Three headshots of professionally dressed people appear side by side on a black background. A green diagonal banner across the image reads SOLD OUT. The right edge has LOS ANGELES in bold white text on a blue stripe.

Is It the End of the World As We Know It?: A Playbook for the Times

Free expression, due process, civil liberties—once cornerstones of American democracy—are under growing threat. From disinformation to institutional erosion, what once seemed unthinkable now feels dangerously possible. How do we respond—not with despair, but with strategy? In this urgent conversation Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor and author of After the Fall and The World As It Is; Lynn Vavreck, UCLA political scientist and co-author of The Bitter End: The 2020 Presidential Campaign and the Challenge to American Democracy; and Peter Hamby, host of Snapchat’s “Good Luck America” and Founding Partner, Puck News, confront the escalating attacks on democratic norms in the U.S. and the global forces that echo them. With clarity, insight, and sharp analysis, they’ll explore how narratives are weaponized, what history teaches us about political fracture, and what a modern “playbook” for civic resilience might look like.

We are pleased to offer this event in partnership with The Wende Museum. 6pm Opening Night Reception, 7:15pm Program begins.