About this podcast
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.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 440 episodes
- Malcolm Gladwell · 1 h 23 minMalcolm Gladwell returns to examine one of America’s deadliest and most polarizing issues: gun violence. In his new book, The American Way of Killing, Gladwell investigates the…
- Rebecca Blumenstein and Diana Kapp on "The Last Free Women" · 36 minOn August 15, 2021, fighters entered Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, and the US-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. Over 100,000 people were evacuated, and…
- Danny Meyer · 39 minThe legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer’s new book, What Could Go Right, is about the unique culture of his restaurant group, from some of New York's best known fine dining…
- Kyle MacLachlan · 1 h 14 minKyle MacLachlan has built a fascinating acting career, performing in everything from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks to the adaptation of the video game Fallout. In the process, he has…
- Kristin Hanna · 1 h 5 minKristin Hannah’s award-winning, best-selling novels, including the international hit The Nightingale, celebrate the all-too-often forgotten power of women across history. Her…
- Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor · 1 h 23 minNaomi Klein and Astra Taylor, two of today’s most significant intellectuals, examine extremism and other contemporary movements in their new book, End Times Fascism. It’s a…
- Emily St. John Mandel · 1 h 9 minOur guest this week is Emily St. John Mandel, a writer whose work experiments with literary noir, speculative fiction, and horror. Her bestselling books include The Glass Hotel…
- Bryan Stevenson · 1 h 23 minCivil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson has dedicated his career to helping the poor, defending the incarcerated, and fighting for equality and justice. He is the founder and…
- Wendell Berry - In Memoriam · 59 minThis week, we remember the life of writer, poet, farmer, and environmentalist Wendell Berry, by listening back to a 2010 conversation with fellow writer and activist Michael…
- Gloria Steinem - In Memoriam · 1 h 13 minThis week, we remember the life of Gloria Steinem – legendary feminist, activist, and journalist, with a rebroadcast of a conversation recorded in San Francisco on November 9…
- Encore - Robert Reich · 1 h 4 minRobert 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…
- Edwidge Danticat · 42 minEssayist and novelist Edwidge Danticat moved from Port-au-Prince to the United States at the age of twelve and began writing about Haitian culture and the immigrant experience…
- Laverne Cox · 45 minEmmy-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…
- Encore - Arundhati Roy · 1 h 19 minThis is an encore presentation of a program originally broadcast in October of 2025. Arundhati Roy’s internationally best-selling novels include The God of Small Things and The…
- Encore - Vivek Murthy · 60 minDr. 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…
- Yotam Ottolenghi · 1 h 44 minYotam Ottolenghi is a celebrated chef and bestselling cookbook author whose newest book, Simple Too, comes out in October 2026. He is the restaurateur and chef-patron of six…
- Eddie Huang · 1 h 12 minEddie 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…
- Bella Freud · 1 h 10 minThis week, our guest is Bella Freud, clothing designer and host of Fashion Neurosis, a conversation podcast about the connection between clothes and identity. It features an…
- David Szalay · 1 h 10 minThis 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…
- Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor · 1 h 20 minThis week, our guest is Elizabeth Pryor – a professor of history at Smith College, whose work focuses on the histories of race and slavery in the United States. Pryor’s memoir…
- Lena Dunham · 1 h 27 minThis 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…
- Jose Andres · 1 h 20 minJosé Andrés is widely recognized for both his culinary achievements – including two Michelin stars, and 40 restaurants worldwide – and his humanitarian work. As the founder of…
- Ben Rhodes · 1 h 17 minBen 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…
- Boots Riley · 1 h 17 minThis week, our guest is Boots Riley, an Oakland-based filmmaker and founding member of the seminal hip hop group, The Coup. Like his music, Riley’s films are politically charged…
- Adam Mansbach & Kamau Bell - PODCAST ONLY, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE ADVISORY · 59 minNOTE: 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…
- Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen · 1 h 12 minThis week, a conversation about children’s literature with author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen. Barnett is National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and the…
- Jeff Hiller · 1 h 4 minThis 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…
- Sir Demis Hassabis and Sebastian Mallaby · 1 h 12 minDemis Hassabis is an artificial intelligence researcher, scientist, and entrepreneur. In 2010, he co-founded DeepMind, an AI research lab which is now part of Google. In 2024…
- Sharon Brous · 1 h 5 minRabbi 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…
- Ada Limon · 1 h 22 minAda Limón’s poems expertly combine brilliant observations of our complex world with a tender sincerity. As a two-term Poet Laureate of the United States, Limón focused on using…
- Michael Tilson Thomas (from 2009) · 1 h 24 minThis 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…
- Emma Straub · 1 h 9 minEmma Straub plays many roles as a leader in the literary world: independent bookstore owner, award-winning novelist, and children’s book author, to name a few. Straub is a…
- Gina Gershon · 1 h 15 minOver 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…
- Encore - Lauren Groff · 60 minThis program originally aired in 2022. Lauren Groff is a two-time National Book Award finalist and the author of four novels and two collections of short stories. Her 2022 novel…
- Encore - Abraham Verghese with Michael Krasny · 1 h 2 minThis 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…
- Michael Pollan · 1 h 13 minThis week, our guest is Michael Pollan, author of ten books including "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "How to Change Your Mind". Since the 1980s, Pollan has captivated readers on an…
- Encore - Judith Butler · 1 h 23 minThis is an encore of a program originally broadcast in July 2024. Since their foundational philosophical critique of gender and sexuality, Gender Trouble, Judith Butler has been…
- Encore - Yuval Harari · 1 h 21 minThis is an encore of a program originally distributed in 2024. Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and author, and one of the world’s most influential public…
- Sally Mann · 1 h 14 minSally Mann is one of the most significant American photographers of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Over a career spanning more than four decades, Mann has explored childhood…
- Encore - Richard Powers · 1 h 22 minThis is an encore presentation of a program originally aired in November of 2024. In this program, two novelists who've created visions of a future after significant climate…
- Tourmaline - "The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson" · 1 h 4 minLegendary activist Marsha P. Johnson was one of the most remarkable figures in LGBTQ+ history – central to the Stonewall Riots and the gay liberation movement at large. Her…
- Meghan Riepenhoff · 32 minThe work of acclaimed photographer Meghann Riepenhoff examines our relationship to nature and time, both in subject-matter and process. In projects like Litoral Drift, a series…
- Encore - Jhumpa Lahiri · 1 h 14 minThis is an encore presentation of a program first broadcast in 2023. In 2000, Jhumpa Lahiri’s debut short story collection, The Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize…
- Encore - Meg Wolitzer · 1 h 16 minWe’re going back to the archives for a 2019 conversation with Meg Wolitzer, whose best-selling books include The Interestings and The Ten-Year Nap. Wolitzer brings readers deep…
- Encore - Charlie Kaufman · 1 h 0 minThis week, we’re returning to a conversation with Charlie Kaufman, recorded in 2020. Kaufman is the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind some of the most inventive films of recent…
- Carmen Maria Machado on "I Who Have Never Known Men" · 1 h 9 minWriter Carmen Maria Machado discusses “I Who Have Never Known Men”, a 1995 novel by Jacqueline Harpman that was republished in 2022 to great acclaim. It’s a work of speculative…
- A Celebration of Eleanor Coppola, featuring Sofia Coppola · 49 minEleanor Coppola (1936 – 2024) was a conceptual artist and documentary filmmaker. She met her husband, Francis Coppola, in 1962, when she worked as Assistant Art Director on his…
- Encore - Ross Gay · 1 h 15 minThis is an encore of a program originally broadcast in May of 2025. Ross Gay is a writer with a mission: to help readers explore the beautiful complexities of joy, gratitude…
- Angela Davis with Deepa Fernandez · 1 h 24 minThe iconic activist and philosopher Angela Davis has been a major influence in global politics for more than 50 years. Davis first gained fame in the 1960s and 70s through her…
