Wright Thompson in Conversation with Alexandra Schwartz: The Barn

Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Wright Thompson joins us for a profound evening of reading and conversation about the still-unfolding legacy of one of the most harrowing crimes in American history — the murder of Emmett Till — and his landmark work of investigative reporting, personal reckoning, and essential history, The Barn.

An instant New York Times bestseller and TIME’s #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year, The Barn reexamines the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till — not as a closed case, but as an active site of buried truth, collective silence, and ongoing injustice. To this day, fundamental truths about the crime are widely unknown, including where it took place and how many people were involved. In The Barn, with empathy and a dogged pursuit of justice, Thompson tells the story of the small group of people dedicated to bringing the truth of Till’s murder to light — showing how much we still don’t understand about the collusion of money, power, and white supremacy that led to a decades-long cover-up of the damning details of a horrific crime.

Lauded by Kiese Laymon as “brutal, layered and absolutely beautiful,” and by John Grisham as “an incredible history of a crime that changed America,” The Barn is more than a book — it’s a call to confront the past to imagine a more honest future. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from this most gifted storytellers, as he shares the story that has haunted him — and all of us — for generations.