Project Orion began in 1958 with Ted Taylor and Freeman Dyson, working to build a spacecraft powered by nuclear pulse propulsion. Though the project is looked back on with great fondness by it’s participants, it was ultimately shut down from political concerns. It’s a fascinating story, which George Dyson (Freeman’s son) documented in his book on the subject. Town Hall has some really amazing lectures lined up over the coming months, and this is sure to be no exception.

Bored tonight? Looking to brush up on some neuroscience? It’s a bit last minute, but if you’re looking for something to do, you should head down to Town Hall to see Jonah Lehrer talk about his new book Proust was a Neuroscientist. The essence of Lehrer’s writing is that artist’s such as Proust and Cezanne have been able to anticipate certain aspects of the natural world that couldn’t be proven by science until later. So what can science learn by studying art? You have to pay $5 at the door to get in, the usual Town Hall rate.

One of the earliest critiques of the United States’ invasion of Iraq was the immediate privatization of the Iraqis’ economy. In her new book, Naomi Klein refers to this as “disaster capitalism”, where a government sweeps into an area immediately after a catastrophe establishing wide-randing laissez-faire economic policies. Check out a short video on the subject put together by her and filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men). After that, head down to Town Hall on Thursday to see her in person.

It seems like every year we become more aware of natural disasters: hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunami’s, etc. And always lurking in the background is the specter of global warming and how we are affecting the climate. Will the extreme weather get worse? How will we cope as a species? Roger del Moral, a biology professor at UW, is giving a talk on the subject at Town Hall this week. He’ll discuss how we should be reacting to these disasters, in a way that benefits us and other species for the long-term.

There is a constant conversation going on right now about humanity’s impact on the environment. But what would happen if humanity just disappeared one day? How long would it take for our monuments and infrastructure to crumble? Alan Weisman will be offering his insights on the ecological debate from a unique perspective this Wednesday at Town Hall.