Lecture. “The Politics of Debt and the Deficit of Trust in Washington.” 4:30-6 p.m., Institute of Politics, 5707 S. Woodlawn Ave., 773-834-4671, free. Former Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette presents.
Lecture. “Dismantling Print Culture, Decentering Media.” 4:30-6 p.m., Regenstein Library, The Special Collections Research center, 1100 E. 57th St., 773-834-3403. Professor Lisa Gitelman, of New York University, presents. Reception to follow.
Workshop. “Darkness and Invisibility.” 12:30- 2 p.m., Smart Museum of Art, 5550 S. Greenwood Ave., 773-702-0200, free. U. of. C. faculty present “on darkness as a value in etching, terror and the sublime and Antarctic darkness.” Space is limited. R.S.V.P. by sending an e-mail to aleonard@uchicago.edu.
Fantasy and Science Fiction Book Club. 6:30 p.m., Blackstone Library, 4904 S. Lake Park Ave., 312-747-0511. Participants with discuss Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness.”
Lecture. “‘The Myth of the Empty Land’ and ‘The Myth of Mass Return’ – A New Look on the History of Judah under Babylonian and Persian Rule.” 7-9:30 p.m., Oriental Institute, Breasted Hall, 1155 E. 58th St., 773-834-9775. Professor Oded Lipschits, of Tel Aviv University, presents. Part of the David Kipper Ancient Israel Lecture Series.
Lecture. “Words Matter: Storytelling with President Obama in an Age of Sound Bites.” 4:30-6 p.m., Institute of Politics, 5707 S. Woodlawn Ave., 773-834-4671, free. Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau presents.
Mindfulness Meditation. 1-2 p.m., Rockefeller Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave., 773-834-5143, free.