Recent Free Public Talks
Video Archive
2025 (February-December)
A place to meet and talk unmediated by corporations, official spokespeople, religion, political parties, or dogma.
All events are free.
We host indoor discussions at 518 Valencia Street, near 16th, in San Francisco (close to 16th Street BART) about a dozen times a year.
To subscribe to our Talks as a podcast, paste the link into your favorite podcast software (iTunes, Podcast Addict, etc.)
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Art & Politics: Eric Drooker—Naked City
Public Talk at 518 Valencia
The inimitable Eric Drooker presents his latest graphic novel Naked City in sound and compelling imagery as only he can do it. Political artist and cartoonist Eric Drooker, known for his New Yorker covers and animation for Howl, presents a cartoon concert based on his new graphic novel Naked City. First appearing in our Public Talks series in 2008, and again in 2011, Drooker’s visual and musical presentations are intimate journeys through his iconic graphic arts.
* * * * * *
On the edge of town, three bohemians struggle to answer the question: “Is it possible to survive as an artist in the 21st century?”
A young singer with no family hitchhikes to the city and sings her heart out. Late one night, she encounters a street dancer who inspires her to have faith in her music no matter the cost. Desperate for rent money, she poses for a painter who’s abandoned landscapes for nudes.
“Drooker’s comment on the sacrifices inherent to the pursuit of the arts feels both timeless and of-the-moment, thanks to his spot-on critique of late capitalism. Any creative to ever question their craft or purpose will find themselves reflected here.”
—Publishers Weekly
This is part of a series of solo artists giving a behind the scenes and in depth look at what inspires them in the interrelationship between art and politics.
Video here.
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
HUAC and the New McCarthyism
Sixty-five years ago, in 1960, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) held its last-ever public hearings in San Francisco City Hall. Police turned fire hoses on peaceful student protesters while fiery rebukes were issued to the reactionary congressmen by Communist Party “witnesses.” This was a crucial turning point between the bone-chilling McCarthyism of the 1950s and the soon-to-explode movements for social liberation of the 1960s. We will show highlights from "Operation Abolition," the public film made by HUAC to "prove" communists dominated the protests, and Chris Carlsson will briefly describe the longer history of anti-communism set in motion by liberal democrats in the late 1930s and how Democratic President Harry Truman launched the Cold War after WWII. We welcome David Palumbo-Liu to discuss what we might we learn about today as we witness transphobia on the rise, efforts to stamp out all pro-Palestinian speech, and other attacks on resistance in a strange echo of the ghosts of Cold War hysteria eight decades ago.
Co-sponsored by Left in the Bay
Video here.
Wednesday, April 16, 7:30 pm
Explosivity! Port Chicago & Beyond
Javier Arbona-Homar is the author of the new book, Explosivity: Following What Remains, an exploration of the racial violence embedded in San Francisco's landscapes as exposed by five disastrous explosions from the last two centuries. His presentation covers the geography of memorials, critical military studies, and social practice art. Specially commissioned site photography by artist Andrea Gaffney accompanies conceptual musings on sites of explosions. Javier is an assistant professor in American Studies and Design at UC Davis, and a co-founder of the DEMILIT landscape arts collective.
Video here.
Wednesday, March 26, 7:30 pm
Lessons for the Biosphere
In our seat upon the California Coast, we who live in the territory of Yelamu are favored with remarkable biodiversity. A conversation between Obi Kaufmann, author of the California Field Atlas series, and Sara Moncada, the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone Director of Native Ecology, looks at the uniqueness of place and locates us within it. From our state rock and unique ecosystem to the concept of bioregionalism that began with Peter Berg and Planet Drum to the subject of fire in our state, join us for an exploration of the biosphere and the knowledge we gain from it.
Video here.
Wednesday, February 26, 7:30 pm
New Luddites vs. Biopiracy and AI
“New Luddites” Camila Morena and Jim Thomas (and special addition Paris Marx) join us fresh from the latest conference on biotech at Asilomar. Up close and deep in the international negotiations on biodiversity, climate change, and synthetic biology, both of them have seen how the proponents of AI are working to inject their techno-fantasies into every realm. They share a cogent presentation of what’s going on beyond our view, and how a new Luddism is the sensible response.
Video here.