City Arts & Lectures

This week, a conversation between two unconventional artists, director, visual artist and author, John Waters and Aubrey Plaza, actor, comedian and producer. For nearly 50 years, John Waters has been making subversive films that playfully push all sorts of boundaries - movies like “Pink Flamingos”, “Hairspray”, and “Serial Mom”. Actor and comedian Aubrey Plaza cites Waters as a major influence of hers. She's best known for roles in “Parks and Recreation” and the second season of HBO’s “The White Lotus”. On May 9, 2023, John Waters and Aubrey Plaza came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for a rapid-fire conversation on a variety of topics -  including Waters’ first novel, “Liar Mouth: A Feel-Bad Romance”.  As any fan of John Waters would expect, the night was as filthy as it was hilarious, so this program may not be suitable to all listeners.

Ocean Vuong was not quite 30 years old when his debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, became a major literary sensation. It’s a coming of age story about a queer Vietnamese refugee, set against a backdrop of violence, poverty, and addiction. Much of it parallels Vuong’s own upbringing. Vuong is also the author of the poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and a new collection, Time is a Mother. On June 9th, 2023, Vuong came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San francisco to talk to writer/director Mike Mills, whose films include Beginners, 20th Century Women, and C’mon C’mon. 

Epidemiologist Dr. Monica Gandhi will talk about the lessons learned from COVID-19 and why she thinks new vaccines and public health methods make us well-prepared for future pandemics.  It’s the subject of her new book “Endemic: A Post-Pandemic Playbook”. She’s director at Ward 86, the HIV clinic at San Francisco General Hospital, and a professor at the University of California San Francisco.  Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Gandhi was a leading voice on every aspect of the disease, from its transmission to its treatments.  On July 24, 2023, Gandhi talked to Indre Viskontas at the studios of KQED in San Francisco.

In 2020, Brandon Taylor burst onto the literary scene with Real Life, a novel about a gay black doctoral student and his predominantly white colleagues.  A finalist for the Booker Prize, Real Life offered a comedic take on themes like privilege and prejudice. Taylor followed that with another book about young creatives, the short story collection Filthy Animals. His highly anticipated new novel, The Late Americans, follows a circle of lovers and friends during a volatile year of self-discovery. On June 2, 2023, Brandon Taylor came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Kate Schatz. Schatz is the bestselling author of the “Rad Women” book series, and Do the Work! An Antiracist Activity Book, co-written with W. Kamau Bell. 

Up-and-coming comedian Jamie Loftus has drawn comparisons to Andy Kaufman and Maria Bamford  for work that’s equal parts absurd and intellectual – from a web series born from an exercise with her therapist, to a podcast about the comic strip character Cathy.  Her new book Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, invites you to “grab a dog, lay out your picnic blanket, and dig into the delicious and inevitable product of centuries of violence, poverty, and ambition, now rolling around at your local 7-Eleven.” On May 24, 2023, Jamie Loftus came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with writer, podcaster, and media critic Sarah Marshall – which culminated in a hot dog eating contest.

By the time Javier Zamora was just five years old, both his parents had fled El Salvador to escape a United States-funded Civil War.  Zamora lived with his grandparents until the age of nine. That’s when he migrated to the U.S. In his debut memoir, Solito, Zamora retells the experience of traveling alone as a young child.  The nine-week odyssey took him across Guatemala, Mexico, and the Sonoran Desert – before he was able to reunite with his parents in California. The memoir has resonated deeply with other asylum seekers in this country. And Zamora has gone on to become an activist and acclaimed poet. On May 18th, 2023, Zamora came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Courtney Martin about being an adult, writing a book from his perspective as a child, overcoming trauma, and what it means to be an outsider in the country you call home.

  Our guest is actor and author Tom Hanks. From his breakout role in “Splash,” to his award-winning performances in “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump,” Hanks has mesmerized audiences for nearly four decades.  On May 16, 2023, Tom Hanks came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed by activist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs. Always a storyteller, Hanks shared anecdotes about author Nora Ephron, studying acting at Chabot Community College in Hayward, California and some of his most famous roles. He also talked about the crew members and other people on set who inspired his first novel, The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.

Nancy Pelosi has represented San Francisco in Congress for more than 35 years. She served as the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. Pelosi made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency – the first person to do so in more than six decades. As Speaker, Pelosi spearheaded passage of the historic Affordable Care Act in the House and led the Congress in passing strong Wall Street reforms. Her legislative accomplishments also include the passage of historic investments in college aid, clean energy and innovation, and initiatives to help small businesses and veterans. On June 19, 2023, Nancy Pelosi came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Jelani Cobb, the Dean of Columbia University’s School of Journalism and a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2015.

Award-winning television host and producer Andy Cohen is best known for Watch What Happens Live, Bravo’s late-night interactive talk show, and as executive producer of the Real Housewives franchise. His new memoir, The Daddy Diaries: The Year I Grew Up, details his experience as a glamorous but ultimately human father. Late-night parties are replaced by early mornings, Housewives drama is no match for what happens on the playground, and Cohen finds meaning in the most important job of his life. On May 19, 2023, Andy Cohen came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage interview with Manny Yekutiel.

Stacey Abrams is a political leader, voting rights activist, and bestselling author. She served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and she was the first Black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history.  Abrams has launched multiple nonprofit organizations devoted to democracy protection, effective public policy, and voting rights. She was instrumental in driving an enormous number of voter registrations in Georgia and those voters were central to turning Georgia blue in the 2020 presidential election and the Senate races. She’s the author of the non-fiction books Lead from the Outside and Our Time is Now; eight romance novels under the pen name Selena Montgomery; and the legal thrillers While Justice Sleeps and her new book, Rogue Justice.  On June 3, 2023, Stacey Abrams came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of the popular political podcast, Pod Save America, and a former senior advisor to President Obama.