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Image for event: Author Event: A Discussion with Andrew Potter

Registration now closed

Author Event: A Discussion with Andrew Potter

in partnership with Wordsworth Books

2022-02-24 19:00:00 2022-02-24 20:00:00 America/New_York Author Event: A Discussion with Andrew Potter VIRTUAL Online -

Thursday, February 24
7:00pm - 8:00pm

Add to Calendar 2022-02-24 19:00:00 2022-02-24 20:00:00 America/New_York Author Event: A Discussion with Andrew Potter VIRTUAL Online -

VIRTUAL

What if David Bowie really was holding the fabric of the universe together?

The death of David Bowie in January 2016 was a bad start to a year that got a lot worse: war in Syria, the Zika virus, terrorist attacks in Brussels and Nice, the Brexit vote—and the election of Donald Trump. The end-of-year wraps declared 2016 “the worst … ever.” Four even more troubling years later, the question of our apocalypse had devolved into a tired social media cliché. But when COVID-19 hit, journalist and professor of public policy Andrew Potter started to wonder: what if The End isn’t one big event, but a long series of smaller ones?

In On Decline : stagnation, nostalgia, and why every year is the worst one ever, Potter surveys the current problems and likely future of Western civilization (spoiler: it’s not great). Economic stagnation and the slowing of scientific innovation. Falling birth rates and environmental degradation. The devastating effects of cultural nostalgia and the havoc wreaked by social media on public discourse. Most acutely, the various failures of Western governments in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the legacy of the Enlightenment and its virtues—reason, logic, science, evidence—has run its course, how and why has it happened? And where do we go from here?

This event is presented in partnership with Words Worth Books.

Registrants will receive an e-mail 24 hours before the start of the program with an invitation to join.

Programmer: Nancy

Andrew Potter

AGE GROUP: | Adults 19+ |

EVENT TYPE: | Book Clubs, Writing and Authors |

TAGS: | Author Event | Adult learning |

Online

Phone: 519-886-1310

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Thu, Jul 17, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
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For kids ages 4 to 12 years old with a caregiver.

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Eastside Branch - Program Room
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Registration opens Thursday, June 26 2025 at 7:00pm

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Mon, Jul 21, 10:30am - 11:15am
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For children ages birth to 5 years old with a caregiver.

Mon, Jul 21, 10:30am - 11:30am
McCormick Branch
For kids ages 3 to 4 years old with a caregiver. This program is intended for children entering kindergarten in September 2025.
This event is full

Mon, Jul 21, 10:30am - 11:30am
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For kids ages 3 to 4 years old with a caregiver. This program is intended for children entering kindergarten in September 2025.

Mon, Jul 21, 2:00pm - 2:30pm
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Mon, Jul 21, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
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Registration opens Monday, June 30 2025 at 7:00pm

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Registration opens Monday, June 30 2025 at 7:00pm

Mon, Jul 21, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
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For adults in their 20s and 30s.
Registration opens Monday, June 30 2025 at 7:00pm

Tue, Jul 22, 10:30am - 11:15am
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For kids ages birth to 5 years old with a caregiver.

Tue, Jul 22, 10:30am - 12:30pm
John M. Harper Branch - Program Room
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Tue, Jul 22, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
McCormick Branch
For kids ages 4 to 12 years old with a caregiver.

Tue, Jul 22, 6:30pm - 8:00pm
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For tweens ages 9 to 12 years old.
Registration opens Wednesday, July 2 2025 at 7:00pm

Tue, Jul 22, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
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For Adults
Registration opens Wednesday, July 2 2025 at 7:00pm

Tue, Jul 22, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
McCormick Branch
For kids ages 6 to 9 years old.
This event is full

Wed, Jul 23, 10:30am - 11:00am
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For babies ages birth to 12 months old with a caregiver.
Registration opens Wednesday, July 2 2025 at 7:00pm

Wed, Jul 23, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For kids ages 6 to 9 years old.
This event is full

Wed, Jul 23, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For tweens ages 10 to 13 years old.
This event is full

Wed, Jul 23, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
McCormick Branch
For tweens ages 9 to 12 years old.
Registration opens Wednesday, July 2 2025 at 7:00pm

Wed, Jul 23, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
John M. Harper Branch - Program Room
For tweens ages 9 to 12 years old.
Registration opens Wednesday, July 2 2025 at 7:00pm

Wed, Jul 23, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Main Library - James J. Brown Auditorium
For Older Adults

Wed, Jul 23, 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For Families

Wed, Jul 23, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
John M. Harper Branch - Program Room
For Adults
Registration opens Wednesday, July 2 2025 at 7:00pm

Thu, Jul 24, 10:30am - 11:00am
McCormick Branch
For babies ages 11 to 23 months old with a caregiver.
This event is full

Thu, Jul 24, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Main Library - James J. Brown Auditorium
For kids ages 3 to 4 years old with a caregiver. This program is intended for children entering kindergarten in September 2025.

Thu, Jul 24, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
John M. Harper Branch - Program Room
For kids ages 5 to 8 years old.
Registration opens Thursday, July 3 2025 at 7:00pm

Thu, Jul 24, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Main Library - James J. Brown Auditorium
For kids ages 4 to 12 years old with a caregiver.

Thu, Jul 24, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For kids ages 4 to 12 years old with a caregiver.

Thu, Jul 24, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Eastside Branch - Program Room
For Families

Thu, Jul 24, 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Main Library
Everyone welcome