Fall 2025: Week 8

Come join us for Week 8 of our fall semester program. We have a great line-up of classes on current events/issues, culture and the arts, historical perspectives, and better living. All our fall classes are online on Zoom.

For Course Descriptions Click Here
For Course Calendar Click Here 
For Registration Click Here 

NEW CLASSES

TUESDAY, OCT 28

Solid State, a Short Film, with Derek Shane Garcia
10:30-11:45
Derek’s latest film focuses on two women, Gretchen and Abigail, who catch up at a bar in New York City after years apart.  The movie has been screened at several film festivals and will be shown during the class, with Derek discussing its creation and production. He is a filmmaker born and raised and still in Brooklyn, who got his start at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009 as a Film Fellow; also nominated for and won several awards at various film festivals. His recent directorial debut feature film, A/way, screened at the prestigious Dances with Films NY, was nominated for and won awards at several film festivals, including the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, where it won Outstanding Feature, Director, and Performance in a Narrative Feature Film. A/way is available on streaming platforms, including Amazon. He has made two documentaries for CBS Sunday Morning and PBS for Ken Burns, that have aired nationally. BFA in Film from SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory.

WEDNESDAY, OCT 29
Lost and Found: The Sinking of the Titanic and the Discovery of Its Remains, with Meish Goldish
1:00-2:15pm
When the Titanic sank during its maiden voyage in 1912, the world was horrified and astounded. How could it have happened? The great ship was supposed to be unsinkable! To add to the mystery, no one knew exactly where the sunken ship rested on the ocean floor. It took 73 years for ocean explorers to locate the gigantic vessel.  What, exactly, caused it to sink? And how was it finally rediscovered two-and-a-half miles down in the water? This class will take you on an unforgettable journey to the past to uncover one of the world's most perplexing mysteries. Meish is an amateur historian. 

Trends Among Leading Edge Thinkers in the Last 30 Years, with Alan Steinfeld & David Katzmire
2:45-4:00pm

The fields of science, spirituality, arts and entertainment have varied dramatically in recent times. In our rapid-paced American culture, we find the contemporaneous trends often rule over traditional precedents. Every few decades, it feels like we are almost living in a new country. Compare the 1930s to the 1960s, and the 1960s with the 1990s to see the huge differences. Alan will review what leading figures have had to say over the last few decades in his experiences interviewing such noteworthy thinkers as Dr. Deepak Chopra, journalist Lynne McTaggart, author and lecturer Bruce Lipton and more. Alan is the producer/host of the YouTube channel program New Realities and author of the award-winning book, Making Contact: Preparing for the New Realities of Extraterrestrial Existence. David is a technology consultant for CL&L

THURSDAY, OCT 30

On PBS’s “American Experience,” with Jon Neuburger and Inara de Leon
2:45-4:00pm

Jon is known for his work as the editor of more than 20 episodes of PBS’s American Experience, which after 37 years on the air was abruptly cancelled this summer in the wake of the Trump administration's brutal funding cuts to PBS.  It is TV's most-watched history series.  Jon's work with the series includes programs on JFK (Emmy Winner), Disney, and McCarthy. He has also worked on the network’s other highly respected series, Frontline and Nova.  The current presidential administration continues to successfully undermine the media with threats of cancelling broadcast licenses --- Jimmy Kimmel one of the latest to lose his platform.  Jon and Inara will discuss these controversies and other key issues. She was a long-time producer of politics for WNBC in NY. 

RETURNING CLASSES

TUESDAY, OCT 28

Poetry for Pleasure in the Fall, with Barry Wallenstein
1:00-2:15pm
These lectures with discussion will involve close readings of poems – classic, modern, and contemporary. Our aim is to listen to the sound poems make. What makes a successful language performance? We will discuss these works’ emotional truth, unity of expression, and attention-holding, pleasure-providing use of language. 

CLICK HERE for the semester poetry book
  
In our class on Oct 28, we'll discuss the poems on these pages: 

• Somewhere Swimming by Kyla Marshell, p.70

• Obsession by Charles Baudelaire, p.11

• The Space Between by Jill Jupen, p.71

• Today I Will Take You Along by Harianne Wallenstein, p. 38

• Where I am From by Arden Rose Macomber, p. 37

• I Am in Need of Music & Miracle for Breakfast by Elizabeth Bishop, p. 26-27

• My Childhood Home I See Again by Abraham Lincoln, pp. 61-62

• Speaker for The Dead by Roald Hoffman, p.76

What Do You Think? Discussion, with Bill Goldman
2:45-4:00pm
This course is a group discussion of current events, focusing on significant economic, social, and political issues in the news. A few key articles from major newspapers and journals will be sent to students in advance to read so we can come to talk about our views on the subjects. We want to hear what you think! 

The attached articles for discussion include a field trip report  on the streets with New York's "rat tsar"; a discussion of Trump"s war on America's schools ; and a question about what if Putin and Xi live forever?
To download articles for class, CLICK HERE


WEDNESDAY, OCT 29
 
Writing Spontaneously, with Bonnie Max
10:30-11:45am
This course provides us with an opportunity to explore our thoughts and feelings. Bonnie gives us some open-ended prompts that offer room for interpretation. They may be questions, incomplete sentences, quotations, lists or images. We jot down whatever comes to mind for us. Then we share our work by reading aloud and listening to each other. There is no judgment or criticism. Everyone is welcome. No previous writing experience is needed.

THURSDAY, OCT 30
Law in the Headlines, with Leora Harpaz
10:30-11:45am
In the last class of the semester, Leora will continue to discuss the First Amendment challenge to Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy and the oral argument in the case. After that she will discuss three recent cases that involve issues about elections, two on the Court’s regular docket and one emergency application. The first case is a challenge to Louisiana’s 2024 Congressional map that a group of voters claim is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander because the legislature created a second majority-Black district to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The case gives the Court another opportunity to weaken a statute that has played an important role in assuring we have fair elections. The second case is a First Amendment challenge to a campaign finance limit that the Court upheld in an earlier decision. The emergency application also involves Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and is another effort to limit the use of that provision. Time allowing, Leora will discuss other important cases on this Term’s docket. Leora welcomes your suggestions for other subjects you’d like to hear about. Please email Judy (judy@langerqual.com) if you would like to make suggestions for topics you would like covered in upcoming classes.

Politics 2025, with Larry Geneen
1:00-2:15pm
As of now, the government shutdown continues, with the Republicans refusing to meet in Congress to debate it. That has had an impact on the lives of many people, including Trump supporters.  The president’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing to create a new ballroom has provoked strong opinions, both for and against. Trump has sent the National Guard to several Democratic cities, and promises to send more, including to NYC, where he opposes the Muslim mayoral candidate. The peace accord in the Middle East is an important move, which will be defined more. As always, Larry encourages interactive discussions and welcomes student suggestions of topics to cover; write to judy@langerqual.com


And there's more...
Madi Shevlin gave a class on The Benefits of Plant-Based Living. It touched on how to make small changes to any lifestyle to include more healthy plant based foods and products. She offers some guides to implement changes in our daily lives. Click here to view the documents she has put together for CL&L.