The 36th season of the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln will feature a trio of best-selling authors and a well-known astrophysicist and science advocate.
The 2024-25 season is organized around the theme “Lessons from the Natural World” and will explore the beauty, wonder and wisdom of our living planet and vast universe.
The season opens Sept. 24 with the Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities, “A Conversation with Amy Tan,” featuring the popular and prolific author.
Other speakers in the 2024-25 series include author, editor and professor Aimee Nezhukumatathil; science journalist and author Ed Yong; and astrophysicist, author, science communicator and planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson. All events will take place at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, except for the Nezhukumatathil workshop, which will be in the Nebraska East Union’s Prairie Suite and the Pioneers Park Nature Center. Each presentation is free and open to the public, except for the Tyson event, which requires a paid ticket.
Tickets for Tan, Yong and Tyson can be reserved through the Lied Center here, 402-472-4747 or by visiting the Lied’s box office, 301 N. 12th St. There will be a registration link for Nezhukumatathil’s workshop on the Thompson Forum website. The free events are general admission, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
The mainstage schedule:
Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m.: Amy Tan, “Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities: A Conversation with Amy Tan” — Tan is the author of many novels, including “The Joy Luck Club” and “The Kitchen God's Wife,” as well as two memoirs and two children's books. She was co-producer and co-screenwriter of “The Joy Luck Club” film, released in 1993. She is also the subject of a documentary, “Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir,” and a fiction writing instructor on MasterClass. Tan is a National Humanities Medal recipient, member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and American Bird Conservancy board member. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she spent hours observing the behavior of wild birds in her backyard. She turned her pencil sketches, colored portraits and journal notes into an illustrated book, “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” published in April.
Events leading up to Tan’s lecture include a Cooper Conversation, “Birds of a Feather: Birding as a Catalyst for Belonging and Advocacy,” from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Sept. 16 in the Ubuntu Room of the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, 1505 S St. (RSVP here); a Lincoln City Libraries’ event, “Exploring the Works of Amy Tan,” from 2 to 3 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Walt Branch Library, 6701 S. 14th St.; and a Kruger Gallery open house of special exhibits that celebrate “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” from 3 to 7 p.m. Sept. 24 in Room 831 of Oldfather Hall, 660 N. 12th St. All events are free and open to the public.
Oct. 17, 3:30 p.m., Nebraska East Union’s Prairie Suite; Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m., Pioneers Park Nature Center: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, “How to Fall Down into the Grass: Nature Journaling Workshop” —Nezhukumatathil is the author of the illustrated collection of nature essays “World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks and Other Astonishments,” a New York Times bestseller that was named Barnes and Noble’s Book of the Year in 2020. She has also written four poetry collections, co-authored “Lace and Pyrite” with poet Ross Gay and published a book of food essays, “Bite by Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees.” Her honors include a National Endowment for the Arts poetry fellowship, the Pushcart Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is poetry editor for Sierra magazine and professor of English and creative writing in the University of Mississippi’s Master of Fine Arts program. This will be a generative workshop — perfect for both beginning and experienced writers — with tips on how to keep journaling long after the workshop is over.
March 25, 2025, 6:30 p.m.: Ed Yong, “The Amazing Nature of Animal Senses” — Yong is a science journalist and author of two bestselling books: “An Immense World,” about the sensory worlds of other animals, and “I Contain Multitudes,” about the partnerships between animals and microbes. He was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for his coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his TED talk on parasites has been watched by more than 1.9 million people. In 2024, Yong was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
April 22, 2025, 7:30 p.m.: Neil deGrasse Tyson, “The Cosmic Perspective” — Tyson is an astrophysicist, author, science communicator and director of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2007. His research interests include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies and the structure of the Milky Way. Tyson has popularized astrophysics through magazines, television, talks and books, including 2022’s “Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.” A $10 discount to this Earth Day event is available with code “FORUM10.”
Event summaries and additional information on each speaker are available here.
The E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues is a cooperative project of the Cooper Foundation, Lied Center and University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The series was established in 1988 with the purpose of bringing a diversity of viewpoints on international and public policy issues to the university and people of Nebraska to promote understanding and encourage discussion.
