How Nina Simone Changed the World brings Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and critic Salamishah Tillet to the University of Southern California for a special conversation in anticipation of the 2027 publication of her forthcoming work, All the Rage: Nina Simone and the World She Made.

In this thought-provoking conversation event with Jason King, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, Tillet explores Simone’s enduring legacy as a cultural force and freedom fighter. Presented as part of Thornton’s Nina Simone: Beyond Category series, the evening invites audiences to consider Simone not just as an artist, but as a cultural innovator who, years after her passing, continues to reshape the landscape of possibility.