American History

Ukulele Club is a fun group for all ages and skill levels! There is no teacher, but we all help teach each other. Think of songs you would like to learn, and we can learn them together. If you don't have an ukulele, we have extra ukuleles When: *almost* Every Saturday, 10am-11:30am Admission: food/drink order

This will be an open forum discussion of the book "Native American History."

Happy New Year Colleagues, The next Columbus Futurists public forum will be **Thursday January 15 at 12:00 pm noon** (eastern) [https://osu.zoom.us/j/93451873651?pwd=RXIyZ2t5RjRqRG02UGQ1aEFVQ1NFZz09](https://osu.zoom.us/j/93451873651?pwd=RXIyZ2t5RjRqRG02UGQ1aEFVQ1NFZz09) Please come prepared to offer your **"What if?" questions for 2026**. (I will offer seven to begin our conversation.) I also would like to announce the publication of my latest book: *[Anticipatory Biographies: Personal Histories of the Future](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-08912-0)*, the tenth volume in the “Anticipation Science” series. Grounded in design fiction, futures research, anticipation science, and scenario writing, *Anticipatory Biographies* envisions how the world will be reshaped by artificial intelligence, technological automation, climate change, political disintegration, and the decline of higher education. This work of creative non-fiction bridges literary and scholarly forms, blending biography and design fiction with research-based insights to offer a narrative-based method for exploring futures. Ed Finn, Director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University says: “In this book **David Staley has invented a delightful new genre: the future biography.** He invites us to step into gritty, thrilling, and inspiring futures elbow-to-elbow with the characters living those stories. *Anticipatory Biographies* beautifully synthesizes Staley’s training as a historian, his expertise as a futurist, and his desire to ignite the imagination of his readers.” Hope you'll be able to read it, and hope to see you all on the 15th. D. David J. Staley, Ph.D. President, Columbus Futurists 614.316.1348 [columbus.futurists@gmail.com](mailto:columbus.futurists@gmail.com) [http://columbusfuturists.org](http://columbusfuturists.org/) [https://davidjstaley.substack.com/](https://davidjstaley.substack.com/) 

The topic for January is "Chemistry" Speak Easy: true stories, told live. The idea is simple: an audience, an open microphone, and great stories. Hilarious, gripping, poignant- it's up to you. Audiences are invited to come to listen or come to tell as folks from all corners of Columbus offer their stories live on stage! Held at Wild Goose Creative's warm, intimate space, this night of tales occurs on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Doors open at 7:00 pm, show starts at 7:30 pm. Please arrive early if you want to tell, as we generally only have room for a limited number of tellers, and the sign-up sheet has a tendency to fill up fast. Formed around the idea that people need stories--they're what hold and draw us together--SpeakEasy celebrates the strangeness and commonness of being human. And in a world of smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, and more . . . it gives people a real, breathing, in-person way to connect. The night is geared for true stories of all kinds, taking the best tales told around kitchen tables, in darkened pubs, on the street corner, and at late-night parties and giving them an audience. Speak Easy is also a great outlet for performers, writers, and artists looking to share their favorite stories and perfect their skills. We strongly encourage tellers to please tell the story rather than read it so we keep within the spirit of good storytelling and stay engaged with the audience. All are welcome. Hang around after the show for a drink and build community!

Our January program is privileged to have Kristen Tregar as our speaker. Ms. Tregar is the co-author with John de Lancie (the actor who portrayed the character Q on Star Trek next generation) of a radio play depicting the events surrounding the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial. The trial decided the issue of some of the Dover school district board members attempting to insert creationism disguised as "intelligent design" into the 9th grade biology curriculum. She will discuss the trial and the process of writing the play. (Bob Leonhard has seen the play and it is riveting and tense). Ms. Tregar's bio is below: Kristen Tregar is a dramaturg, director, playwright, and theatre teacher. She earned her Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre from the UC San Diego and UC Irvine joint program. In addition, she has a MS in Forensic Science from City University of New York- John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a MA in Educational Theatre from New York University- Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. In 2013, in collaboration with Irish colleagues, she founded *The Ireland Project*, an intercontinental devised theatre work with high school students in New York and Tallaght, Ireland. Her original short story "Far From Here" was recently published in *Stay Awhile Longer: More Scenes From Temecula Valley*. She has two rescued dogs (Kira and Harry) and she rides, competes, and foxhunts with her horses, Andromache and Baker Street Irregular. Food and drinks will be provided at the event. Feel free to show up a little bit early to hang out and talk. Going forward our meetings will be hybrid. You can meet us in-person or attend online Join Zoom Meeting [https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87836564953?pwd=4Mi57ElZkDIFlb1fnlNwOJ0NiOK4tP.1) Meeting ID: 878 3656 4953 Passcode: 760812 One tap mobile +19292056099,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (New York) +13017158592,,87836564953#,,,,\*760812# US (Washington DC) The formal presentation will start at noon

Sleep in on Sundays. When you've had your fill of pajama-time, roll out and have some tasty brunch with your fellow Humanists!

Early-bird coffee and conversation at [Java Central Café and Roaster](https://javacentral.coffee/)**!**