Common Read Conversation: Daniel Kraus and Dr. Abby Fraeman

Technology promises to connect us, but can it also drive us further apart? Seventy-five years after its publication, Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man continues to spark conversations about some of the most important questions facing society today: How is technology changing our lives and relationships? What do we fear, and what do we hope for, as we look toward the future? How do imagination, family, and community shape the world we create together?

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning and New York Times bestselling author Daniel Kraus, NASA planetary scientist Dr. Abby Fraeman, deputy project scientist for the Curiosity rover mission, and award-winning Indianapolis author and Afrofuturist Maurice Broaddus for an engaging conversation that explores the enduring relevance of Bradbury’s work and the intersections of science, storytelling, technology, and humanity.

This free public event is the culminating experience of the 2026 Indianapolis Common Read, a city-wide initiative that has brought together readers, students, educators, libraries, book clubs, workplaces, and community organizations through a shared reading experience. Throughout the fall, participants have explored The Illustrated Man and its themes through reading groups, community discussions, educational programming, and cultural events designed to foster dialogue and connection across Central Indiana.

Presented by IU Indianapolis in partnership with the Ray Bradbury Center, Indiana Humanities, Indiana Life Sciences Association, the Indianapolis Public Library System, schools, cultural organizations, and community partners, the Common Read demonstrates the power of stories to bring people together around big ideas and shared questions about our future.

Whether you’ve read the book cover-to-cover, participated in a discussion group, or are simply curious about the ideas it inspires, you are invited to join fellow community members for an evening of conversation, reflection, and discovery.

One city. One book. Many perspectives. Join the conversation.

Thousands of copies of The Illustrated Man have been made available through libraries across Indianapolis and surrounding counties.

This event is part of the Spirit & Place Festival (Nov. 5–15). Learn more at spiritandplace.org.

The Indianapolis Common Read Conversation is a Spirit & Place event.