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Thursday, October 15
 

6:30pm PDT

Freedom: Essays with Zinzi Clemmons
Thursday October 15, 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
$5 MI members / $15 gen public

Co-presented with Museum of the African Diaspora & Mechanics’ Institute 

Join Zinzi Clemmons in conversation with Faith Adiele on Clemmons's latest essay collection, Freedom, a deft mix of memoir, family history, criticism, and reportage, drawing on a vast range of material from Joan Didion to James Baldwin, political analysis and history to Clemmons’s own experiences across the globe. In elegiac prose, Clemmons trains her discerning eye on American institutions and mythologies, probing the bounds of liberation and autonomy to interrogate our most enduring quest—the relentless pursuit of freedom for all. Doors at 6:00pm.
Moderators
avatar for Faith Adiele

Faith Adiele

I'm the author of Meeting Faith, an award-winning account of ordaining as Thailand’s first Black Buddhist nun that is widely taught, is the subject of multiple studies, and regularly appears on essential travel listicles. I am also author of four hybrid chapbooks/memoirs about my Nigerian/Nordic/American heritage... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Zinzi Clemmons

Zinzi Clemmons

Zinzi Clemmons' novel What We Lose was a finalist for the NBCC John Leonard First Book Prize and the Aspen Words Literary Prize. A National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree, she was raised in Philadelphia by a South African mother and an American father. A cofounder of the literary journal Apogee, she lives... Read More →
Thursday October 15, 2026 6:30pm - 8:00pm PDT
Mechanics’ Institute 57 Post St, San Francisco

7:00pm PDT

A 22nd-Century Conservation Ethos for California
Thursday October 15, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm PDT
FREE, $10-$15 suggested donation

Sponsored by Heyday Books
Co-presented with KALW


California’s landscapes have long been shaped by deep relationships between people and place. But that relationship has changed dramatically over time, especially with the rise of European American settlement and the erasure of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Panelists Obi Kaufmann, creator of the California Field Atlas series; Laura Cunningham, award-winning author of A State of Change; and earth scientist and professional mountain biker Dillon Osleger examine how modern society has grown increasingly estranged from the natural world. Together, they imagine a new conservation ethos—one rooted in restoration, resilience, and reciprocity—and ask what it would take for Californians to leave the state healthier, more biodiverse, and more ecologically whole at the end of the 21st century than at its beginning. Moderated by Leslie Carol Roberts. Doors at 6:30pm.
Moderators
avatar for Leslie Carol Roberts

Leslie Carol Roberts

Leslie Carol Roberts is a writer, full professor, and interdisciplinary educator passionate about storytelling, community design, and the power of creativity to address urgent global challenges. She is President of the Northern California Fulbright Association board and has designed and taught graduate... Read More →
Speakers
avatar for Dillon Osleger

Dillon Osleger

Dillon Osleger is a geoscientist, professional trail builder, public lands policy analyst, and author of Trail Work (Heyday Books, 2026). Dillon's work focuses on the invisible infrastructure of the American West, from snow science to trail restoration to reforestation. A leading voice in public lands advocacy, his projects have highlighted the intersectional nature of trails, climate, history... Read More →
avatar for Laura Cunningham

Laura Cunningham

Laura Cunningham is a life-long artist-naturalist raised in the East Bay, author of A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California (Heyday: 2010), an in-depth exploration of the historical ecology of California. Using field sketches, oil paintings, and explorations around the state, she imagines a past of abundant wildlife shaped by fire, floods, and tribal agency... Read More →
avatar for Obi Kaufmann

Obi Kaufmann

Obi Kaufmann is an award-winning author of six best-selling books. Most famously, his 2017 book The California Field Atlas, recontextualized popular ideas about ecology, biodiversity, and geography. His subsequent books—The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Prec... Read More →
Thursday October 15, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm PDT
KALW 220 Montgomery St, Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94104
 

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