By Ethan Wolff
October in NYC is full of smart things to do, with appearances by Laurie Anderson, Martin Scorsese, inventor of the world wide web Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan. We're also looking forward to revisiting the Morgan After Hours, the origins of architecture, and taking a fresh look at conventional wisdom.
Wednesday, October 1. Delve into Michel Foucault's interest in the Swiss psychiatrist Ludwig Binswanger with Bernard E. Harcourt, editor of the new title Binswanger and Existential Analysis: Michel Foucault. Book Culture.
Thursday, October 2. Reflect on an "innovative examination of the nature of legacy and memory itself" with author Francesca Wade and her new biography Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife; Laurie Anderson, Eileen Myles, and Anne Waldman are among the contributing readers. Paula Cooper Gallery.
Friday, October 3. Glimpse Iranian life with revered director Jafar Panahi, who will be in conversation with Martin Scorsese as part of the 63rd New York Film Festival. Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Photo: Sonya Bansal.
Saturday, October 4. Reimagine Qawwali traditions through transcultural jazz, improvisation, and world music as NYC-based Sufi musical ensemble Falsa performs at the Brooklyn Museum.
Sunday, October 5. Take a bite out of Touching & Tasting: 9 Studies in Sensory Proximity, which "explores the intimate connection between flavor, texture, and human experience through interactive encounters." Museum of Food and Drink.
Monday, October 6. Join “The Father of the Web” as technologist Sir Tim Berners-Lee presents his new chronicle, This Is For Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web, looking back on his own role in inventing the internet. The 92nd Street Y, New York.
Tuesday, October 7. Organize yourself to attend a conversation with activist Eileen Flanagan as she discusses her new book Common Ground: How the Crisis of the Earth Is Saving Us from Our Illusion of Separation. Community Bookstore.
Wednesday, October 8. Examine upheaval as author Dan Edelstein leads a discussion on his new The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin, looking at shifting attitudes toward revolution from Greek antiquity to Leninist Russia. Columbia University.
Thursday, October 9. Question "What Is the Language of Taste?" at an exhibition opening at BRIC that features a panel of chefs, scholars, and local community members looking at the intersections of food and identity.
Friday, October 10. Embrace spooky season with a screening and discussion of the landmark 1944 psychological thriller The Curse of the Cat People. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Saturday, October 11. Get cultured with the Museum of the Moving Image and a day of science, film, and tastings around the microorganisms that make life delicious.
Sunday, October 12. Discover an "All-of-Society" approach to the problem of antisemitism, which contributes to the conspiracy theories and hate that threaten the fabric of American society. Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Monday, October 13. Be spellbound by a Morbid Anatomy virtual talk on Hekate, the enigmatic goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the underworld.
Tuesday, October 14. Drop the needle on a talk by storefront photography legends James and Karla Murray as they present their new record shop homage, Vinyl NYC, at the Spanish Benevolent Society—La Nacional.
Wednesday, October 15. Journey to the frontiers of biology with Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan (Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality) as he asks, "Must we be mortal?" Graduate Center, CUNY.
Thursday, October 16. Travel through time at The National Arts Club at an evening session on the origins of architecture, from the first permanent structures through the monumental works of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Mesoamerica.
Friday, October 17. Revisit the history of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) immigration to New York City with a behind-the-scenes look at a new NYPL exhibition and the talk Niyū Yūrk: Memory, Migration, and Middle Eastern Art in the City. New York Public Library—Stephen A. Schwarzman Building,
Saturday, October 18. Investigate "the business of arson" and NYC's long-time struggles around affordable housing with the Museum of the City of New York and an expert conversation on From Tenements to Towers: Redlining, Resilience, and the Burning of the Bronx.
Sunday, October 19. Address conflict in a different way after attending the Cathedral of St. John the Divine Dialogues on Divinity session Cycles of Conflict and the Healing of Hatred.
Monday, October 20. Laugh all the way to the ballot box as the Forum on Life, Culture & Society hosts a Comedy Cellar conversation about the role of humor in the 2025 NYC mayoral election.
Esposizione Rhodia Albene alla Rinascente, 1936. Marcello Dudovich.
Tuesday, October 21. Enjoy a drink and a bite of history as Poster House hosts an evening session on Posters & Cocktails: Italian Fascism, with some of the best art from the worst time in modern Italian history.
Wednesday, October 22. Fate calls you to the 14th Street Y and demos, reenactments, and conversation around The Hidden World of Jewish, Irish, and French Psychics on the Lower East Side.
Winchester Bible Leaf, David and Goliath, England, Winchester, ca. 1160–1180, single leaf on vellum, 580 × 390 mm, The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.619v, photography by Graham S. Haber.
Thursday, October 23. Linger after closing time for the next Morgan After Hours, with activities and access to current gallery shows like Renoir Drawings and Sing a New Song: The Psalms of Medieval Art and Life. Morgan Library & Museum.
Friday, October 24. Find "beauty in brokenness" with healing arts facilitator Jane Tuv as she leads a session on the ancient Japanese mending art Kintsugi, or "golden rejoining." Kvartira Books.
Saturday, October 25. Mark the 400th anniversary of the death of early Stuart Dynasty composer Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) with a Polyhymnia: The Divine Right of Kings lecture and concert at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church.
Sunday, October 26. Celebrate the imminent 250th anniversary of the U.S. with a Fraunces Tavern Museum walking tour of George Washington's New York.
Monday, October 27. Plot the Trump economy with economic expert Steven Rattner and a look at charts that delineate the radical moves of the last eight months. The New York Historical.
Tuesday, October 28. Employ common sense, or perhaps a little more than that, in seeking out public intellectual Steven Pinker and his new When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life. Temple Emanu-El.
Wednesday, October 29. Lend an ear to artist Aki Onda as he presents a listening event at CTHQ featuring field recordings and archival films from the Lower East Side's community gardens.
Thursday, October 30. Immerse yourself in intense, divergent musical traditions as The Town Hall hosts For the Love of God! A Spectacular Night of Qawwali, Sufi and Gospel Music.
Friday, October 31. Never again take a carefree shower after the New York Philharmonic's live film score for Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic Psycho. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
When a Nobel Laureate speaks, who listens? Sign up for Thought Gallery’s weekly Curriculum and get the best of smart NYC delivered right to your inbox.
