Bret Easton Ellis: Freedom of Speech in a Digital Age

04/18/19 • 68 min

Bret Easton Ellis, the best-selling novelist and screenwriter of the darkly incisive American Psycho and other hugely popular novels, is diving into nonfiction for the first time with his provocatively titled new book White, which blends his personal perspective in the entertainment industry and his sharp cultural insight into our digital age, simultaneously defining and defending the concept of freedom of speech. While Ellis eschews the label provocateur, he remains outspoken in his frustration with identity politics and political correctness. In Ellis’ words, “Everyone feels muzzled now, and it comes down to how much you can take. Can I talk about what I’m feeling and say my opinion? You get to a point where there’s a break, a fissure, and you either decide to go through it and be yourself, or you decide to hide.” Beyond his literary career, Ellis also expounds at length on film, books, music, culture and politics on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast,” and his Twitter feed is often feisty—agree or disagree with him, Ellis gets you thinking. Join Ellis live at INFORUM as he reflects on the state of political discourse in the United States and shares his unique perspective as an unfiltered and often polarizing cultural commentator. ***This program contains explicit language***

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Ambassador William Burns: The Case For American Diplomacy

William J. Burns is widely acknowledged as a diplomatic legend, with the experience to match. He spearheaded talks that resulted in the elimination of Libya’s illicit weapons program, served as the U.S. ambassador to Russia and, most famously, initiated the opening of back channels that led to the historic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran’s nuclear program. He is only the second career diplomat to hold the office of deputy secretary of state. After serving under Hillary Clinton, he was widely acknowledged to be on Clinton's short list for secretary of state. Burns is known for being trusted by politicians on both sides of the aisle for his no-nonsense, can-do attitude. In his new book, The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal, Burns tells the story of a lifetime. From the aftermath of 9/11, the Iran nuclear deal and everything in between, Burns gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of the State Department under five separate presidencies. Join us for an insider’s account of the last three decades of American diplomacy—and the lessons to be learned from them. This program is part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

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Silicon City

San Francisco is changing at warp speed. Famously home to artists and activists, and known as the birthplace of the Beats, the Black Panthers and the LGBTQ movement, in recent decades the Bay Area has been reshaped by Silicon Valley, the engine of the new American economy. The richer the region gets, the more unequal and less diverse it becomes, and cracks in the city’s facade―rapid gentrification, an epidemic of evictions, rising crime, atrophied public institutions―have started to show. Inspired by Studs Terkel’s classic works of oral history, writer and filmmaker Cary McClelland spent several years interviewing people at the epicenter of the recent change, including venture capitalists, coders, politicians, protesters as well as native sons and daughters to the city’s newest arrivals. The crisp and vivid stories of Silicon City’s diverse cast capture San Francisco as never before. MLF ORGANIZER NAME George Hammond NOTES MLF: Humanities

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