What we’re about
Profs and Pints brings professors and other college instructors into bars, cafes, and other venues to give fascinating talks or to conduct instructive workshops. They cover a wide range of subjects, including history, politics, popular culture, horticulture, literature, creative writing, and personal finance. Anyone interested in learning and in meeting people with similar interests should join. Lectures are structured to allow at least a half hour for questions and an additional hour for audience members to meet each other. Admission to Profs and Pints events requires the purchase of tickets, either in advance (through the link provided in event descriptions) or at the door to the venue. Many events sell out in advance.
Although Profs and Pints has a social mission--expanding access to higher learning while offering college instructors a new income source--it is NOT a 501c3. It was established as a for-profit company in hopes that, by developing a profitable business model, it would be able to spread to other communities much more quickly than a nonprofit dependent on philanthropic support. That said, it is welcoming partners and collaborators as it seeks to build up audiences and spread to new cities. For more information email profsandpints@hotmail.com.
Thank you for your interest in Profs and Pints.
Regards,
Peter Schmidt, Founder, Profs and Pints
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Profs & Pints Northern Virginia: Encountering CryptidsCrooked Run Fermentation, Sterling, VA
Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “Encountering Cryptids,” on the cultural, historical and psychological significance of beings that may exist only in lore, with Joshua Barton, lecturer in English at Virginia Commonwealth University and scholar of horror.
[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/crooked-run-cryptids .]
Some started out as anecdotes shared by explorers. Others were created as cautionary tales, or literally were just developed as spooky stories for kids. Regardless of their origins, they’re now entrenched inhabitants of our nation’s landscapes, their lives perpetuated through tales told by communities that believe they’re real.
They’re cryptids with names like Sasquatch, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, Ogopogo, the Flatwoods Monster, and the Beast of Bray Road. And your single best chance to get to know them might be by coming to this talk by Joshua Barton, a scholar of horror who has earned a following among Profs and Pints fans with incredibly entertaining past talks on horror films and Christmas ghost stories.
He'll look at the genesis of the tales themselves and what they tell us about historic approaches to the unknown. He’ll discuss how tales of cryptids reflect societal fears, inspire local legends, and connect communities through shared myths, and he’ll examine the impact of cryptid tales on modern storytelling and local tourism.
Turning his attention to specific cryptids, Barton will describe how the Jersey Devil speaks to our nation’s puritan roots and our collective fear of evil. The chupacabra reflects anxieties over the blending of cultures, while Bigfoot and Mothman stand out as huge generators of tourism revenue.
You’ll learn how the study of such creatures—cryptozoology—exists at the intersection of oral folklore and modern belief, and you’ll probably emerge from the talk eager to tell cryptid tales of your own. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: An 1889 Garrick Mallery sketch of a painted rock encountered on the Tule River Reservation in California. Cryptozoologists have interpreted the three figures painted on it, generally regarded as Native American symbols for negation, as instead representing an entire Sasquatch family.
- Profs & Pints DC: Encountering CryptidsPenn Social, Washington, DC
Profs and Pints DC presents: “Encountering Cryptids,” on the cultural, historical and psychological significance of beings that may exist only in lore, with Joshua Barton, lecturer in English at Virginia Commonwealth University and scholar of horror.
[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-cryptids .]
Some started out as anecdotes shared by explorers. Others were created as cautionary tales, or literally were just developed as spooky stories for kids. Regardless of their origins, they’re now entrenched inhabitants of our nation’s landscapes, their lives perpetuated through tales told by communities that believe they’re real.
They’re cryptids with names like Sasquatch, Mothman, the Jersey Devil, Ogopogo, the Flatwoods Monster, and the Beast of Bray Road. And your single best chance to get to know them might be by coming to this talk by Joshua Barton, a scholar of horror who has earned a following among Profs and Pints fans with incredibly entertaining past talks on horror films and Christmas ghost stories.
He'll look at the genesis of the tales themselves and what they tell us about historic approaches to the unknown. He’ll discuss how tales of cryptids reflect societal fears, inspire local legends, and connect communities through shared myths, and he’ll examine the impact of cryptid tales on modern storytelling and local tourism.
Turning his attention to specific cryptids, Barton will describe how the Jersey Devil speaks to our nation’s puritan roots and our collective fear of evil. The chupacabra reflects anxieties over the blending of cultures, while Bigfoot and Mothman stand out as huge generators of tourism revenue.
You’ll learn how the study of such creatures—cryptozoology—exists at the intersection of oral folklore and modern belief, and you’ll probably emerge from the talk eager to tell cryptid tales of your own. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: An 1889 Garrick Mallery sketch of a painted rock encountered on the Tule River Reservation in California. Cryptozoologists have interpreted the three figures painted on it, generally regarded as Native American symbols for negation, as instead representing an entire Sasquatch family.
- Profs & Pints DC: Becoming HumanPenn Social, Washington, DC
Profs and Pints DC presents: “Becoming Human,” on where we came from, who we are, and what that means, with Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist, explorer, stand-up comedian, and host of the upcoming BBC/PBS series HUMAN.
[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-becoming-human .]
Come to Washington D.C.’s Penn Social to learn compelling story of, well, us–Homo sapiens—in a talk that asks not just where we come from, but who we are and what that means.
Telling the tale will be Ella Al-Shamahi, a National Geographic-sponsored explorer who explores Paleolithic caves in unstable or hostile parts of the world, produced the BBC2 series Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors, and has taught classes at the University of London while pursuing a doctorate in anthropology.
She’ll start by describing how, once upon a time, our world was a bit like Lord of the Rings in that we, Homo sapiens, shared this planet with many other species of human. We weren’t that remarkable—in fact, our origins were rather humble. But somehow, today, we are the only ones left.
Ella Al-Shamahi will examine how we didn’t just survive against all odds, but thrived like no human species has ever thrived. We innovated and travelled, becoming an explorer species who built cities and smart phones and painted the Sistine Chapel.
Our success has been profound. We and the world we have curated are the embodiments of this. But that success comes at a cost, and we’ll look at that as well.
Ella Al-Shamah, who at 18 had initially entered a university as a creationist intent on overturning the theory of evolution, will share her thoughts on the nature of truth and tribalism. She’ll toss in a few wild tales from her expeditions to nations such as Iraq, Somaliland and Yemen in what promises to be a fascinating and engaging night. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: A child peers at a model of “Mrs. Ples,” a famous Australopithecus africanus skull, at the visitor center of the Cradle of Humankind paleoanthropological site in South Africa. (Photo by flowcomm / Creative Commons.)
- Profs & Pints DC: Trump’s Second Term—An Early AssessmentThe Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, Washington, DC
Profs and Pints DC presents: “Trump’s Second Term—An Early Assessment,” with Matthew Green, professor of politics at The Catholic University of America and scholar of Congress, federalism, and political parties.
[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/trump2-100-days .]
With the last day of April marking the end of President Trump’s first 100 days in office, it’s time to plan on a thorough and sobering assessment of this first stage of his presidency and where his leadership is taking the nation.
Coming to the Hill Center on Capitol Hill to deliver just that is Matthew Green, a keen observer of American politics who has delivered several excellent Profs and Pints talks on Congress and elections.He’ll discuss how Trump has forged an unusual path for a newly elected president, by acting unilaterally on a host of issues and pushing hard against many legal and constitutional boundaries. He’s done so, moreover, even though he almost certainly could have made substantial headway simply by taking a more traditional path to dealing with the other branches of government, given how Republicans had gained unified control of Congress and conservative justices now dominate the Supreme Court.
Professor Green will look at why Trump has chosen to exercise his authority so assertively and the ways in which Trump has taken advantage of powers delegated to the White House over many decades. He’ll discuss how Trump’s presidency compares to others in recent history and how successful it has been in changing American government and public policy so far.
Drawing upon his expertise on Congress, Professor Green will discuss the evolving relationship between Trump and congressional Republicans. In particular, he’ll examine how much White House policies that threaten GOP states and districts—such as higher tariffs and broad cuts in government spending and the federal workforce—will inspire greater Republican dissent and pushback against Trump.
Among the questions the talk will try to answer: How much will President Trump continue to violate our political system’s rules and norms? Will such violations become the new norm of American politics? Will anything cause him to lose his support among GOP voters? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: From President Donald Trump’s official 2025 inaugural portrait.
