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October 19
Wildlife Conservation Film Festival Anthology Film Archives; October 19–23 6–8pm, 8:30–10:30pm; single screening $18
See stirring documentaries about how climate change and global shifts affect endangered species like Asian elephants and captive dolphin populations. With dozens of shorts and features from around the planet to choose from, you’re bound to find a picture that moves you.
Get Your Knit On with Wool and the Gang The Malt House FIDI; 7pm; $45–$50
Whether you have been knitting for years or never heard of a snood until now, you’re about to fall in love with Wool and the Gang’s soft fabrics (like Crazy Sexy Wool) and user-friendly knitting techniques. If your needlework is too stiff, loosen your grip with a drink from the Malt House.
Ask Me Another The Bell House, Brooklyn; 7pm; $20, at the door $25
Everyone in Brooklyn knows there’s nothing cooler than NPR. Join Ophira Eisenberg for a zany live recording of the public radio network's quiz show, featuring indie darling Peter Sarsgaard and Welcome to Night Vale’s Cecil Baldwin.
Sean Patton The Creek & the Cave, Queens; Oct 19–23 7pm; free
Catch a free night of sardonic storytelling from the prolific comic Sean Patton, who recently bounced around Inside Amy Schumer and @midnight.
Half Straddle Forever Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater; 9pm; $75, VIP $250
The feminist theater group Half Straddle is raising funds for upcoming outlandish pieces and hopes to pull it off with dazzling performances from drag singer Kimberly Clark, Justin Vivian Bond, Lucy Taylor and other mesmerizers. See some of NYC’s finest and most unconventional stage stars get down for a good cause.
October 20
The Dogist Strand Book Store; 7pm; entry with book purchase or $15 gift card
Skip the depressing shelter commercials on cable and go see fabulously curated shots of dogs taken by famed photographer Elias Weiss Freidman. By the time the night is over, you might be ready to pick up Freidman’s collection of dog photography The Dogist and even take a new companion home from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' in-store adoption booth.
An Evening with Mattieu Ricard The Players Club; 7pm; $75–$250
Sit down with the person hailed as “the happiest person in the world” for a fascinating talk on activism, meditation and human connection, which supports Ricard’s health care and education initiatives in India, Nepal and Tibet.
Two Dope Queens Union Hall, Brooklyn; 8pm; $10
Want to be best friends with The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams? Your next best bet is to see Williams and fellow comic Phoebe Robinson bring their Blaria (black Daria) attitude to the stage and dish on Rachel Dolezal, bad hair and hilarious topics.
Tidal X Barclays Center, Brooklyn; 8pm; $39.50–$250
The rumors are true: Nicki and Bey will be on the same stage on the same night. Lose your mind to an A-list lineup that includes Jay Z, Usher and Prince as new music-streaming site Tidal celebrates hitting the 1 million-subscriber mark.
Gabrielle Stravelli Feinstein’s/54 Below; 9:30pm; $30–$70, plus $20 minimum
The jazz and pop singer has garnered a passionate fan base with intimate shows, well-arranged renditions of cabaret standards and a witty conversational tone. See Stravelli perform new songs and conquer classics by Stevie Wonder and Ella Fitzgerald.
October 21
“My Fair Ladies: Female Robots, Androids and Other Artificial Eves” New York Public Library, Mid-Manhattan; 6:30pm; free
Ever wondered about the prevalence of female cylons, fembots and Franken-ladies in such movies as The Stepford Wives and Ex Machina? Historian Julie Wosk reveals the disturbing implications of these man-made women and envisions a future of gender-balanced artificial intelligence.
Tove Lo and Eric Hassle Terminal 5; 7pm; $30
Abba, Ace of Base, Lykke Li, Robyn and now Tove Lo — why is Sweden so good at cranking out pop queens? Bask in the dark bliss of Tove Lo’s angsty, throbbing bad-girl ballads and become addicted to fellow Swede Erik Hassle’s catchy dance pop jams.
Lit Crawl NYC Housing Works Bookstore Cafe; 7pm; free
Meet other avid readers who know how to get down at this boisterous book party, where authors like Rosie Schaap and Alex Gilvarry lead well-lubricated games of Literary Pictionary, Nerd Jeopardy and more over live rock & roll performances and flowing alcohol.
Book Launch: If Raindrops United by Judah Friedlander The powerHouse Arena, Brooklyn; 7pm; free
“One of the all-time great weirdos,” per Tina Fey, introduces his batty new book of cartoons and comics, which humorously points out the absurdity in everything from the Keystone pipeline to our founding fathers. 30 Rock die-hards and cartoon lovers will be more than satisfied by Friedlander’s hysterical new offering.
Pat in the Hat The Bell House, Brooklyn; 7:30pm; $26
Show off your in-depth knowledge of Kafka, Dostoyevsky and Jackie Collins at this raucous book-trivia showdown. World Series of Pop Culture host Pat Kiernan will put your team through a brutal gauntlet of book-related minutiae, so make sure your buddies don’t just hit the CliffsNotes.
Magical Cloudz + She-Devils National Sawdust, Brooklyn; 8pm; $15
Impress your Brooklyn urbanite friends and snag tickets for a night at the brand-new National Sawdust club. Magical Cloudz bring their signature psychedelic sound (honed in partnership with Grimes) to the splendid new club space.
Back to the Future: the Ride Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre; 9:30pm; $5
It’s been 30 years since Back to the Future. And though our present world lacks the hoverboards of Robert Zemeckis’s 2015, we daresay Marty McFly and Doc Brown would find a few things to like about the future, including this comical interactive show that sends performers Matt Dennie, Shaun Diston and Ryan Haney back in time to reset the trilogy’s mythology. This show may not have positive effects on the time-space continuum, but it’s guaranteed to crack you up.
An Evening with Judd Apatow and Pete Holmes Gotham Comedy Club; 9:30pm; $25
Two of comedy’s sharpest (and most self-deprecating) names present new material at this tag-team special. Holmes will delight fans of his intimate podcast You Made It Weird, while repeat watchers of Knocked Up, Trainwreck and even Girls will find Apatow as affable as ever.
Lea DeLaria: House of David Smoke Jazz & Supper Club; 11:30pm; $12 plus $20 minimum
You won’t be surprised to hear that Orange Is the New Black’s Big Boo got her start in stand-up, but her bona-fide jazz-singing chops are likely to astonish her new fans. The bold personality brings her love of David Bowie to a jazz revue of his catalog, with crooning covers of “Fame,” “Boys Keep Singing” and more.
October 22
Open Run Night Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island; 6pm; free
With no dogs or pedestrians in your way, you’ll finally be able to run like the champion you always knew you were. Head to Icahn stadium to receive pointers from running coaches, and then enjoy the bliss of crossing a real finish line.
Hedda Presents the Classics: Rosemary’s Baby Bowtie Chelsea Cinemas; 7pm; $10
Demented green-haired drag queen Hedda Lettuce savages Ruth Gordon, Mia Farrow and satanic fetuses at this high-camp weekly screening event. You’ll be begging Hedda to accompany you to see every movie on your Oscar list.
Ukulele Night Freddy’s Bar; 7pm; free
Come in costume and prepare to be terrified (or at least tickled) by the dedicated strummers of the . Bring some favorite campfire songs for a strumming session and load up on cavity-inducing candies a week before Halloween.
Astronomy on Tap Videology, Brooklyn; 9pm; free
Contemplate the origin of our species and the possibility of intelligent life in our galaxy over drinks as some of the gamest nerds in town gather for a screening of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey in Videology’s screening room.
OntheFloor Le Poisson Rouge; 10pm; $20
The marvelously creative, radically inclusive folks from the Dance Cartel have set out to bring back the art of dance to its rightful place — on the floor. Move like you’ve lost your mind to mad beats in this mix of interactive choreography and performance art.
Stand Up and Sing Union Hall, Brooklyn; 9pm; $10
Watch stellar stand-up followed by unpredictable karaoke ballads by some of the city’s most prolific comedians, including Mara Wilson, Aparna Nancherla, Lynn Bixenspan and Brandon Scott Wolf. Regardless of how their singing turns out, we can guarantee laughs.