Crosscut Festival

In July 1960, Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe...

Broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff is anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour. She has covered politics and...

Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, empowers Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe...

A former State Senator and a lifelong organizer, Pramila Jayapal was elected to Congress in 2016 to represent the Seattle area. Now in her third term, she...

Robert B. Reich is chancellor's professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He has served...

Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research...

Alicia believes that Black communities deserve what all communities deserve -- to be powerful in every aspect of their lives. An author, political...

Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Olsen began his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. After three years working for...

Michael Eric Dyson is one of the nation’s most renowned professors, gifted writers, inspiring preachers, knowledgeable lecturers and prominent media personalities. Dyson has taught at some of the nation’s most distinguished...

Carmen Best was the first African American woman to serve as Chief of the Seattle Police Department. She serves on multiple committees and boards, and is a...

Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning journalist, speaker, author and philanthropist who anchors and produces the Hearst Television political magazine...

Dr. Robin DiAngelo is Affiliate Associate Faculty of Education at the University of Washington. In addition, she holds two Honorary Doctorates. She is a...

Senator Jon Tester is a third-generation Montana farmer, a proud grandfather, and a former school teacher who has deep roots in hard work, responsibility and accountability. Jon and his wife Sharla still farm the same land near...

Heather Cox Richardson is Professor of History at Boston College and the author of five books about American politics, including her latest How the South...

Chris Murphy, the junior United States Senator for Connecticut, has dedicated his career to public service as an advocate for Connecticut families. Senator Murphy has been a strong voice in the Senate fighting for job creation...

Michael Harriot is a Senior Writer at TheRoot.com where he writes about the intersection of race, politics and economics.

About Crosscut Festival...

Dahlia Lithwick is a senior editor at Slate, and has been writing their "Supreme Court Dispatches" and "Jurisprudence" columns since 1999. Her work has...

Robert M. Gates is the author of Duty, and A Passion for Leadership. He served as secretary of defense under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was an officer in the United States Air Force and worked for the CIA...

Abrahm Lustgarten is a senior environmental reporter at ProPublica investigating climate change and our response to a rapidly shifting environment. He is...

Keisha N. Blain is an award-winning historian, professor, and writer. She is currently an associate professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh...

Adam Jentleson is the Executive Director of Battle Born Collective and former deputy chief of staff to Senator Harry Reid. A columnist for GQ and frequent...

Sonia Shah is a science journalist and author of The Next Great Migration: the beauty and terror of life on the move (Bloomsbury 2020), a finalist for the...

Jillian C. York is a writer and activist whose work examines the impact of technology on our societal and cultural values. Based in Berlin, she is the...

Richard Florida is one of the world’s leading urbanists. He is a researcher and professor, serving as University Professor at University of Toronto’s...

Ross Douthat is a columnist for the New York Times op-ed page. He is the author of To Change the Church, Bad Religion, and Privilege, and coauthor of Grand...

Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a Professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame and her research...

Andrew Marantz is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he has worked since 2011. He has written extensively for the magazine about technology, social...

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is an author, strategist, homegrown Atlantan, and one of 15 “women who will save the world,” according to Time magazine. Her books...

Leah Stokes is a Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She works on energy, climate, and environmental politics and has...

Heather McGhee is an expert in economic and social policy. The former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation...

Errin Haines is Editor at Large for The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy, and an MSNBC Contributor. An...

Emily Ramshaw is co-founder and CEO of The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. She was previously editor-in...

Amanda Zamora is co-founder and publisher of The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. She spent nearly two...