Since 1980, City Arts & Lectures has presented onstage conversations with outstanding figures in literature, politics, criticism, science, and the performing ar...
Our guest today is writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, revered in her home country of Nigeria and in the United States, thanks especially to the popularity of her 2013 novel Americannah, a book that straddles the cultures of America and Nigeria and considers the challenges, status, and perceptions of Africans abroad. Since then, Adichie has continued to write fiction and essays on a range of issues, from identity, to grief, to the role of women. Her Ted Talk, “We Should All Be Feminists,” has been viewed by millions and heard by even more when Beyonce sampled a portion in the song, “Flawless.” Adichie is also the author of the novels Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus, the essays We Should All Be Feminists and Notes on Grief, and the story collection The Thing Around Your Neck.On March 7, 2025, Adchie came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to discuss her new novel, Dream Count, with Anna Malaika Tubbs, author of “Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us”, to be published in May 2025.
--------
1:08:32
Laurie Woolever
Laurie Woolever is a writer, cook, and former right-hand woman to the late Anthony Bourdain. Woolever’s memoir “Care and Feeding” chronicles her journey through the food world as she navigated addiction, a cultural reckoning, and unexpected tragedy. The intensity of restaurant kitchens and the rock-and-roll lifestyle of celebrity chefs make the book a highly entertaining read, as do Woolever’s nuanced and tender reflections. On March 3, 2025, Laurie Woolever spoke with Courtney Martin.
--------
32:52
Melissa Clark and Emily Weinstein
Melissa Clark is the author of more than 30 cookbooks, and a writer at the New York Times, where she appears in a weekly cooking video series. She’s known for her passionate, but casual, approach to cooking, and her love of anchovies. Emily Weinstein is the editor-in-chief of NYT Cooking and Food whose latest book is “Easy Weeknight Dinners”. On February 10, 2025, Melissa Clark and Emily Weinstein came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater to be interviewed by San Francisco Chronicle food critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan.
--------
52:17
Neko Case and Hanif Abdurraqib
Our guest today is Neko Case. The iconic alt-country musician is a founding member of the indie-rock band The New Pornographers. She’s also released numerous records on her own, featuring music from multiple genres. Now, she’s published a memoir about her poverty-stricken childhood, and the way art and a connection to nature have served as guides throughout her life. It’s called "The Harder I Fight The More I Love You". On February 8, 2025, Case came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to poet, essayist and critic Hanif Abdurraqib.
--------
1:02:17
Jeffrey Toobin
Our guest today is Jeffrey Toobin, bestselling author and CNN legal commentator. Toobin is well known for his ability to illuminate the complexities of our judicial system, and he’s covered some of the country's most sensational news stories … from the O.J. Simpson trial, to Kenneth Starr’s investigation of President Clinton, to Martha Stewart's legal battles. His newest book is called The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy. It’s about what many consider the most controversial presidential pardon in American history - Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon – and its profound implications for our current political landscape, including the ways that Presidents Biden and Trump have exercised their executive power. On February 19, 2025, Toobin came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater to talk to lawyer and legal scholar Lara Bazelon.
Since 1980, City Arts & Lectures has presented onstage conversations with outstanding figures in literature, politics, criticism, science, and the performing arts, offering the most diverse perspectives about ideas and values. City Arts & Lectures programs can be heard on more than 130 public radio stations across the country and wherever you get your podcasts. The broadcasts are co-produced with KQED 88.5 FM in San Francisco. Visit CITYARTS.NET for more info.
Österreich