Scripps Presents is back for its 2022 season and this time around the topics are much more driven by food, design, and social justice. Between February and May, notable speakers will appear on various Scripps programs. Here’s the lineup for February’s speaker series.

Kicking off the 2022 Scripps Presents season is PEN Out Loud with Robert Jones Jr. in conversation with Mateo Askaripour, scheduled for Tuesday, February 8 at 4 p.m. The conversation will feature New York Times-bestselling author, Jones Jr., who will discuss his latest novel, “The Prophets,” with fellow NYT-bestselling author, Askaripour, who became notable for his work, “Black Buck.”

Tickets are on sale now for the virtual event, which will held on Crowdcast, starting at $15 for general admission on Eventbrite. Attendees can also purchase Jones Jr.’s book along with their ticket for an additional fee. The first 300 admissions with book tickets will receive signed copies of the book. This program is presented in partnership with PEN Out Loud and the Strand Bookstore.

On Thurday, James Beard Award-winning chef, educator, and author Bryant Terry will host the MLK Commemorative Lecture: Bryant Terry in Conversation at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The public is invited to “join the chef, cookbook author, and publisher for a conversation about the intersection of food and activism.”

Tickets for the insightful talk are $5 and can be purchased at www.scrippscollege.edu/events/calendar/mlk-commemorative-lecture-bryant-terry-in-conversation. A limited number of free student tickets are available to Scripps College students while supplies last via email at events@scrippscollege.edu. “This program celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and work and is supported in part by the Office of Black Student Affairs and Scripps Presents,” Scripps College wrote online.

Beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 17, Always Home: Fanny Singer and Ruth Reichl in Conversation will be held online via a YouTube livestream. Singer, a writer, curator and also the daughter of food icon and activist Alice Waters, “reflects on growing up with her mother” and chronicles “a unique world of food, wine, and travel; a world filled with colorful characters, mouth-watering traditions, and sumptuous feasts,” in this upcoming discussion. Singer will also discuss her latest book, “Always Home.”

“Join Singer for a conversation with Ruth Reichl that reflects on a life defined in so many ways by food, as well as the bond between mother and daughter,” Scripps Presents wrote online. Tickets begin at $5 and can be purchased at www.scrippscollege.edu/events/calendar/always-home-fanny-singer-in-conversation. A limited number of free student tickets are available to Scripps College students while supplies last via email at events@scrippscollege.edu. “This program is presented in partnership with the Scripps College Office of Parent and Family Engagement,” the college wrote online.

Closing out the month will be PEN Out Loud: Julie Otsuka in Conversation with Nicole Chung, scheduled for Tuesday, February 22 at 5 p.m. The online discussion will be held via Crowdcast and will see Faulkner Award-winning novelist Julie Otsuka join PEN Out Loud and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop to launch her first novel in more than ten years, “The Swimmers.”

“The novel explores dislocation, mother and daughter relationships, and the individual and communal consequences of Alzheimer’s disease,” the event’s description read on Eventbrite. “Otsuka will be in conversation with author and contributing writer and editor at “The Atlantic,” Nicole Chung.”

Tickets are on sale now for the virtual event starting at $15 for general admission on Eventbrite and on www.pen.org/event/pen-out-loud-asian-american-writers-workshop-julie-otsuka-with-nicole-chung. Attendees can also purchase Otsuka’s book along with their ticket for an additional fee. The first 200 admissions with book tickets will receive signed copies of “The Swimmers.” This program is presented in collaboration with the Strand Book Store, Scripps Presents and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.

For more information on these and other upcoming Scripps Presents discussions, visit www.scrippscollege.edu.