Dome Talks Speaker Series featuring Rosanna Xia

Dome Talks are back! During this summer series held in our iconic dome, authors, and scientists from across the region share their work, research, and ideas in an informal, engaging setting. Topics span science, history, and the world around us, offering fresh ways to think about big questions, from our place in the universe to the forces shaping life on Earth. Dome Talks will take place in the Fisk Gallery.

Thursday, July 16, 2026
Rosanna Xia (Los Angeles Times)
California Against the Sea: Insights from L.A. Times environmental reporter Rosanna Xia
In this Dome Talk, Los Angeles Times reporter Rosanna Xia will break down her approach to environmental journalism, with lessons learned on how to communicate issues as complex and overwhelming as climate change. Xia will also introduce her award-winning book, California Against the Sea, and share insights from her reporting on sea level rise.

Rosanna Xia is an author, documentary filmmaker and environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. Xia was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting, and her celebrated book on climate change adaptation, ”California Against the Sea,” received the PEN America/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, a gold medal from the California Book Awards, and a special citation from the Library of Congress, among other honors. She has been praised for her investigative reporting and narrative storytelling, and her journalism has been anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing series. Xia’s most recent project, the feature documentary ”Out of Plain Sight,” which she directed and produced, is a cinematic expansion of one of her most haunting environmental exposés. The documentary has received numerous film festival honors, including the Audience Choice Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Jackson Wild Media Award for Best Investigative Film.

Tickets are first come first serve. Purchasing ahead on Eventbrite is encouraged.

General Admission – $20, plus processing fees

Members – $17, plus processing fees

Parking is free, and the museum is accessible to persons with disabilities.