Welcome to hivve’s fresh picked favves!!
This week, Amber Ruffin talks about casual racism, Whoopi Goldberg chats with Cicely Tyson, Ron Lieber gives tips on picking colleges, Bruce Campbell hosts a global watch party for The Evil Dead, and a neuroscientist talks about harnessing that pesky inner voice.
Culture:
Amber Ruffin broke barriers by becoming the first Black woman to write for a late night show when she joined NBC’s Late Night with Seth Myers in 2014. She now has her own talk show on Peacock and the book that she cowrote with her sister Lacey, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories in Racism, is a bestseller. Tune in to hear the authors share eye opening everyday encounters with racism in a conversation with Alison Stewart. Part of the Harry Belafonte Black Liberation Speaker Series at the New York Public Library. Free.
January 28, 8 pm ET.
https://www.showclix.com/event/crazystoriesaboutracism/tag/pub
Books:
Charles Yu started writing Interior Chinatown because he was intrigued by how some actors were cast as leads, while others were forever supporting characters. The result was a novel written as a screenplay, described as one of the funniest books of the year – and the winner of the 2020 National Book Award for fiction. Hear more as he talks to University of Texas professor Dennis Kratz. At the Dallas Museum of Art. Ticketed.
January 27, 7 pm CT.
https://dma.org/programs/event/virtual-event-charles-yu
Kerri Arsenault’s book, Mill Town, is part investigation and part memoir. It’s the story of her search for answers to explain the high incidence of cancers in the rural working class town where she grew up, a place that was economically dependent on the local paper mill. Listen as she talks about her investigation and the questions that it raised. Free. By the Montana Book Festival.
January 28, 6 pm MT.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Cuhd-z2sSpO6I72j8oSAeA
Science:
Cambridge psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen (yes, he’s cousin to comedian Sacha Baron-Cohen) believes that pattern recognition has been the key to innovation for 70,000 years and that it is a trait shared by innovators and those with autism. His new book, The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention, reframes innovation and makes the case that people with autism are an untapped resource. Tune in to hear more. At the Bristol Festival of Ideas. Donations suggested.
January 25, 8 pm UK.
https://www.crowdcast.io/e/baron-cohen/register
Economist Charles Kenny’s book, The Plague Cycle: The Unending War Between Humanity and Infectious Disease, is a fascinating look at the long tug of war between civilizations and disease. One big takeaway: Civilization is bad for health because it allows malignant microbes to easily hop between species and hosts. The good news? Modern medicine is getting faster and better. Fun Fact: Marco Polo reported that Kublai Khan would host thousands of guests, all wearing fine silk and gold masks to cover noses and mouths. Learn more at the book launch as Kenny talks to Judy Woodruff. Free.
January 26, 11 am ET.
https://www.cgdev.org/event/plague-cycle-unending-war-between-humanity-and-infectious-disease
Ever had that moment where you’re anticipating a situation and rehearsing it in your head? University of Michigan neuroscientist Ethan Kross, who studies the conversations that we have with ourselves, wrote Chatter: The Voice In Our Heads, Why It Matters and How to Harness It. Learn more as he talks to behavioral expert and MacArthur Fellow Angela Duckworth. Co-hosted by Politics and Prose and Character Lab. Ticketed.
January 27, 8 pm ET.
https://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/pp-live-ethan-kross-chatter-angela-duckworth
Politics:
Here’s another chance to hear Biden biographer and New Yorker writer Evan Osnos on America’s 46th President. While writing Joe Biden: The Life, the Run and What Matters Now, Osnos had access to Biden, Obama and other key participants. Join him as he talks to Crosscut managing editor Mark Baumgarten about how Biden’s past may hold clues to the future. By Crosscut and KCTS9. Free.
January 26, 5 pm PT.
https://crosscut.com/event/biden-presidency-biographer-evan-osnos
Who was the CIA’s billion dollar spy? Soviet engineer Adolf Tolkachev delivered valuable data to the US before being discovered and executed. Uncover more as Pulitzer Prize winning author David E. Hoffman discusses his book, Billion Dollar Spy, with legendary CIA officer Burton Gerber, who was the Moscow chief for much of the operation, and former CIA officer and cofounder of the Council on Intelligence Issues, William D. “Bill” Murray. Co-hosted by the Spy Museum and the Council on Intelligence Issues. Free.
January 27, Noon ET.
https://www.spymuseum.org/calendar/adolf-tolkachev-the-billion-dollar-spy/2021-01-27/
Kids/ YA:
Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Guts, Babysitters Club), Dana Simpson (Phoebe and her Unicorn) and Shannon Wright (Twins) are among the most popular YA graphic novel authors today. Here’s a fun chance to play Zoom paper charades – the authors draw and the audience guesses. At the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University. Free.
January 24, 4 pm ET.
https://cartoons.osu.edu/events/paper-charades-kids-edition/
Parenting:
Personal finance expert Ron Lieber’s new book, The Price You Pay For College, calls college tuition possibly the single biggest expense for a household. How do you decide what is worth paying for? How does merit aid work? Listen in as he talks about his insights with Northwestern’s Lauren Rivera, author of Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs. At the Family Action Network. Free.
January 26, 7 pm ET.
https://www.familyactionnetwork.net/events/the-price-you-pay-for-college/
Entertainment:
The Evil Dead trilogy is set to be resurrected with a new film but here’s your chance to watch the original movie with actor Bruce Campbell, who plays central character Ash. Campbell hosts a worldwide watch party, pausing scenes to share stories and answer questions. Presented by Watch With… Ticketed.
January 23, 8 pm CT.
https://www.stellartickets.com/o/watch-with/events/watch-withbruce-campbell-presents-evil-dead
Legendary actor Cicely Tyson won multiple awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama – and is launching her memoir, Just As I Am, at the age of 96. Join her as she talks about her life, acting and her views on Hollywood, with actor Whoopi Goldberg, Well Read Black Girl Founder Glory Edim and publishing executive Tracy Sherrod. Ticketed through multiple indie bookstores.
January 28, 6 pm ET.
https://cicelytysonvirtualevent.splashthat.com/
Sneak Peeks:
Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas releases her memoir, Unfinished, in February. Husband Nick Jonas interviews her on February 10. Send in questions by January 22; a select few will be answered live. Book purchase required.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-priyanka-chopra-jonas-tickets-136690241191
The Sundance festival is virtual this year. Browse the catalog for talks and informal conversations, including I Am Not Your Negro director Raoul Peck in conversation with festival director Tabitha Jackson, and a terrific panel on science and collaboration.
January 28-February 3.
https://fpg.festival.sundance.org/film/btf/catalog
Thanks for being part of hivve!!
Until the next evventful newsletter!!
Sujatha