The PRH Speakers Bureau is proud to represent speakers who keep us connected and make powerful progress toward change. As we continue to have conversations about challenging the status quo, actively fighting for justice in BIPOC communities, and grappling with COVID-19, we’ve compiled these recent articles, media, and essays from our speakers about the changing personal, political, and cultural landscapes.

We are also happy to include a roundup for you here of virtual events that are open to the public from our speakers for the upcoming week.

Virtual Events with Our Speakers

une in to these virtual Penguin Random House speakers’ book events, author Q&A’s and more that are happening this week.

Monday, October 19

• Lauren Groff speaks at Greenlight Bookstore (6:30PM EST)
• Karen Russell discusses SLEEP DONATION at Politics & Prose(8:00PM EST)

Tuesday, October 20

• Elliot Ackerman talks with Center for the Study of the Middle East(4:00PM EST)
• Tommy Orange joins members of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Indigenous Peoples Advocacy Committee for MIT Reads (5:00PM EST)
• Dani Shapiro is in conversation at the Boston Public Library (6:00PM EST)
• Carl Hiaasen talks about his latest book at the Mark Twain House(7:00PM EST)
• Cristina Henriquez speaks at University of Idaho for Common Read (8:30PM EST)

Wednesday, October 21

• Brittany K. Barnett participates in Big Ideas Night on Criminal Justice Reform (8:00PM EST)

Thursday, October 22

• Brit Bennett will be appearing on Cityline’s Facebook Live (3:00PM EST)

Saturday, October 24

• Casey Cep is in conversation at Interabang Books (7:00PM EST)

Check out #BooksConnectUsLive for more live virtual events.

News and Media from PRHSB Speakers

COVID-19 
These articles from our speakers highlight practical advice and news about the current pandemic.

• 3 Covid-19 Trials Have Been Paused for Safety. That’s a Good Thing. | The New York Times: Carl Zimmer reports that experts were comforted that companies are following safety precautions.
• Trump will be immune to coronavirus for next 3 months: Infectious disease expert | Fox: Dr. Matt McCarthy provides insight into President Trump’s coronavirus treatment and recovery.
• US poised for ‘perilous’ flu season amid high levels of Covid spread, experts say | The Guardian: Howard Markel provides his thoughts on why coronavirus transmission remains high in many regions.
• There’s a right way to handle the coronavirus pandemic | Lansing State Journal: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha urges everyone to stand together on the side of science and public health.
• The Benefits of Doing Absolutely Nothing for Exactly 6 Minutes | Medium: Laura Vanderkam provides some insights for many of us new at working from home.

Black Lives Matter Movement
Below are some recent dialogues from our speakers on systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement.

• Isabel Wilkerson, Nate Marshall win Chicago Public Library awards | Chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Library named Isabel Wilkerson the 2020 winner of its annual Carl Sandburg Literary Award.
• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Convene Special Edition of TIME100 Talks on the State of Our Shared Digital Experience | Time: The special episode of TIME100 Talks reflects a foundational element of The Duke and Duchess’ nonprofit Archewell, featuring a range of guests, including Rachel Cargle. 
• I’ve Never Been Able To Escape Segregation And Now White People Can’t Either | Buzzfeed News: Carlotta Walls LaNier speaks on the key to keeping the movement alive.
• Top Chef is getting more Black judges — finally. Other cooking shows need to follow suit. | The Washington Post: D.C. chef Kwame Onwuachi will join the final elimination judges table as part of a rotating panel of past contestants.
• Nic Stone’s new sequel Dear Justyce takes on juvenile justice system | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: In her new book, Nic Stone paints a picture of common teenage experiences in Black America
• What Bryan Washington Is Cooking | The New York Times: Bryan Washington writes stories revolving around young Black and Latino men.

Politics
Our speakers provide clarity and shrewd analysis of today’s issues to help make sense of our current and future political landscape.

• The Threat of Voter Subtraction | The Atlantic: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi warns the subtracting of untold numbers of individual votes to suppress the overall Democratic vote.
• Why one senior voter changed his mind on Trump | MSNBC: Anand Giridharadas discusses his latest piece on the story of an elderly Republican voter who stopped believing in President Trump.
• Joe Biden Has Changed | The Atlantic: Franklin Foer remarks on the transformative potential of a Biden presidency.
• ‘The pivot isn’t coming’ from Trump’s campaign | NBC News:Mark Leibovich and other political commentators join the Meet the Press roundtable to talk about whether President Trump will do anything to change the trajectory of the race.
• We have to ask whether social media today is ‘compatible with democracy’ | MSNBC: Roger McNamee says social media platforms are doing “far too little, far too late” to stop election misinformation.

Books Connect Us 
With their imaginative, impactful pieces of literature, our speakers provide incredibly valuable perspectives to be read by all.

• Here’s a list of the 10 greatest works of journalism of the past 10 years. Care to argue about it? | The Washington Post: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Isabel Wilkerson, Katherine Boo, and Dr. Sheri Fink are on this list!
• Hulu Adapting Charles Yu Novel Interior Chinatown for Television | Variety: Hulu is developing a series based on the novel, with Charles Yu in place to adapt his own work.
• Ava DuVernay to Adapt Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents | Vulture: Isabel Wilkerson’s CASTE will be adapted by Ava DuVernay for Netflix.
• Ocean Vuong on Hartford, Glastonbury, the American character, and the lasting trauma of the people of Vietnam | Hartford Courant: Ocean Voung gives a candid interview.
• The Lie of American Asylum | The New York Review: Francisco Cantú reviews three new books that offer searing portraits of the people affected by family separations and the criminalization of asylum in the Trump era.