City Arts & Lectures

Robert Reich, the former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, is one of today’s leading voices addressing issues of income inequality. Reich served in three presidential administrations, and recently retired from teaching at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Policy after nearly 20 years. His classes were among the most popular on campus, and the end of his teaching career inspired the documentary “The Last Class”. Reich publishes extensively on social media and is the author of more than 20 books including his 2025 memoir, “Coming Up Short”. On July 23, 2025, Reich spoke with Monika Bauerlein, the CEO of the Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit multimedia news organization that houses Mother Jones magazine and the radio show and podcast Reveal.

Emmy-nominated actress and activist Laverne Cox rose to fame through her role on Orange is the New Black, quickly becoming an important voice for transgender rights. In her debut memoir Transcendent, Cox delves into her traumas, gender identity, transition, and, in the end, her journey to healing.Laverne Cox spent years tirelessly working to make it as an actress before her breakout, Emmy-nominated role in Orange Is the New Black. She studied dance, acted in off-Broadway shows, and worked in restaurants, all while honing her craft. Now, she has appeared in award-winning movies and shows, produced the award-winning documentary The T Word, and become a leading voice advocating for queer and transgender people. In her debut memoir Transcendent, Cox delves into her traumas, gender identity, transition, and, in the end, her journey to healing.On June 11, 2026, Laverne Cox came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with filmmaker, writer, and actress Cheryl Dunye.

Dr. Vivek Murthy served as the Surgeon General of the United States under both Presidents Obama and Biden. In that capacity, Murthy shaped the federal response to the opioid epidemic, the rise of e-cigarettes, the Flint, Michigan water crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Murthy has pushed to reduce access to social media for young children, pointing out the harmful effects of bullying, a lack of in-person interactions, and harassment. Recently, Murthy has written about and spoken on the negative health effects of loneliness, calling it an “epidemic” that increases the risk of early death and other social problems. On April 16, 2024, Vivek Murthy came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk about how to combat loneliness with public radio journalist David Greene.

Eddie Huang has found success in a dizzying variety of fields, including law, comedy, food, and literature. In his 2013 memoir - Fresh Off The Boat - Huang described a tumultuous childhood as the son of Taiwanese immigrants, and a colorful path to forming his own identity – making his way through numerous subcultures and career paths – from law to fashion, comedy and now restaurants. Fresh Off The Boat was made into an ABC sitcom, but Huang stepped down as the series producer, disappointed by what he felt was a sanitized version of his life story.On June 24, 2026, Eddie Huang came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to comedian, writer, and broadcaster W. Kamau Bell about the challenges that decision brought him – from financial consequences to being scorned by Hollywood – and the profound reasons for making it, including a belief in the value of bringing trauma out into the open. The two also discussed Huang’s new novel, a romantic comedy called Come Undone.

This week, our guest is David Szalay. His novel – Flesh – was winner of the 2025 Man Booker Prize. The story begins in Hungary, and it stays close to a protagonist who moves somewhat aimlessly through life, rarely exhibiting any self-reflection. Szalay says that he wanted to write a character whose experience of the world is entirely physical, not psychological. Critics and fellow writers like Zadie Smith have praised the book for its minimalist style and stark portrait of masculinity. On April 28, 2026, Szalay came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Rita Bullwinkel, author of the novel Headshot and the story collection Belly Up.

This week, our guest is Lena Dunham, best known as the creator of Girls, an HBO series about a group of 20-somethings that one critic called “a generational event.” Her most recent television series, Too Much, is about a New Yorker who moves to London to find her way out of heartbreak.On May 17, 2026, Dunham came to the SGT to talk about her memoir, Famesick, with her close friend, journalist Michael Lewis. What looked like an enviable life – critically acclaimed work, a romantic relationship with a major musician – was actually overwhelmed by Dunham’s self-doubt - and her chronic pain from undiagnosed physical illness.

Ben Rhodes is a writer on U.S. and global politics. A contributor to the New York Times and MSNOW, and co-host of Pod Save the World, Ben has authored two New York Times bestsellers - After the Fall and The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House. His latest book, All We Say, is a sweeping look at the battle over American identity and the questions, “What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide?” through reflections on landmark speeches in American history. Rhodes previously served as speechwriter and Deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama. On June 9, 2026, Ben Rhodes came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Jelani Cobb, an acclaimed historian, staff writer at the New Yorker, and Dean of Columbia Journalism School.

NOTE: This is a PODCAST-ONLY program - the titles and contents of Adam Mansbach's books have NOT been bleeped! Adam Mansbach is a novelist, screenwriter, humorist, and cultural critic, as well as the author of the “children’s books” Go the F*** to Sleep and You Have to F***king Eat, and F***, Now There Are Two of You. His other books include Rage Is Back, The End of the Jews, and Angry Black White Boy. His latest book - written as the child who did not want to go to sleep prepares to leave the nest - is Go the F*** to College.Sociopolitical comedian W. Kamau Bell is the host and executive producer of the CNN docu-series United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell and author of The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6′ 4″, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian.On May 12, 2026, the two came to the studios of KQED to discuss Mansbach's latest book - Go the F*** to College - written as his eldest child prepares to leave the nest.

This week, our guest is Jeff Hiller. The veteran comedian and actor is hardly a newcomer, but it’s his recent role on the television series Somebody Somewhere that has finally brought him widespread recognition. In 2025, he earned an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for that performance. Hiller talks about the journey in his memoir, Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success. Fans have appreciated his captivating and heartfelt humor for decades at stand-up shows; in theater performances including Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Tempest, and most recently the 2025 revival of Urinetown; and on television series like 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Community.On May 8, 2026, Hiller came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk to Poulomi Saha about comedy, friendship, and success. Saha is an English professor and the Co-Director of the Program in Critical Theory at UC Berkeley. The evening was co-presented with San Francisco Public Library and a supporting non-profit, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Rabbi Sharon Brous is a leading voice at the intersection of faith and justice in America. She is the founding and senior rabbi of IKAR, a trail-blazing Jewish community based in Los Angeles. Brous’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. Her new book is The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend our Broken Hearts and World. On April 23, 2026, Sharon Brous came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with john a. powell, another scholar helping forge connections across political, spiritual, and cultural differences. Powell is the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute and a Professor of Law and Professor of African American Studies and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His most recent book is The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong.

This week, we’ve gone back into the City Arts & Lectures archives for a 2009 interview with the late conductor, composer, and pianist Michael Tilson Thomas. Tilson Thomas was the music director and conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 1995 to 2020 - and stayed active as its music director emeritus until the last year of his life. He was known as a champion of contemporary American music - and an innovator in presenting symphonic music - even collaborating with heavy metal band Metallica. He received 12 Grammy Awards for the San Francisco Symphony’s recordings of Mahler, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and John Adams. In June of 2008 - Michael Tilson Thomas presented “The Thomashevskys - Music and Memories of a Life in the Jewish Theater” at Davies Symphony Hall. This multimedia performance celebrated the life and work of his grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashevsky. He shares some of those stories in this program. We’ll also hear him talk with culture critic Steven Winn about “Keeping Score” the PBS documentary series which he created and hosted...and about his work with the New World Symphony in Miami. In the years since this program was recorded on January 6, 2009 - Michael Tilson Thomas continued to lead the San Francisco Symphony - and guest conduct orchestras all over the world. In 2021, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer - but continued to work and travel - and was able to take the podium at his 80th birthday celebration in 2025. Michael Tilson Thomas died at his home in San Francisco on April 22, 2026.

Over the past forty years, Gina Gershon has remained a beloved actress while constantly pushing herself as an artist, adding to her astonishing and diverse resumé. Since her small, breakout performance in Pretty in Pink, Gershon has been best known for her roles in movies (including Bound, Showgirls, Face/Off, The Insider) and television (including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Riverdale, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Assassin), but her career, and community, began as a musician and dancer. She performed at Carnegie Hall, recorded albums, and toured the United States, playing her jaw harp with Sting, Laurie Anderson, Joan Baez, Paul Simon, and Herbie Hancock. While she has not yet performed with her close friend Bob Dylan, they were sparring partners when Gershon took up boxing. On the stage, Gershon has worked with David Mamet, and performed in Sam Mendes’s Cabaret and the Tony Award-winning Boeing-Boeing. In 2007, Gershon took on a new artistic practice, publishing the children’s book Camp Creepy Time with her brother Dann. She later released her first work of nonfiction, In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind, the true story of Gershon’s search for her runaway cat. Gershon’s newest book AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs, looks back at how she learned to survive and thrive in Hollywood, tracing her brilliant and unique career to find cautionary tales, turning points, and everything in between.On April 3, 2026, Gina Gershon came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater for an onstage conversation with Gina Pell, Content Chief of The What.

This program was originally aired in June 2023. Abraham Verghese is a best-selling novelist, and a physician whose focus on healing and empathy stands out in an era when technology often overwhelms the human side of medicine. His novel Cutting for Stone is the story of twin brothers in Ethiopia coming of age on the brink of the country’s revolution. That book remained on the NYT Bestsellers List for over two years. His newest novel, The Covenant of Water, tells much of the story of twentieth-century India through a single family. Verghese’s nonfiction books are My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story and The Tennis Partner. Abraham Verghese is Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the School of Medicine at Stanford University.On May 11, 2023, Abraham Verghese came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Michael Krasny, host of the Grey Matters podcast and former host of the award-winning KQED program Forum. Krasny is the author of Off Mike: A Memoir of Talk Radio and Literary Life, Let There Be Laughter, and Spiritual Envy.