No plastic containers! No new clothes! No eating out! Beavan discusses-and screens film clips about-- his family's yearlong experiment to live a zero waste lifestyle in New York City. 9/23/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=271 In his first book, Le writes stunningly inventive stories that take us from the slums of Columbia to the streets of Tehran; from a tiny fishing village in Australia to a foundering vessel in the South China Sea. 9/16/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=270 In re-imagining the lives and loves of history's great poets, Baker creates a seductive meditation on poetry and artistic expression. 9/15/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=272 In her long-awaited new novel, set after the events of September 2001, Moore brings us up against the heart of racism, the shock of war, and the carelessness perpetrated against others in the name of love. 9/10/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=273 Can the social connectedness that arises in the aftermath of a disaster-whether natural or manmade-lead us to a new vision of society? 9/9/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=254 Why, when many of the problems of the twenty-first century require scientific solutions, are Americans paying less and less attention to scientists? How might we reverse this alarming trend and integrate science into our national discourse--before it's too late? 8/5/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=253 How do notions of social responsibility and sustainability, in terms of design, impact the response to the growing density of Los Angeles and beyond? Presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings in the Getty Gallery" 8/4/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=266 An evening of stories and songs by Rubén Martinez, with Joe Garcia and featuring John Schayer and Ruben Gonzalez High end art colonies materialize on dusty plains. Mexican migrant corridors transect Native lands. Writer Martinez, accompanied by his longtime musical partner, explores some of the oldest American symbols and the newest motley cast of characters to confront them. 7/30/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=261 Urban and rural collide in this wry, inspiring memoir of a woman who turned a vacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm. 7/23/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=250 What alternative avenues for urbanism can be developed as existing models have been undermined by the current economic crisis? How will issues of planning, infrastructure, and the public realm shape architecture and design in the coming generation? Presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings in the Getty Gallery" 7/21/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=249 An award-winning journalist chronicles the life of her great-great grandfather, a brilliant gold-rush era entrepreneur and financier, who rose from store clerk to the upper echelons of society, founded L.A.'s first bank, resurrected the financially troubled Los Angeles Times, and helped establish U.S.C. 7/16/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=248 Abandonment, life, death (and, oddly, Cleveland) are explored in the hilarious second installment of Jim Krusoe's trilogy of novels about resurrection. 7/15/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=247 "Crimes litter the floor of California's great Central Valley like fallen plums . . . Old ties of blood, friendship, and memory are harshly tested . . . but hope takes root in the valley's generous yet unforgiving soil." (D.J. Waldie) 7/9/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=246 Tabloid crimes, the Roaring 20's, and the onset of the Depression form the backdrop of Rayner's captivating tale of how the City of Angels lost its soul. 7/8/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=245 A New Yorker reporter's definitive account of how decisions made behind closed doors in Washington spiraled out around the world, often with unintended consequences. 6/30/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=243 Ansary, native of Afghanistan and astute cultural interpreter, tells the rich story of world history as the Islamic world sees it, from the time of Mohammed to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and beyond. 6/24/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=242 One of the world's best-known cognitive scientists explains why understanding language is critical in politics and why Reason is not as reasonable as we thought. 6/23/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=241 Photographer/author Harry Brant Chandler and historian Kevin Starr explore the fascinating lives of inspirational Southern Californians, the subjects of Chandler's unique portraits. 6/18/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=240 A peerless interpreter of American life recounts his own long strange trip from rural Minnesota to the ivy-covered walls of Princeton-- a fascinating examination of the perils of an education that prizes the accumulation of points over the enrichment of the mind. 6/17/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=239 In this history of human adventure, one of Latin America's most distinguished writers illuminates movements of ideas and society across centuries by recalling the lives of artists, writers, gods and visionaries-- from the Garden of Eden to 21st-century New York. 6/11/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=238 How did smog help mold the modern-day culture of Los Angeles? Join this discussion about pollution, progress and the epic struggle against airborne poisons. 6/9/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=237 A renowned essayist considers the achievements and limitations of his tantalizing, daunting subject. 6/4/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=235 Violence spills north of the border after the bloodiest year in the war to control drug smuggling through Tijuana. Join journalists from San Diego and Tijuana and a long-time watchdog of border violence to discuss the difficulties faced and methods used by reporters doing their jobs in Tijuana. 6/3/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=232 Join us for an illuminating conversation with Tom Brokaw, veteran news anchor, author and 2009 recipient of the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award. 5/28/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=234 The historically African- American enclave of Sag Harbor, on the east end of Long Island, is the setting for the wonderfully funny, supremely original novel by the MacArthur award-winning author of The Intuitionist. 5/20/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=233 In this tragicomic true story of the year in which both of his parents died, the award-winning author and humorist captures the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-year-old orphan. 5/19/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=220 One of America's most performed and admired composers, Adams (Nixon in China, Doctor Atomic) helped shape the landscape of contemporary classical music. His new memoir reveals the inner workings of his creative process and illuminates the recent history of music-making. 5/14/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=228 Waldman-- a "Cat 4 hurricane of unchained imagination, curiosity, and invention, political rage and erotic elation."-draws on animal lore, animal encounters, dreams, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and Buddhist ritual in her new investigative hybrid-poem exploring the nuances of inter-species communication and compassion 5/5/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=227 Surveying the global scene, a preeminent scholar of religion launches a revolution in the way we understand-and confront-radical Islam. 5/4/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=236 Join us for this exuberant annual reading with emerging Los Angeles-area poets. 4/29/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=226 Magically blending sarcasm and gravity, America's favorite surrealist poet and NPR commentator offers an impractical handbook for practical living in our posthuman world. 4/28/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=225 Smiley, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and author of Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, talks about how novels work and why we like them. 4/23/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=224 Three members of the final judging panel for the Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards, read from their own prize-winning work. 4/22/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=223 Buergenthal, currently the American judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, arrived at Auschwitz at age ten, and was soon separated from his mother and then his father. In this inspiring memoir, he reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit. 4/21/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=222 Nigerian music, Mexican farce, John Updike, Lou Reed. Polish puppeteers, Belgian Butoh, Irish bards? what goes into the making of a season of groundbreaking performing arts at REDCAT and UCLA Live? 4/16/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=211 An award-winning investigative reporter exposes the global war on women's reproductive rights and its disastrous and unreported consequences for the future of global development. 4/14/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=210 Fairchild, winner of the Kingsley Tufts Award, and Paschen, winner of the Nicholas Roerich Prize, read poems that celebrate how the humble -- the work of a machine shop, the duties of a home -- is exalted by attention and care, just as their poems are distinguished by thoughtfulness, gratitude, and a deep concern for the well-made phrase. 4/7/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=209 Arax, a native son, spent four years traveling the breadth of the Golden State to explore its singular place in the world. From the marijuana growing capital of the U.S. to the town that inspired The Grapes of Wrath, Arax offers a stunning panorama of California in a new century. 4/6/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=208 SurveyLA marks a coming-of-age for LA's historic preservation movement. Join amateur historians and LA aficionados for the public kick off of SurveyLA, share your knowledge of LA's hidden gems, view a screening of the SurveyLA video, and attend a lively panel discussion with city officials, preservationists, community organizers and developers regarding this historic survey. 4/3/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=207 In this groundbreaking work, Hajratwala mixes history, memoir, and reportage to explore the questions facing not only her own Indian family but that of every immigrant: Where did we come from? Why did we leave? What did we give up and gain in the process? 4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=205 Relying on recently declassified documents, Richelson--Senior Fellow with the National Security Archive--reveals how NEST operated during the Cold War, how the agency has evolved, and its current efforts to reduce the chance of a nuclear device decimating an American city. 3/25/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=204 Three emerging women writers discuss using nontraditional forms for an unconventional city, writing a polyvocal landscape for a polyvocal world, publishing with an independent press, and why women write LA better than anybody. 3/19/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=203 A renowned scholar and translator offers a unique adaptation of the greatest passages from two ancient successors to Lao-tzu, illuminated by his own poetic commentary. 3/18/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=202 A bestselling nonfiction author and renowned physician makes the leap to fiction with this epic tale that spans three continents and five decades, from a convent in India to a cargo ship bound for Yemen; from an operating room in Ethiopia to a hospital in the Bronx. 3/16/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=192 Is Pershing Square a study in failed urban design? What would it take to bring it back? Could we take lessons from New York City's beloved Bryant Park? Join us for a discussion on the future of what was once one of the most vibrant and elegant public spaces in downtown Los Angeles. 3/11/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=195 A Pulitzer Prize-winning author reveals the inspiring and largely untold stories of the country's foremost environmental conservationists, activists, and visionaries. 3/10/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=201 Deftly weaving memoir and wide-ranging scientific investigation, a life-long insomniac guides us through the hidden terrain of a devastating and little understood condition. 3/9/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=200 American novelists are preoccupied with the tale of our (mostly dysfunctional) families. Unfortunately, contrary to Tolstoy's famous assertion, a lot of these unhappy families are starting to seem exactly alike. Two acclaimed novelists discuss ways to tell a true, new, enduring story of our most prized institution. 3/4/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=189 New Yorker veteran Weschler discusses what it has been like, the past several decades, to be serving as Boswell simultaneously to two seemingly diametrically opposite giants of the contemporary art scene, Robert Irwin and David Hockney. 2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=188 A longtime Middle East correspondent for Time Magazine-now living in Tehran-- offers a stunning and unforgettable window into the maelstrom of Iranian life and gives voice to the Iranian psyche. 2/23/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=187 Fischer, a poet and well-known Zen teacher, deftly incorporates Buddhist, Judaic, and Christian thought-as well as his own unique understanding of life-into this reinterpretation of Homer's ancient story. 2/19/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=186 The author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist and creator of the Frontal Cortex blog draws on cutting-edge research and the real-world experience of a wide range of "deciders" to arm us with the tools we need to think harder (and smarter) about how we think. 2/12/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=185 Why have we evolved positive emotions like gratitude, amusement, awe and compassion? Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, offers a profound study of how emotion is the key to living the good life. 2/5/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=184 The bestselling author and director of the world-famous Hayden Planetarium chronicles America's irrational love affair with Pluto, man's best celestial friend 2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=183 A renowned sociologist challenges the still-prevailing and anachronistic images of aging, tracing the ways in which wisdom, experience, and new learning inspire individual growth and cultural transformation. 2/3/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=181 A distinguished panel explores the legacy of one of the West's most influential writers, who fought for protection of the region's delicate environment as well as recognition of a Western regional base and influenced generations of environmental writers. 1/28/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=180 In his newest book, the Thurber-prize winning author interviews elder celebrities (among them Norman Mailer and LSD pioneer Ram Dass), reads deathbed confessions, Lao Tzu, William Burroughs' diaries, and considers the latest medical research on the brain as part of his quest to glean wisdom from the old (and wise) among us. 1/27/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=179 It's been 15 years since the 1994 quake. Is L.A. more prepared for the next one? Are WE? A panel of experts air their views: Mariana Amatullo, director, The L.A. Earthquake: Get Ready project at Art Center College of Design; Michael Dear, Professor of Geography and Urban Planning at USC; Lucy Jones, Caltech and USGS seismologist; Dennis Mileti, Director of the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center; David Ulin, author, The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith. 1/22/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=178 A female boxer, a madwoman stuck in Purgatory, and an irreverent angel meet across space and time to explore redemption and forgiveness in this concert reading of a work-in-progress adapted from Wolverton's novel-in-poems. Cherry plays keyboards and conducts a jazz quartet to accompany the actors who will bring to life the poetry and song. Performed by: D'Lo, Marisol de Jesus, O-Lan Jones, Phil Meyer, Cesili Williams and David Ornette Cherry with Organic Roots: Justo Almario, reeds; Ollie Elder Jr., bass; Don Littleton, drums, percussion. 1/21/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=176 1/15/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=175 The author of Reading Lolita in Tehran uses her life to transform the way we see the world and to "remind us of why we read in the first place." 1/14/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=174 Combining two fascinating and contentious disciplines -- art and evolutionary science -- a philosopher, professor and founder/editor of the popular Arts & Letter Daily, argues that human tastes in art are shaped by Darwinian selection. 1/7/2009 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=173 Decades of conflicts and persecution have driven millions from their homes in all parts of the northeast African country of Sudan. Many thousands more have been enslaved as human spoils of war. Writers and surprise guests read alongside Sudanese refugees who recount their lives before their displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their hopes of someday returning home. 12/11/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=167 Miller, book critic and co-founder of salon.com, fell in love with the Narnia books as a child. In this intellectual adventure story, she returns to Lewis' classic fantasies to see what mysteries Narnia still holds for adult eyes. 12/10/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=166 Selected readings from Marisela Norte's debut collection of poetry, Peeping Tom Tom Girl, performed by long time friends and collaborators Norte y Gaitan. 12/8/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=165 Three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft. 12/4/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=171 Three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft. 12/4/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=159 In 1993, the Nobel committee lauded Toni Morrison "who, in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality." Come celebrate this magnificent author and her new novel, A Mercy. 11/19/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=151 America's funnyman celebrates the electricity, the juju, the breeding, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations, reminding us that "every time you use disinterested to mean uninterested, an angel dies." 11/13/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=172 How, in this age of scientific rationalism, can we begin to understand religious visions and mystical experiences--now being reported by a growing number of people on the nightly news, across the internet, and by word-of-mouth? Dr. Lisa Bitel and Dr. Michael A. Arbib discuss visions from the Middle Ages to today, especially the tensions between cultural, spiritual, and neurological explanations for extraordinary sights, and consider new ways to understand these mysterious phenomena. Made possible by a generous contribution from K&L Gates 11/10/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=158 Discussing Hebrew, Polish, and Irish writers, four of the world's best known poets examine how local politics, national realities, and cultural traditions affect great literary traditions. 11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=164 Two fiction writers discuss what's real, what's not, and whether or not it really matters. 10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=163 A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian (Battle Cry of Freedom) offers a revelatory portrait of leadership during the greatest crisis our nation has ever endured. 10/28/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=155 The Pulitzer Prize-winning author returns to the locale of her novel Gilead in a moving and healing book about love, death, faith, families, and the passing of the generations. 10/23/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=160 In his enthralling new novel, Buruma- an expert on modern Asia-uses the life of the starlet Yoshiko Yamaguchi as a lens through which to understand the contradictions and complexities of modern Japanese history. 10/21/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=150 The true story of the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, who, with extraordinary courage, compassion, and calm under pressure, managed to save hundreds of people from Nazi hands. 10/20/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=128 The writer who virtually invented the modern travel narrative returns-30 years later-to the changed landscape of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, India, China, Japan, and Siberia. 10/15/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=284 The photographer whose photographs serve as visual records for this city's dramatic evolution discusses his life and creative process. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Julius Shulman's Los Angeles, at the Central Library's Getty Gallery October 6, 2007-January 20, 2008 10/7/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=153 A leading authority on Iraq-and architect of the partition plan endorsed by both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and many members of Congress-reports on the real consequences of the U.S. invasion. 10/7/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=157 A call to arms to every voter to remember what it means to live in a free democracy, and a reminder that it's possible for ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things-to get inspired and make a difference on their own. 10/6/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=154 A historian and legal scholar tells the compelling saga of the Hemings family, whose close blood ties to our third president have been systemically expunged from American history until very recently. 10/1/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=156 Two Los Angeles-based novelists explore the rise and fall of human lives in their brilliant fictions. 9/28/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=123 One of the world's leading intellectuals revisits his political roots, scrutinizes the totalitarianisms of the past, as well as those on the horizon, and argues powerfully for a new political and moral vision for our times. 9/25/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=122 A Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter parts the curtains of secrecy to show how and why Dick Cheney operated and reflects on the legacy Cheney and the Bush administration as a whole will leave as they exit office. 9/23/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=170 Two pre-eminent war correspondents offer a visceral understanding of America's overseas involvement-from the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan to the heat of the battle in Iraq, from Marine battalions in Ramadi to ordinary Iraqis whose voices have remained eerily silent. 9/18/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=162 Detective Inspector Ray Lennox of the Edinburgh P.D., on leave for mental, finds himself in the underbelly of American party culture. A macabre and unorthodox thriller by the author of Trainspotting. 9/17/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=161 A reporter in the New York Times London bureau offers a hilarious and incisive look at her adopted home. "Lyall will now be hailed as one of England's supreme analysts, preparatory to her being executed on Tower Green." (Clive James) 9/16/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=119 A philosopher and cultural critic-whose thought challenges traditional trajectories- takes on the signal issue of violence and inverts our pre-conceived and popular notions about its causes. 9/10/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=145 Coinciding with Banned Books Week is the revelatory story behind the 1939 burning and banning of Steinbeck's book in Kern County, Calif., home of the fictional Joads. 9/4/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=98 A Community Forum & Panel Discussion 8/14/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=97 This pilot radio program (never broadcast) is comprised of excerpts from three ALOUD programs: a December 13, 2005 conversation between "Six Feet Under" writer/producer Alan Ball and writer/funeral director Thomas Lynch; a public talk on April 2, 2003 by playwright August Wilson, recipient of the 2003 Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award; and an April 4, 2005 poetry reading by W.S. Merwin. Guest Host: Alfred Molina. Co-produced by Louise Steinman and Johanna Cooper 8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=114 Featuring readings by Homeboy poets, on the deep impact creative writing can have on liberating formerly involved gang members. 7/23/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=113 Please note, this program was presented in conjunction with a photo slide show. The slide show portion of the discussion is not included in this podcast. The longtime photojournalist for the L.A. Times, who has traveled the world documenting conflict, discusses his war photography in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as work on the project "Altered Oceans," for which he shared the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. 7/22/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=112 The inside account-with a wild cast of characters- of the battle over the true nature of black holes with nothing less than our understanding of the entire universe at stake. 7/17/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=111 An account of the legal struggles of two men whose civil liberties were compromised as a result of the US government's counterterrorism measures employed post-9/11 and how their experiences affect us all. 7/16/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=110 Bardologists will love this wildly imaginative farce- think "Shakespeare in Love" on magic mushrooms-by the co-founder of The Reduced Shakespeare Company. 7/9/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=109 A long-time community arts advocate recounts the efforts of artists world-wide (from Soweto to Belgrade to Watts) to resolve conflict, heal unspeakable trauma, give voice to the forgotten and disappeared, and re-stitch the cultural fabric of their communities. 6/30/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=108 This annual poetry reading for local voices introduces a cross-section of lively, talented writers who are making an impression in the Los Angeles poetry community. 6/26/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=107 The politically charged story of the wild horse in the American West, from its origins in North America to its life today, as government and lone operators with automatic weapons seek to clear it from the range. 6/24/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=106 First time author and three-time Oscar nominated actress (An Officer and a Gentleman, Terms of Endearment, and Shadowlands), Winger reflects upon her pursuit of a life beyond acting, converting her star status into a life filled with meaning. 6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=105 How does your mind know where your body ends and the outside world begins? Two acclaimed science writers discuss the largely unconscious ways that your brain builds maps of your body parts, your movements, the space around your body, the actions of others, and the sensations that lead to human emotions, health and disease. Made possible by a generous contribution from K&L Gates 6/17/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=104 One of America's most admired journalists offers a manifesto for enlightened reform of the nation's military-industrial complex. 6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=88 A page-turning chronicle of the rise of the secretive think tank--born in the wake of World War II--that has been the driving force behind American government for the last half-century. 6/11/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=103 Rising concerns over food safety and the environmental impact of industrialized agriculture suggest that the true costs of "cheap" calories are unsustainably high. As our food economy fast approaches its limits, California's innovative food community offers hope and a salad bar full of possible solutions. 6/9/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=102 A candid account of a year in the life of four TFA recruits at Locke High School in South Central L.A. as they attempt to fulfill their mission to overcome the inequities in our educational system. 6/4/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=89 The author of House of Sand and Fog offers a new novel that explores sex and parenthood, honor and masculinity. 6/3/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=101 An acclaimed poet offers an unsparing portrait of her father-a civil rights leader and Episcopalian bishop of New York City- that explores the consequences of sexual secrets on one American family. 5/29/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=100 Greer (The Confessions of Max Tivoli) looks at the climate of repression in 1950s America and asks how far we are willing to go to escape that which confines us. 5/28/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=90 How do our brains construct a world from a confounding and often conflicting mass of visual cues? According to Koch, professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Biology at Caltech, understanding how we see helps us understand how we arrive at a sense of a conscious "self." This series made possible by a generous contribution from K&L Gates. 5/21/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=91 "This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else," begins the new work by Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International and one of our most distinguished thinkers. 5/20/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=93 Drawn from a three-decades-long conversation with the Dalai Lama, Iyer's book explores the hidden life, the singular thinking, and the daily challenges of a global icon. 5/13/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=120 McSweeney's, publisher of the young and hip, brings us a debut novel of breadth, glee and sharp consequence by a 90-year-old ex-Marine who is also a two-time screenwriting Oscar nominee (Bad Day at Black Rock) and co-creator of Mr. Magoo. 5/6/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=117 Larry McMurtry-Pulitzer prize-winning novelist, Academy Award-winning, screenwriter, essayist, and bookseller-will receive the 2008 Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award on April 30. As part of the tradition of the Literary Award, the recipient delivers a free public lecture. Join Mr. McMurtry for an afternoon of insights into his work and his life. "No other author has so thoroughly and delightfully debunked the ill-advised romanticism of the American West. An American landmark in the world of fiction." (Jami Edwards, on Bookreporter.com). 5/1/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=116 One of America's "most exquisite storytellers" (Esquire), a master of the memoir and the short story, reads from and discusses his first collection in over a decade. 4/28/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=95 The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the bestseller Ghost Wars presents the story of the Bin Laden family's rise to power and privilege, revealing how American influences changed the family and how one member's rebellion changed America. 4/16/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=115 Few things are as fundamental to human happiness as satisfying sex. America's funniest science writer (Stiff) offers an ode to a fascinating and vital pursuit and a reminder that there is still much to learn. 4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=92 Rosen, novelist and New York Times contributor, sets out to explore birdwatching's centrality--historical and literary, spiritual and scientific--to a culture torn between the desire both to conquer and to conserve. 4/1/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=86 Millner, a young African-American woman, grew up in predominantly Hispanic and working class San Jose and went on to Harvard. In her memoir she tours the landscapes of possibility carved by race, class and culture for young Americans. 3/27/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=94 From a great American realist-the author of Clockers and co-writer of The Wire-an X-ray of the streets of New York City in the age of no "broken windows" and "quality of life" police squads. 3/25/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=85 In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture was first created in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. Join us for a discussion of the lost world of comic books, their creativity, irreverence, and suspicion of authority. 3/19/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=84 In her new novel, the author of the now classic The Good Mother and While I Was Gone brings emotional power to her most transfixing themes: the meaning of loyalty, history, forgiveness and grace. 3/18/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=68 Drawing on 35 years of reporting-through wars, revolutions and uprisings-one of America's most prescient journalists offers an insightful reckoning of the changes wracking the Middle East and their impact on its and America's future. 3/13/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=83 Iran, as any civilization, is defined most thoroughly by the stories it spawns. Join us for a candid conversation between novelist Gina Nahai (Caspian Rain) and Robert Scheer (editor-in-chief, Truthdig.com and host of KCRW's Left, Right and Center) about faith, modernism, and the emotional ties that bind the people of Iran and America. 3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=82 The prize-winning novelist (Il Postino)-for whom "neither life nor literature outside politics" is imaginable-sets his exuberant love story against the backdrop of the new Chile, free from the Pinochet dictatorship but prey to the perils of globalization. 3/5/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=81 The Pulitzer Prize-winning author reveals the powerful legacy of the incomparable humanitarian who lost his life in a terrorist attack on UN Headquarters in Iraq in 2003. 2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=80 From the author of Freethinkers, a dazzlingly insightful-and occasionally hilarious-analysis of the anti-rationalism, anti-intellectualism, and anti-scientism that increasingly characterizes the cultural and intellectual life of this country. 2/26/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=79 The two-term mayor of San Francisco and longest-serving speaker of the California Assembly lays down some candid rules about surviving and manipulating Big Money and Big Media in today's politics. 2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=67 The acclaimed poet and columnist for The Nation discusses her new book of essays dealing with sex, death, ex-lovers, politics, motherhood, aging, and learning to drive. 2/19/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=78 From one of this country's most original voices comes a masterful new novel about a young Mexican-American who falls in love while sweeping the decks of an apartment building named The Flowers. In the midst of exploding racial violence, he must decide what he values and what he can do about it. 2/13/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=66 The author of the national bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma returns with a manifesto for our times: what to eat, what not to eat, and how to think about health. 2/11/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=77 The author of Reservation Road sets his mesmerizing new novel in 1959 Japan when Haruko, a non-aristocratic woman, marries the Crown Prince and enters the sealed-off and mysterious Japanese monarchy. 2/6/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=76 Drawing on more than 6,000 pages of Leonardo's surviving notebooks, Capra reveals Leonardo-whose studies ranged from the flight patterns of birds to the mechanics of light-as the unacknowledged "father of science." 1/29/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=69 Key voices in the development of downtown Los Angeles discuss their visions for the future. 1/23/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=61 Frum-former speechwriter for President Bush-argues that Republicans, like the Democrats before them, have been the victims of their own success. He outlines a fresh vision of a GOP that can rebuild the conservative majority and elect the next Republican president. 1/16/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=65 What if you could harness the power of the free market to solve the problems of poverty, hunger, and inequality? To some, it sounds impossible. But the Nobel Peace Prizewinner who invented micro-credit is doing exactly that. Yunus's "Next Big Idea" offers a pioneering model for nothing less than a new, more humane form of capitalism. 1/15/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=75 In her unconventional biography, Freeman illuminates the psyche and mystery of Chandler and his relationship with his much older wife as well as the City of Angels, to which Chandler's work is forever wed. 1/10/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=63 Slaves harvest cocoa in Ivory Coast, make charcoal used to produce steel in Brazil, weave carpets in India. The list goes on. Bales recounts his 15-year journey in search of real world solutions to ending slavery. Bales will introduce special guest Maria Suarez, an immigrant victim of sex trafficking. 1/9/2008 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=45 Known also as an essayist, translator, and activist on behalf of poetry, literacy, and the environment, the former United States Poet Laureate (1995-1997) is a poet of great eloquence, clarity, and force. About Hass's work, poet Stanley Kunitz wrote, "Reading a poem by Robert Hass is like stepping into the ocean when the temperature of the water is not much different from that of the air. You scarcely know, until you feel the undertow tug at you, that you have entered into another element." 12/3/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=51 The longtime New Yorker writer--who once spent an evening with Jackie Onassis, smoking cigarettes and talking about men--culls from 20 years of probing and delightful cultural critiques of fashion, its personages, trends and history, to celebrate the lasting significance of its ephemeral qualities. 11/28/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=74 The New Yorker cartoonist who can explain phenomena such as "The Museum of One's Kitchen" (including the Refrigerator Door Gallery and the Cabinet of Many Teas) recently collaborated with Steve Martin on The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z. 11/26/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=56 On March 5, 2007, a car bomb exploded on Mutanabbi Street, the lively center of Baghdad bookselling, filled with bookstores, cafes, and book stalls. 30 people were killed; more than 100 were wounded. Join poets and writers to memorialize this wounding of Baghdad's literary and intellectual heart. 11/19/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=44 In this new novel by the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, an émigré Chinese writer opens a restaurant in Atlanta in a daunting attempt to find his voice as a poet, support his family, and realize the American Dream. 11/14/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=47 The iconoclastic Los Angeles Times columnist discusses how the mestizo legacy of Mexican-Americans, the largest immigrant group in the country's history, will forever change how Americans think about race and ethnicity. 11/13/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=53 A riveting account of the unparalleled drama of the quest for the human genome by the scientist who went on to be the first to read and interpret his own genome. 11/8/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=64 Evoking places as far flung as Iowa and India, Self-cultural provocateur, writer and long distance walker-teamed with legendary Gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman to explore the intimate effects of geographical environment on human emotion and behavior. 11/1/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=73 "The poet laureate of medicine" (New York Times) examines the complexities of our response to music and the particular powers of music to move us physically and emotionally, beneficially or destructively, showing how we humans are a musical species no less than a linguistic one. 10/23/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=96 The Pulitzer Prize- winning author of Stiffed and Backlash examines the post-9/11 outpouring in the media, popular culture, and political life and offers a fiercely original view of ourselves, our history, and the future we may unwittingly be creating. 10/16/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=52 Based on exclusive interviews with Supreme Court Justices themselves and other insiders, The Nine is a timely and provocative report on America's most elite legal institution by The New Yorker's legal correspondent. 10/2/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=55 One of the world's preeminent scholars of World War II history, author of the bestselling Europe: A History and Rising '44, offers a clear-eyed reappraisal and an illuminating portrait of a conflict that continues to provoke debate today. 9/27/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=50 A highly respected statistical analyst of climate discusses why and how he believes the debate over climate change, fueled by politicians and the media, has stifled rational dialogue and marginalized meaningful dissent. 9/24/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=42 Alda and Farrell, former co-stars of M*A*S*H, both authors of recent memoirs, re-unite to discuss art, activism, family, money, and fame. 9/18/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=29 Robert Alter's translation of "The Five Books of Moses" was hailed as a "godsend" by poet Seamus Heaney. He discusses with Kirsch, also a Biblical scholar, his new translation of the timeless Book of Psalms. 9/17/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=118 Gilmore's Golden Country vividly brings to life the intertwining stories of three immigrants seeking their fortunes. In Freudenberger's The Dissident, a performance artist/political activist collides with a wealthy Beverly Hills family. In these extraordinary first novels, family dynamics and cultures in collision are limned with hilarity and wisdom. 9/10/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=87 On a devastated, lawless American continent, families have only one hope: passage on a ship to Europe. A remarkable novel by one of the most inventive novelists writing in English today. 5/23/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=30 Two California-born writers-one from East L.A. and the other from the Central Valley-discuss their understanding of stories as a way to complicate our views of self, of morality, and of our relationships with the world around us. 5/22/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=43 Whether chronicling the class conflict in the African American community or exposing the failings of the government response to Hurricane Katrina, Dyson never shies away from controversy. Join two of America's most astute intellectuals in a discussion about issues that matter. 3/7/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=121 In a society in which sex is both a major obsession and a major taboo, what is the function of erotic literature? Is there a new receptivity to thinking and writing about the sexual dimension? Join two award-winning American writers for a provocative discussion. 2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=125 Aslan (No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam) and Harris (The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason; Letter to a Christian Nation) square off for the first time to debate the future of religion and its role in society. 1/25/2007 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=62 The inimitable raconteur, essayist, novelist, playwright, historian, critic and screenwriter travels in memory through the arenas of literature, television, film, theater, politics, and international society. 11/20/2006 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=72 The creator/executive producer and cast members of HBO's "Deadwood" discuss the themes and motivations that run through the series - gold, Custer, betrayal, profanity - and the remarkable accidents of history that created the wildest town in the West. 11/1/2006 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=124 The great Irish novelist--known as a pioneer for her frank portrayals of women--discusses her daring new work that explores the unbreakable bond between mother and child. "O'Brien is a storyteller, an Irish story-teller, one of an ancient tradition of storytellers, people who tell the truth." (Thomas Cahill, Los Angeles Times Book Review) 10/24/2006 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=126 Gordon, one of America's master story-tellers, probes the lives of her characters and how the workings of the world- both enormous events and intimate moments-define and change us. She discusses her writing life on the publication of the complete collection of her remarkable short fictions. 10/5/2006 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=127 Rowley, a distinguished biographer and Obst, legendary producer of films such as "Sleepless in Seattle" offer an intimate look at one of the world's most unconventional love stories. 5/1/2006 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=54 An in-depth look at the impact of Vietnam on post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy by a distinguished Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. 10/9/2002 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=265 This podcast, taken from the ALOUD archive, is a discussion from 2000's "Words In the World" series; a curated series of artists whose stories, essays, poems, novels, and films illuminated a global culture in crisis and celebration, extending their imaginations into the vast territory of the heart and the world. 5/7/2000 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=264 This podcast, taken from the ALOUD archive, is a discussion from 1999's "The Big Questions" series. A celebration of writing, reading, and public debate, "The Big Questions" features visionary thinkers in the arts, sciences, and humanities who are asking new questions, challenging accepted theories, and reframing ancient dialects. 12/5/1999 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=182 The great American writer John Updike received the Los Angeles Public Library's Literary Award in 1999. The award, given annually, is granted to a writer for his or her contribution to literature. Updike joins past winners Norman Mailer, Harper Lee, Susan Sontag, and Seamus Heaney in receiving this honor. The following recording is taken from his acceptance speech at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles' Annual Awards dinner. 4/30/1999 12:00:00 AM http://Events.LAPL.org/podcasts/PodcastView.aspx?pid=262 This podcast, taken from the ALOUD archive, is a discussion from 1998's "Racing Towards the Millenium: Voices From the American West," a predecessor to ALOUD. 2/15/1998 12:00:00 AM