Michelle Collins offers song and comedy in her new tour, The Big Natural, this fall. She's playing two dates at 54 Below on September 5 and 7, and Collins joins us for a preview.

In 1924 a young Armenian painter changed his name and moved to New York. Arshile Gorky: New York City, features paintings and drawings never seen before by a seminal artist of Abstract Expressionism. The exhibit is on view today through November 2, and Saskia Spender, president of the Arshile Gorky Foundation and Cosima Spender, director, producer, and writer of the documentary, "Without Gorky," discuss the show and the legacy of Gorky's work. 

Cookbook author, cooking instructor, and "Top Chef" competitor Nini Nguyen joins us to discuss her new cookbook, Đặc Biệt: An Extra-Special Vietnamese Cookbook. Nguyen has a number of events in NYC:

September 4, a collaborative dinner at Strange Delight
September 5, a signing and discussion at Yu & Me books
September 6, a cocktail demo and signing at Big Night
September 7, a signing at Union Square Greenmarket

The latest novel from author Danzy Senna tells the story of a struggling novelist who seems to land a dream deal with a big streaming network. But as she works with a bigtime producer to develop the "Jackie Robinson of biracial comedies," things start to go horribly wrong. Senna joins us to discuss her novel, Colored Television. Senna will be speaking with Jennifer Egan at the Center for Fiction on Friday evening.