Photo of Apollo 8 astronauts by Jim Kerlin, Courtesy The Associated Press. DCist’s guide to lectures and panel discussions in the D.C. area This week, we’ve got a bit more talk on the elections, as well as some interesting discussions on astronauts, a changing Berlin, evolution, Abe, the First Amendment, and art criticism. Monday: >> At 7 p.m. today, George Mason University continues its Vision Series with Themes and Variations in Evolving Systems with…

>> No Reservations star Anthony Bourdain was reportedly at Ben’s Chili Bowl last night, so if you’re heading to his reading at GW’s Lisner Auditorium tonight, be sure to try to ask him what he thinks of the chili half-smoke. For more information & to check on ticket availability (it’s nearly sold-out), call Smithsonian Associates at 202-633-3030. $28, $14 for GW students at the Lisner box office. 7 p.m. >> Philadelphia quintet Dr. Dog…

MONDAY: Jerome Groopman — a New Yorker staff writer, best-selling author and professor at Harvard Medical School — will be at the Historic Sixth & I Synagogue to discuss his latest collection of essays, How Doctors Think. If they’re like our favorite television doctor, it’s probably “What’s the best way to humiliate my employees today?” 7 p.m. $6 TUESDAY: Min Jin Lee will be at the Johns Hopkins University-SAIS Bernstein-Offit Building to read from her…