Author Talks

What connects Dionysus and Spider-Man? In Tony Stark, Odysseus, and the Myths Behind Marvel, Professor of Classics Peter Meineck explores how Marvel’s superheroes draw from ancient Greek mythology. From Captain America and Wolverine to Black Widow and Black Panther, Meineck reveals surprising and insightful connections between modern pop culture and the myths that shaped human storytelling. Entertaining and eye-opening, this talk bridges ancient legends and today’s superheroes. Books will be available for sale and signing.

David Hosack (1769-1835) transformed medicine and surgery, medicinal and agricultural botany, and the intellectual and cultural life of New York City. He knew virtually every major European scientist, and virtually every American Founder – he was the physician who attended both Hamilton and Burr at their duel. Lively and learned, American Eden was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History (2019) and the National Book Award for Nonfiction (2018), among many other awards and prizes. Victoria Johnson is Professor of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College in New York City.

Renowned author Jean Hanff Korelitz discusses her work and career in conversation with fellow author Ann Leary. Jean Hanff Korelitz was born in New York City and graduated from Dartmouth College and Cambridge University. She is the author of nine novels, including The Sequel, The Latecomer and The Plot (the latter two in development for film or limited series), You Should Have Known (adapted by David E. Kelley as HBO’s 2020 limited series, The Undoing, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant), the New York Times bestselling Admission (adapted as the 2013 film starring Tina Fey), The Devil and Webster, The White Rose, The Sabbathday River, and A Jury of Her Peers. She is the creator of BOOKTHEWRITER, which runs “Pop-Up Book Groups”, small gatherings with authors to discuss great books. The Plot was featured on The Tonight Show as the Fallon Summer Reads 2021 pick.

Join author Ariel Sullivan and Jenna Bush Hager in conversation on Ariel’s new book Beneath. A copy of the book is included with each ticket. Presented in partnership with Bedford Books. Hundreds of years before the Illum ruled supreme, humanity risked everything to rebuild after a devastating war in this explosive dystopian romance and prequel to Conform. Twenty-three-year-old Sasha Cadell knows time is running out in the underground city, filled with survivors of the nuclear fallout six years ago. She works in the Expansion Sector, trying to escape the memories of those she lost. Her bleak existence is upended when Tristian Hayes, a stunningly handsome, frustratingly determined commander of the Force, recruits her to join him and his elite team of soldiers as they embark on a secret mission to the surface. Sasha is thrust into brutal training with stakes far beyond mere survival. The fate of the remaining humankind depends on their success—or failure. As she confronts her own demons, Sasha finds both allies and foes in the training program, as well as a sizzling attraction between her and Tristian that threatens the walls she’s built around her heart. But under the surface, secrets and deception run as rampant as illnesses. And not everyone will survive the rise of a power more terrifying than anything they’ve ever known.

Say the word “Apple,” flash the famous logo, or play the familiar sounds of an Apple device, and you’ll spark instant recognition—and usually a strong reaction. With billions of customers around the world, Apple isn’t just a tech giant; it’s one of the most influential, scrutinized, and also beloved companies in history. It’s hard to imagine a time when Apple wasn’t dominant, but during Steve Jobs’s absence in the late Eighties and early Nineties, it was struggling to survive, only weeks from bankruptcy. And yet as the company turns 50 on April 1, 2026, it is now one of the most valuable companies on earth, with a worth approaching $4 trillion. Marking this 50th anniversary milestone is the definitive account of the tech giant, authored by award-winning science and technology journalist and bestselling author, David Pogue (“CBS Sunday Morning,” The New York Times, PBS) in APPLE: The First 50 Years. At this very special Playhouse event, Pogue will reveal what he learned from interviewing 150 current and former Apple executives, designers, and engineers. He’ll reveal, for the first time, some amazing origin stories (Apple II, iMac, iPod, iPhone). He’ll draw some counterintuitive but powerful lessons from Apple’s unlikely rise, fall, and rise. And he’ll punctuate the evening with Apple song parodies at the piano (yes, really). Books will be available for sale and signing.

The second in a trilogy about America’s Constitution, Born Equal follows The Words That Made Us:  America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840; Amar asks us to consider 10 possible meanings of the word “equal.” A widely published and cited Constitutional scholar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale and winner of their DeVane Medal for excellence in teaching, he has spoken twice at the John Jay Homestead, about New York and the US Constitution, and in an interview with Albie Sachs, about the Constitution of South Africa.  He is sometimes called a “liberal originalist,” and that is what he calls Lincoln.

The Founders wanted schools to teach students to understand our political system and to engage in reasoned political debate as adults; the Schoolhouse at John Jay Homestead was built for Jay children and also for the children of tenant farmers and farm hands. Historian, journalist and former Friends of John Jay Homestead speaker on his renowned John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, Traub spent a year exploring how schools now teach students–or fail to teach them–the essentials of American history and government, as well as how to use that knowledge in respectful, informed debate. Note: the talk will be preceded by a short business section of John Jay Homestead's Annual Meeting.