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Winter / Spring 2025

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February 4 Lerone A. Martin, Centennial Professor in Religious Studies and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. An insightful author and educator.

Martin Luther King’s Process of Change through Nonviolence
February 18 Tara VanDerveer, Women’s Basketball Coach, retired 2024 after 38 years at Stanford University. Winner of 4 NCAA national titles, an Olympic gold medal, and 1,216 games as head coach.

The Changing Landscape of College Athletics
March 4  Dr. Francis Fukuyama, Mosbacher Director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. Noted author and scholar focused on democracies’ cultural, political, and economic development.

The Status of Democracy around the World
March 18 Judge Len Edwards, ret.  Superior Court Judge in Santa Clara for 26 years. Widely recognized authority on juvenile and family court systems as a judge, teacher, and author.

Family Court – Current Practice and Needed Changes
April 1 Andrés Ruzo,  National Geographic Explorer, geoscientist, conservationist, author, science communicator, and educator. Exploration of an Amazon River feature that should not be there.

The Boiling River of the Amazon
May 6 Dr. Robert Hartwell,  Professor of Music History. Educator, author and lecturer at San Francisco Opera and Foothill College. Mozart led a colorful life but his last year may have been the most interesting.

Mozart’s Last Year
May 20 Darius Nabors, Adventurer inspired by his father and his love of America’s national parks.  Humorous and compassionate tales of his experiences visiting all of the national parks.

59 Parks in 59 Weeks
June 3 Steve Cushman, Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Illuminating and insightful examination of why America became fascinated with people writing about themselves.

My Book About Me, Why Do Americans Write Memoirs

Fall / Winter 2024 – 2025

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September 17 Candacy Taylor, Award Winning Author, including a New York Times notable book of the year, Photographer, Cultural Documentarian

The Overground Railroad, The Green Book and the roots of Black travel in America
October 1 Geoffrey Tabin MD, Expert Mountain Climber and Humanitarian, Co-Founder Himalayan Cataract Project, Professor of Ophthalmology and Global Medicine, Stanford University

The Himalayan Cataract Project:  Eradicating Preventable Blindness in the Developing World
October 15 Carol Porter,  Museum docent and art talks presenter, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Mary Cassatt,  American Impressionist Painter – Painting a Woman’s Perspective
November 5 Nicolas Garcia, Performer, now General Director, Pocket Opera, the Bay Area’s premiere chamber opera company

A  Bay Area Opera Experience: Discover the Magic of Opera (in English)
November 19 Raj Mathai,  Emmy award winning News Anchorman, Journalist and Sportscaster, NBC Bay Area KNTV

Life in TV News: The Good, Bad and Ugly
December 3 Jonna Mendez,  Former CIA Intelligence Officer, undercover spy, Chief of Disguise for the CIA, a real life “Q”(gadget master in James Bond films), and author.

The Master of Disguise
January 7, 2025 Ian Hodder,  Distinguished British Archaeologist, directs excavation of Çatalhöyük, Turkey.  Former Director, Stanford Archaeology Center.

Çatalhöyük: Contributions to European Civilization
January 21, 2025 John King, Pulitzer Prize finalist and long-time Urban Design Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle

Ten Significant San Francisco Buildings

Winter/Spring 2024

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February 6 Rob Nichols, President and CEO, American Bankers Association

Policy Landscape for America’s Banks
February 20 Philip Taubman, Lecturer, Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation; author; 30-year career with the New York Times

How George Shultz Ended the Cold War
March 5 Caroline Winterer, Department Chair, professor of history at Stanford University

When Weather Changed the Course of History
March 19 Dave Barry, Longtime syndicated humor columnist for the Miami Herald; author; Pulitzer Prize winner; guitarist in an all-author rock band

A Morning with Dave Barry
April 2 Eli Saslow, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; author; New York Times staff writer

Rising out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist
April 16 Sarah Parcak, Archaeologist; Egyptologist; professor of anthropology, University of Alabama; uses satellite imagery to identify potential archaeological sites

Tales from the “Indiana Jones” of Space
May 7 Roberto d’Alimonte, Dean, professor of political schience, Luiss-Guido Carli University in Rome; journalist, commentator on American/European politics

Is It Still the American Century?
May 21 Kirk O. Hanson, Seminal thinker in the field of business ethics; professor, Stanford University and Santa Clara University; Executive Director Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

The Ethics of Artificial  Intelligence
June 4 Richard Kogan, Practicing concert pianist  and psychiatrist

Ragtime:  The Mind and Music of Scott Joplin

Fall/Winter 2023-2024

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September 19 Thomas Berens,  Sales and Marketing Executive, turned avid outdoorsman

Hidden Gems Among Bay Area Parks
October 3 Ross King,  Internationally recognized authority on crucial episodes in the history of Renaissance art and architecture

Brunelleschi’s Dome
October 17 Barbara Rae-Venter,  Genetic genealogist, biologist, patent attorney; helped identify the Golden State Killer

Cracking Cold Cases with DNA: The Revolution of Genetic Genealogy
November 7 Michael Stehr,  A glorious walk through the museum with this fine artist, decorative painter and art historian

A Day at the Musée d’Orsay
November 21 David Greenberg,  A Baroque violinist weaves together the stories of classical violin and Scottish fiddle music

Bach Meets Cape Breton
December 5 Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, historian of civil rights and social justice movements, is joined by photographer David Bacon

Bracero and Guestworker Programs:  A Look at Farm Labor
January 16, 2024 Garth Illingworth,  Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz; among the thinkers behind the telescope

Discoveries from the James Webb Telescope

Winter/Spring 2023

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February 7 Rebecca Eisenberg, Santa Clara Valley Water Distric, Director: District 7

Toilet to Tap? The Surprising and Exciting Potential of Recycled Water in our Sustainable Future
February 21 Mohan Gurunathan, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Activist

The Earth on Your Plate:  How Diet Can Transform the Earth & Your Health
March 7 Frans Lanting, Award Winning Wildlife Photographer

Bay of Life:  From Wind to Whales
March 21 John W. Rick, Associate Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Archaeology Center, Stanford

The Origins of Authority in Ancient Chavin de Huántar, Peru
April 4 Thomas Fingar, Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center Scholar

Update on China and US China Relations
April 18 Abbas Milani, Hamid & Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies, Stanford

A Feminist Democratic Movement in Iran
May 2 Larry Gerston, Political Science Professor Emeritus, San Jose State University; political Analyst on NBC Bay Area

Trumpism, Racism and the Decline of American Democracy
May 16 LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, California Superior Court Judge, Retired

My Life on the Bench — What Works, What’s Broken, How to Change It
June 6 Richard Kogan, Concert Pianist and Psychiatrist

West Side Story: The Mind and Music of Leonard Bernstein

Fall/Winter 2022-2023

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September 20 Kike Calvo, Photographer, Author, Bi-Lingual Educator

The Power of Creativity
October 4 Mohan Gurunathan, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Activist

The Earth on Your Plate: How Diet Change Can Transform the Earth and Your Health
October 18 Robert Hartwell, Music Department Head and Professor of Music, Author, Lecturer, Foothill College

Secrets, Rumors, and Lies: The Life and Death of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky
November 1 Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, Marine Biologist, Author, PhD

The Blue Mind: The Many Benefits of Being In, On, or Near Water
November 15 Deanne Fitzmaurice, Pulitzer Prize Winning Photographer, Photojournalist

Luck is a State of Mind
December 6 Katie Antypas, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center Division Deputy

Supercomputing For Science: Los Altos Native Works on Big Iron
January 17 Heidi Kuhn, CEO and Founder – Roots of Peace

Turning Mines to Vines Worldwide for 25 Years

Winter/Spring 2022

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February 1 David McLain,  Photographer

The Search for Longevity
February 15 Dr. Sylvia Earle, Underwater Explorer

Creating Hope Spots in the Blue Heart of our Planet
March 1 Tim Farrell, Retired Teacher, Hogarth Collector

Gin, Sin, Sex in the City: William Hogarth’s London
March 15 David Kennedy, Stanford Professor of History, Emeritus; Founder, Bill Lane Center for the American West

How the West Was Won and What It Has to Lose
April 5 Norman Naimark, American Historian, Robert and Florence McDonnel Professor of Eastern European Studies, Stanford University

Putin and Ukraine
April 19 Michael McRay

Storyteller and Conflict Resolution Consultant

Conflict and Emotions: What Are They Trying to Tell Us?
May 3 Dr. Elizabeth Ward, Executive Director, Los Altos History Museum

The Use and Misuse of Medieval History
May 17 Akilah Carter-Francique, PhD, Executive Director – Institute for the Study of Sport, Society, and Social Change, San Jose State University

Sport: A Platform for Social Change
June 7 Dr. Richard Kogan, Concert Pianist and Psychiatrist

Beethoven’s Deafness: Psychological Crisis and Artistic Triumph

Fall/Winter 2021-2022

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September 21 Caroline Cocciardi, Author: Student of all things da Vinci

Leonardo’s Knots
October 5 Elizabeth Cobbs, Melbern G. Glasscock Professor of History, Texas A & M University

Defender of the Nation: Harriet Tubman and the Civil War
October 19 Pete McBride Photographer, Filmmaker Kevin Fedarko, Writer

Into the Grand Canyon: A 750 Mile Exploration
November 2 Carl Raymond, Professionally Trained  Chef, bringing together the worlds of food, history, literature and opera

From Dickens to Downton: The World of Victorian and Edwardian Food
November 16 Michael Kodas, Photojournalist and Educator. Senior Editor, Inside Climate News

Living With Megafires
December 7 Sean Hartley, Playwright, composer and lyricist. Director of the Kaufman Music Center Theater Wing

Four Musicals that Changed Broadway
January 18 Tina Rivers Ryan, Assistant Curator of contemporary art at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York

What’s the Deal with Contemporary Art?

Winter/Spring 2020

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February 4 Bruce Pittman,  Director of Commercial Space Development; Chief System Engineer, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley

How Billionaires Are Changing the Space Program
February 18 Mark Lapadula, Playwright and Screenwriter, Film Producer and Senior Lecturer, Yale University Film Studies Program

The Greatest Romantic Moments in Movies
March 3 David Troxel, Worked in Dementia Care for over 30 years

The Art of Dementia Care
March 17 Caroline Cocciardi, Author, Student of all things da Vinci

Leonardo’s Knots  NOTE: this lecture is cancelled due to COVID 19
April 7

 Sean Hartley, Leading Authority on the History of  the Broadway Musical

Four Musicals That Changed Broadway  NOTE: this lecture is cancelled due to COVID 19
April 21 Michael Kodas, Author and Photo Journalist

Living With Megafires NOTE: this lecture is cancelled due to COVID 19
May 5 Elizabeth Cobbs, Melbern G. Glasscock Professor of History, Texas A & M University

Defender of the Nation: Harriet Tubman and the Civil War  NOTE: this lecture is cancelled due to COVID 19
May 19 Carl Raymond, Professionally Trained Chef, bringing together the worlds of food, history, literature and opera
Foothill College

From Dickens to Downton: The World of Victorian and Edwardian Food  NOTE: this lecture is cancelled due to COVID 19
June 2 David Kennedy, Stanford Professor of History, Emeritus; Founder of the Bill Lane Center for the American West

The Transcontinental Railroad at 150: Reflections on the History of the American West NOTE: this lecture is cancelled due to COVID 19

 

Fall/ Winter 2019-2020

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September 17 Leslie Dewan, National Geographic Emerging Explorer; CEO of Tailfin, a conservation technology company

A New Approach to Nuclear Power
October 1 Dolores Davison, Professor and Chair, Departments of Women’s Studies, Foothill College

Celebrating 100 Years of American Suffrage
October 15 Thomas Fingar, Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center Scholar

Getting US China Policy Right
November 5 Carol Berkin, Former Presidential Professor of History, Baruch College

Myths of the American Revolution
November 19 Patrick Hunt, National Lecturer for the Archeological Institute of America’s Stanford Society

 

Hannibal’s Secret Weapon
December 3 Michael McFaul, Former Ambassador to Russia

An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia
January 14 Victoria Johnson, Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter College, City University of New York

Founding America’s First Botanical Garden