Upcoming Lectures & Talks
10 upcoming lectures and talks from Wellesley Free Library, with dates, venues and ticket links taken from the organization’s own pages and refreshed weekly. All lectures in Greater Boston →
Thu Oct 8 · 4pm
Margie Lachman, a lifespan psychologist and professor at Brandeis University, discusses her new book Primetime: A New Vision for Midlife, which asks “What if midlife is the beginning of your prime?” Drawing on decades of research, she will “explore the realities of midlife, challenge common myths about aging,” and set out evidence-based strategies for thriving through adulthood. Wellesley Neighbors co-sponsors the talk.
Thu Oct 29 · 7pm
Chris Schadler of Project Coyote, a national nonprofit, talks about the eastern coyote, its history and behavior, and how people in the Northeast can live alongside the predator. She draws on her work in conservation and wildlife education and on 18 years of sheep farming among coyotes. The Wellesley Conservation Land Trust, the Natural Resources Commission and Sustainable Wellesley co-present.
Thu Nov 5 · 7pm
David Tuch discusses his debut book, The Wireless Operator: The Untold Story of the British Sailor Who Invented the Modern Drug Trade. Drawing on newly declassified records, Tuch tells the story of his cousin Harold Derber, whose smuggling operations “helped shape the modern drug trade and the war on drugs that followed.” He is joined in conversation by journalist Dick Lehr, co-author of Black Mass.
Tue Nov 10 · 7pm
Randy Ross, a Boston-area novelist, storyteller and comedian and the author of God Bless Cambodia, tells how a homebody’s sixteen-week solo trip around the world in 2007, with four continents and three bungee jumps, turned into a comedy novel and a one-man show. His one-man shows have played libraries, youth hostels, senior centers and more than 30 fringe festivals in the U.S., Canada and Edinburgh.
Sat Nov 14 · 2pm
New Bedford Whaling Museum docents Capt. Michael Taylor and Nancy Gentile give an illustrated journey aboard the Lagoda, a 19th-century whaling ship, covering life at sea, the whale hunt, ship design and the industry’s spread from New Bedford and Nantucket to the Arctic. Taylor spent more than 20 years in the British Merchant Navy; Gentile, formerly head of adult services at Robbins Library, has been a docent since 2017.
Sun Nov 15 · 2pm
Megan Marshall discusses After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart (2025), essays mixing memoir, biography and cultural history on the art of biography and the lives that shaped her work, from Sophia Peabody Hawthorne to the Black Power activist Jonathan Jackson. Marshall won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for Margaret Fuller: A New American Life; the Wellesley Historical Society co-presents.
Thu Nov 19 · 7pm
Climate activist Ryan Hagen, whose Act on Climate newsletter reaches more than 200,000 people in over 150 countries, argues that people have more power over climate change than they think, and talks about using it to change the systems they are part of, such as a town, company or school. His new book, Your Guide to Climate Action, has been called “incisive, concise, and eminently useful” by Bill McKibben.
Tue Dec 1 · 7pm
The Willow Flute Ensemble, a Massachusetts flute choir, plays the whole flute family, from the high piccolo to the resonant bass flute, blended into a single sound. Its December programme, Sparkling Flutes: Sounds of the Season, mixes classical, traditional and contemporary music with seasonal and winter-inspired pieces. The concert is sponsored by the Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries, and registration is required.
Thu Dec 10 · 7pm
David Donohue, who spent about twenty years on Wellesley's Department of Public Works and Municipal Light Plant boards, looks at a period of major change for the light plant: upgrades to the town's distribution system, electricity-market deregulation, the creation of ISO New England and the industry's response to climate change. A former Advisory Committee chair, he has taught the business of energy around the world.
Sun Dec 13 · 2pm
Tegan Kehoe of the Paul Revere House looks at Revere's political work as a Patriot well before the Midnight Ride of 1775: his part in shaping public opinion about the Boston Massacre, the evidence that he may have been at the Boston Tea Party, and his first ride as a courier, carrying news of “the destruction of the tea.” The Friends of the Wellesley Free Libraries sponsor the program.
