City Arts & Lectures

On August 15, 2021, fighters entered Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, and the US-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. Over 100,000 people were evacuated, and among them, locals who had worked for the New York Times. In their book, The Last Free Women, A Daring Escape from Afghanistan. Journalists Rebecca Blumenstein and Diana Capp detailed the New York Times' efforts to get them out and the lives of four of the women after they arrived in the United States. 
 Blumenstein and Capp came to KQED Studios on August 3, 2026 to talk about the book with journalist Deepa Fernandez.

The legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer’s new book, What Could Go Right, is about the unique culture of his restaurant group, from some of New York's best known fine dining institutions like Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern to Shake Shack, a burger chain with nearly 400 locations. On October 8, 2026, Meyer came to KQED Studios to talk to Steven Wynn about what he defines as true hospitality and some of the highs and lows of his decades in the business.

Kyle MacLachlan has built a fascinating acting career, performing in everything from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks to the adaptation of the video game Fallout. In the process, he has become a beloved cultural icon. MacLachlan’s 1984 film debut was the starring role in Lynch’s Dune. He would go on to work with the experimental director on multiple projects, including the classic film Blue Velvet. For his performance as Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, MacLachlan won a Golden Globe and gained international fame. More recently, he has gained a new group of fans through his award-winning performance in the show Fallout and the crime comedy show The Lowdown, his podcasts, and social media.   On October 2, 2026, Kyle MacLachlan came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to talk with Jesse Hawthorne Ficks about his new memoir Fictional Selves.

Leila Slimani

Kristin Hannah’s award-winning, best-selling novels, including the international hit The Nightingale, celebrate the all-too-often forgotten power of women across history. Her newest book, The Women, tells the story of one woman coming of age in the turbulence of 1960s America. In the process, Hannah shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. An intimate portrait of a turbulent, transformative time in America, the novel explores a generation who were scarred on the battlefields only to return to a divided nation. On September 23, 2026, Kristin Hannah came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco to be interviewed on stage by Yangsze Choo, whose novels include The Fox Wife, The Ghost Bride, and The Night Tiger.