Steve Kroft
Steve Kroft joined 60 Minutes in May 1989 and delivered his first report that fall. Few journalists have achieved the impact and recognition that Kroft’s work has generated on the most watched news program on television.
Gretchen Rubin
An influential, thought-provoking observer of happiness and human nature, Gretchen Rubin will deliver a talk drawn from her runaway bestseller The Happiness Project.
Bill Nye
Engineer, comedian, author, inventor—and best known for his Emmy-winning run as Bill Nye the Science Guy—Bill Nye blends humor, intellectual curiosity, and devotion to solving some of the world’s most complex challenges through science.
Free Demonstration Event
Dancers from American Ballet Theatre will teach some ballet movement for everyone and will also share some of the choreography that will be part of the evening’s performance.
Right: Jacob Clerico in Indestructible Light (Photo: Todd Rosenberg Photography)
Lift Every Voice: Athletes, Artists, and the Movement for Social Justice
Join members of the DC-based dance company Step Afrika!, the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping, for a discussion on Zoom about the Stono Rebellion, the Negro Act of 1740, and the shared lessons dancers and athletes can learn from the Drumfolk* who used their bodies to fight for justice so many years ago. Presented by Hancher Auditorium, in partnership with UI Athletics. This event is free and open to all. Please follow the link to register for the conversation beforehand.
The Democracy! Suite and Wynton Marsalis
As we weave together the strands of the previous five sessions, we will look at what Marsalis' writing shows us in terms of the legacy of the music, his role in preserving it, and what the continuum of jazz shows us about healthy communication, leadership, and democratic ideals.
John Coltrane and the 1960s
The musical and spiritual journey of John Coltrane, expressed through his relentless pursuit in music, would inspire generations upon generations of artists to devote themselves completely to their craft.
Charlie Parker and the Revolution of BeBop
The revolution of bebop in the 1940s saw jazz get faster, more virtuosic, and more daring. And no one was more extraordinary than the alto saxophone master Charlie Parker.
Billie Holiday and the Art of Swing Song
With the burst of jazz's popularity in the 1930s, Billie Holiday revolutionized singing with small ensemble vocal jazz called Swing Song. Her innovations would provide the blueprint for generations of singers and instrumentalists to come.
Louis Armstrong and the Explosion of Swing
We open our series by celebrating the most influential musician of the 20th century: Louis Armstrong. His peerless trumpet work, his effortlessly swinging vocal work, and his supreme genius provided the 1920s with a road map for expanding popular music.