Veteran and National Book Award finalist Elliot Ackerman joins us to discuss his new book, Waiting for Eden: A novel, which focuses on a young soldier who has returned home bedridden and unable to speak or move. What ensues is a philosophical dive into questions of loyalty, grief, and love. On September 25, Ackerman will be in conversation with Lea Carpenter at Books are Magic (225 Smith St., Brooklyn) at 7:30pm.

British artist Sarah Lucas joins us to discuss her retrospective at the New Museum, “Sarah Lucas: Au Naturel,” which is the first American survey of her work. The show opens on September 26 and runs through January 20, 2019.

Dr. Stephen Claypool, medical director of Wolters Kluwer Health, joins us to discuss his July article for STAT News, “Hospital Compare lifts the veil on sepsis care. Check your hospital’s score.” He’ll also unpack the recent findings about how publicly reporting sepsis deaths in New York State has resulted in fewer deaths and look at just what it takes to change medical practice and culture on an institutional level.