Charles Johnson
National Book Award winner for Middle Passage, Dr. Charles Johnson writes captivating novels that address issues of being African-American in today’s U.S. society.
Video: Charles Johnson talks about writing and learning to write
Non Fiction Authors
Steven Strogatz
An award-winning researcher, teacher, and communicator, Strogatz enjoys sharing the beauty of math, nonlinear dynamics and complex systems, often on topics inspired by the curiosities of everyday life.
Video: Steven Strogatz at the World Government Summit in Dubai
Michael J. Tougias
New York Times best-selling author of The Finest Hours, Tougias shares incredible survival stories, sharing lessons about decision-making, goal attainment & resilience.
Chuck Collins
One of the foremost writers, researchers, and activists on economic inequality in our society and its harmful effects; born into the 1%, he has devoted his life to bridging the economic divide.
Jeffrey Simon
An internationally recognized writer, lecturer and consultant on domestic terrorism and political violence. He runs Political Risk Assessment Co., Inc., a security and terrorism research consulting company.
Robert Kirshner
Part of the Nobel-Award winning research team on “cosmic expansion” — takes his audience inside the world of dark energy, exploding stars, and the accelerating universe.
Jessica Valenti
Valenti is one of the Top 100 Inspiring Women in the world. Bestselling author and co-founder of award-winning blog, Feminsting.com, she speaks on feminism, politics and defying gender norms. A leading voice in the #MeToo movement.
Tim Riley
Journalism professor and NPR commentator, Riley’s books on the Beatles and John Lennon are consider definitive works. He also speaks about the way that social media has changed the face of journalism.
Bob Reiss
With climate change creating new access to the Arctic, “the region is in danger of becoming a 21st-century Wild West—a free-for-all for power and riches opening up at the top of the planet.”
David Guterson
Guterson’s newest book Descent: A Memoir of Madness is a starkly revealing memoir of his fall into depression in the wake of a national tragedy, and his courageous journey to recovery
Charles Kimball
Middle East expert and analyst on world religions, Islam, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations, and the intersection of religion and politics in America.
Richard Rodriguez
An award–winning, thought provoking writer, hailed in The Washington Post as “one of the most eloquent and probing public intellectuals in America”.
Video: Richard Rodriguez at the Library of Congress
Jianying Zha
Born in Beijing, educated in the West, journalist and author Jianying Zha brings unique insight into the rapid changes and movement in Chinese culture, politics, and economics.
Sandra Steingraber
An international anti- fracking activist & biologist who fights for the environmental protection of others. Steingraber sees environmental rights as a basic human right.
Video: Speaking out on Fracking
Sonia Shah
An investigative journalist and critically acclaimed author. Addressing topics from human rights to international politics, Shah tracks viruses, drugs, and their future impacts on society.
Urvashi Vaid
Nationally acclaimed LGBT leader, attorney, community organizer throughout her entire professional career. She offers an insightful analysis of the gay rights movement, past and future.
Video: Urvashi Vaid addresses the Fenway Health Women’s Dinner Party
Daisy Hernández
Award winning author, Hernandez crosses the barriers between race, gender, and media representation. Her bold insight emphasizes current disparities in today’s culture.
Lewis Hyde
Essayist, translator, scholar and poet whose work focuses on the nature of imagination, creativity, the “cultural commons” and, most recently, “the art of forgetting” as it appears in myth, politics, art and spiritual life. A true “writer’s writer.”