Coming to LA
Yes, You're Weird...but You're Also Normal
A few years ago, I wrote a book called Get Weird. While I’ll always believe in that mandate, lately, the world has gotten pretty weird itself (not in the way I suggested) and I now find myself wanting to tell people something else...
What I’d really like to tell you, the message I think a lot of us need to hear…is that what you’re feeling right now is normal.
If you’re feeling a blend of hope and existential dread, it’s normal.
If you don’t know how to parent your kids with screen time, it’s normal.
If you’re not sure who or what to believe anymore, you’re no different than anyone.
So as we gather around this holiday season, can we attempt to do so with a kind of virgin grace for the fact that we’re living through one of the weirdest times in history where simultaneously we’ve never had it so good…and everything also feels massively uncertain. Can we bring that uncertainty to the tables we share and be grateful in the assurance, that at the very least, we have each other?
I’m hosting a gathering.
One way I’m trying to model this is by bringing people together to talk about how weird things are and what normal people can do about it.
On Jan 22 & 23, I’ll be hosting something we’re calling Reculture: Live in LA — in search of a better discussion about what divides us. And you’re invited!
We’ll be looking for signs of life across issues like education, democracy, media, technology, and faith… and we’re determined to have fun doing it (The whole thing will actually end in a comedy show featuring the brilliantly funny Aparna Nancherla who you’ve seen on Netflix, Conan, etc.)
Here are some other reculturers we’ll be in conversation with:
Latif Nasser: Host, RadioLab & Netflix’s, Connected
Fr Greg Boyle: Founder, Homeboy Industries & Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
Misha Euceph: Host, Tell Them I Am & Producer, The Michelle Obama Podcast
Memo Torres: Journalist & Director, LA Taco
Alicia Partnoy: Former Political Prisoner, Human Rights Activist, & Poet
David Dark: Author of Everyday Apocalypse
Arielle Estoria: Poet & Author of The Unfolding
To be clear, this isn’t a conference. It’s more of a retreat-style gathering. If you attend, you’ll be able to actively participate and ask questions. For that reason (and the fact that our venue is cozy “aka” small), we’ve only got spots for 40 people. Admission is only $30 so, if you’re interested, secure a spot now.
Confusing times ask us to listen more carefully—to the messengers, the makers, the ones wrestling meaning out of the chaos. Every dark age gives way to a renaissance.
If you feel that tug in yourself, and you want to learn alongside others carrying the same torch, I hope you’ll join us.