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Image for event: CALS Speaker Series presents McKay Coppins

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CALS Speaker Series presents McKay Coppins

Award-winning Journalist & Bestselling Author

2024-02-29 18:30:00 2024-02-29 19:30:00 America/Chicago CALS Speaker Series presents McKay Coppins McKay Coppins is a staff writer at <em>The Atlantic</em>, where he is a leading voice in the magazine's coverage of politics, religion, and national affairs. Ron Robinson Theater - Ron Robinson Theater

Thursday, February 29
6:30pm - 7:30pm

Add to Calendar 2024-02-29 18:30:00 2024-02-29 19:30:00 America/Chicago CALS Speaker Series presents McKay Coppins McKay Coppins is a staff writer at <em>The Atlantic</em>, where he is a leading voice in the magazine's coverage of politics, religion, and national affairs. Ron Robinson Theater - Ron Robinson Theater

Ron Robinson Theater

Ron Robinson Theater

McKay Coppins is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he is a leading voice in the magazine's coverage of politics, religion, and national affairs.


A former visiting fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, Coppins has appeared in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list and is the recipient of the 2019 Aldo Beckman Award from the White House Correspondents’ Association for his profiles of figures in the Trump Administration, and the 2021 Wilbur Award for his Atlantic essay “The Most American Religion” on Mormonism.

His New York Times bestseller, Romney: A Reckoning, illuminates the life of one of America’s most fascinating political figures. Drawing from personal journals, emails, and exclusive interviews with Romney, his family, and his inner circle, Coppins unveils the enigmatic politician’s private thoughts as he wrestles with the choices he has made over his career.

The book traces Romney’s early life and rise through the ranks of a fast-transforming Republican Party and exposes how a trail of seemingly small compromises by political leaders has led to a crisis in democracy. Ultimately, Romney: A Reckoning is a redemptive story about a flawed politician who summoned his moral courage just as fear and divisiveness were overtaking American life. The book was named one of the best books of 2023 by the New Yorker and NPR. Coppins is also the author of The Wilderness, a 2015 book about the battle for the future of the Republican Party which was excerpted in the Washington Post and named one of the best nonfiction books of the year by Buzzfeed.

Coppins is an experienced public speaker whose areas of expertise include digital media, American culture, politics, religion, and narrative journalism. He has had notable appearances on shows such as Late Night with Seth Meyers, Amanpour & Company, CBS News, CNN, and MSNBC and he has hosted segments at The Atlantic Festival. In addition, he has been heard on NPR’s Fresh AirAll Things Considered, Morning Edition, and On Point. He lives near Washington, D.C., with his wife and children.

This event is co-sponsered by the Political Animals Club of Little Rock.

This program honors John Netherland (J. N.) Heiskell, who served as editor of the Arkansas Gazette for more than seventy years. CALS Executive Director, Nate Coulter, will moderate.

A scoop-rich biography…An especially clear window onto the forces that over the last decade have transformed the GOP….Coppins gained extraordinary access…The tell-all tales gush forth.” (Los Angeles Times)

An astonishing, nearly unprecedented catalog of intraparty critique… it’s also, and maybe all the more importantly, a deft study of the capacity for rationalization…this is what makes this book so interesting, and also important.” (Politico)

A rare feat in modern-day political reporting: an account in which the subject engages in actual introspection. (New Yorker)

A memorable distillation of a life in politics, of the tension between high principle and unseemly justification. It’s a tension Romney has navigated better than most, in part for his willingness to acknowledge its existence.” (Carlos Lozada, New York Times)

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AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Literature & Language | History & Genealogy |

TAGS: | SpeakerSeries |

Ron Robinson Theater

Phone: 501.320.5715

Hours

Ron Robinson Theater

Today's hours

We're open 9:00AM to 5:30PM

We're closed Friday July 04 due to Independence Day

Address
100 River Market Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201
Tel: 501.320.5715

About the branch

The Ron Robinson Theater is a 315-seat multi-purpose event venue. Part of the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Main Library campus, it is designed to provide programs for all ages including films, music performances, plays, readings, lectures, speakers, and children’s activities. The theater is equipped with a state-of-the-art DCI-compliant Barco digital cinema projection system and 32′ wide retractable screen; and, a versatile sound system capable of Dolby 5.1 surround audio for movies, with a CL3 digital mixing console with ample inputs for traditional music concerts.

Upcoming Events

Sat, Jul 05, 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
In partnership with Summer @ CALS (the library's summer reading program), we are pleased to offer family-friendly films each Saturday. Individuals who sign up for the program can earn badges and choose a free movie pass as their prize! Register

Sat, Jul 05, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
He’s a what? He’s a what? He’s a movie musical legend! Register

Sat, Jul 05, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Nothing says Fourth of July like Will Smith punching an alien in the face!Register

Tue, Jul 08, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Join us for our next Terror Tuesday!Register

Wed, Jul 09, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
📢 “You stay classy, Little Rock!”Register

Thu, Jul 10, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Nobody puts Baby in a corner!Register

Fri, Jul 11, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Join us on the 2nd Friday of each month for Art Night at the Theater during downtown's 2nd Friday Art Night!Register

Sat, Jul 12, 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
In partnership with Summer @ CALS (the library's summer reading program), we are pleased to offer family-friendly films each Saturday. Individuals who sign up for the program can earn badges and choose a free movie pass as their prize! Register

Sat, Jul 12, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers are some of the most iconic paintings in the world. What many mistake for one masterpiece, are actually five paintings of sunflowers in vases scattered across galleries in Amsterdam, London, Munich, Philadelphia & Tokyo.Register

Sat, Jul 12, 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Let’s do the Time Warp again!Register

Tue, Jul 15, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Join us for our next Terror Tuesday!Register

Fri, Jul 18, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Get ready for one of the wildest nights you’ll ever have at the movies.Register

Sat, Jul 19, 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
In partnership with Summer @ CALS (the library's summer reading program), we are pleased to offer family-friendly films each Saturday. Individuals who sign up for the program can earn badges and choose a free movie pass as their prize! Register

Sat, Jul 19, 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Featuring Amy Garland Angel, Charlotte Taylor, Emily Fenton, and King Honey!Register

Tue, Jul 22, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Join us for our next Terror Tuesday!Register

Thu, Jul 24, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
The Coen Brothers reimagine Homer’s Odyssey in this hilarious, heartwarming Southern-fried musical journey.Register

Fri, Jul 25, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
As you wish! Whether it’s your first time or your hundredth, there’s no resisting the wit, heart, and swashbuckling fun of The Princess Bride.Register

Sat, Jul 26, 10:00am - 12:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Rocktown Naturals is a NANBF sanctioned amateur drug free body building show.

Sat, Jul 26, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
I'll be right here...Register

Sat, Jul 26, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
John Carpenter’s legendary sci-fi horror film is paranoia and terror at their most intense.Register

Mon, Jul 28, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Get ready for an astounding one night only experience! The 24 Hour Plays: Little Rock returns for its third annual production, showcasing incredible local talent while supporting a vital cause.Register

Tue, Jul 29, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Join us for our next Terror Tuesday!Register

Wed, Jul 30, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Art Porter Music Education presents A Work of Art 2025: Alex Bugnon in concert

Thu, Jul 31, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Caddyshack is a 1980 comedy directed by Harold Ramis that revolves around the chaos at an exclusive golf club.Register

Fri, Aug 01, 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
The Reel Black Film Showcase is an annual non-competitive film showcase that recognizes and honors Black Arkansas-connected filmmakers.

Sat, Aug 02, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Columbia University students set up a Gaza Solidarity Encampment on campus, aiming to pressure the university to divest from U.S. and Israeli weapons companies.

Sat, Aug 02, 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Join us for our next screening of National Theatre Live!Register

Sat, Aug 02, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
🎤 "Grease" is the word — and it's lighting up the big screen at Ron Robinson Theater! 🌟Register