Monday February 17, 2020
Manhattan
1-4pm Free: Presidents’ Day: Cacao with the Founders. Join the New York Historical Society to learn about colonial hot chocolate with early American chocolate enthusiasts President George Washington and First Lady Martha Washington, as portrayed by historical interpreters, and chat with President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison. In between sips of cocoa, visit hands-on stations to learn about chocolate’s journey to the colonies, its role in the American Revolution, and its importance to the new nation. More info. [HISTORY]
7:30-9pm $16: Eat Joy: Stories and Comfort Food From Celebrated Writers. Art and food go hand in hand in this exciting new collection of culinary essays, illustrations, and recipes, Eat Joy, which explores how food connects us to others and provides comfort. Acclaimed food writer Helen Rosner leads a unique evening of storytelling and conversation, featuring several of the book’s contributors. More info. [BOOKS]
Tuesday February 18, 2020
Manhattan
6:30pm $10: Birthday Tribute Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Screening and Talkback. In honor of Toni Morrison’s birthday. the Center for Fiction will screen the award-winning documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, followed by a conversation with the director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and writer Rachel Eliza Griffith. More info. [FILM]
6:30-8:30pm Free: Illuminating Forgotten Histories: New York City’s Early Black Communities. The Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery and the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation are partnering to illuminate aspects of New York City’s early Black neighborhoods. A group of experts will address the work of discovery, preservation, and documentation of these and other historically significant, but widely-forgotten Black communities. More info. [HISTORY]
7-8pm Free: The Art of Reclaimed Wood. Klaas Armster and Alan Solomon are partners at Sawkill Lumber, a Brooklyn-based supplier of reclaimed woods. Their recent book, Reclaimed Wood, A Field Guide, is the first complete visual handbook to this popular resource, covering history, culture, salvage, contemporary uses, and practical advice. Join Armster and Solomon as they reveal the fascinating history and new uses of New York City’s hidden resource— reclaimed wood. More info. [BOOKS]
Brooklyn
7:30pm Free: Secret Science Club Presents Astrophysicist Chiara Mingarelli. Gravitational waves aren’t just fascinating phenomena—they are a whole new way to study the cosmos. Astrophysicist Chiara Mingarelli is part of a consortium of international scientists, working on new methods to predict and detect gravitational waves in an effort to understand the large portion of the Universe that remains invisible to us. More info. [SCIENCE]
Wednesday February 19, 2020
Manhattan
5-6:15pm Free: From Einstein’s Doubts to Quantum Technologies: A New Quantum Revolution. In this lecture at the Simons Foundation, Alain Aspect will first explain Einstein’s reasoning about entangled particles. That reasoning led to his conclusion that quantum mechanics is not complete, in contradiction with Bohr’s point of view. Aspect will then show how Bell’s inequalities have allowed experimentalists to settle the debate, emphasizing the most extraordinary features of entanglement and prompting the emergence of basic ideas for quantum information and quantum communication. More info. [SCIENCE]
6-7:30pm Free: What Nostalgia Was: The History of a Deadly Emotion. People once died of nostalgia. This talk uncovers the forgotten medical history of nostalgia from the term’s invention in Switzerland in 1688 to the disease’s demise in colonial north Africa in the late nineteenth century. By tracing the scientific and social conditions of possibility of this deadly form of nostalgia, Thomas Dodman seeks to grasp it as a specifically modern psychological condition and thus show the historicity of our emotions. More info. [HISTORY]
6:30pm Free: Taking on White Nationalist Violence. Waves of white nationalist violence have spread across the nation, from Charlottesville to Pittsburgh, El Paso and beyond. Now, a landmark lawsuit against the organizers of the 2017 Charlottesville march is taking on the leadership of this movement — asserting that they intentionally coordinated the violence that erupted, thus breaking the law. Join the Temple Emanu-El for a panel discussion of the lawsuit and its potential to turn back the tide of hate. More info. [CULTURE]
7-8pm Free: Susan Fowler and Gretchen Carlson in Conversation. Susan Fowler, the technology op-ed editor at The New York Times, shares her story of facing down one of the most valuable startups in Silicon Valley history–and what came after. She will be joined in conversation by journalist, author, and empowerment advocate Gretchen Carlson. Following the discussion, Susan will sign copies of her new memoir Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber. More info. [CULTURE]
Brooklyn
7pm Free: Visually Represented: Redefining “Hero” in 21st Century Comics. In an exciting panel moderated by seasoned editor Joseph Illidge, comic book creators, Vita Ayala (Livewire), Robin Ha (Almost American Girl), and Khary Randolph (Excellence, Black) discuss using the language and format of the graphic novel to tell diverse stories related to culture, sexuality, and race, and also feature protagonists who transform our idea of the traditional comic book hero. More info. [GEEK]
Thursday February 20, 2020
Manhattan
6pm $10: Biohack the World: Oral Microbiome and The Mouth-Body Connection. Join us for our 18th installment of Biohack the World as biologic dentist Dr. Gerry Curatola and Birya Biotech Founder Avisha NessAiver dive deep in holistic dental care, how the mouth and body are inextricably linked, and the future of dentistry. More info. [GEEK]
6:30-8pm Free: Storytelling and West African Cinema. Join a panel of established women filmmakers from the Sahel at the Met to discuss the power of films to capture the essence of the region and its narrative tradition. More info. [FILM]
6:30-8pm $25: The Love and Intimacy Workshop: Mastering Loneliness. In this workshop with Helen Kramer, learn to dissolve any of the misconceptions and ineffective, conditioned patterns that have interfered with your living as a liberated, lovable, and loving adult. More info. [CULTURE]
Friday February 21, 2020
Manhattan
7-8pm Free: The Fashion Photography of Rodney Smith. Photographer Rodney Smith’s whimsical work has been compared to that of Belgian surrealist René Magritte. Acclaimed for his iconic black and white images, Smith created enchanted worlds full of subtle contradictions. Join Leslie Smolan, wife of the late artist, for an evening exploring his life and art. More info. [ART]
Saturday February 22, 2020
Manhattan
12pm Free: Frick Perspectives: Northern Lights by Emma Capron. Although the Frick is not usually associated with the art of the Northern Renaissance, it holds a small but outstanding group of early Netherlandish and French paintings from the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries—one of the best in America. This lecture explores the making, meaning, and collecting of these exquisite works. More info. [ART]
Sunday February 23, 2020
Manhattan
11am-4pm Free: American Museum of Natural History Presents: Milstein Science Series: Polar Bears. Join us on the eve of International Polar Bear Day to celebrate this phenomenal species. Learn about its behavior, diet, territory and how climate change has made it a vulnerable species. More info. [NATURE]
11am-12:30pm Free: Robin Stern: Emotional Intelligence and Ethical Decision Making. The skills of emotional intelligence matter for our ability to focus our attention, make sound decisions, establish and maintain healthy relationships and physical and mental health. In this interactive talk participants will learn the skills and how they also relate to living an ethical life day to day. More info. [SCIENCE]
6-10pm $10: Museum of Interesting Things: Quack Medicine Secret Speakeasy. The Museum of Interesting Things takes over a Soho Loft for a special History of Quack Medical themed party for the Museum. More info. [GEEK]