Andrew Guzman, Professor, UC Berkeley Law School; Author, Overheated: The Human Cost of Climate Change

Richard Joseph Jackson, Professor, UCLA School of Public Health; Host of the four-part public TV program, Designing Healthy Communities

In conversation with Greg Dalton, Founder and Director, Climate One

With the Earth running a fever, people in the United States and around the world are vulnerable to climate-driven disease, famine, war and migration. Many scientists warn that a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius - which is now highly likely - would result in catastrophe, and four degrees would be incompatible with organized society as we know it. Many costs of carbon pollution are showing up now in the form of extreme weather, water and resource scarcity and other stresses. Most scientists argue that transitioning to a clean energy economy will reduce these risks resulting from fossil fuel combustion.

Join a doctor and a lawyer for a sobering conversation about building healthier and more resilient communities in California and beyond.

Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program
Cost: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)

Reza Aslan, Author, Zealot, No God But God and How to Win a Cosmic War; Editor, Tablet and Pen; Twitter: @rezaaslan

Michael G. Maudlin, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Think you know about the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth? Think again. Internationally acclaimed author and scholar Aslan, armed with 20 years of fastidious research, presents a bold and fresh perspective on Jesus as both a man and historical figure, a radical political revolutionary invested in the nationalist struggle for freedom from Roman occupation. Join Aslan as he balances the Jesus of the Gospels against historical sources, creating a vivid picture of one of the most enigmatic and influential people of all time.

Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing
Cost: General: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID). Premium (includes book and priority seating in the first few rows): $45 non-members, $35 members.

Vicki Abeles, Filmmaker; Public Speaker; Advocate for Children and Families

How are the stresses of "achievement culture" impacting today’s kids? In Abeles’ documentary film Race to Nowhere, the Bay Area education reformer and mother of three explores how excessive homework, academic stress, high-stakes testing, the college admissions process and the prevailing competitive climate across the nation is redefining childhood. Moreover, as the subjects of her film argue, the pressure to perform has spawned a dangerous epidemic of anxious, unhappy students. If you’re interested in how we define success in American education, join Abeles for a discussion on her film, heralded as a “must-see movie” by The New York Times.

Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program
Cost: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)

Mollie Katzen, Author, The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation and the Moosewood Cookbook

In conversation with John Birdsall, Senior Editor, Chow.com 

From the woman who brought you the iconic Moosewood Cookbook comes a new cookbook for a new generation. Katzen has just released The Heart of the Plate, serving up 250 recipes for hungry vegetarians everywhere.
Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the best-selling cookbook authors of all time,” Katzen is widely credited with having brought vegetarian cuisine into the mainstream. Come hear this James Beard Hall of Famer as she waxes epicurean on culinary delights from green matzoh ball soup to mushroom popover pie. 

Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette

Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

Cost: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)

Also know: Photo by Lisa Keating. Underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation.