Videos

Elio Morillo detailed his journey from immigrant to engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and later at Blue Origin. Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, California, hosted this event.

Nathan Masters talked about the criminal exploits of President Warren Harding’s attorney general, Harry Daugherty, and the Montana senator who brought him down. This event was hosted by Vrom…

Addiction recovery advocate Ryan Hampton argued that the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma fails to provide justice for those directly impacted by the opioid crisis. Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena…

New Yorker writer Nicholas Schmidle reported on the creation of space tourism company Virgin Galactic through the stories of its test pilots, engineers, and leaders. This virtual event was h…

Investigative reporter and journalist Nicole LaPorte reported on the 2019 college admissions scandal. This virtual event was sponsored by Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, California.

Nicholas Buccola, chair in political science at Linfield College, recalled the February 18, 1965, televised debate between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. over the civil rights move…

Howard Ruffner talked about the photos he took on May 4, 1970, when National Guard troops shot and killed four students at Kent State University in Ohio during an anti-Vietnam War protest. M…

Journalist David Davis provided a history of the first wheelchair basketball teams comprised of World War II veterans. This was a virtual event hosted by Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, Cali…

Research seismologist Susan Hough provided a dual biography of geologist Baily Willis and scientist Robert Hill and their debate of whether southern California was partial to earthquakes dur…

Jordan Blashek, a veteran and Republican, and Christopher Haugh, a Democrat and former State Department speechwriter, spoke about their road trip across America to find commonality. This vir…

Education consultant and writer Tim DeRoche looked at how school district lines are drawn and how they impact the education students receive. This event was hosted by Vroman’s Bookstore in P…

Sports writer Eric Nusbaum reported on how the construction of Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium led to the displacement of a Mexican American neighborhood in the 1950s. This was a virtual event h…

New York Times economic reporter Conor Dougherty reported on the housing crisis in the San Francisco Bay area.

Michael Cassutt talked about his book, The Astronaut Maker: How One Mysterious Engineer Ran Human Spaceflight for a Generation. The mysterious engineer is George Abbey, who had a 37 year car…

Chris Finan provided a history of alcoholism in America; from the 17th century belief that it was a sign of moral weakness to the creation of reform groups in the 19th century and today’s lo…

Father Gregory Boyle reflected on his work with gang members.

Photographers Paola Gianturco and Alex Sangster talked about young women around the world who are fighting for social and economic rights.

Rod Pyle talked about his book Amazing Stories of the Space Age: True Tales of Nazis in Orbit, Soldiers on the Moon, Orphaned Martian Robots, and Other Fascinating Accounts from the Annals o…

Julie Checkoway talked about her book, The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory, about a plan devised in 1937 by a grammar teac…

Author and actor Charlie Schroeder recounts his 15 months engaged in historical war reenactments throughout the United States. They ranged from the Civil War’s Brooksville Raid to an imagine…