WNYC, Theater of War and BAM Present THEATER OF WAR ON THE RADIO
Live at the BAM Harvey Theater
Featuring OSCAR ISAAC, BILL MURRAY and LOIS SMITH
May 27, 2026 at 7:30pm
The special performance will also be broadcast live at 8pm on WNYC and wnyc.org
MAY 14, 2026 – New York, NY – WNYC, Theater of War and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) announced today a live, in-person edition of the ongoing Theater of War on the Radio series, taking place at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton Street). The reading will take place on Wednesday, May 27 at 7:30pm, with the live broadcast on WNYC beginning at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now by visiting bam.org.
The evening will feature Oscar Isaac, Bill Murray and Lois Smith reading excerpts from “A.I. is About to Solve Loneliness. That’s a Problem,” written by Paul Bloom for The New Yorker. The piece explores how loneliness shapes us, and what we may become as A.I. chatbots eradicate the feeling of being alone. The reading will be followed by a discussion led by Kai Wright (WNYC’s Notes from America, The Guardian’s Stateside) and Bryan Doerries (artistic director of Theater of War), featuring live calls from listeners. Audience members will also be able to participate in the discussion following the conclusion of the radio broadcast.
The Theater of War on the Radio series re-imagines works of long-form journalism in innovative and engaging ways, offering listeners an entry point into the most important issues of the day, by blending WNYC’s public service journalism with Theater of War’s unique approach to interdisciplinary performance. The on-air performances are followed by illuminating listener call-ins to bring New Yorkers together in shared dialog.
Previous broadcasts in this series have featured works from The New Yorker performed by NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Adepero Oduye, Jesse Eisenberg, Rosie Perez, David Patrick Kelly, Sam Waterston, Julianne Moore, and Daphne Rubin-Vega. In 2025, WNYC and Theater of War also partnered for a series of live events at WNYC’s Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in front of a studio audience, featuring works from The New Yorker, The Atlantic and ProPublica.
ABOUT WNYC
With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming, and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC offers its listeners a unique range of local, national, and international programming, including programming from NPR, American Public Media, and the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region, including The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most beloved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including Radiolab, On the Media, and The New Yorker Radio Hour. WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app, and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors, and sponsors.
ABOUT THEATER OF WAR
Theater of War presents charged performances of seminal texts—led by acclaimed actors such as Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, David Strathairn, John Turturro, Paul Giamatti, Lois Smith, Oscar Isaac, Damian Lewis, Bill Murray and others—for audiences with something at stake in order to catalyze crucial dialogue about pressing issues. Its projects often take place in homeless shelters and jails, military bases and hospitals, housing projects, churches, public parks, and rival gang territories, but also in cultural spaces such as BAM, Lincoln Center, DeBalie (in Amsterdam), the Greek National Opera, and the Red Steps in Times Square. All the company’s projects are designed to be authentic, community-driven exchanges that culminate in guided audience discussions about challenging, often divisive subjects. Its most recent performance, The Drum Major Instinct, featuring Jeffrey Wright, Zohran Mamdani, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, and Jumaane Williams, took place at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on January 19, 2026, in honor of MLK Day. For more info, please visit: theaterofwar.com.
ABOUT BAM
A world-class home for adventurous artists, audiences, and ideas, BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) is North America’s oldest performing arts center, showcasing the work of emerging artists and modern icons.
For more than 160 years, BAM has been a thriving, urban multi-arts complex renowned for presenting an unparalleled roster of visionary and cutting-edge dance, theater, music, opera, visual arts, literature, and film engagements. Attracting more than 750,000 people annually to its home in Brooklyn, BAM provides a welcoming cultural stage and meeting place for global and local communities of all backgrounds. BAM’s distinctive multi-theater campus is alive year-round with inspired new engagements and signature programs alike including the renowned Next Wave (one of the world’s most influential festivals of contemporary performing arts, founded in 1983), the iconic DanceAfrica, an acclaimed repertory film program, and literary, archival, educational and humanities programs. For more information visit BAM.org.