Nonfiction Author Talks

The Legacy of Julia Child's Kitchen with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson

Tuesday, August 4th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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The Legacy of Julia Child's Kitchen with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson

Tuesday, August 4th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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Migrant Heart: The Cost of the American Dream and Healing Through Storytelling with Reyna Grande

Thursday, July 16th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
Award-Winning and Bestselling Author of The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home

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Your Ticket to the Best State Fair Crafts with Smithsonian Curator Mary Savig

Wednesday, June 3rd 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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Change Your Mind, Change Your Life with Nir Eyal

Tuesday, May 19th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
Internationally Bestselling Author of Hooked and Indistractable

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Change Your Mind, Change Your Life with Nir Eyal

Tuesday, May 19th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
Internationally Bestselling Author of Hooked and Indistractable

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The Evolving Relationship Between Humans and AI with Dr. Vivienne Ming

Tuesday, May 12th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
Award-Winning Theoretical Neuroscientist, Inventor, and “Demented” Author

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On a Mission: The History of US Women Astronauts with Smithsonian Curator Emerita Valerie Neal

Thursday, April 2nd 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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America’s Failed Response to the Opioid Crisis with Journalist Shoshana Walter

Tuesday, March 24th 2026 at 11:00 AM PDT
With Special Guest Host Barbara Kingsolver

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Humor, Heart, and Rural Town Stories with Michael Perry

Wednesday, March 4th 2026 at 11:00 AM PST
New York Times Bestselling Author of Population: 485 and The Jesus Cow

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Smithson’s Gamble: The Incredible History Behind the World’s Largest Museum with Smithsonian Curator Emeritus Tom Crouch

Tuesday, February 24th 2026 at 11:00 AM PST
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic with Dr. Lindsey Stewart

Thursday, February 12th 2026 at 11:00 AM PST
Award-Winning Author and Professor of Philosophy

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A New Way of Thinking About Medicine and Healing with Journalist Julia Hotz

Tuesday, January 20th 2026 at 11:00 AM PST
Journalist and Award-Winning Author of The Connection Cure

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Unlock the Secret Language of Connection with Supercommunicator Charles Duhigg

Tuesday, November 18th 2025 at 11:00 AM PST
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Journalist and New York Times Bestselling Author of The Power of Habit

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Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity with Award-Winning Journalist Joseph Lee

Wednesday, November 5th 2025 at 11:00 AM PST
Author of the Debut Memoir Nothing More of This Land

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Finding My Way with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai

Wednesday, October 22nd 2025 at 4:00 PM PDT
Bestselling Author and Education Activist

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Nuestra América: Stories of 30 Inspiring Latinas/Latinos Who Have Shaped the United States

Thursday, October 2nd 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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The Stories, Science, and History of Birds with Smithsonian Biologist Jay Falk

Tuesday, August 5th 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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On the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains with Pria Anand

Thursday, July 31st 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
Neurologist, Author, and Professor of Medicine

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Extinctopedia: A Discovery of What We Have Lost, What Is at Risk, and What To Do About It

Wednesday, June 4th 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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The Genius of Judy Blume with Rachelle Bergstein

Wednesday, May 21st 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
Lifestyle Writer, Editor, and Bestselling Author of The Genius of Judy

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The Stories, Science, and History of Trees with Smithsonian Horticulturalist Matthew Fleming

Tuesday, April 8th 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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How Women’s Liberation Transformed America: In Conversation with Clara Bingham

Thursday, March 20th 2025 at 11:00 AM PDT
Award-Winning Journalist and Author of Women on the Hill and Witness to the Revolution

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I Am Nobody’s Slave: In Conversation with Pulitzer Prize Finalist Lee Hawkins

Tuesday, February 18th 2025 at 11:00 AM PST
Award-Winning Journalist and Creator and Host of the podcast “What Happened in Alabama?”

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Exploring the Smithsonian National Gem Collection with Dr. Jeffrey Post

Wednesday, December 4th 2024 at 11:00 AM PST
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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A Navajo Investigator’s Search for the Unexplained: In Conversation with Stanley Milford, Jr.

Thursday, November 7th 2024 at 4:00 PM PST
Fabled Navajo Investigator of the History Channel’s Beyond Skinwalker Ranch and the Netflix Series The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch

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A Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats with Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Wednesday, October 2nd 2024 at 11:00 AM PDT
Presented by Smithsonian Scientists Dr. Rachel Page, Dr. Dina Dechmann, and Dr. Teague O’Mara

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Capturing the Human Drama of 9/11 and D-Day Through Oral History with Garrett Graff

Tuesday, September 10th 2024 at 11:00 AM PDT
New York Times Bestselling Author and Pulitzer Prize Finalist

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Behind the Scenes at the Space Station with Smithsonian Curator Dr. Jennifer Levasseur

Wednesday, August 7th 2024 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet with Smithsonian Curator Matt Shindell

Monday, June 3rd 2024 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War with Douglas Brunt

Wednesday, May 1st 2024 at 12:00 PM PDT
New York Times Bestselling Author of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel and Ghosts of Manhattan

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The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us: A Sweeping History of Food and Culture with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson

Tuesday, April 2nd 2024 at 11:00 AM PDT
A Library Speakers Consortium and Smithsonian Institution Collaboration

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A 50-Year Friendship with RBG with NPR Correspondent Nina Totenberg

Wednesday, March 6th 2024 at 1:00 PM PST
NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent and New York Times Bestselling Author

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A Conversation with Joy Harjo, Internationally Renowned Performer, Writer, and Poet of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Thursday, November 16th 2023 at 1:00 PM PST
The 23rd United States Poet Laureate and 2023 Winner of Yale’s Bollingen Prize for American Poetry

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Hollywood, Home, Heart, and Healing: A Conversation with Actor John Stamos

Wednesday, November 1st 2023 at 5:00 PM PDT
Three-time Emmy Nominee and Full House Star

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My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food – Author Talk with Lidia Bastianich

Thursday, September 7th 2023 at 4:00 PM PDT
Emmy award-winning public television host, a best‐selling cookbook author, restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business

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Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir: An Author Talk with Erika L. Sánchez

Tuesday, July 25th 2023 at 1:00 PM PDT
New York Times Bestselling Author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

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Not Funny – Author Talk with Academy Award–Nominated Jena Friedman

Wednesday, May 10th 2023 at 5:00 PM PDT
Comedian, Filmmaker, and Creator of AMC’s Indefensible and Soft Focus with Jena Friedman on Adult Swim

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Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands – Author Talk with Kate Beaton

Tuesday, April 4th 2023 at 4:00 PM PDT
NYT Bestselling Cartoonist of Hark! A Vagrant! and Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

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Tastes Like War: Author Talk with Grace M. Cho

Thursday, February 16th 2023 at 10:00 AM PST
2021 National Book Award Finalist and TIME and NPR Best Book of the Year

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A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America: Author Talk with Nicole Eustace

Wednesday, December 14th 2022 at 9:00 AM PST
Nicole Eustace – Pulitzer Prize–Winning Historian

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The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR: Author Talk with Lisa Napoli

Wednesday, November 2nd 2022 at 1:00 PM PDT
Virtual Chat with Acclaimed Writer, Journalist, Broadcaster, and Speaker

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Where The Children Take Us: Author Talk with Zain E. Asher

Tuesday, October 18th 2022 at 4:00 PM PDT
Zain E. Asher – CNN International Anchor and Memoirist

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Author Talk with Simon Winchester

Tuesday, September 20th 2022 at 11:00 AM PDT
Simon Winchester – New York Times Bestselling Author

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The Beauty in Breaking: Author Talk with Michele Harper

Monday, August 22nd 2022 at 6:00 PM PDT
Michele Harper – NYT Bestselling Author and NYT Notable Book

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Author Talk with Historian and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dr. Marcia Chatelain

Wednesday, August 3rd 2022 at 11:00 AM PDT
Marcia Chatelain – Author of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America

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