The Sounds of Silence

In their recent books, Elizabeth Rosner and Leigh Marz explore silence and sound not as opposites, but as twin portals to empathy, curiosity, and ecological awareness. In Third Ear: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening, Rosner considers how we metabolize trauma—personal, historical, and planetary—and how listening itself can become a radical act of witness and repair. Her essays, drawn from a life shaped by language, loss, and the legacy of survival, are both lyrical and unflinching. In Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise, Marz and co-author Justin Zorn reimagine silence as more than the absence of sound: It becomes a presence, a refuge, a resource. From subterranean stillness to moments of awe, Golden invites us to protect what is quiet and listen for the unheard.

Please join Elizabeth and Leigh in conversation with Cari Borja, anthropologist and Clio’s founding member, for a thoughtful exchange on tuning in to each other, to the planet, and to the wisdom within. Cari will explore the interplay between these two distinct approaches to listening, one rooted in inherited silence, the other in cultivated stillness, to uncover what arises when personal memory meets collective attention.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Clio's, 353 Grand Avenue, Oakland, United States