92NY Talks

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison helped Americans of all races see themselves with radical clarity in modern classics like Sula and Beloved. Her lectures on American literature and racial imagination, now available for the first time, have never been more necessary. Join The New Yorker's poetry editor Kevin Young, novelist Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, writer Sasha Bonét, and poet Reginald Dwayne Betts for a conversation that breaks open the taboos about race in American literature — and a celebration of her new collection, Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon. Drawing a direct line from the Black bodies that built the nation to the Black characters that many of the country's canonical white writers imagined in their work, Morrison's lectures are an antidote to fear and intellectual repression at a time when discussion about race in American literature has become fraught and muted — revealing that liberation is possible through language. In a celebration of the book's launch — and the reissue of her classic oeuvre — don't miss this group of distinguished novelists, poets, and scholars as they step inside the classroom with Morrison to revel in her singular brilliance — cracking the code of America's deepest fears, longings, and hopes for collective liberation.

Michael Douglas embodied the ruthless extremes of 1980s capitalism with his Oscar-winning portrayal of investor Gordon Gekko, the coldly calculating corporate raider who takes eager young stockbroker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) under his wing. "There's no nobility in poverty anymore," Bud tells his working-class dad (real-life father Martin Sheen), before embarking on a series of ethical compromises in the pursuit of quick wealth, adding an art-savvy interior designer (Daryl Hannah) to his portfolio along the way. Writer-director Oliver Stone was inspired by his own father, a longtime Wall St. broker, and several real-world financiers when he delivered this sharply critical cautionary tale, which photographs the rarified air of lower Manhattan in amber-tinted, smoke-stained hues. But the film's enduring image is that of Douglas's steely-eyed Gekko, who hungrily consumes businesses — as well as his friends and rivals — like platefuls of blood-red steak tartare.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro joins us for a conversation about the intersection of public service, personal faith, and Jewish values — and his new memoir, Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service. From an early age, Josh Shapiro learned and practiced the power of showing up, listening, and working to make peoples' lives a little better. And as Governor of Pennsylvania, he's delivered. Reflecting on what he's learned by knocking on doors, serving his community, and tackling the tough issues we face, Where We Keep the Light is Shapiro's testament to how the Jewish values instilled in him as a young man have shaped his life and career in public service. In a candid conversation celebrating the book's launch, hear Shapiro discuss his political, spiritual, and personal journey — how he's combatting political violence and hate in Pennsylvania, why we need leaders who are willing to bring people together and deliver results, why he believes there's more that unites us than divides us as Americans, his take on the future of the Democratic Party, and much more.

A neuroscientist, a philosopher and a physicist convene to discuss one of the biggest and most significant questions of all time: human consciousness, what we know and don't know about it, and whether science will ever be able to understand what makes you, you.

Join bestselling Trump biographer Michael Wolff (author of Fire and Fury and All or Nothing) and the Daily Beast's Joanna Coles for a live recording of their hit podcast, Inside Trump's Head. Combining expert reportage and in-depth character analysis, Coles and Wolff dissect the singular motivations of the most powerful man in the world. Diving deep into Trump's secrets and psyche and drawing on over a decade of incisive coverage of Trump's impact (including extensive interviews with Jeffrey Epstein), they ask to what lengths will the President go in his attempt to secure a third term? Is MAGA falling apart? And what is really behind the Trump and Epstein relationship?

Join award-winning comedian Rose Matafeo for a screening and conversation with John Oliver on her hilarious new Max Original comedy special, Rose Matafeo: On and On and On. Rose Matafeo's stand-up special crackles with insightful, self-deprecating wit as she gets candid on life in her 30s — dating culture, supporting friends through breakups, the stark differences between herself and her parents at the same age, how aging has impacted her comedy, and more. In a candid conversation, hear about the making of the special — how she took a 16,000-word note on her phone and turned it into comic gold, how her act has changed since she broke out in her 20s, stories from her life in comedy, and more.

Moderator Annette Insdorf will interview Ethan Hawke about his new film, Blue Moon. The prolific actor, writer, director and musician offers a tour-de-force performance as the acerbic lyricist Lorenz Hart, whose songs include "My Funny Valentine," "The Lady Is a Tramp," and "Blue Moon." In addition to Hawke's Oscar-nominated performance opposite Denzel Washington in Training Day (2001), he is perhaps best known for indie collaborations with Richard Linklater on Boyhood (2014), Waking Life (2001), and the BEFORE trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013) – which he scripted with the director and co-star Julie Delpy. Among his other memorable films are First Reformed (2017), Born to Be Blue (2015), Good Kill (2014), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), Hamlet (2000), Gattaca (1997), and Dead Poets Society (1989). He has also directed both fiction and documentary, such as Wildcat (2023), The Last Movie Stars (2022), Blaze (2018), and Seymour: An Introduction (2006). From a brilliant screenplay by Robert Kaplow, Linklater elicits Hawke's greatest performance yet — incarnating the self-destructive Hart on the very night that his collaborator Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) has just opened Oklahoma! on Broadway with new partner Oscar Hammerstein II. Co-starring Bobby Cannavale and Margaret Qualley, Blue Moon is a revelation of Hawke's maturation as an artist.

As Saturday Night Live marks its 50th anniversary, celebrate the genius behind one of television's most enduring cultural institutions — Lorne Michaels. In her definitive biography, Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Life, Susan Morrison — articles editor at The New Yorker — gains unprecedented access to Michaels himself, along with SNL's iconic cast and writers, offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the man who reshaped American comedy. With razor-sharp insight and hundreds of interviews, Morrison reveals the warts-and-all portrait of Michaels: a visionary tastemaker, a shrewd businessman, a relentless perfectionist, and the enigmatic force behind SNL's star-making machine. From Will Ferrell to Tina Fey, John Mulaney to Chris Rock, the legends who defined the show open up about the comedy god who made it all possible. Joining Morrison is comedian, writer, and SNL alum Bob Odenkirk, who once called Michaels "some kind of very distant, strange comedy god." Together, they'll dive into the obsessive brilliance of a man whose influence reaches far beyond late-night TV — and discuss the star-studded 50th-anniversary special that reminded the world why Saturday Night Live still matters. Expect stories, revelations, and plenty of laughs in this unmissable conversation about the genius who forever changed the face of comedy.

Kate Winslet never stops. From classic roles in films like Titanic to her indelible work on television in shows like Mare of Eastown, her acting is versatile as it is magnetic. Lee is the most recent chapter in an iconic career. Based on a true story, and following a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller (Winslet), Lee is a fascinating portrait the woman who captured some of the 20th century's most indelible images of war — including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler's private bathtub — in a full-throttle pursuit of truth for which she paid a huge personal price. Following the screening, in a live taping of Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, hear Winslet on her fascinating career and the making of the film — capturing Lee Miller's haunting story, how she prepares for her roles, stories from the set, and more.

Join acclaimed novelist and poet Victoria Redel with Sarah Jessica Parker and editor Adam Moss for a conversation about Redel's absorbing new novel, I Am You, published by Parker's literary imprint, SJP Lit. In this gorgeously crafted historical fiction set in 17th-century Holland, Redel excavates the long-overlooked story of one of the few female Dutch Masters painters, Maria van Oosterwijck, and the complex relationship she developed with her maidservant-turned-apprentice, Gerta Pieters. Following these two women as they navigate the ranks of an elite, male-dominated art world, Redel weaves a story that Sarah Jessica Parker calls "spellbinding… and impossible to forget" — a queer romance for the ages, an ode to artistic creation, and an unforgettable love story set against the heady, sensuous backdrop of the Dutch Golden Age. Praised by novelist Michael Cunningham as "a stunning accomplishment . . . a story of ferocious insights into the human psyche and the drive to create art," hailed by author Benjamin Moser as "an unforgettable picture of the erotic, entangled, tragic nature of art itself," and lauded by novelist Melissa Febos as "a profound achievement," I Am You proves how art reshapes conversations on sexual politics, class, women's rights, and how we tell and retell our histories. In celebration of its launch, hear Redel, Parker, and Moss discuss the novel — how Redel wrote a new kind of queer love story and tale of art history, what made Parker know that she had to share it with the world, and more.

Join Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis for a riveting conversation about their explosive new book, Injustice. With unparalleled access to sources inside both the Trump and Biden administrations, they pull back the curtain on the Department of Justice — an institution meant to be above politics, yet shaken to its core by fear, dysfunction, and partisan warfare. Leonnig and Davis take us inside the DOJ during and after Trump's presidency: how it was weaponized against political enemies, how long-serving employees were driven out, and how the department faltered in responding to the January 6 insurrection. They'll also examine the cautious approach of Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose reluctance to act decisively allowed critical investigations to languish — missteps with lasting consequences for the rule of law. This is a rare chance to hear two of the country's most respected investigative journalists discuss what they uncovered, what it means for American democracy today, and why the stakes in 2025 could not be higher.

Join renowned personal finance expert Jim Cramer for a crash course in how to make the most of their finances and invest smart — a conversation about his new book, How to Make Money in Any Market. Except for the one percent of the one percent, nobody learns how to make your money grow in the stock market. Jim Cramer has spent his career determined to change that, helping to demystify the stock market and help anyone — no matter what income — make the right choices for their financial future. Now a household name after twenty seasons of Mad Money with Jim Cramer, cohost of Squawk on the Street, and host of CNBC's Investing Club, Cramer shows you how to get rich by understanding the market and investing in the right growth and income stocks — ones that he can help you identify. If you feel befuddled by the market, you're not alone — Cramer is here to help. In this no-nonsense conversation, hear Cramer's well-honed disciplines for learning how the stock market really works and identifying the investments that are right for you.

Salman Rushdie, longtime friend of 92NY's storied literary community, returns to our stage for a reading and conversation with Daniel Kehlmann about The Eleventh Hour — a supremely inventive new collection about survival, death, and what comes into focus at the proverbial eleventh hour of life. Awarded the Best of Booker for his seminal debut, Midnight's Children — honoring it as the most accomplished novel to ever receive the prestigious literary prize — Salman Rushdie has been probing the depths of identity, history, and mortality to stunning effect for 45 years. In The Eleventh Hour, he turns his extraordinary imagination to life's final act with a quintet of stories that span the three countries in which he has made his work — India, England, and America. Do we accommodate ourselves to death, or rail against it? Do we spend our "eleventh hour" in serenity or in rage? Spanning private tragedy, national calamity, political parable, and simmering mystery, Rushdie's new stories further cement him as one of the boldest writers of our time. Join the internationally renowned, award-winning author for an unforgettable evening of reading and conversation in celebration of survival, freedom of expression, his new collection, and his extraordinary contributions to world literature.

Friends of the great Anthony Bourdain gather for a celebratory reading and conversation spanning the worlds of literature, food, and travel, in honor of Bourdain's restless creative spirit — and launching The Anthony Bourdain Reader: New, Classic, and Rediscovered Writing. Legendary chef, television host, and writer Anthony Bourdain was a trailblazer who changed the way we thought about food, culture, and ourselves. A larger-than-life thinker, maker, and traveler who was always greater than the sum of his parts, no aspect of his identity was more important to him than that of a writer. The Anthony Bourdain Reader is the definitive, career-spanning collection of that writing, assembled for the first time. In a celebration of his singular impact on American literature, food, and culture, join us for an intimate gathering of Bourdain's friends: chef and memoirist Gabrielle Hamilton; Patrick Radden Keefe, fellow traveler and chronicler of culture; legendary food editor and collaborator Ruth Reichl; Kimberly Witherspoon, his agent and the book's editor; and Laurie Woolever, his assistant, confidante, and biographer. From the kitchen to family life, from TV to travel through places like Vietnam, Buenos Aires, and Paris, from his teenage travel diaries to his unfinished novel, discover Anthony Bourdain behind the scenes, as you've never known him before, from the people who knew him best.

Pulitzer Prize-winning cultural critic Robin Givhan joins Monica L. Miller, professor and co-curator of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, the Costume Institute exhibition now on view at The Met, for a conversation about the crossroads of fashion, culture, identity, and art — and the life of the great designer Virgil Abloh, as told in Givhan's new biography, Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh. The first Black designer to serve as artistic director of Louis Vuitton in the brand's 164-year history, Virgil Abloh's appointment as head of menswear in 2018 shocked the fashion industry. Blurring the lines between luxury and streetwear, Abloh embodied a new way forward for his industry — and in her spellbinding new biography, Givhan shows that Abloh's story is the story of a revolution in fashion and culture, a story that upends a century's worth of ideas about race, class, creativity, and taste. Hear Givhan tell that story — from his early career as an architect to his complex relationship with mentor Kanye West to his meteoric rise and tragic death at 41 of a rare form of cancer — honoring the legacy of a singular creative force whose influence is still rippling through American culture. "Robin's look into the life and work of the late, great, Virgil Abloh is thoughtful, intelligent, honest, and masterfully crafted. Virgil's freethinking and influence on the possibilities of what creativity can be was a tour de force." — Marc Jacobs

Go behind the scenes of two iconic roles — and the wild ride in between — as Michael J. Fox joins longtime collaborator and co-author Nelle Fortenberry to discuss their new book, Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum. In the early months of 1985, Michael J. Fox did the impossible: starring in Family Ties by day, and filming Back to the Future by night. These two leading roles established him as a towering talent — Family Ties' Reagan-loving, tie-wearing teenager Alex P. Keaton defined a generation of TV viewers with his quick wit and conservative swagger, while Back to the Future's Marty McFly became a cinematic archetype: instantly recognizable, charismatic, and endlessly enduring in popular culture. The result was a time-bending stretch of work that would define Fox's career. Told with all of Michael J. Fox's warmth, wit and self-awareness, Future Boy is the untold story of that unprecedented time — and of the creative energy, ambition, and joy that fueled both projects. Don't miss this special conversation with Fox and Fortenberry as they revisit those extraordinary months and share insights and reflections on an unforgettable moment in entertainment history.

Legendary filmmaker and writer John Waters joins us for a reading and conversation spanning the arc of his remarkable career, in celebration of the new reissue of his classic early screenplays, with The New Yorker's Michael Schulman. From the shocking Pink Flamingos, which established him as a household name and set a new bar for cinematic filth, to Hairspray, the sweetly triumphant story of a dance-crazy teen in 1960s Baltimore — later adapted into a smash hit Tony Award-winning musical — John Waters' films redefined the art of trash in the '70s and '80s, and in the process blew open the doors of modern independent film. And as his early screenplays attest, Waters has long been more than filmmaker — he is a towering literary filth artist, a writer of radical and subversive wit; in other words, an intellectual in reverse. In this reading and conversation covering Waters' earliest days as a filmmaker in Baltimore to his status as the auteur king of exploitation films made for art theaters, we celebrate the entire arc of Waters' singular career, to honor the reissue of six of Waters' early screenplays — Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Desperate Living, Flamingos Forever, and Hairspray.

Join former US attorneys Joyce Vance and Preet Bharara for a conversation and special live podcast taping of Stay Tuned with Preet, about history, the law, and what it will take to save our democracy — and Vance's first book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable. "We're in this together." For the past two years, Joyce Vance has signed off posts on her the chart-topping Substack Civil Discourse with these four words as she's guided readers through a continued erosion of democratic norms. Now, in Giving Up Is Unforgivable, she reaffirms that we're in this together with a clarion call to action — putting our current crisis in historical context and sketching out a vision for where we go next. Hopeful, even as she acknowledges the daunting challenges that lie ahead, Vance is the constitutional law professor you never knew you needed, explaining the legal context, political history, and the practical reasons that the rule of law still matters. In a conversation between two brilliant legal thinkers and major figures in US law, hear Vance's political manifesto for our moment — an empowering conversation about taking action in your community, rallying for a new era of civic engagement, and finding hope when we need it most. "The most frequent question I get, from frustrated citizens worried about our democracy, is this: What can I do? In Giving Up Is Unforgivable, Joyce answers that question with actual action items. She inspires as she informs and offers pragmatic advice even as she waxes poetic about all that America is and can be. This is a shining tutorial and a reminder that we the people still have the power." — Preet Bharara

Join #1 New York Times-bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell discuss his latest book, Revenge of the Tipping Point; a fresh look at his breakthrough book, The Tipping Point. In 1996, Malcolm Gladwell published a piece in The New Yorker that became the seed of The Tipping Point. Twenty-five years after the book's publication, it remains a global phenomenon — blending social science, history, pop culture, and business to look at how a single event can spark a movement, a social phenomenon, or an epidemic. In Revenge of the Tipping Point, Gladwell draws on fresh case studies to rethink and expand on his original ideas about how trends are born, catch on, and spread. Why in the late 1980s and early '90s did Los Angeles become the bank robbery capital of the world? What is the Magic Third and what does it have to do with racial equity? How did COVID and the opioid crisis become so devastating? Hear Gladwell discuss these questions and more — The New Yorker's crucial early support of Gladwell's writing, the enormous impact of The Tipping Point, what Gladwell has learned since its publication, and what social epidemics can teach us about the future.

The Booker prize-winning author of Atonement and Saturday joins us for the launch of his audacious new novel — a genre-bending, time-traveling tour de force. For decades, Ian McEwan's novels have probed the depths of the human heart, creating unforgettable and utterly relatable characters of extraordinary moral complexity, caught in the crosscurrents of memory, history, and desire. His new novel, What We Can Know, begins at a dinner party in 2014 with the recitation of a love poem among friends and follows to 2119, in the wake of a catastrophic nuclear accident, as a lonely scholar and researcher chases the ghost of that poem. When he stumbles across a clue that may lead to the elusive poem's discovery, a story is revealed of entangled loves and a brutal crime that destroy his assumptions about the world he thought he knew. It is at once a love story and a literary detective story, reclaiming the present from our sense of looming catastrophe, imagining a future world where all is not quite lost. In a special reading and conversation with The New Yorker's editor David Remnick, hear McEwan discuss the genesis of the new novel, his creation of a new kind of speculative literary fiction, why we will never stop longing for the literature of the past even as we reach inexorably toward the future, and much more. The conversation will air on The New Yorker Radio Hour.