2024 Schedule

Sunday, June 23rd
Sunday, June 23rd
4:00pm–06:00pm MDT
2024 Festival
Opening Session

Part 1. Contrary to Popular Opinion — Bill Maher in Real Time: The iconoclastic host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” sits down with Tina Brown to talk about calling out hypocrisy and malfeasance on right and left, the dangers of groupthink and his new book, “What This Comedian Said Will Shock You.”

Greenwald Pavilion
7:30pm–08:30pm MDT
2024 Festival
An Evening of Serious Hope

In a world on fire, many of us feel starved for hope. Join the president of Juilliard, America’s leading soprano, an Oscar-winning director and composer, and the former mayor of New Orleans for an evening of conversation with performances that show why there are so many reasons for hope.

Marble Garden Tent
Monday, June 24th
8:10am–08:55am MDT
2024 Festival
Families and Social Capital

Experts on well-being share why we all need family connections, community wisdom and the weave of social fabric.

Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
9:00am–10:00am MDT
2024 Festival
The $38 Trillion Dollar Question

In a recent op-ed, former U.S. climate envoy and secretary of state John Kerry declared that rich countries are failing to respond to the climate crisis. If extreme weather will cost $38 trillion dollars annually by mid-century, who will pay for the adaptation and mitigation projects needed — especially in the developing world?

Greenwald Pavilion
10:20am–11:10am MDT
2024 Festival
What’s Missing in the Lives of America’s Young People?

Three leaders discuss the aspects of well-being, agency and purpose that are vital to the holistic development of youth in today’s world. How can society help them develop into confident, purposeful, productive and resilient adults?

2024 Festival
Read with Jenna

Join NBC's Jenna Bush Hager as she discusses her Read With Jenna July book club selection with its New York Times bestselling author. Explore the epic love story and thriller, delving into its themes of love, obsession, hope and the complexities of human connection.

Buckminster Fuller Dome
2024 Festival
Should We Send the Treasures Back?

The pressure on cultural institutions to return artifacts to their places of origin is growing in intensity, but some argue that repatriation threatens the preservation and study of these treasures. Who, in the end, does history belong to?

Koch Building, Lauder Room
10:20am–11:50am MDT
2024 Festival
U.S. and China: Edging Toward the Brink?

Niall Ferguson, the celebrated historian who predicted Cold War II in 2018, has assembled the sharpest minds from both sides of the Bamboo Curtain for a discussion on the future of U.S.-China relations.

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
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
The Dilemma of Modern Parenting

How do we raise empathetic children? How do we tackle tough conversations? And how do we build resilient humans while we balance family and work life? Meet three changemakers who are drilling down on what matters the most for our kids.

East Lawn Tent
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
Allstate Presents: Not a Drill — Transitioning to a Lower-Carbon World

As society focuses on mitigating human climate impact, economies shift away from carbon-based energy sources — which impacts individuals, businesses and governments. Beyond subsidies and regulation, we’ll need to harness the power of business, investment markets and individual self-interest to create a safer and more prosperous world.

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
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
3:10pm–04:00pm MDT
2024 Festival
Is There a Future for Oil and Gas?

Renewables are on the rise, but so is fossil fuel consumption as global development demands more and more. Does the oil and gas industry have a role in reaching net-zero goals? How do government policies shape the strategies of oil and gas giants as fossil fuels fade away?

Koch Building, Lauder Room
2024 Festival
Are We Ready For Pandemic X?

Given what we learned from the global turbulence from COVID-19, are we any more prepared for the next pandemic? Author and journalist Michael Lewis and Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine maker, discuss strategies to protect the world against future outbreaks and explore how global collaboration can ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines.

East Lawn Tent
2024 Festival
AI White Spaces

AI’s evolution over the next two decades will redefine the white spaces of uncharted knowledge, revolutionize industries, alter societal dynamics and challenge ethical boundaries. How should we address questions about control, privacy and the very essence of human existence?

Doerr-Hosier Center, McNulty Room
2024 Festival
Why Youth Sports are Game-Changing

What if there were a pill that could help people move, think and sleep better, and that reduced anxiety, depression and 13 types of cancer — with the side effect of making more friends and more money? That’s what youth sports does. Learn about a national effort to get 63% of kids playing by 2030 — unlocking a projected $80 billion in societal benefits.

Koch Building, Booz Allen Hamilton Room
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