Current + Social Issues Speakers

In an ever-changing societal landscape, these author speakers share personal stories, insightful reporting, and imaginative narratives to illuminate our world.

Dr. Uché Blackstock

Founder and CEO of Advancing Health Equity, emergency physician, and New York Times-bestselling author of Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine

Ta-Nehisi Coates

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Between the World and Me and The Message

Eric Holder

Former U.S. attorney general and esteemed civil rights leader

More Current + Social Issues Speakers

Elliot Ackerman

International relations expert, bestselling novelist, journalist, and U.S. Marine Corps Veteran

Yoni Appelbaum

Historian, deputy executive editor The Atlantic, and author of Stuck

Shane Bauer

Investigative reporter and author of American Prison

Adam Benforado

New York Times bestselling author of A Minor Revolution and Unfair

Arthur C. Brooks

Harvard professor, PhD social scientist, #1 New York Times-bestselling author

Rosa Brooks

American law professor and author of Tangled Up in Blue

Alisyn Camerota

Author, journalist, and anchor of the CNN morning news program New Day.

Richard A. Clarke

America’s first czar of cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, and author of The Fifth Domain.

Steve Coll

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, New Yorker staff writer, and author of Ghost Wars and Directorate S

June Eric-Udorie

Feminist activist, Editor of Can We All Be Feminists? and DEI Programme Manager for Flexa

Dr. Sheri Fink

Pulitzer Prize-winning medical journalist and author of Five Days at Memorial, M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford

Dr. Thomas Fisher

Emergency room physician and author of The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER

Mohsin Hamid

Bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, and Exit West

Hahrie Han

Political scientist, Director of SNF Agora Institute, and leading expert on social movements

Dr. Mona Hanna

Physician, scientist and activist who exposed the Flint water crisis

Dr. Michele Harper

Emergency room physician and author of the New York Times-bestselling The Beauty in Breaking

Chris Hayes

Journalist, MSNBC host, and New York Times-bestselling author

Prentis Hemphill

Bestselling author, political organizer, founder and director of The Embodiment Institute

Cathy Park Hong

Award-winning poet and New York Times-bestselling author of Minor Feelings

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

National Book Award-winning historian and #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

Phil Klay

U.S. Marine Corps veteran and author of Redeployment, winner of 2014 National Book Award for Fiction

Robert Kolker

Award-winning journalist and instant #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road

Charlie LeDuff

American journalist, media personality, and author of Detroit: An American Autopsy

Chang-rae Lee

New York Times-bestselling author of The Surrendered and Native Speaker

Jill Leovy

Author of the New York Times-bestselling book, Ghettoside

Jason De León

Anthropologist, professor, and author of National Book Award winner Soldiers and Kings

Amanda Lucidon

Obama White House photographer, award-winning filmmaker, and New York Times-bestselling author

Jayson Lusk

Food and agricultural economist, author of The Food Police

Ian Manuel

Advocate for criminal justice reform, poet, and motivational speaker

Lauren Markham

Journalist and author of The Far Away Brothers and A Map of Future Ruins

Sarah McBride

U.S. Representative for the State of Delaware and LGBTQAI+ activist

Amy McGrath

U.S. Marine Corps veteran and founder of Honor Bound, Inc.

Bethany McLean

Vanity Fair contributing editor and co-author of All the Devils are Here and the national bestseller The Smartest Guys in the Room

Barry Meier

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter behind the Netflix hit, “Painkiller”

Chanel Miller

Artist, activist, and author of the New York Times bestseller Know My Name

Leila Mottley

Award-winning author of Oprah’s Book Club selection Nightcrawling and former Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland

Jenny Nordberg

Award-winning investigative reporter, foreign correspondent, and author of The Underground Girls of Kabul

Jenny Odell

New York Times-bestselling author of How to Do Nothing and Saving Time

Tommy Orange

Bestselling novelist and author of There There and Wandering Stars

Eli Pariser

Board President of MoveOn.org, Cofounder of Upworthy, and author of The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You

Eduardo Porter

Economics reporter at The New York Times and author of American Poison

Carla Power

Journalist and author of Pulitzer Prize finalist If the Oceans Were Ink

Eve Rodsky

New York Times-bestselling author and creative leadership expert

Marjane Satrapi

Academy Award-nominated director, cartoonist, and author of Persepolis

Shaka Senghor

Author of Letters to the Sons of Society and Writing My Wrongs and leading voice on criminal justice reform

Daniel Sherrell

Environmental advocate and author of Warmth: Coming of Age at the End of Our World

Chris Smalls

Labor organizer and president and co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union

Dr. Dana Suskind

Pediatric physician and author of Thirty Million Words: Building a Child's Brain and Parent Nation

Melissa Urban

"The Boundary Lady," New York Times-bestselling author, and Whole30 co-founder

Hadley Vlahos

Hospice nurse, palliative care advocate, author of New York Times bestseller The In-Between

Ayelet Waldman

Acclaimed memoirist and author of Bad Mother and Love and Treasure

Charlie Warzel

Award-winning technology reporter and co-author of Out of Office

Lawrence Wright

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower and staff writer for The New Yorker

Javier Zamora

Memoirist, poet, and author of Solito, and a winner of the 2023 American Book Award.

C Pam Zhang

Novelist of How Much of These Hills is Gold and Land of Milk and Honey, and a National Book Foundation 2020 "5 Under 35" Honoree
Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau