2024 Schedule

Monday, June 24th
Monday, June 24th
12:30pm–01:20pm MDT
2024 Festival
Academia at a Crossroads

Academia is beset by challenges related to free speech, admission policies, donor pressures and soaring costs. University leaders are simultaneously negotiating these minefields and convincing the next generation that college is still worth it. Can academia rise to these challenges?

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
2024 Festival
Six Hours to Save Democracy

What if the threat to American democracy came from within our own military? “War Game,” a 2024 Sundance Official Selection documentary, imagined just such a scenario and convened a bipartisan group of policymakers to respond. What did they learn — and how real is the threat?

Paepcke Auditorium
1:50pm–02:40pm MDT
2024 Festival
Keeping Family Together During Incarceration

From a father-daughter dance in a prison to playtime with incarcerated parents in a children’s museum, keeping families close has lasting ripple effects beyond bars. Hear from storytellers and leaders working inside the criminal justice system to help families stay connected.

East Lawn Tent
2024 Festival
Shakespeare and Politics: Why the Bard is More Relevant Than Ever

Shakespeare's plays, rich with political intrigue, power struggles and ethical dilemmas, provide profound commentary on the nature of governance and leadership — and draw unsettling parallels to the political landscape today.

Paepcke Auditorium
2024 Festival
Without Just Cause: Political Prisoners and the Fight to Free Them

Over 1 million people globally are held as political prisoners. Two of the leading human rights attorneys working to release captives of authoritarian regimes and the mother of an American journalist kidnapped and killed by terrorists raise awareness about the struggles to win freedom for prisoners often forgotten.

Koch Building, Lauder Room
2024 Festival
Is America Due for a Third Founding?

We the people were not truly “We the People” until the Reconstruction amendments altered our Constitution in a post-Civil War "second founding". As we confront another democratic crisis, what new understandings could ensure our democratic renewal?

Buckminster Fuller Dome
4:20pm–05:10pm MDT
2024 Festival
At America’s Edge: Border Politics, Policy and People

America’s southern border is a flashpoint for contentious political and cultural disagreements, as well as the site of a growing humanitarian crisis that existing laws, policies and institutions seem incapable of addressing. Are there any real solutions in sight?

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
Tuesday, June 25th
8:10am–08:55am MDT
2024 Festival
Can the Future of Democracy Be Found Through Work?

Americans are expected to be active political citizens and leave their opinions at the workplace door. Renewed efforts to expand participation, representation and shared decision-making at work — think employee ownership, labor unions and an expanded set of economic rights — may offer a framework to rebuild faith in democracy.

Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
9:00am–10:00am MDT
2024 Festival
What Makes a Great Leader?

Ethical dilemmas, turning organizations around and creating trust require wisdom and stamina from the top. Three consummate leaders with decades of experience in government, business and philanthropy reflect on the qualities needed to succeed.

Greenwald Pavilion
10:20am–11:50am MDT
2024 Festival
Antisemitism Then and Now

With antisemitism resurgent, Simon Schama, acclaimed author of “The Story of the Jews,” speaks about the magnitude of the problem, examining “the oldest hatred” from the time of the Roman Empire to today. Afterward, Tree of Life CEO Carole Zawatsky and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker share news of a hopeful new institution that could change the way we combat antisemitism — and all forms of...

Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
12:30pm–01:20pm MDT
2024 Festival
Unfreedom of the Press

As repressive regimes clamp down on the press, they are now targeting media owners. China shut Hong Kong’s Apple Daily and locked up owner Jimmy Lai. Guatemala’s El Periódico founder José R. Zamora has faced lawsuits and been jailed for two years. The sons of Lai and Zamora and Lai’s attorney discuss the international campaigns to free these two courageous truth tellers.

Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
1:50pm–02:40pm MDT
2024 Festival
Heirs of Slavery

While elected officials debate the necessity and scope of reparations for the historical stain of slavery, some individuals and private institutions with ties to the slave trade are stepping forward. What can we learn from their efforts to reckon with the past?

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
3:10pm–04:00pm MDT
2024 Festival
The Architecture of Social Division

Architecture doesn’t just build edifices; it shapes societies. Even as transportation infrastructure creates and locks in racial inequality, there is hope that intentional design can create more equitable, sustainable and joyous communities. Together, a visionary architect and the president of the ACLU grapple with how architecture both mends and maintains social division.

Buckminster Fuller Dome
2024 Festival
A Political Gamble

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin announced last month that he would change his party affiliation from Democrat to Independent, leaving many to wonder about his future plans in a divisive election year. Join the senator alongside his daughter, Heather Manchin, as they discuss their new organization, Americans Together, and how they hope to give politically homeless centrists a voice and direction.

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
4:20pm–05:10pm MDT
2024 Festival
Reimagining a Justice System Beyond Bars

The American prison and jail population has grown 500% since the 1970s, and calls for change are growing louder. Hear stories from a headlining musician and cultural leader, a nonprofit thinker and a MacArthur Fellow and scholar on the need to reinvent the toxic structures of incarceration.

Paepcke Auditorium
Wednesday, June 26th
10:20am–11:10am MDT
2024 Festival
Biden’s Secret Weapon: Shalanda Young

President Biden promised to push for bipartisan legislation, and the White House Office of Management and Budget’s director has been key to the process. With a reputation as a skilled negotiator and a willingness to work across the aisle, OMB Director Young has navigated the threat of government shutdowns and a debt-ceiling crisis. What’s the secret to her success?

Koch Building, Lauder Room
12:30pm–01:20pm MDT
2024 Festival
Insurrectionists Among Us

The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was, for many, proof of our nation’s hopeless polarization and the danger of unchecked radicalization. But who were these people who stampeded through the halls of Congress, and what motivated them? How can we build understanding so that we can disrupt extremism before it takes hold?

East Lawn Tent
Thursday, June 27th
10:20am–11:10am MDT
2024 Festival
Battleground General

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has a reputation for getting things done, even as she leads a purple state that’s a battleground for many of our nation’s most hotly contested issues. Katie Couric talks with the Michigan governor about life, leadership and the lessons she has learned along the way. Governor Whitmer's new book, True Gretch, will be available for sale following the session.

Paepcke Auditorium
12:30pm–01:20pm MDT
2024 Festival
How Do We Stop the Shooting?

Firearms are one of the leading causes of death among children in the U.S., a country where there have been more than 150 mass shootings in the first five months of 2024. Sit with those statistics for a moment — then ask what roles policy, litigation, art and public awareness can play in solving one of America’s most intractable problems.

Paepcke Auditorium
1:50pm–02:40pm MDT
2024 Festival
Beating Back Disinformation

Americans’ trust in the media is near an all-time low — a crisis exacerbated by waves of misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news, social media and AI-generated content. How can serious journalism restore trust and defend a world based on truth and facts?

East Lawn Tent
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