92y Talks

In this episode of 92Y Talks, we present another installment of excerpts from our recent State of Democracy Summit, produced in collaboration with the Knight Foundation, ProPublica, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Democracy in Public: Kounkuey Design Initiative's Chelina Odbert, Eric Klinenberg of NYU's Institute for Public Knowledge, and Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering and host of the New York Times podcast Together Apart. As America becomes more ideologically divided along geographic lines, what roles can public spaces, both physical and digital, play in fostering public discourse and bridging divides? Their discussion follows introductions by The Knight Foundation's Lilly Weinberg and Lynn Ross from Reimagining The Civic Commons. Technology, Misinformation, and Democracy: Debora Plunkett of Harvard's Belfer Center, ProPublica's Jeff Kao, and Jevin West from the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public in conversation with Emily Tisch Sussman, host of the Your Political Playli

In this episode of 92Y Talks, we present excerpts from our recent State of Democracy Summit, produced in collaboration with the Knight Foundation, ProPublica, and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. The 2020 election season and its aftermath is perhaps one of the most tumultuous times in recent history: bringing longstanding tensions in America into violent relief and testing core pillars of the democratic process as never before. Just how did America get here and where do we go now? State of Democracy: PBS Newshour's Hari Sreenivasan, The New Yorker's Jill Lepore, Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute, and Harvard professor Danielle Allen discuss vital questions about American democracy, whom it serves and how it functions. How America Votes: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and David Becker, Executive Director of The Center for Election Innovation and Research, introduced by Evette Alexander of the Knight Foundation. The Role of the Press: The A

Huey Lewis sits down with SiriusXM’s Mark Goodman for a career-spanning conversation about his first album with his band The News in nearly two decades, Weather—a smooth, whip-smart return to the sound that helped make Huey Lewis and The News one of the biggest bands of the ’80s, earning them Grammy Awards and selling over 30 million albums. The conversation was recorded on February 17, 2020 in front of a live audience at New York's 92nd Street Y.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, director and actor Soleil Moon Frye, star of the beloved 80s and current Peacock sitcom Punky Brewster, sits down with Demi Moore to discuss her new Hulu documentary kid 90. When Frye was a teenager, she documented hundreds of hours of her life with her friends – other young stars like David Arquette, Stephen Dorff, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and more. In kid 90, Frye shares the footage for the first time, offering an unprecedented, candid, and deeply personal look at how fame impacted the lives of young actors in the pre-internet era. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y's online talks series on March 15, 2021.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, Budd Mishkin hosts a celebration of the life and legacy of Debbie Friedman, whose music continues to inspire Jews to sing out all over the world. Special guest Mandy Patinkin discusses his close friendship with Debbie, along with Debbie's sister Cheryl Friedman, Rabbi Peter Rubinstein, Rabbi Dan Freelander, Cantor Jeff Klepper, Merri and Rabbi Ramie Arian, Douglas Mishkin, Josh Nelson, Julie Silver, Elana Arian, Peri Smilow, and the Zamir Choral Foundation. The celebration was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y's online talks series on February 23, 2021.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, Annette Insdorf interviews director and co-writer Thomas Vinterberg and co-writer Tobias Lindholm about their film Another Round, which is Denmark’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards. The dark comedy has already swept the European Film Awards — winning Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Actor for Mads Mikkelsen — and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Another Round is about four middle-aged teachers and friends, who test a theory that their lives will improve if they maintain a constant level of alcohol in their blood. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y's online talks series on March 7, 2021.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, bestselling author and cultural icon Roxane Gay discusses her new Scribd Originals story Writing into the Wound: Understanding Trauma, Truth, and Language with award-winning journalist and host of Matter of Fact Soledad O'Brien. Writing into the Wound is a remarkable consideration of being human, and a skillful guide to processing our pain, by one of the finest authors and cultural critics of her generation. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y's online talks series on March 3, 2021.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, the iconic artist Christo discusses his creative process, his creative partnership with his wife Jeanne-Claude, and much more with Amei Wallach. Some of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects include the Lake Iseo project documented in the film Walking on Water, and wrapping the entire Arc de Triomphe in 270,000 square feet of silvery-blue fabric. The conversation was recorded on May 22, 2019 in front of a live audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, Pulitzer Prize winners Susan Faludi and Anna Quindlen discuss feminism, identity, and the creative spirit with Jennifer Finney Boylan. The conversation was recorded on March 30, 2017 in front of a live audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y.

In this special edition of 92Y Talks, we are launching a new series with the Regional Plan Association called Recalibrate Reality: The Future of New York, hosted by Scott Rechler, chair of RPA and RXR Realty. The series will feature conversations with top leaders in government, business, transportation, hospitality, arts, and other key sectors, with the goal of answering the question: How do We Recalibrate Reality to Create a Better and Brighter Future for New York. The first episode features Scott in conversation with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Listen here and subscribe to the Recalibrate Reality podcast for future episodes at RecalibrateReality.com.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, Annette Insdorf interviews filmmaker Ramin Bahrani about his film The White Tiger. Netflix, which is currently streaming the film, describes it as an “epic journey of a poor Indian driver,” played by Adarsh Gourav, “who uses his wit and cunning to break free from servitude to his rich masters,” played by Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, “and rise to the top of the heap.” The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y’s online talks series on February 8, 2021.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, legendary writer and performer Anna Deavere Smith, former senior advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett, and CNN’s Van Jones discuss the HBO film Notes from the Field. The film was adapted from Smith’s acclaimed one-woman show, in which she portrays a multitude of real-life characters with her signature precision. The conversation was recorded on February 19, 2018 in front of a live audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, actor, director and producer Melissa Joan Hart talks with Glamour’s Jessica Radloff about her trio of family Christmas films on Lifetime and her experiences directing Mario Lopez in the family film Feliz NaviDAD, starring alongside Jason Priestley in the holiday romance Dear Christmas, and producing the Vanessa Lachey-led Once Upon a Main Street through her production company, Hartbreak Films. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y’s online talks series on December 7, 2020.

T.C. Boyle on his selection:  It was Donald Barthelme, along with Robert Coover, Samuel Beckett, Julio Cortázar and Flannery O’Conner who spurred me to be in writing myself. Barthelme is best known for his abstract stories, like “Indian Uprising,” a story I cherish, but I’ve chosen “The School” for this program because of its tight comedic narrative and its presentation as a dramatic monologue. It works by escalation, as much of our humor does. The line, “We weren’t even supposed to have a puppy” always brings down the house. Of course, at its core, the story questions what education--knowledge itself--can do to ease the souls of a species, burdened with the foreknowledge of its own death. Sixty Stories, by Donald Barthelme. Music: "Shift of Currents" by Blue Dot Sessions // CC BY-NC 2.0

In this episode of 92Y Talks, actor/director Alison Brie and filmmakers Andrew Rossi, Sarah Amos, and Jason Sterman with Marvel.com's Angélique Roché discuss the ever-expanding Marvel Universe and their new documentary series Marvel's 616. Exploring the uniquely rich and innovative legacy of storytelling that has blossomed out of Marvel Comics, Marvel's 616 charts new terrain in the Marvel Universe –– revealing untold stories of the origins of Marvel's most beloved characters, profiling the artists and filmmakers who reinvent them generation after generation, and shining a light on the fans who push the boundaries of pop culture forward. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y's online talks series on December 2, 2020.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés, the directors of All In: The Fight for Democracy, discuss their documentary film with Annette Insdorf. The film is a powerful exploration of the struggle for voting rights in the United States, featuring Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, and is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y’s online talks series on September 21, 2020.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Rabbi Peter Rubinstein, Director of Jewish Community and Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at the 92nd Street Y, discuss the challenges confronting New York City and State and reasons to be hopeful about the future, with an introduction from the 92nd Street Y's Chief Executive Officer Seth Pinsky. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y’s online talks series on September 23, 2020.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, acclaimed playwright, producer, screenwriter and director Aaron Sorkin discusses his latest film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and his extensive body of work with Annette Insdorf. The Trial of the Chicago 7 features an evocative recreation of the late 1960s trial following arrests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and is currently available to watch on Netflix. The conversation was streamed live as part of the 92nd Street Y’s online talks series on November 9, 2020.

In this episode of 92Y Talks, Neil deGrasse Tyson—astrophysicist icon, Hayden Planetarium director, and host of National Geographic’s COSMOS ––talks with the great science popularizer Bill Nye about the making of COSMOS: POSSIBLE WORLDS and its state-of-the art visual effects, the legacy of the visionary Carl Sagan, and, in Tyson’s words, “our eternal search for answers about ourselves in the universe.” Created, executive produced, directed, and written by Ann Druyan and hosted by Tyson, the show transports viewers to lost worlds and others yet to be revealed by science. The conversation was recorded on March 9, 2020 in front of a live audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y.