Chicago Humanities Festival: Talks & Performances

Chicago Humanities’ Spring Festival is in progress now, with citywide programs running from March 24 through June 28 and the next major cluster landing in Lakeview on May 9. (wbez.org) (chicagohumanities.org) The nonprofit’s spring lineup is organized around three neighborhood festival days this season: Bridgeport on April 18, Lakeview on May 9, and Northwestern University in Evanston on May 17. (chicagohumanities.org) (timeout.com) Lakeview Day will take over the Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture with events starting at 11 a.m. and continuing into a 7 p.m. evening program. (chicagohumanities.org) That May 9 schedule includes David Axelrod and David French at 11 a.m., Peter Sagal and Gregory Dreicer at 1:30 p.m., Padma Lakshmi and Jelani Cobb at 4 p.m., Kimberlé Crenshaw at 6:30 p.m., and Jad Abumrad with Lynda Barry at 7 p.m. (chicagohumanities.org 1) (chicagohumanities.org 2) (chicagohumanities.org 3) Padma Lakshmi’s event is billed as a conversation about her cookbook “Padma’s All American” and the reporting behind “Taste the Nation,” with tickets including a copy of the book. (chicagohumanities.org) David Axelrod and David French are scheduled for a politics program framed around democratic norms and common ground, and that 11 a.m. event is already listed as sold out. (chicagohumanities.org 1) (chicagohumanities.org 2) The spring festival opened with earlier programs including Melissa Auf der Maur on March 24, R.F. Kuang on April 11, Michael Pollan on April 15, and a sold-out April 18 conversation between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi at Bridgeport Day. (wbez.org) (chicagohumanities.org) Bridgeport Day paired talks with neighborhood tours at Ramova Theatre and Co-Prosperity, including programs on public health, housing justice, adaptive reuse, and Chicago’s music scene. (chicagohumanities.org) (wbez.org) After Lakeview, the festival shifts to Northwestern University on May 17 for Mary Beard, Curtis Duffy, Ezekiel Emanuel, Lauren Underwood, Frida Kahlo relatives connected to Museo Casa Kahlo, John Waters, and Veronica Roth. (chicagohumanities.org ) (chicagohumanities.org) (wbez.org) Chicago Humanities is also still listing later spring events beyond those festival days, including Matt Haig on June 9, Jill Biden on June 15, and Ann Patchett on June 28. (chicagohumanities.org) For Chicago right now, the story is less a single weekend than a rolling season: one festival already staged in Bridgeport, one full day queued for Lakeview, and one more set for Evanston before the spring run closes in late June. (chicagohumanities.org) (wbez.org)