Events & Opportunities
October 17, 2026
Saturday Scoundrels
What is a conversation?
This question follows our first Wit & Wisdom of the year, where John Nygaard and Seth Tichenor revisited a conversation they first presented in 2019 about what conversation asks of us, and what gets harder when the world around us grows more divided.
For Scoundrels, we’re looking at the foundation of the question. What actually makes something a conversation?
10:00 a.m., The Catalyst, Astoria
October 24, 2026
Saturday Scoundrels
Why is ritual important?
Birthdays. Funerals. Holidays. Handshakes. Morning coffee. Religious observance. Stadium chants. Humans keep inventing things to do again and again in really specific ways.
What does ritual accomplish that an ordinary action does not? Does repetition change us? Can ritual connect people, preserve memory, mark change, or outlive its usefulness?
Join Scoundrels for a conversation about why humans keep returning to ritual.
10:00 a.m., The Catalyst, Astoria