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.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for the latest news about PRH Speakers.

Virtual Events with Our Speakers

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

Tuesday, January 19

• Lisa Gardner will be in-conversation at Poisoned Pen (8:00PM)

Thursday, January 21

• Robert Jones, Jr. speaks about THE PROPHETS at Books & Books (7:00PM EST)

Friday, January 22

• Lisa Gardner discusses BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED at Best of Books (7:00PM EST)

Check out #BooksConnectUsLive for more live virtual events.

 

News and Media from PRHSB Speakers

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

• Anand Giridharadas says Twitter’s Trump ban is emblematic of how American capitalism functions today | Business Insider: Anand Giridharadas says he has long advocated actions on Trump with CEO Jack Dorsey.
• “A World Of Paranoid Conspiracy” Alex Wagner On The Alt Reality In Which The President’s Base Lives | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Alex Wagner talks about the disturbing conspiracy-driven alternate reality that has driven self-styled militia groups and other supporters of the president towards violence.
• Biden’s challenge: A speech for the Cold Civil War | The Washington Post: Matt Bai urges President-elect Biden to emulate Lincoln’s tone toward his adversaries.
• Far-right groups make plans for protests and assaults before and after Inauguration Day | The Washington Post: Shane Harris reports on how authorities nationwide are on alert for potential acts of violence at state capitols.
• Four Years of Trump | The New York Times Close Up with Sam Roberts: Mark Leibovich looks back at what four years of a Trump administration has wrought, and what the near future looks like with the new Biden administration coming into power.
• Flint Pediatrician Says Charges Against Ex-Governor Help ‘Wounds Finally Close’ | NPR: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha says the filing of charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder “helps the city and the people move on and recover.”

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

• Inside the B.1.1.7 Coronavirus Variant | The New York Times: Carl Zimmer reports on what researchers have learned about the U.K. variant.
• ‘Pre-existing weaknesses’ hindered the U.S. pandemic response, researchers find | The New York Times: Dr. Sheri Fink explains why the United States was one of the poorest-performing countries in a study of responses to the pandemic.
• Keri Leigh Merritt on the New Lost Cause, Elisabeth Rosenthal on Troubled Vaccine Rollout | Fair: Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal speaks about the troubled vaccine rollout.
• Coronavirus updates: Death toll approaches 400,000, far exceeding Trump’s benchmark for success in containing the virus | The Washington Post: Howard Markel, M.D. worries that the total dead could end up rivaling the country’s fatalities in the 1918 flu pandemic.
• Column: It took me just minutes to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. In Alaska | Los Angeles Times: Steve Lopez reports on the difficulty of scheduling a vaccine appointment.

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

• Author Ta-Nehisi Coates on memoir The Beautiful Struggle, fallout after Capitol siege | CBS This Morning: Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses his memoir THE BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE, adapted for young readers and shares the influence his mother had on his life.
• The 10 Best Political Books of 2020 by Black Women | The Atlantic: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi recommends 10 notable political books on or by Black women published during the history-making year of 2020.
• With Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas eviscerates stereotypes about Black families | The Washington Post: Nic Stone talks about the long known stereotypes that pervade American notions of the Black family.
• Denial Is the Heartbeat of America | The Atlantic: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi ponders on when Americans will be willing to admit who we are.
• Kiley Reid: ‘Giving black artists responsibilities like teaching you something new about race is just additional labor’ | Marie Claire: Kiley Reid speaks about how seeking out black art for pedagogical reasons, we risk losing the story, turning it into a mere learning tool.
• In Her Footsteps | Food & Wine: Kwame Onwuachi traces his grandmother’s journey from Louisiana to Texas, one meal at a time.

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

• Gary Taubes: ‘Obesity isn’t a calorie problem, it’s a hormone problem’ | The Guardian: Gary Taubes takes about his latest book THE CASE OF KETO.
• 12 Books to Read Now Before They Become Your Next Binge Obsession | E Online: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s DAISY JONES AND THE SIX, Emily St. John Mandel’s STATION ELEVEN, Colson Whitehead’s UNDERGROUND RAILROAD are being adapted for the small screen in 2021.
• The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr review — love and brutality on the plantation | The Times: Robert Jones, Jr.’s vivid debut brings to life the private world of slaves in antebellum Mississippi.
• Secrets in our DNA | PBS: Dani Shapiro talks about her book INHERITANCE and how a DNA test reveals family connections, ancestry, and health risks.
• Megha Majumdar: ‘Books do nothing for a lot of people’ | The Guardian: Megha Majumdar speaks on how being an editor informs her writing, and why her childhood alerted her to literature’s limitations.
• 50 Women Making the World a Better Place in 2021 | InStyle: Suleika Jaouad is one of these 50 women.
• 50 of the Best Book Quotes from Our Favorite Books | Reader’s Digest: Dr. Michele Harper, Yann Martel, Emily St. John Mandel, Yaa Gyasi, Clemantine Wamariya, John Green, Cheryl Strayed, Gillian Flynn, and Ta-Nehisi Coates are among these 50.