SATURDAY, JUNE 17 - SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2023
7:00 PM - 2:00 AM EST
CENTRAL LIBRARY

6:00PM

BPL Welcome
Virtual | 6:00PM to 6:05PM | 5 mins.

6:05PM

Advice to America: Keynote Monologue
Co-Curated by Peter Catapano of The New York Times, Ai Weiwei's keynote asks What is America? and what it means that it's image fails to match its actions.
Virtual | 6:05PM to 6:15PM | 8 mins.

6:15PM

Advice to America: Monologue 1 - Solidarity
Astra Taylor explains why, at the dawn of a new presidency, solidarity is more meaningful than unity.
Virtual | 6:15PM to 6:20PM | 8 mins.

6:20PM

Philosophers Talkback, & Introducing Truths to Live By
Ian Olasov
Virtual | 6:20PM to 6:30PM | 8 mins.

6:30PM

Keynote Concert
In which the Brooklyn Night of Ideas Live Stream merges with the Paris one for a concert by the inimitable Patti Smith.
Virtual | 6:30PM to 6:50PM | 16 mins.

6:50PM

Advice to America: Monologue 2 - On Discernment of Truth
Salecl argues that we must be careful to discern between convenient truths and actual verifiable ones.
Virtual | 6:50PM to 7:00PM | 9 mins.

7:00PM

Advice to America: Monologue 3 - The Trouble with Advice
When asked for a monolgue offering advice to America, philosopher Agnes Callard warns against the pitfalls of giving advice in the first place.
Virtual | 7:00PM to 7:10PM | 8 mins.

7:10PM

This is America: Is this America? What is America? Panel
In this pointed panel in the aftermath of the Capitol Hill attacks and at the dawn of a new presidency, our panelists contend with versions of America that fall flat.
Virtual | 7:10PM to 7:50PM | 40 mins.

7:50PM

Audience Talkback with Truth to Live By presentation
Virtual | 7:50PM to 7:55PM | 5 mins.

7:55PM

National Sawdust Presents: Emel Mathlouthi
Traveling between experimental, electronic, North-African, Arabic, or cinematic music Emel Mathlouthi delivers a sound that’s as sensitive and non-conformist as herself, far from clichés and easy categories. Mathlouthi, whose protest song "Kelmti Horra" ("My Word is Free"), became an anthem for the Tunisian revolution and the Arab Spring, will give an intimate concert accompanying herself on guitar.
Virtual | 7:55PM to 8:15PM | 20 mins.

8:15PM

Advice to America: Monologue 4 - A Just Migration Policy
In a talk that is at once personal, historical and political, acclaimed author Suketu Mehta offers a new vision for United States immigration policy.
Virtual | 8:15PM to 8:20PM | 8 mins.

8:20PM

Audience Talkback
Virtual | 8:20PM to 8:25PM | 3 mins.

8:25PM

National Sawdust Presents: Ash Koosha and Yona
From the underground punk scene in a repressive Tehran to the creation of an auxiliary human named YONA, the polymath performer and self-described “software humanist” Ash Koosha lives on the front lines of the musical vanguard, both real and virtual. Created in collaboration with Isabella Winthrop using software that creates sentences, melodies, and singing, YONA produces original compositions via a complex text-to-speech process. Ash and YONA will perform “self-generated” love songs, pushing the boundaries of emotion and humanity in machine collaboration.
Virtual | 8:25PM to 8:45PM | 19 mins.

8:45PM

Advice to America: Monologue 5 - Two Scenes From a Psychoanalyst to America
Jamieson Webster, author and psychoanalyst, compares Freud's speculation about the ice age with what she saw helping family members of Covid victims grieve.
Virtual | 8:45PM to 8:55PM | 8 mins.

8:55PM

Advice to America: Monologue 6 - American Democracy Colorized
In arguments bookending the last administration, the historian, author and artist Nell Irvin Painter critiques the use of violent, divisive colorization in public discourse.
Virtual | 8:55PM to 9:00PM | 7 mins.

9:00PM

On Solitude
Virtual | 9:00PM to 9:20PM | 20 mins.

9:20PM

Truths to Live By: What's your personal philosophy?
Virtual | 9:20PM to 9:30PM | 10 mins.

9:30PM

Audience Talkback on Solitude
Virtual | 9:30PM to 9:40PM | 10 mins.

9:40PM

Brooklyn Art Song Society Presents: Lieder of Franz Schubert
Brooklyn Art Song Society
The Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) is one of the preeminent organizations dedicated to the vast repertoire of poetry set to music. Its mission is to preserve art song’s direct expressiveness and emotional honesty for today’s audience and future generations.
Virtual | 9:40PM to 10:00PM | 20 mins.

10:00PM

On Setbacks
Virtual | 10:00PM to 10:20PM | 20 mins.

10:20PM

Truths to Live By: What's your personal philosophy?
Virtual | 10:20PM to 10:30PM | 10 mins.

10:30PM

Audience Talkback on Setbacks
Virtual | 10:30PM to 10:40PM | 10 mins.

10:40PM

National Sawdust Presents: Emel Mathlouthi
Traveling between experimental, electronic, North-African, Arabic, or cinematic music Emel Mathlouthi delivers a sound that’s as sensitive and non-conformist as herself, far from clichés and easy categories. Mathlouthi, whose protest song "Kelmti Horra" ("My Word is Free"), became an anthem for the Tunisian revolution and the Arab Spring, will give an intimate concert accompanying herself on guitar.
Virtual | 10:40PM to 11:00PM | 20 mins.

11:00PM

On Emergence
Virtual | 11:00PM to 11:20PM | 20 mins.

11:20PM

Truths to Live By: What's your personal philosophy?
Virtual | 11:20PM to 11:30PM | 10 mins.

11:30PM

Audience Talkback on Emergence
Virtual | 11:30PM to 11:40PM | 10 mins.

11:40PM

National Sawdust Presents: Ash Koosha and Yona
From the underground punk scene in a repressive Tehran to the creation of an auxiliary human named YONA, the polymath performer and self-described “software humanist” Ash Koosha lives on the front lines of the musical vanguard, both real and virtual. Created in collaboration with Isabella Winthrop using software that creates sentences, melodies, and singing, YONA produces original compositions via a complex text-to-speech process. Ash and YONA will perform “self-generated” love songs, pushing the boundaries of emotion and humanity in machine collaboration.
Virtual | 11:40PM to 12:00AM | 20 mins.

12:00AM

Night of Ideas Closes
Virtual | 12:00AM

8:00PM

Lyrical Law: An Examination of Hip-Hop's History with the Justice System
Emerson Sykes
The ACLU's Emerson Syles unpacks government surveillance and hip hop lyrics.
Art & Music | 8:00PM | 30 minutes

8:30PM

The Truth Behind Lyrics
Mickey Factz compares contractions and paradox in his songs.
Languages & Literature Division | 8:30PM | 30 minutes

9:00PM

Sell-Out or Saving Grace?: The Moral Meaning(s) of Hip Hop
Andre C. Willis, Tricia Rose
History, Biography, Religion Division | 9:00PM | 30 minutes

10:00PM

Which American Region is the Most Important in Hip Hop?
DonWill
Panelists tout their region.
Languages & Literature Division | 10:00PM | 30 minutes
Women in Hip-Hop: Sexuality, Empowerment, Competition, Success, and a Fight For Respect
Kathryn Sophia Belle
Philosopher Kathryn Sophia Bell and artist Rapsody sit down to talk.
Grand Lobby | 10:00PM | 30 minutes

11:00PM

NYPD Detective Derrick Parker
Kenneth Montgomery
A former NYPD officer on targeting hip-hop artists.
Art & Music | 11:00PM | 30 minutes
How Gender and Sexual Intersectionality Affect Outcomes in the Hip-Hop Community
Kidd Kenn
Society, Sciences & Technology Division | 11:00PM | 30 minutes