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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


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 26, 10:00am - 12:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
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Sat, Jul 26, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
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Sat, Jul 26, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
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John Carpenter’s legendary sci-fi horror film is paranoia and terror at their most intense.Register

Mon, Jul 28, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
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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
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Join us for our next Terror Tuesday!Register

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

Thu, Jul 31, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
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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
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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
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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

Tue, Aug 05, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
💀 The curse is back—and it starts with a videotape.Register

Thu, Aug 07, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
🎉 Surely you’re not serious about missing this! And don’t call us Shirley.Register

Fri, Aug 08, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Join us Friday, August 8th, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of legendary Arkansas radio station Magic 105 with a reunion of The Rock and Roll Breakfast - Live! with Tommy Smith, Big Dave, and Danny-Joe Crofford!Register

Rescheduled
Fri, Aug 08, 8:00pm - 10:00pm
New date Friday, August 08, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Join us Friday, August 8th, to celebrate the 45th anniversary of legendary Arkansas radio station Magic 105 with a reunion of The Rock and Roll Breakfast - Live! with Tommy Smith, Big Dave, and Danny-Joe Crofford!

Sat, Aug 09, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
🎶 Shred alert! Witness the ultimate face-off as axe-wielders of all ages and styles battle it out onstage.

Tue, Aug 12, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
🚀 Before Carpenter’s cult classic came this chilling slice of 1950s sci-fi paranoia. Register

Thu, Aug 14, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
🕺“We're on a mission from God.”Register

Fri, Aug 15, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Christian Bale delivers a chilling, career-defining performance as Wall Street sociopath Patrick Bateman.Register

Sat, Aug 16, 12:30pm - 2:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
🎈 Celebrate 40 years of whimsy, bicycles, and basement-less Alamos!Register

Sat, Aug 16, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Featuring intimate and in-depth interviews with Hockney, this revealing film focuses on two blockbuster exhibitions held in 2012 and 2016 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Register

Sat, Aug 16, 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
Let’s do the Time Warp again! Register

Tue, Aug 19, 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Ron Robinson Theater
👀 It’s sweet, it's deadly, and it's coming to get you!Register

Thu, Aug 21, All day
Ron Robinson Theater
Reel Queer is produced by Kaleidoscope Arts and Culture and is Arkansas's only major outlet for LGBT films, as well as LGBT filmmakers.

Sun, Aug 24, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Elizabeth Oldfield, author of Fully Alive: Tending the Soul in Turbulent Times, will be in conversation with Ben Kane, Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church.