The Conversations That Changed Us
THE LIVING ROOM MEDIA HOUSE
OCTOBER 2026
This October, we follow the conversations that keep going after everyone has gone home.
This Month in The Living Room
Some conversations happen across a table. Others happen through a song, a photograph, a book, or a story we return to years later. They give us language for something we felt but could not yet name. They change how we see another person. Sometimes they change how we see ourselves.
This October, The Living Room follows those moments across art, culture, memory, and the lives of the people who have made room for us. We begin with the conversations that opened something in us—and listen for what is still being said.
WELCOME TO THE OCTOBER ISSUE
THE QUESTION WE’RE ASKING
What conversation changed something for you?
Maybe someone said exactly what you needed to hear. Maybe you disagreed—and found yourself thinking about their words days later. Maybe the conversation happened through a song, a photograph, a book, or a show.
What stayed with you? What did you understand differently afterward?
CURRENTLY IN THE ROOM
OCTOBER 14 · THE BOOKSHELF
CURATOR’S CORNER
L'aurelei D. on Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks understood that every story offers a perspective, but no single perspective tells the whole story. In this month's Curator's Corner, L'aurelei D. reflects on his legacy, the importance of seeing Black life beyond struggle, and how the stories we tell—and those we leave untold—shape the way we see one another.
OCTOBER 16 · THE BOOKSHELF
OFF THE SHELF
Look Again
Sometimes a passage sends us back to an image. Sometimes an image makes us reach for a book. October’s companion reading extends our Gordon Parks conversation, offering places to linger with the relationship between seeing a life and understanding it.
STILL TO COME
The October issue continues throughout the month.
OCTOBER 17 · THE RECORD PLAYER
NEEDLE DROP 003
I’ve Been Keeping Busy
Another errand. Another plan. Something to clean before sitting down. Through Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky,” this month’s Needle Drop considers the effort we put into keeping occupied—and the feelings that remain when we run out of things to do.
READ THE NEEDLE DROP →
OCTOBER 19 · THE LIVING ROOM
A NOTE FROM THE LIVING ROOM 004
I Thought About What You Said
Some words arrive quietly and stay longer than expected. This note considers the afterlife of a conversation—the sentence that follows us home, returns days later, and begins to mean something new.
READ I THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID →
OCTOBER 20 · THE LIVING ROOM
GUEST CHAIR 001
The World Deserves to See It
This month, Hope takes the Guest Chair for a conversation about recognizing what someone has to offer—and encouraging them to let it be seen. We make room for her voice, her perspective, and the story she has come to share.
READ THE WORLD DESERVES TO SEE IT →
OCTOBER 21 · THE LIVING ROOM
SPOTLIGHT
Mikeisha
Mikeisha usually stands behind the camera. This month, we make room for her photographs and her own account of the life around them. Our Spotlight begins where she chooses to begin, with attention to what she sees, what matters to her, and the parts of her story only she can tell.
MEET MIKEISHA →
OCTOBER 23 · THE RECORD PLAYER
ONE SONG, ONE STORY 003
CJ
A song can hold a piece of someone’s life that we would never hear by listening to the track alone. Toward the end of October, CJ joins us at the Record Player to share his selection and the story connected to it.
HEAR CJ’S STORY →
OCTOBER 26 · THE LIVING ROOM
LEGACY
A Life of Her Own
Shundra began working on the waterfront in 1999. She loaded ships, became a marine clerk, and now directs equipment and drivers in the yard. With retirement approaching, we make room for the life surrounding those working years: her Oakland beginnings, the people who raised her, and the decisions that belong to her.
READ A LIFE OF HER OWN →
OCTOBER 29 · THE ARCHIVE
EXHIBITION 008
Seen by Us
Who is looking matters. In this photography and illustration exhibition, Black perspectives guide what receives attention and how it is represented. Seen by Us continues October’s conversation about images, authorship, and the difference it makes to see a life through the eyes of the people telling it.
ENTER SEEN BY US →
OCTOBER 31 · THE LIVING ROOM
THE MONTH-END RECAP
October in the Living Room
Return to the letter, revisit the photographs, or find the piece you meant to read. Our October recap gathers the month’s stories and conversations in one place, with room to consider the connections that emerged as the issue unfolded.
REVISIT OCTOBER →