“Ideas Exchange” to feature prominent speakers
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be hosting an “Ideas Exchange” speaker series as part of the annual weekend event held on the USC campus. The series welcomed personalities such as Candice Bergen and Octavia Spencer at last year’s festival. “Ideas Exchange” offers audiences an insight into the minds and lives of the speaker in a live conversation with a Los Angeles Times interviewer.
The first speaker of the series will be Carrie Brownstein, an actor, musician and writer best known as a member of the band Sleater-Kinney and for her show Portlandia, in which she is a writer and actor. Brownstein, who will be interviewed by the Los Angeles Times’ Lorraine Ali, has written about her opinions on music and culture that have appeared in publications, such as The New York Times and other online outlets. Brownstein has seen many successes in recent years, with the release of Sleater-Kinney’s album No Cities to Love, which received widespread critical acclaim and was ranked fourth on the Billboard U.S. Top Rock Albums Chart. Portlandia, a reference to Portland, Oregon, where she lives, has earned both an Emmy nomination and a Peabody Award. Brownstein will be interviewed in Bovard Auditorium Sunday at 11 a.m., and the ticket fees include a signed copy of her memoir, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl: A Memoir.
The second speaker is journalist Arianna Huffington, who is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. Huffington has several decades of journalism experience and has led The Huffington Post since 2005, guiding it to become one of the most successful news sites in the digital era. She has also authored 15 books, some of which have been New York Times Bestsellers. Huffington’s accolades include being one of Forbes’ most influential women in media and one of TIME’s Most Influential People. The Greek-born journalist has been giving lectures in connection to her new book, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night At A Time. Huffington advocates for healthier habits towards sleep and preventing sleep deprivation, which in turn affects the public’s professional and personal lives and well-being. Huffington’s arrival at USC will be followed again by a Visions and Voices event on April 13, at the Trojan Grand Ballroom at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, where she will make her presentation to college students — the demographic often considered the most affected by poor sleeping habits. Huffington will speak with Los Angeles Times columnist Robin Abcarian at the Bovard Auditorium Sunday at 3 p.m. The ticket fee will also include a signed copy of The Sleep Revolution.
Tickets for the speaker series are available through the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books website page via Eventbrite. Tickets range from $30 to $100.