92NY Talks

Emmy Award winning MS NOW host Rachel Maddow and Pulitzer Prize finalist Steven J. Ross join us for an urgent conversation about the new threat of white supremacy and antisemitism in the US, and what the rise and fall of hate groups in the wake of WWII can teach us about fighting it — and Ross' new book, The Secret War Against Hate: American Resistance to Antisemitism and White Supremacy.
The American myth of a steady march toward tolerance and freedom has been shattered in the last decade by a rising tide of bigotry and antisemitism. But the truth is that the forces of hate in America have been around for a long time. In her hit podcast Ultra and her #1 bestselling book Prequel, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the fringes of our politics for the better part of a century. And in The Secret War Against Hate, Steven J. Ross tells the story of the antifascist heroes who rose up after WWII to stop the proliferation of hate groups who aimed to "finish the job Hitler had begun" on American soil.
How can we stop racism and anti-Semitism in America today? What does our history tells us about what works in this battle, and what doesn't? Rachel Maddow and Steven J. Ross, two of America's foremost experts on the fight against American fascism, join us for an urgent discussion about the history — and the future — of our fight for a more just, more perfect union.
"At a time of renewed interest in America's previous fights with fascism, no one has done more than Steven J. Ross to unearth the epic conflicts and characters at the heart of that history." ― Rachel Maddow

Twenty-five years ago, Roger Rosenblatt published the national bestseller Rules for Aging, a wry, witty guide to growing older. Not one to rush things, Roger's sequel, More Rules for Aging will be out this spring. On May 21, he will sit with Joy Behar and Alan Alda to talk about the rules in general, and as they apply to their own lives. Join us with good old friends as they consider the gifts and difficulties of one's later years, and tell hilarious, moving stories about three wonderful lives.

Join renowned economist Tyler Cowen for a live taping of his hit podcast Conversations with Tyler, featuring special guest Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies. Together, they'll explore trust, cybersecurity, and the building blocks of resilient civic institutions.
Newmark has become a deeply consequential civic leader of the internet age. Best known for creating Craigslist—a platform celebrated for its radical simplicity and user-first ethos—he has spent the last two decades supporting philanthropy that strengthens democracy. His work spans cybersecurity ("cyber civil defense"), veterans and military families, trustworthy journalism, and combating misinformation. In an era of growing polarization and distrust, Newmark's approach is guided by one pragmatic question: what actually works?
Returning to the stage at 92NY after two sold-out programs, Cowen will talk with Newmark about the pivotal choices behind Craigslist and the lessons he has drawn from years of public-interest work, exploring how to safeguard civic trust and apply solutions-driven principles in today's digital world.

Adam Phillips, the foremost psychoanalytic writer of our time, joins renowned psychoanalyst and critic Jamieson Webster for a conversation about necessity, desire, and reimagining our lives — and Phillips' new book, The Life You Want.
What do we really want from our lives — and what gets in the way? In The Life You Want, the beloved psychoanalyst and essayist Adam Phillips turns his attention to that deceptively simple question with curiosity, wit, and intellectual imagination. Phillips has long been a rare figure: a thinker who writes about desire, ambition, boredom, freedom, and frustration in ways that feel less like instruction and more like permission — to think differently, to be kinder to ourselves, to stay curious about our own contradictions. In The Life You Want, he asks what it might mean to stop chasing the lives we think we're supposed to want, and instead pay closer attention to the lives we're actually living.
Whether you're deeply interested in psychoanalysis or simply curious about how to live with honesty and imagination, join Phillips and Webster as they explore the personal and political dimensions of want, need, and pleasure — and how they can determine the course of our lives.

What does it mean to be a true communicator? Two of the best, Academy Award-nominated actor Alan Alda and astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson discuss Alda's book, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? It's a guide to improving the way we relate to each other using improv games, storytelling, acting, empathy, science and our own innate abilities.