NEWS

SPECIAL EVENTS

Free to LLAIC Members

LOOKING TO JOIN LLAIC?

PREVIEW OF 2026 SPRING SEMESTER

MONDAY, JANUARY 12 @ 1 P.M.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 @ 10 A.M.

Join us on Zoom for our January 12th Getting to Know Us at 1 p.m. or our February 10th Getting to Know Us at 10 a.m., where you will learn about our vibrant Lifelong Learning Program. In addition we have a wide variety of courses, group activities, and programs, starting with a free four-week Wintersession Program (January 13 - February 5) that is available to spring members.

Click here before noon on Sunday, January 11, to request a Zoom invitation to the January 12th session; or watch this space for a link to an invite for February 10th.

Click hereTUESDAYS, WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS @ 10:00 A.M.

JANUARY 13 THROUGH FEBRUARY 5 (FOUR WEEKS)

ON ZOOM

Drop in via Zoom and enjoy Wintersession on any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between January 13 and February 5, at 10:00 a.m. Zoom links will be available here. Be sure to request a link by noon on the day before each event. Here are previews of some of the upcoming attractions:

TUESDAYS, JANUARY 13, 20, 27, AND FEBRUARY 3: CAROLE LEVY LEADS DISCUSSIONS OF TABLE FOR TWO BY AMOR TOWLES

Carole Levy will facilitate a four-week discussion of short stories from Amor Towles’s book Table for Two. Although there is no cost for the sessions, participants will need to obtain their own copies of the book, which is on Amazon for $12.11 and in local libraries. We will look at the themes, characters, plot twists, and format in this very entertaining book. Click here before noon on Monday, January 12, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14: SUE GOLDBERG PRESENTS "HENRY KISSINGER AT 99: INFLUENCE AND CONTROVERSY"

For more than 50 years, Henry Kissinger was one of the most influential people in American foreign policy. He was never elected to office, yet he reshaped how Americans interact with the rest of the world. This lecture, created shortly before his death two years ago, will trace his journey from German-Jewish refugee to U.S. soldier, professor, policy maker, and pundit. In addition to Kissinger’s policies – and the many controversies surrounding them – in Vietnam, China, Russia, and the Middle East, the video will assess Kissinger’s legacy. Click here before noon on Tuesday, January 13, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15: DON BERMONT FACILITATES "SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBERSHIP" WITH PETER SCHMIDT 

An occasional feature of the LLAIC community, this presentation lets us get to know some of our members in depth. By this time in our lives, we all have interesting stories and kernels of wisdom to share. On January 15, Don will speak with Peter Schmidt. Peter, one of our founders, has been instrumental in creating and maintaining many of LLAIC's technical functions, such as our course registration software. We will hear about many other aspects of Peter’s life, including his experiences and what he has learned over the years. Click here before noon on Wednesday, January 14, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22: PHYLLIS P. COHEN PRESENTS "AI: PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE"

Artificial Intelligence is innovative, creative and can be quite accurate. It is also unreliable often fraught with misinformation, and legal anc cultural resistance. Professor Bryan Alexander of Georgetown University, a futurist, will explain what AI is and isn't, outline the different iterations and forecast its implications for our future.

Afte the video we will have time for your thoughts and concerns. Click here before noon on Wednesday, January 21, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

PREVIEWS OF SOME OF OUR COMING ATTRACTIONS (WATCH FOR UPDATES):

• Wednesdays, January 21 and February 4: Current Events
• Wednesday, January 28: "Our Broken Two-Party System: Can American Politics Be Fixed?" presented by Shelly Levine
• Thursday: February 5: "Sweden: Lessons for America?" presented by Alice Freedman

LLAIC LOVES ART

AND THE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM

PRESENT LOOKING TO THE SKIES

WITH DOCENT GENISE McGREGOR

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14 @ 1:30 PM

How does an artist attempt to capture a subject which is ever-changing and as vast as the sky? Journey across time and across the globe in this fascinating exploration into the variety of ways an artist responds to, and interprets, the sky.

Genise McGregor has been a Docent of Phoenix Art Museum since 2018, giving talks and tours to educators and museum visitors of all ages. She encourages art appreciation via online and in-person presentations at community centers throughout Phoenix. Genise obtained her fine arts degree at CU Boulder, Colorado and is an ASU Gammage Teaching Artist, trained in the Kennedy Center Arts Integration method. 

Click here before noon on Tuesday, January 13 to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

LLAIC LOVES ART

THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM PRESENTS A VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OF MONET IN VENICE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21 @ 1:30 PM

This is the exhibit that is currently at the Brooklyn Museum. Click here before noon on Tuesday, January 20 to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

AFFINITY GROUP MEETINGS

Free to LLAIC Members

SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP

(LA TERTULIA)

MONDAY, JANUARY 5 @ 1:00 P.M.

Our format consists of reading and discussing articles from various Spanish language media sources of general high interest. There is no homework although everyone is invited to submit articles they might find for our agendas.

The hosts for the group are Miriam Grodberg and Larry Krakauer. Contact Miriam to request an invitation or with any

questions.

CURRENT EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7 @ 10:00 A.M.

LED BY DON BERMONT

Welcome to the new year. How different will it be from 2025?

To begin, we will discuss the state of law and order in the US. In response to our last discussion, I encourage everyone to keep track of the sources of information that helped you gather the facts that form your opinion.

Are laws being enforced equally across America, or is there so much corruption, deception, and violence that it seems so much is out of control? Consider:

• The ongoing investigations in Minnesota over stolen childcare funds. (Fox)
• The first family has made over $4 billion in deals, bribes, and crypto since taking office. (RR)
• Using expensive high-tech weapons to blow up small boats, which may or may not be carrying drugs to America. (CNN)
• Venezuela? I don’t understand what’s happening and why. Is Greenland next?
• The Federal government combing election rolls to find voter fraud — legal or voter suppression? (Washington Times)
• Is the DOJ prosecuting criminals or chasing Trump’s critics? (NYT)
• Is the way the Epstein files are being revealed showing that it’s all a Democratic hoax, or is it the biggest sex-trafficking cover-up in history? (HCR)
• How much does a pardon cost? (Axios)
• Is “affordability” a hoax? How much do hamburger, housing, and healthcare cost? (Boston Globe)
• Who runs our foreign policy? Trump, Rubio, Kushner, or Putin? (NYT)

Click here before noon on Tuesday, January 6, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

LLAIC LIT-LOVERS:

SMALL MERCIES

BY DENNIS LEHANE

LED BY GAIL STONE

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9 @ 10:30

“Small Mercies is thought provoking, engaging, enraging, and can’t-put-it-down entertainment.” — Stephen King.

The acclaimed author of Mystic River gives us another masterpiece —an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history - the summer of 1974.

Click here before noon on Thursday, January 8, for a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it that day.

Coming up:

• February 13 – The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin – Irma Napoleon
• March 13 – Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende – Abby Shapiro
• April 10 - Exit by Belinda Bauer – Dana Kaplan
• May 8 – The Lion Women of Tehran – Phyllis Cohen