Entertainment

From cartel experts to radio royalty, seven talks to see in Vegas this fall

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Ira Glass
Photo: Stuart Mullenberg

Not so long ago, speaker series were widely considered the dregs of the entertainment calendar, sure to attract only a roomful of tweedy types or your grandparents. But now, thanks to the popularity of podcasts, the Moth and TED and techie talks at festivals like SXSW, all the cool kids are queuing up to hear the latest and greatest un-lecture-like lectures. From Mexican cartel experts to radio celeb Ira Glass, here’s a sampling of talks coming to town in the next few months.

If you think your laptop might be keeping you awake at night, you’re not the first. Lee Scrivner’s talk, “Becoming Insomniac: How Sleeplessness Alarmed Modernity” explores the history and phenomena of modern insomnia. September 22, 7:30 p.m., free Marjorie Barrick Museum, 702-895-3381.

The Mob Museum is hosting an expert panel that will discuss the current horrific Mexican cartel violence and its impact on the U.S. in “Border Insecurity: The Mexican Drug Cartels and Their Threat to America.” September 23, 5:30 p.m., $25, 702-229-2734.

Learn about the unique architecture of Las Vegas’s first planned community at “Paradise Palms: A Mid-Century Modern Neighborhood” at the Clark County Library. October 2, 7 p.m., free.

Aimee Bender, the hilariously brilliant writer of myriad amazing stories and books like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, is the closing keynote speaker for the Vegas Valley Book Festival. October 18, 4 p.m., free. Fifth Street School, vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

Downtown’s Life is Beautiful Festival is best known for major musical acts and thumping dance beats, but the quieter TED-style talks play host to speakers from NBA draft picks to TV food celebs to Russian activist punks Pussy Riot. October 24-26, times vary, tickets from $105. Downtown Las Vegas, lifeisbeautiful.com.

The words “literary” and “rockstar” don’t seem like they belong in the same sentence, except as they apply to Stephen Greenblatt and Geraldine Brooks, who will rap about history and fiction at “To Swerve or Not to Swerve: How Literature Navigates the Past.” November 13, 7 p.m., free. Philip J. Cohen Theatre at UNLV.

This American Life host Ira Glass is up to something wacky: a show that combines dance and radio into one amazing night at the Smith Center. January 17, 7:30 p.m., $29+. Smith Center, 702-749-2012.

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