Writers Bloc Presents
Patrick Radden Keefe and Tommy Vietor
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
7:30 PM
The Ebell of Los Angeles
743 South Lucerne Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Ticket $20
PLEASE BRING CASH/CHECK TO WILL CALL TO PURCHASE TICKETS TONIGHT.
WE REQUIRE THAT YOU WEAR A MASK AT THE PROGRAM.
$20 Ticket
No Refunds.
The New Yorker journalist and extraordinary author Patrick Radden Keefe’s books are simply breathtaking. Once you open one of his books, or listen to a podcast episode, you might as well cancel all plans for the next few days. They’re that addictive. They’re that good. He takes investigative reporting to a new level of excellence of narrative nonfiction. He is, simply, one of the great investigative writers of our time.
Radden Keefe’s new book, Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks, is a collection of pieces from The New Yorker on people who don’t strictly adhere to the law. Criminals and con men are, by nature, fascinating, and while Patrick Radden Keefe details their exploits, we can’t help but admire their ingenuity, as well as those who came up against them. It’s just great.
But then there’s The Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Not only a bestseller, but a phenomenon that pulls back the curtain on the Sackler family, whose fortune from Oxycontin was based on simple greed, no matter the social cost, no matter the cost to millions of people across the nation. The Empire of Pain won more prizes than we can name– not just because his relentless research revealed shocking details of a renown philanthropic family, but because the depth of their corporate depravity ruined so many lives.
Speaking of murder, Patrick Radden Keefe’s book on Northern Ireland, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, is another favorite that won a slew of prestigious awards, including the National Book Critic Circle Award, among many others. This book explains the Troubles in Northern Ireland through the lens of one family. It is propulsive, addictive, and stunning.
Tommy Vietor is an expert in many fields relating to politics and presidents. He is a co-founder of Crooked Media, co-host of Pod Save America, and the host of the foreign-policy focused Pod Save the World. In a past life, he worked for President Obama for nine years, including a stint as White House National Security Spokesman. He says he tweets too much but we respectfully disagree.
Parking available in adjacent lots or there is street parking (please read signs).