Throw horns for history and rush the stage* for statistics riffs at the bar show where the nerds are the rock stars and smart is punk af.
Cue it up: Three experts. Dozens of cheeky slides. A bar full of former gifted kids gone feral who love special interest deep dives. This is Nerd Nite DC.
*okay maybe just do this in spirit. Nerds are wild creatures who can be easily spooked by sudden movements.
Nerd Nite DC has been DC’s favorite irreverent lecture series since 2009.
DATE CHANGE NOTE!!! This month, the show is a week LATER than usual, on Saturday 2/28. Come in out of the cold and liven up the dead of winter with rowdy joy, your Nerd community, and mind-blowing edutainment.
Your host this month is Nerd Nite DC icon Rae Pendergrass, joined by our three wildly entertaining and wickedly smart speakers with three must-see talks:
Ilona, “Super Mario Sunshine: The Technical and Artistic Feat of Animated Water” Super Mario Sunshine is, without a doubt, the greatest game to ever exist. (F.L.U.D.D. anyone?) The gameplay is amazing and especially for its time, the designers did a remarkable job. For example, there were large amounts of water, which is notoriously difficult to portray in any visual medium. The Super Mario Sunshine team was limited to a fixed-function CPU in 2001 and really creatively designed their water effects to work within their constraints. They succeeded so well that their water designs were used in Nintendo game design for over a decade afterwards. Set sail on a journey to deconstruct their waterworks.
Adina Rubin, “UX and the Inside Man: How Heist Films Help Us Write Better Apps” Why are some of the apps and websites we’re forced to use every day so confusing and annoying? In this talk, we’re going unlock secret UX writing tips from our favorite heist movies and learn how they can help us make the tech around us friendlier, faster, and easier to use.
Suzanne Jacobs, “Cloudy with a Chance of Mayhem: The Past, Present, and Future of Weather Modification” Humans have been trying to control the weather for decades. Learn from a physicist about cloud seeding technology, militarization of weather modification, the environmental benefits and drawbacks of tinkering with nature, and the danger of unregulated geoengineering technologies. Let’s talk about how it started, how it’s going, and what comes next.
Doors open at 6, show at 6:30. Talks are 15 minutes with a 5 minute Q&A, and during the breaks, you can play along in our “alternate talk titles” competition to try to win a free drink on us. It’s rowdy, interactive, and the most fun you’ll have learning something all month.
The show is on the second floor of DC9 and is mostly standing room with limited seating available on a first-come, first served basis.
Nerd Nite DC is produced by Rae Pendergrass, Navi, and Diva Darling.
Throw horns for history and rush the stage* for statistics riffs at the bar show where the nerds are the rock stars and smart is punk af.
Cue it up: Three experts. Dozens of cheeky slides. A bar full of former gifted kids gone feral who love special interest deep dives. This is Nerd Nite DC.
*okay maybe just do this in spirit. Nerds are wild creatures who can be easily spooked by sudden movements.
Nerd Nite DC has been DC’s favorite irreverent lecture series since 2009.
It’s our first Nerd Nite of 2026 and we’re coming in hot during the coldest of months with crunchy nerdy fun to chase away your SADs!
Your host this month is Nerd Nite DC icon Rae Pendergrass, joined by our three wildly entertaining and wickedly smart speakers with three must-see talks:
-Ross, “The Clean Energy Revolution Is Coming Whether You Like It Or Not OK, Boomer?” -Luke Strathmann, “Econ 101: Beanie Babies and Beyond” -Matt Kendrick, “Confucius: Sausage King of Ancient China”
DOORS 6:00PM | 21+
Nerd Nite DC https://dc.nerdnite.com/ https://www.facebook.com/NerdNiteDC/ https://www.instagram.com/nerdnite_dc/
Doors open at 6, show at 6:30. Talks are 15 minutes with a 5 minute Q&A, and during the breaks, you can play along in our “alternate talk titles” competition to try to win a free drink on us. It’s rowdy, interactive, and the most fun you’ll have learning something all month.
The show is on the second floor of DC9 and is mostly standing room with limited seating available on a first-come, first served basis.
Nerd Nite DC is produced by Rae Pendergrass, Navi, and Diva Darling.
Throw horns for history and rush the stage* for statistics riffs at the bar show where the nerds are the rock stars and smart is punk af.
Cue it up: Three experts. Dozens of cheeky slides. A bar full of former gifted kids gone feral who love special interest deep dives. This is Nerd Nite DC.
*okay maybe just do this in spirit. Nerds are wild creatures who can be easily spooked by sudden movements.
Nerd Nite DC has been DC’s favorite irreverent lecture series since 2009.
It’s our LAST Nerd Nite of 2025, so let’s send the year out on a roaring note and toast to an amazing season of nerdery!
Your host this month is Nerd Nite DC icon Rae Pendergrass, joined by our three wildly entertaining and wickedly smart speakers with three must-see talks:
-Brandon Ingram, “Frank Tinsley: The Retro-Futuristic Fever Dreams of a 1950’s Illustrator”
-Diva Darling, “Nice Shire Ya Got There: Saruman’s Weird Gangster Glow-Up in LOTR”
-Patrick Hernandez, “Going to Eleven: The Aesthetics, Eccentrics, and Excesses of Extreme Heavy Metal”
DOORS 6:00PM | 21+
Nerd Nite DC https://dc.nerdnite.com/ https://www.facebook.com/NerdNiteDC/ https://www.instagram.com/nerdnite_dc/
Doors open at 6, show at 6:30. Talks are 15 minutes with a 5 minute Q&A, and during the breaks, you can play along in our “alternate talk titles” competition to try to win a free drink on us. It’s rowdy, interactive, and the most fun you’ll have learning something all month.
The show is on the second floor of DC9 and is mostly standing room with limited seating available on a first-come, first served basis.
Nerd Nite DC is produced by Rae Pendergrass, Navi, and Diva Darling.
