Kenneth Lonergan + Jim Holt

“If they had seen what we see, they would have judged as we judge.” — Galileo Galilei
The playwright and the philosopher explore the known and the unknown universe.

About the Speakers

Kenneth Lonergan first drew attention at New York’s New Group theater company with his acerbic and insightful comedy-drama This is Our Youth, in 1996. He earned his first screen credit as one of writers on the Robert De Niro-Billy Crystal comedy Analyze This (1999) followed by the low-key, but impactful family drama You Can Count on Me (2000) which he both wrote and directed. The film went on to earn widespread acclaim and helped launch the film career of longtime Lonergan friend and collaborator, Mark Ruffalo. Further stage works include The Waverly Gallery (2000), Lobby Hero (2001), The Starry Messenger (2011), and Medieval Play (2012). His plays are produced all over the country and the world. In 2002 he also earned his 2nd Acadamy Award nomination for Best Screenplay for his collaboration on Martin Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York. His second feature film, Margaret (2011), and Margaret – The Extended Cut (2012) garnered widespread domestic and international critical acclaim and won numerous awards both here and abroad. His plays and screenplays are published by Vintage and Grove Press; the latter will bring out a new edition of the shooting script of Margaret, with an Introductory Essay by Tony Kushner, in Feb, 2014. Mr Lonergan is a member if the Naked Angels theater company. He lives in New York City with his wife and frequent collaborator, actress J. Smith-Cameron, and their daughter Nellie.
Jim Holt is a longtime contributor to The New Yorker—where he has written on string theory, time, infinity, numbers, and truth, and bullshit, among other subjects—and the author of Stop Me If You’ve Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes. He is also a frequent contributor to The New York Times.