Dear Nerds and Friends of Nerds,

This is your friendly reminder that sex, death, and rock n roll take over Nerd Nite NYC this Saturday October 11, 2025 at Caveat NYC when we bring you three fun-yet-informative presentations about why humans have vilified music for millennia, death (well, in this case, catacombs), and the clitoris. Cover your ears and lock your chastity belts! Tickets here.

Nerd Nite NYC

Saturday October 11, 2025 at 7pm (doors at 6:30pm)

Caveat NYC: 21A Clinton Street (Lower East Side)

$21 standard | $26 at the door

Tickets here: https://www.caveat.nyc/events/nerd-nite-10-11-2025

Back to the Lectures At-Hand:

*Presentation #1

Musical Apocalypse: A Brief History of Music Pathologization

by Táhirih Motazedian

Description: Ever since humans started making music, other humans have fretted it will destroy the world—your parents weren’t the first to complain about “young people today and their terrible music!” Come learn about the astonishingly absurd history of vilifying music and learn how to avoid falling into that trap yourself.

Bio: Táhirih Motazedian is an Associate Professor of Music at Vassar College. Her book, Key Constellations: Interpreting Tonality in Film explores how keys in film soundtracks tell a story. Before her career in music theory, Táhirih was a planetary scientist at NASA.

*Presentation #2

Mommy, What’s a Cataphile?

by Moses Gates

Description: If you ever feel like your life is lacking a little adventure, be comforted by the fact that you can always fly to Paris, open a hatch in the sidewalk, go down a hole in the ground and explore 170 miles of an underground world that runs from the Sorbonne to the southern edge of the city. Colloquially known as the “catas” (short for catacombs), it houses everything from art galleries, to WWII-era bunkers, to impromptu jazz concerts. As long as you aren’t terribly risk-averse (or claustrophobic) this might even be a world for you – especially if you’re the type of nerd who’s always dreamed of playing Dungeons & Dragons in real life.

Bio: Moses Gates is an Urban Planner, occasional cataphile, and author of the 2013 memoir “Hidden Cities.” His favorite place in the catas is the Salle du Pi.

*Presentation #3

Finding The Clitoris: The History, The Stigma, The Facts, and The New Science

by Sophia

Description: The clitoris. Ignorance, jokes, misconceptions, social stigma, and medical harm: learn the truth about this powerful, fascinating organ. Recent scientific discoveries have unearthed even more exciting information about the clitoris. We’ll learn the anatomy, function, cultural significance, and don’t worry– if you don’t know where to find it, after this presentation, you will!

Bio: Sophia Z bears many titles: artist, researcher, author, educator, failed stand-up comedian, and anxiety queen. But she most proudly wears the title of clitoris aficionado. A senior medical student, she became a self-taught expert on clitoris anatomy and education after noticing gender disparities in genital anatomy medical education.

Fun!!!

Matt