Thursday, Oct. 16
Victorian Science and the Beyond: Ethereal Evening Tours at 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Longfellow House and the Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle St., West Cambridge. Free, but RSVP. An evening of historic house tours exploring the intersections of Victorian scientific thought, the lure of the supernatural and their echoes today.
One Woman’s Fight to Protect Ancient Maya Legacy at 6 p.m. at Museum of Natural History’s Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford St., Baldwin neighborhood, Cambridge. Free, but RSVP. Clemency Chase Coggins, professor emerita of archaeology and art history at Boston University and a Peabody Museum research associate, discusses the advocacy that helped shape U.S. policy and Unesco conventions on cultural property. The role of the Peabody in the protection of Maya heritage is also addressed.
Sounds of the Modern Renaissance: Yosvany Terry Quartet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Alain Locke Gallery of African & African American Art, 102 Mount Auburn St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Terry, an Afro-Cuban composer, saxophonist, percussionist, bandleader and educator, has performed with everyone from Branford Marsalis to Taj Mahal.
Amber Sparks reads from “Happy People Don’t Live Here” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. A reclusive mother and her daughter move into a haunted building – a former sanatorium occupied by eccentrics and ghosts. The daughter decides to play detective after finding a body in a dumpster and things get even stranger. Author Steve Himmer joins.
Kanza Javed reads from “What Remains After a Fire” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. $28 with book, RSVP required. A debut collection of short stories set in modern-day Pakistan and its U.S. diaspora. Author Marjan Kamali joins.
Poets Jennifer Jean, Dzvinia Orlowsky and V. Penelope Pelizzon from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $5 to $10, but register. With an introduction by January Gill O’Neil.
Ryan Devlin Trio from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free, but there’s a $25 food-and-drink minimum. The tenor saxophonist plays with Ian Ashby on bass and Caleb Montague on drums.
Boston Jazz Foundation presents Seba Molnar at 7:30 p.m. at Regattabar, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $24 to $36. Performing regularly in Boston and touring New England, Molnar has also been featured at the Charles River Jazz Fest, Boston Jazz Fest, Burlington Discover Jazz Fest and First Night Boston and shared stages with Grammy- and Emmy-winning artists such as Patrice Rushen, Ghost-Note and Debo Ray.
Atomic Comedy Indie Improv Night from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the café at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free, but register. An independently produced monthly improv show featuring new and veteran talent.
Scottish country dance from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at New England Science Fiction Association clubhouse at 504 Medford St., Magoun Square, Somerville. $5 to $20. Learn and practice in gender-neutral language. A warm-up and lesson in the first hour are followed by an hour of social dancing. Kat Dutton emcees and teaches.
“Be No Rain” dance performance from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. $30. Artist-in-residence Aiden Marshall dances the story of a young queer Black man and explores feelings of mourning, rage, inadequacy and betrayal – an idea that came in the wake of the 2024 presidential election. We wrote about it here.
Third Thursdays jazz with Dave Bryant and Friends at 8 p.m. at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $10. This month, keyboardist and composer Bryant presents improvised music with Eric Barber (saxophones), Stephen Haynes (cornet, flugelhorn), Kit Demos (bass) and Curt Newton (drums).
Friday, Oct. 17
Gray Area: Family Photographs in the Museums at 11 a.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. An exploration of the ethics of collecting and exhibiting anonymous family photos and what private pictures can teach us about photography in art museums. Curatorial fellow Madison Brown leads the seminar.
Indoor Movie Night: “Hotel Transylvania” at 6 p.m. at CambridgeSide, 100 CambridgeSide Place, East Cambridge. Free. In this 2012 film, monsters vacation at Count Dracula’s Hotel Transylvania, a lavish resort where they can be themselves without humans around to bother them.
“The Korean Vegan” Comes to Cambridge at 6 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $12, $45 with book. Joanne Lee Molinaro, Instagram’s “The Korean Vegan” and New York Times bestselling author, offers her new book of recipes she makes most often at home. Host of WBUR’s “Beyond All Repair” Amory Sivertson joins.
Brandon Taylor reads from “Minor Black Figures” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. A novel about friendship and creativity follows a Black artist who feels blocked in the contemporary Manhattan art scene until meeting a white former seminarian and is forced to examine the conflicts between Black and white art and the white gaze on the Black body. Harvard’s Namwali Serpell joins.
Yoko Miwa Trio performs from 7 to 8:15 and 8:45 to 10 p.m. at The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free, but $25 food-and-drink minimum. The Japan-born jazz pianist performs with Matt Stavrakas (acoustic bass) and Scott Goulding (drums).
Candle making workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lamplighter CX, 110 N. First St., North Point, Cambridge. $40. All materials are included to make two soy candles.
“Queens of 90s Country” with Lindsay Foote and Nora Meier at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $28 to $30. Sing along to the ’90s country classics. With appearances by Alisa Amador and Rachel Sumner.
Tysk Tysk Task performs from 8 to 9:45 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $15 to $18. The indie grunge band from Lowell, Massachusetts, released their album “You’re Sorry More” in 2022.
Beginner swing dance lesson from 8 to 9 p.m. at Boston Swing Central, 26 New St., Suite 3, Cambridge. $18 or $20. Learn the moves while enjoying the music of the Whozit/Whatzit Allstar Band.
Jam session with saxophonist Andy Voelker from 10 p.m. to midnight at The Mad Monkfish, 524 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free. The improviser and composer brings along members from a rotating rhythm section of local greats.
Olivia Cloud, Zoey Shae and Ella Young perform from 10:30 to 11:45 p.m. at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. $12 to $15. Three female artists with an eclectic mix of original music, including upbeat pop, rock, pensive folk and seductive R&B.
Saturday, Oct. 18
Monthly bird walk from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Mass Audubon Nature Center at Magazine Beach, 668 Memorial Drive, Cambridgeport. Free, but register. Bring binoculars (or borrow a pair on site) to search for migrating and common birds; waterfowl and waders on the river; songbirds in the trees and brush and soaring raptors.
Forest Bathing nature experience from 10 to 11:30 a.m. meeting at the Story Chapel at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. $15 to $20. Explore the cemetery and experience a connection to nature. Led by Stefanie Haug.
Day of the Dead Workshop: Making Papier-Mâché Skeletons from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. at Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, 11 Divinity Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $30 to $35. Visual artist Brioch Ochoa teaches a tradition of Mexico’s Day of the Dead. Explore the holiday’s symbolism while crafting miniature skeleton sculptures using cardboard and papier-mâché.
Book Club: Decolonize Your Reading at 11 a.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. RSVP. Meet on the third Saturday of the month to read pieces of nonfiction, fiction and poetry to learn about Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Asian American experiences. This time, discuss “Borderlands / La Frontera” by Gloria Anzaldúa.
Kids Clothing & Toy Exchange from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kendall/MIT Open Space at 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free. For children up to 5 years old. The exchange includes kids’ clothing, outerwear, shoes, toys and books. Expectant parents are welcome. No need to bring clothes to participate but bring bags to take home your new finds.
“Massachusetts Avenue: Life Along Cambridge’s Main Artery” documentary at noon at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $15. This film by Federico Muchnik captures life through Cambridge, from interviews with small-business owners and controversial news-making stories to Central Square’s dance party and the local music scene.
Mushroom Fest from noon to 4 p.m. at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Free, but RSVP. Visit the wild mushroom education table, dress in your most mushroom-inspired outfit for a chance to win prizes, get a mushroom beer and more.
Kendall Square for Newbies and Natives tour from 1 to 2:30 p.m. starting from The MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Pay what you like. Learn about the scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs who made Cambridge one of the most innovative places in the world by walking The Innovation Trail with guest tour guides including Gavin Kleespies of Waltham’s Gore Place historic house and farm; Michael Kuchta and Karen Weintraub, co-authors of “Born in Cambridge”; and Scott Kirsner of WBUR and MassLive.
Cartoon Food Doodle Fun from 1 to 3 p.m. Mamaleh’s Delicatessen, 15 Hampshire St., Cambridge. $18, or $36 with a signed copy of a book and bagels and cream cheese to go. Author and illustrator Alan Silberberg will teach the basics of cartoon drawing and show us a sneak peek at his new book “The Bagel Who Wanted Everything.” Meant for kids ages 5-10 but perhaps appealing to a wider range of artist and eater – this event includes a bar with minibagels and exclusive cream cheese flavors (including funfetti), fruit salad and beverages, as well as a reading by Silberberg.
Poet Phillis Wheatley Day Celebration poetry reading and workshop from 1:45 to 4:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Artress Bethany White, co-editor of “Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Reimagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters,” leads a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the publication of Phillis Wheatley’s poems. African drumming leads into a presentation on Wheatley’s life and work and readings by contemporary poets inspired by Wheatley, concluding with a short writing exercise designed to engage the audience with Wheatley’s poems.
Gallery Talk: Monsters of the Deep at 2 to 2:30 p.m. at The MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free with museum admission. Join an exhibition curator for a tour to see how sailors, scholars and everyday people handle the unknown, from those 500 years ago trying to understand mysterious ocean creatures such as whales to the people of today gripping with such things as black holes and gravitational waves.
Grown Up Book Fair from 2 to 6 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free and 21-plus. Everything you love about school book fairs, including those fun gift-y items, plus beer. Co-sponsored with Porter Square Books.
“Caligula” film screening at 7 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive at The Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $10. Roman emperor Caligula purportedly killed his grandfather, slept with his sister, made his horse a senator and was generally the most decadent of the first 12 Caesars. This 1980 film, starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud and Peter O’Toole, is based on an essay Gore Vidal wrote in the 1950s.
Errollyn Wallen: Dido’s Ghost at 7 p.m. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Thomas Tull Concert Hall, 201 Amherst St., Cambridge. Free to $75. This chamber opera out of Virgil delves into love, betrayal and despair, with the entirety of Purcell’s original “Dido and Aneas” set in a dream sequence.
ThotBot Implantation Center from 7 to 9 p.m. at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville (and continuing through Oct. 30). $26. This interactive installation by musician, filmmaker and multimedia artist Rebecca Kopycinski, injects visitors into a dystopian world that includes a waiting room, intermission and intake interview, closing with a concert featuring live music and narrative video.
Sleeping Weazel’s Experimental Cabaret: Absurdist Performance for Absurd Times (continues Sunday) at 8 p.m. in Studio 7 of The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $12 to $55. Meet the political moment with singer Marshall Hughes, choreographer Peter DiMuro’s performance art duet with Alex Davis, composer-musician Reynaliz Herrera playing her bicycle and the play “Naomi in the Living Room” by Christopher Durang.
Grammy winner Julian Lage performs at 8 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $37 to $56. The guitarist and composer won the 2010 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album and in 2018, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
Sunday, Oct. 19
Breakfast Book Club from 10:30 a.m. to noon at All She Wrote Books, 75 Washington St., Prospect Hill, Somerville. $7, or $26 with book. This month’s title: “Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare” by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto. Coffee and pastries provided.
Foundry Fall Market from noon to 5 p.m. at The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., East Cambridge. $5 suggested donation. An outdoor fall market on Rogers Street, with fall festivities, live music and vendors.
Wicked Good Aht Mahket from noon to 5 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. Free. More than 25 local artists showcase and sell their creations.
Pumpkin carving in hourlong slots from 1 to 5 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. $20. A pumpkin from Wilson Farm and access to tools are included in the entry price. (The brewery’s craft beer is not.)
Tarot with Lauren Walleser from 1 to 5 p.m. at All She Wrote Books, 75 Washington St., East Somerville. $25 per 15 minutes, by appointment only. Ask spirit guides for three cards with general guidance and support for your life. Readings are gentle, fun and inclusive.
Ghosts of Somerville from 2 to 4 p.m. at Milk Row Cemetery, Somerville Avenue and School Street, Union Square, Somerville. $5 suggested donation. Visit the city’s oldest burial ground, where friendly ghosts tell you about their lives in 18th century Somerville. Part of Somerstreets: Monster Mash.
SomerStreets: Monster Mash from 2 to 6 p.m. on Somerville Avenue from School Street to Warren Ave., near Union Square, Somerville (rain date: Oct. 26). Free. Busy streets closed to cars for dancing to live music, a costumed parade led by the School of Honk!, puppet and magic shows, pumpkin carving, haunted house, games, food and more. Costumes encouraged.
Hound & Handler performs at 2:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. A high-energy bluegrass-Americana band with originals and classic country and bluegrass covers.
Haydn, Farrenc, Brahms at 3 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. $32 to $72. Six musicians from the Boston Chamber Music Society perform Joseph Haydn’s Piano Trio in G major, Hob.XV.25, “Gypsy” (1795); Louise Farrenc’s Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 30 (1839); and Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet in B-flat major, Op. 18 (1860).
Celebrity Series of Boston presents Biribá Union at 3 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. Free. Biribá Union features Mike Block (cello, vocals), Christylez Bacon (beatbox, guitar, rhymes) and Edward Perez (electric bass, vocals). Their music draws on the freestyle theatrics of hip-hop and go-go music; the effortless beauty of Brazilian forró and choro; the earthiness of American roots music and the improvisational spontaneity of jazz.
The Evolution of a Black Classical Musician from 4 to 6 p.m. at St. Augustine African Orthodox Christian Church, 137 Allston St., Cambridgeport. Free. Bassoonist Lecolion Washington performs music from his album “Legacy: Music for Bassoon by African American Composers” and tells how a conversation with archbishop Desmond Tutu transformed his perception of the power of music.
Gish Jen reads “Bad Bad Girl” at 6 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. This autobiographical novel looks at her dynamic with a mother who emigrated to pursue the American dream at a young age, fell in love and started a family but found her dreams were not all she hoped them to be.
The Elikya Project Fundraiser: Night for Change Gala at 6:30 p.m. at The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $25 to $30. A fundraiser with comic Maz Ismael benefiting youth and food justice.
Sleeping Weazel’s Experimental Cabaret: Absurdist Performance for Absurd Times (continued) at 7 p.m. in Studio 7 of The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. $12 to $55.
“Phantom of the Opera” screening from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $20. Celebrate the centennial of Rupert Julian’s silent film adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s classic book. A live soundtrack of modern music by the Dylan Jack Quartet is provided.
Mr. Tampon Man’s Bloody Halloween from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $15. Stand-up comedy, live sketch comedy and feats of strength. Stars Steph Dalwin, Shelby LeCuyer, Lloyd Legacy Sharp, Emily Goldstein and Kristina Feliciano.
Monday, Oct. 20
Egypt Eternal: 4,000 Years of Fascination from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (open Sundays through Fridays) at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, 6 Divinity Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. An exhibit showcases the mummy case of Padimut, a teak and ivory reproduction of King Tutankhamun’s throne, the portrait of Idu in his underground tomb chapel and a “Dreaming the Sphinx” augmented-reality experience.
Brandon M. Terry reads from “Shattered Dreams, Infinite Hope: A Tragic Vision of the Civil Rights Movement” at 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free, or $38 with book. Many view the Civil Rights Movement as romantic, but the “arc of justice” narrative found in popular histories and the speeches of Barack Obama are tragic and should be viewed in a different lens, the author says. Harvard’s Danielle Allen and Michael Sandel join.
Death Café from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Somerville Public Library West Branch, 40 College Ave., near Davis Square. Free. A group-directed discussion of death with no agenda but to increase awareness of death and help people make the most of their (finite) lives. Light refreshments will be served.
Anna North reads from “Bog Queen” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. In this novel, Agnes, an American forensic anthropologist, is called to investigate a 2,000-year-old body found almost perfectly preserved in northwest England. Author Hanna Halperin joins.
Sci Fi/Fantasy Book Club at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square, Cambridge (and held monthly). Free, but RSVP. This time, the selection is “Some Desperate Glory” by Emily Tesh.
Soul Speak: Are We Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams? at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, on the Cambridge border. Free with registration, 18-plus. Michele Avery and Yvette Modestin, the creators behind “Crown of Times,” a play that explores the wounded history of Black hair culture, discuss how culture is preserved, challenged and reimagined across generations.
“No Blood Relation (Nasanu naka)” film screening at 7 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive at The Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $15. After achieving success as an actress, Tamae (Okada Yoshiko) returns to Japan in hopes of taking back her ex-husband Atsumi (Nara Shinyo) and their child Shigeko (Kojima Toshiko) by exploiting her newfound fortune and his impending bankruptcy. Despite Tamae’s belief that blood is thicker than water, Atsumi’s new wife Masako (Tsukuba Yukiko) has already won Shigeko’s heart. The 1932 film with English subtitles is directed by Naruse Mikion and includes live musical accompaniment by Robert Humphreville.
“The Thermodynamics of BBQ” at 7 p.m. on the front lawn of Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford St.; facing Oxford Street and Peabody Museum). Free. The Science and Cooking Public Lecture Series brings back pitmaster Bryan Furman, pitmaster and founder of Bryan Furman BBQ,
Madi Diaz performs from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $25. The Nashville singer-songwriter – formerly of Cambridge – performs songs from an album released Friday, “Fatal Optimist,” making it back for visit after playing last year’s Boston Calling music festival. Clover County opens.
Blacksmith House Poetry Series: Askold Melnyczuk and Nidia Hernández at 8 p.m. at Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 56 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $15. Melnyczuk reads poems from “The Venus of Odesa,” with Hernández, author of “The Farewell Light.”
Iona Fyfe performs at 8 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $33 to $35. The Scottish folk pop singer has performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as part of the World Premiere of Disney Pixar’s “Brave in Concert.”
Tuesday, Oct. 21
Gallery Talk: Encounters with Conservation at noon at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free, but register. An informal conversation with staffers about their work treating objects in various collections.
Swap: Warm clothing exchange from 4 to 6 p.m. at the MIT Welcome Center at 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free. Bring in gently used warm clothing for adults: jackets, sweaters, cardigans, coats, boots, unworn socks and other cozy items to trade. No need to bring clothes to participate, but bring bags to take home your new finds.
Bonnie Tsui reads from “On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters” at 6 p.m. at Harvard Science Center, 1 Oxford St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free, or $31 with book. RSVP required. Using science, reporting and personal narratives, she explains why muscles are important. For example, we use three different types of muscle in our bodies to make our hearts beat; push food through intestines, blood through vessels and babies out uteri; attach to our bones and allow for motion.
The Norton Lectures with Steve McQueen: “Pulse” at 6 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free, but RSVP. The artist and director of “12 Years a Slave” (2013), a winner of Golden Globes, Oscars and Baftas, gives six lectures this year. This second one is about “Small Axe,” a collection of five stand-alone films, each telling a story rooted in the Black British experience during a period of social and political upheaval. The next lecture is Nov. 6.
Jesse James Rose reads from “Sorry I Keep Crying During Sex” at 6:30 p.m. at All She Wrote Books, 75 Washington St., East Somerville. $30 with book. The transgender actor, writer and content creator discusses her memoir about recovery and feelings of loss in the aftermath of an assault, and the heartache of caring for a grandfather with Alzheimer’s disease. We wrote about it here.
“Have You Read This?” Book Moot at 6:30 p.m. at Pandemonium Books & Games, 4 Pleasant St., Central Square, Cambridge. $5, registration required. This time, discuss “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury.
Sam Sussman reads from “Boy from the North Country” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free, but RSVP. Evan, 26, is called home to take care of his ailing mother. While home, he comes to learn of his true origins and the secrets kept from him. Author Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon joins.
Thomas Schlesser reads from “Mona’s Eyes” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Mona and her grandfather, Henry, have only 52 Wednesdays to visit 52 works of art and commit them to memory before Mona loses her sight forever. Harvard’s Joseph Koerner joins.
Take Pride in Your Health at 7 p.m. at Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, on the Cambridge border. Free with registration, but 18-plus. This event gathers doctors, health practitioners and LGBTQIA+ specialists to explore essential topics such as gender-affirming care, mental health, preventative medicine and the ongoing work to build more inclusive health care environments.
Stand-Up on the Spot: an Improvised Stand-Up Show at 7:30 at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $10. A challenge to comics Addison Pollard, Allon D., Drew Briggs, Eric Sanford, Julian Gabelus and Uri Shatil to resist falling back on tried-and-true material and be funny in the moment. Sam Sobul hosts.
Wednesday, Oct. 22
Reopening the Library’s Valente Branch from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Library Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge St., Wellington-Harrington, Cambridge. Free. Join the Valente staff to celebrate the reopening of the branch with refreshments, crafts and games.
Elaine Scarry, Quinn Slobodian and Brandon M. Terry read from “The Responsibility of Intellectuals in the Age of Fascism and Genocide” at 6 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $12, $25 with book. Part of Boston Review’s 50th anniversary issue, also featuring longtime contributors including Robin D.G. Kelley and Vivian Gornick. Kelley revisits Noam Chomsky’s landmark 1967 essay, “The Responsibility of Intellectuals,” published near the height of the Vietnam War; David Austin Walsh explains what Zohran Mamdani’s triumph means for the future of the Democratic Party; Joelle M. Abi-Rached exposes the contradictions of the liberal international order over Gaza and Samuel Hayim Brody reviews three memoirs on the Arab Jewish world destroyed by colonialism; and Terry interviews political scientist Cathy Cohen about social movements and the future of Black politics. Boston College’s Aziz Rana joins.
Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders read from “Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship” at 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free, $32 with book. Schneier, a security technologist, and Sanders, a data scientist, discuss how democracy is affected by a new technology.
Blues and roots music at 6:30 p.m. at The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar, 49 Mount Auburn St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The Barrett Anderson Band performs every Wednesday. Joining Anderson (vocals and guitar) are Paul Loranger (upright and electric bass) and Joey Pafumi (drums and percussion).
Strummerville Ukulele from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville, and every fourth Wednesday. Free. Amateur musicians invite you to join in as they sing and strum the hits.
The Loneliness Epidemic: Big Tech’s Role and Responsibility at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston, on the Cambridge border. Free with registration, 18-plus. Explore how Big Tech’s business models and design choices shape our daily experiences. This program looks at how technology, including AI, can be reimagined as a bridge: strengthening relationships, enhancing cultural empathy and helping people reconnect with their community.
Thomas Hinds performs at 7 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. The Americana, country and folk troubadour says he survives on songs from the heart and a passion believing each day will be exactly what is needed, bitter or sweet.
Stefan Fatsis reads from “Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Kirkus Reviews calls this book “A romp in the land of lexicography … An entertaining, instructive look into how words make their way into the dictionary.” The New Yorker’s Louisa Thomas joins.
Poets Tadeusz Dąbrowski, Kristin Dykstra and Lisa Olstein from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $5 to $10, but register. With an introduction by Anna V. Q. Ross.
“Merrily We Roll Along” theater at 7:30 p.m. at the Loeb Experimental Theater, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge (and continuing through Oct. 25). $10 to $20 (continues on Thursday). The play follows Franklin Shepard, a talented composer turned jaded sellout, and the friends around him who rise and fall chasing their dreams. As the story moves backward through the years, we unravel the neglect and betrayals that destroyed these meaningful relationships.
Witchcraft Cinema: “Practical Magic” from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Side Quest Books & Games, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. $12. Watch the 1998 fantasy film starring Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest while crafting and sipping a themed drink. Popcorn and nonalcoholic drinks are provided, and other outside food from Bow Market vendors is welcome.
Thursday, Oct. 23
Arts Thursdays: Halloween at the museum from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., in the Baldwin neighborhood near Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Trick-or-treat through the museum and check out some of the spookiest specimens; wear your best Halloween costume and take photos at a photo booth; decorate a trick-or-treat bag. Also, visit the new exhibit “Velvet Worms: A Fierce Hunter with a Secret Weapon” in the Arthropods Gallery and encounter real-life zombies: fruit flies hijacked by a brain-controlling fungus.
Swallow Image with Goldin+Senneby at 5:30 p.m. at List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free, but RSVP. Twenty years ago, Jakob Senneby squinted at a grayscale image of his brain while a doctor traced a series of white blobs on the screen. His doctor told him the figures were signs of damage to the nervous system that are associated with multiple sclerosis. In the following years, he cycled through ineffectual treatments, tracking the progress of the disease with each scan. As he lost faith in the drugs, he learned that the white spots have proven to be a source of immense, hidden value: a booming economy. For “Swallow Image,” Goldin+Senneby discuss the evolution of “sick images” and the lucrative market for MS drugs.
Megha Majumdar reads from “ A Guardian and a Thief” at 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free, $32 with book. Set in the future Kolkata, India, families must battle each other for survival. Ma, her 2-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when their immigration documents are stolen. She must find the thief and keep starvation at bay. Author Allegra Goodman joins.
Stitch and Screen: “Pride and Prejudice” Craft Night from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Kendall/MIT Open Space at 292 Main St., Kendall Square, Cambridge. Free. Bring craft projects to work on while watching a screening of the 2005 film based on the Jane Austen classic. Presented in collaboration with the PKG Public Service Center and the MIT Women’s League.
Laurel Kratochvila reads from “Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Baker and author Kratochvila discusses the Polish baking tradition and includes more than 120 recipes to try. Maura Kilpatrick, pastry chef and owner of Sofra Bakery, joins.
Alyssa Battistoni reads from “Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free. The author looks at capitalism and explores its failure to value nature, arguing that the key question is not the moral issue of why some kinds of nature shouldn’t be commodified, but the economic puzzle of why they haven’t been. Katrina Forrester joins.
Dave Fox Trio performs at 7:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2, Somerville. Free. This modern jazz trio features original compositions and arrangements inspired by artists such as John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Wayne Shorter. Includes bassist John Lockwood and Boston-area musicians and composers such as guitarist Phil Sargent and saxophonists Nicholas Brust and Bill Jones.
“Merrily We Roll Along” theater (continued) at 7:30 p.m. at the Loeb Experimental Theater, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge (and continuing through Oct. 25). $10 to $20.
Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen at 8 p.m. at Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $50 to $75. The funk and R&B Grammy winner hits the road to support his album, “The Bywater Sessions.”
Cirque of the Dead at 8 p.m. at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville. $38 to $65 and 18-plus. Boston Circus Guild’s show blends aerials, acrobatics and contortion with creepy camp and humorous horror; this year’s story involves a classic horror anthology, with twisted tales pulled from the shadows of film noir, creature features and ’50s-era sci-fi. Performances also Oct. 24, Oct. 25 and Oct. 31.
MIT Symphony Orchestra: New Worlds from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. $15. Musicians perform Ruth Crawford: Rissolty Rossolty; Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F (Mi-Eun Kim, soloist); and Dvorak: Symphony no. 9.
A stronger
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