Travel back to the angsty, grungy, boy band filled decade to the days of Planet Hollywood, Snackwell cookies, Zima, food blogging and stockpiling food for Y2K.

David T Kim talks about process, collaboration, and pottery to create unique bespoke dinnerware for some of the best chefs and restaurants in the country. This lecture is part of the International Museum of Dinnerware Design's Unforgettable Dinnerware Lecture Series.

This event is in partnership with the International Museum of Dinnerware Design.

This year Jim DuFresne’s classic Isle Royale National Park: Foot Trails & Water Routes will celebrate its 40th year of continuous publication, an amazing achievement in the world of book publishing. The  “backpacker’s bible” for Isle Royale was released in 1983 and was the first detailed trail and paddling guide to an area in Michigan. Since then, DuFresne has gone on to write more than 20 outdoor guidebooks for a range of wild places, from Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park to Michigan’s own Porcupine Mountains.

Fathers express a strong desire to be a part of their children’s lives, to develop close emotional relationships with their children, and to be the best dads possible. Yet, they also report that most services and public spaces are mother-centric and not father-friendly, and that fathers are often viewed as secondary caregivers, babysitters, or optional parents in the lives of children.

Gather ‘round for an evening of informed and informal talks from a friendly neighborhood expert! We’ll have three speakers, each presenting on a different topic and sharing interesting facts that you never knew you never knew! Past Nerd Nite speakers have led deep dives into topics from the legacy of Louis Pasteur, to the origin of elements, to how a trumpet works, to a dissection of romance novel tropes. So bring a friend, grab a drink, and enjoy an evening among fellow nerds. Be there and be square!

In this lecture, Detroit-based historian Anthony Brogdon will focus on what he calls "Good Black History": the stories of Black business owners in the 1800s. Learn who they were and how they did it during this presentation and discussion.

Anthony Brogdon is producer of Business in the Black documentary which toured to over 40 US cities, Toronto, Canada and London, England, author of Black Business Book, and host of the podcast Strong Inspirations which is viewed internationally, and to date has featured over 500 guests.

Join us for a presentation by Liana Finck, New Yorker cartoonist, graphic novelist and children's book author, about her work.

Liana Finck is a cartoonist and an illustrator who has contributed to The New Yorker since 2015. She maintains a monthly advice-column comic called “Dear Pepper,” teaches at Barnard College, and regularly posts drawings to her Instagram account.

Join us for an after-hours performance by the band KILLER DILLER.

KILLER DILLER plays Supersonic SkaSteady. From Detroit. Loud and proud in a big band, traditional ska style with a few detours.

More and more often we hear the question “Could AI systems become conscious?” It’s a question of relevance to technologists and philosophers alike, and without a good understanding of “what’s consciousness”, many out there seem to fall prey to worrisome concerns about the future of AI. Join us for a conversation with AI and philosophy experts on the complexities of intelligence, the nature of consciousness, the role of theory of mind, and the implications on AI’s (and AGI’s) evolving landscape. 

Ann Arbor artist and resident Hannah Burr shares about how she came to archive the artwork of Janet Gallup, an artist who lived and worked in Ann Arbor a generation before her, and how this process relates to and affects decisions she makes about her own art process and practice.

Janet Gallup was an accomplished printmaker and Ann Arbor resident who died in her late 60s in 1991; Hannah Burr is a mixed media artist who came to Ann Arbor 26 years after Janet’s passing.