City Arts & Lectures

Michael Tubbs has devoted his political life to fighting economic inequality in Stockton -- the Northern California city where he was born and raised.  Elected Mayor in 2016, Tubbs has worked to reinvent the formerly bankrupt city. This past year, he spearheaded a universal basic income pilot program. Already identified as a rising figure in the progressive movement, Tubbs isn’t even thirty years old yet, making him the youngest mayor of an American city of more than 100,000 people. On February 13, 2019, Mayor Tubbs came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America and a former senior advisor to President Obama. Join me now for a conversation with Mayor Michael Tubbs.

Jad Abumrad is the creator and co-host of Radiolab, a program with a unique brand of storytelling that explores science, philosophy, and the human experience. Abumrad is also the creator of “More Perfect,” a podcast about how the Supreme Court shapes everything from marriage and money to public safety and sex. On February 8, 2019, Jad Abumrad came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Alexis Madrigal, staff writer at “The Atlantic”.

Rebecca Traister has spent her career writing about politics, media, and entertainment from a feminist perspective.  In her most recent book, “Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger,” Traister tracks the history of female anger as political fuel - from suffragists protesting outside the White House during the First World War, to office workers vacating their building after Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. On February 4, 2019, Rebecca Traister came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco, to talk with Lara Bazelon, a professor of law at the University of San Francisco.  

Author Meg Wolitzer brings readers deep into the lives of others. A feminist thread runs through all of her work, including novels like “The Interestings” and “The Wife,” but nowhere is the subject of power more deeply investigated than in her newest book, “The Female Persuasion.” Campus assault, intergenerational feminism, debate, mentorship and ambition make it an especially timely story. On January 24 2019, Wolitzer came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater to be interviewed by The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik.

Dr. BJ Miller is a palliative care expert who has spearheaded a nationwide effort to change the way we approach death and dying. Rather than hospitalization and endless attempts at sustaining life, Miller advocates for a mindful, human-centered model of care that embraces dying not as a medical event, but a universally shared life experience. On January 22, 2019, BJ Miller came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater to talk with author Pico Iyer.

It has been twenty-five years since Jeff Tweedy founded the seminal alt-country band Wilco. The band still performs together, while Tweedy contributes his talents to other projects too - musical,  and now literary, with the publication of a 2018 memoir, “Let's Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc.” Tweedy’s newest solo album, “Warm,” is his most personal to date. On January 11, 2019, Jeff Tweedy came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with the writer George Saunders, author of  “Lincoln in the Bardo.”

Our guests are activist and scholar Angela Davis, and historian Ibram X. Kendi. Throughout her lifetime, Angela Davis has been a passionate voice for human rights, working from the position that the battles for African American rights, women’s rights, gay rights, and prisoners’ rights, are interconnected. Dr. Kendi profiled Dr. Davis in his book “Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.” On January 10, 2019, Angela Davis and Ibram X. Kendi came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco, to talk with Jeff Chang about the connections between capitalism, racism and sexism, and ways that activists, and all citizens, can move forward.

James Forman Jr., a legal scholar and author, has devoted his life to fighting institutionalized racism. In his book,  “Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America,” Forman writes about the war on crime that began in the 1970s, examining the role that African American judges, prosecutors, and leaders played and how it contributed to the mass incarceration of people of color. On December 13, 2018, Forman came to The Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Lara Bazelon, a professor of law at the University of California San Francisco. Join me now for a conversation with James Forman Jr.

Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris, founder of the Center for Youth Wellness, dives into how childhood adversity and toxic stress impact health. She highlights the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences, linking them to serious health issues like heart disease and addiction. Harris emphasizes the importance of advocacy, supportive relationships, and innovative therapies, such as music, in promoting healing. She discusses the complexities of diagnosing behavioral issues and the balance needed in a tech-driven world to foster children's mental health and resilience.

Kirsten Gillibrand has represented New York in the US Senate since 2009, where her major accomplishments include leading the effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and providing permanent health care and compensation to 9/11 first responders. She talks with KQED’s Marisa Lagos about her time in the Senate, being a mother and a legislator, the MeToo movement, and her new childrens’ book “Bold and Brave” profiling women suffragists.