SUMMARY
- UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Walter Isaacson
- Thu, Oct 26 | 7:30 p.m. | Campbell Hall
- The acclaimed biographer and journalist is known for bringing fresh perspectives on the larger than life figures of contemporary American culture and beyond, such as Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna, Leonardo da Vinci and most recently, Elon Musk
- Ticket purchase includes a copy of Isaacson’s new book, Elon Musk (pick up at event)
- $30 – $50 / UCSB students $10 (Current student ID required)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
“Isaacson takes on subjects with enormous ambitions and egos to match (Steve Jobs, Henry Kissinger, Leonardo da Vinci)… There’s not much middle ground on Musk – people love him or hate him – but Isaacson is best positioned to figure out what makes him tick.” Los Angeles Times
“Walter Isaacson’s work, words, and wisdom bridge divides between science and the humanities and between opposing philosophies, elevating discourse and our understanding of who we are as a Nation.” – White House Citation granting Isaacson the National Humanities Medal in 2021
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Walter Isaacson in conversation with Pico Iyer on Thursday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall. Walter Isaacson occupies a unique position in contemporary American culture. His many bestselling works include biographies of CRISPR’s Jennifer Doudna, Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs. His new book on Elon Musk is the astonishingly intimate story of one of the most fascinating and controversial innovators of our era. An immediate bestseller upon its release in September of 2023, Isaacson’s Elon Musk takes its place alongside his other monumental biographies as an essential document of the complex factors that come together in men and women of rare genius.
Walter Isaacson talks about his new biography of Elon Musk on the Today Show
ABOUT WALTER ISAACSON
Walter Isaacson is a journalist, biographer, Professor of History at Tulane and an advisory partner at Perella Weinberg, a financial services firm based in New York City. He is the past CEO of the Aspen Institute, where he is now a Distinguished Fellow, and has been the chairman of CNN and the editor of TIME magazine.
Isaacson is the author of many acclaimed biographies including his most recent, Elon Musk (2023). He is also the author of The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race(2021), Leonardo da Vinci (2017), The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution (2014), Steve Jobs (2011), Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992), and coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made(1986).
He is a host of Amanpour and Company on PBS and CNN, a contributor to CNBC and host of the podcast Trailblazers, from Dell Technologies.
Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952, in New Orleans. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He began his career at the Sunday Times of London and then at the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He joined TIMEin 1978 and served as a political correspondent, national editor and editor of digital media before becoming the magazine’s 14th editor in 1996. He became chairman and CEO of CNN in 2001, and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003.
He is chair emeritus of Teach for America. From 2005-2007 he was the vice-chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which oversaw the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other international broadcasts of the United States, a position he held from 2009 to 2012.
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of the Arts and the American Philosophical Society. He serves on the board of United Airlines, the New Orleans City Planning Commission, the New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Society of American Historians, the U.S. Defense Department Innovation Board, the Carnegie Institution for Science and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.
ABOUT PICO IYER
“One of the most soulful and perceptive writers of our time” (Brain Pickings), Pico Iyer is the author of 15 books, translated into 23 languages, and the introductions to more than 70 other books. His four talks for TED have received more than 11 million views so far. His new book, The Half Known Life – about Iran, North Korea, Jerusalem, along with many other far-flung places, and about paradise, wonder, uncertainty and hope – was released to widespread acclaim in January of 2023.
A beloved interviewer and Arts & Lectures’ resident source of timeless wisdom, Iyer combines a writer’s feeling for language with a scholar’s mastery of the material. He performs extraordinary feats of receptiveness, insight and empathy in each installment of his ongoing UCSB Arts & Lectures series, Speaking with Pico. Iyer’s humble grace and rapt attention invariably compel his guests to proclaim these encounters the best interviews they have ever experienced. Returning for 2023-2024 with another inspiring roster of conversational partners, Pico Iyer remains a perennial favorite of Arts & Lectures audiences.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Walter Isaacson is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures
Event Sponsor: Crystal & Clifford Wyatt
Speaking with Pico Series Sponsors: Martha Gabbert, Siri & Bob Marshall and Laura & Kevin O’Connor
Tickets are $30 – $50: General Public / UCSB Students $10 (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2023-2024 season.