Thursday, May 24, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Great Hall; enter on 8th Avenue. $5.
Previously, The New York Times columnist and Princeton professor came to Town Hall for his books The Great American Unraveling; The Conscience of a Liberal; and the re-released classic The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008; this visit promises a similarly timely and brilliantly informed take on the economy.
Thursday, May 24, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5. Free with book purchase from UBS.
Salon CEO David Talbot delivers a bloody Valentine to San Francisco in his new book Season of the Witch, which recounts the civil strife and tragedies that rocked the city from 1967-82—but ultimately led to its rebirth and triumph.
Friday, May 25, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.
Enrico Moretti says the real divide in America is not a class divide, but a geographical one–where we live matters more today than ever. Moretti, an economics professor at UC Berkeley and author of The New Geography of Jobs, describes how the “three Americas” (big cities, old manufacturing capitals, and the middle) are shifting the economic landscape, with an unprecedented redistribution of jobs, population, and wealth under way
Monday, May 28, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.
Comedian and writer Hari Kondabolu returns to Seattle to inaugurate Town Hall’s “Scratch Night” workshop series with new stories and other material. Kondabolu gets to experiment with longer-form ideas that would be hard to do in most comedy-show settings, and the audience gets to be part of a talkback session after the set. Kondabolu is also known and beloved nationwide from appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham, John Oliver’s New York Standup Show, and his recent feature on Comedy Central Presents.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 6:00 – 7:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.
Journalist Thai Jones, the son of former members of the Weather Underground and author of More Powerful Than Dynamite, charts how anarchist anger, progressive idealism, and plutocratic paternalism converged in that July explosion, illuminating history and events of our own day and age.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.
Hanry Crumpton, who led the CIA’s global covert operations against America’s terrorist enemies and gained almost-mythical fame after 9/11, explains exactly what America’s spies do and why their secret service is more valuable than ever, teaching important lessons about national security—but also duty, honor, and love of country.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.
Former Seattle Times reporter Terry McDermott gives a comprehensive account of the decade-long pursuit and capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the real mastermind of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents, McDermott, co-author of The Hunt for KSM, explores how Mohammed and a small cadre of associates pulled off attacks—including the 1993 basement-bombing of the World Trade Center—and how infighting, lack of support, bungling, and other problems hamstrung his pursuers’ efforts to find him.
Thursday, May 31, 2012, 7:00 – 8:30pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $15-$20.
This tribute to the inspiring work of Josef Škvorecký includes a screening of Rhythm on My Heels, a feature film based on his book The Tenor Saxophonist’s Story. Shot entirely in Prague, the film has wowed critics and screened at international film festivals, and features music by internationally acclaimed Czech jazz pianist and composer Emil Viklický. After the screening, Rhythm on My Heels actors, accompanied by Viklický, perform songs from the film.
Friday, June 1, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street. $5.
David Westin, president of ABC News from 1997-2010 and author of Exit Interview, takes us inside the chaos of the newsroom, addressing basic questions about journalists today, and the industry’s central question: Is it possible for journalists to be both good at their jobs and people of good moral character?
David Hancocks: The Future of Zoos
Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:30 – 9:00pm
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on 8th Avenue. $5.
The former director of Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo addresses the future of modern zoos—and particularly the place of elephants in them. Today’s zoos need to change fundamentally, says David Hancocks—who has already led one revolution in zoo design (in the 80′s and 90′s). Zoos need to do more, he says—not only for the wellbeing of individual creatures, but for the welfare of the planet.