A festival of ideas
NEW YORK
The world's leading thinkers
live
nyc may 3rd - 4th 2024
1pm ET- 10pm ET
AT DUGGAL GREENHOUSE IN BROOKLYN
Richard Dawkins is a British evolutionary biologist, and science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford and is one of the most respected scientists in the world. He has written several best-selling popular books and appeared in several television and radio programs, concerning evolutionary biology, creationism, and religion. Among his books are The Ancestor’s Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, A Devil’s Chaplain, The God Delusion, The Greatest Show on Earth and The Magic of Reality. His most recent books are his two-part autobiography. Part 1 An Appetite for Wonder, released in 2013 and A Brief Candle in the Dark released in 2015. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Society of Literature.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a Somali-born intellectual and activist for the rights of women and girls. Previously a Member of the Dutch Parliament (2003-2006), she regularly called for the integration of non-Western immigrants into Dutch society, and defended the rights of Muslim women. Now, a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and Founder of the AHA Foundation, she comments on pressing issues and offers a platform to exchange perspectives that lead to real solutions. She has written several books including Infidel (2007); Nomad (2010); Heretic (2015); and The Challenge of Dawa (2017).
Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He earned his BA from McGill and his PhD from Harvard. Currently Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.”
John McWhorter is an American linguist with a specialty in creole languages, sociolects, and Black English. He is currently an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University, where he also teaches American studies and music history. McWhorter has written for Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post as well as many other news organizations. He has authored a number of books on race relations and African-American culture - including Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why You Should, Like, Care, and Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America.
Konstantin Kisin is a writer, social commentator, co-host of TRIGGERnometry and comedian. He is a regular on British and American TV and radio shows including Question Time, Good Morning Britain, BBC Breakfast, Daily Politics, LBC Cross Question, Tucker Carlson, the Megyn Kelly Show and many others. Konstantin has written for publications including the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator, Tablet Magazine, Quillette, Standpoint as well as his first book, An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West.
Francis Foster is a stand up comedian and co-host of Triggernometry. He has performed across the globe, opening for Eddie Izzard in Barcelona and Madrid and the world famous Comedy Cellar in New York. His writing credits include Mock The Week amongst many others. In 2018 he and his co-host Konstantin Kisin started Triggernometry.
John Vervaeke has been teaching at the University of Toronto since 1994. He is the director of the Cognitive Science program and he is the director of the Consciousness and the Wisdom Studies Laboratory. He has won and been nominated for several teaching awards including the 2001. He is author of the book Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st-Century Crisis which integrates Psychology and Cognitive Science to address the meaning crisis in Western society. He is presenter of the YouTube series, Awakening from the Meaning Crisis and the series After Socrates.
Michael Shellenberger is an American author and journalist who writes about politics, the environment, climate change, and nuclear power. He is a co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute and the California Peace Coalition. Shellenberger founded the pro-nuclear non-profit Environmental Progress in 2016. Shellenberger is the best-selling author of San Fransicko (HarperCollins 2021) and Apocalypse Never (Harper Collins 2020), a Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment,” and Green Book Award Winner.
Thomas Chatterton Williams is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Losing My Cool and Self-Portrait in Black and White. He is a Visiting professor of humanities and senior fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, a 2022 Guggenheim fellow, and a visiting fellow at AEI. He was previously a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and a Columnist at Harper’s. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, the London Review of Books, Le Monde and many other places, and has been collected in The Best American Essays and The Best American Travel Writing.
Kathleen Stock is a British philosopher and writer. She was a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex until 2021. She has published academic work on aesthetics, fiction, imagination, sexual objectification, and sexual orientation. In the years from 2010 to 2016 she was Member of Council, Royal Institute of Philosophy and in 2012-2015 she was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees, American Society of Aesthetics. She was, from 2018 to 2021, Vice-President of the British Society of Aesthetics.
Chris Williamson is a British podcaster, club promoter and TV celebrity. He became known to the British public through being a contestant on the first season of Love Island (2015). He created the podcast, Modern Wisdom (2018), which as of 2022 has obtained over 62 million views on youtube alone. Modern Wisdom has discussions with scientists, professionals and public figures on a range of issues like dating, fitness, psychology, mental determination, science, and more.
Mary Harrington is a contributing editor at UnHerd, and author of Feminism Against Progress (Regnery, 2023). Her work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, the Times of London, First Things, The Spectator, The New Statesman, and many more. She publishes her own weekly Substack newsletter, Reactionary Feminist.
Alex O’Connor is a YouTuber and host of Within Reason, a philosophy podcast that has featured guests including Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Slavoj Žižek, and William Lane Craig, amongst many others. He is a public speaker and debater, having defended philosophical atheism, monarchy abolitionism, and free speech with opponents such as Ben Shapiro and Piers Morgan.
Lee Fang is an American journalist. He was previously an investigative reporter at The Intercept, a contributing writer at The Nation, and a writer at progressive outlet the Republic Report. He began his career as an investigative blogger for ThinkProgressLee Fang is a journalist with interest in how public policy is influenced by organized interest groups and money. He was an investigative blogger for ThinkProgress from 2009 to 2011, and then a fellow at the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute.
Africa Brooke is a Zimbabwean born, internationally acclaimed consultant, accredited coach, speaker, and podcaster. As the Founder and CEO of Africa Brooke International, she is renowned for her expertise and nuanced insights into overcoming self-sabotage and self-censorship. Hosting two weekly personal development and philosophy podcasts “Beyond the Self” and ‘Unthinkable Thoughts’, Africa's voice has resonated across various media platforms. She has been a sought-after guest on numerous television shows, podcasts, and radio broadcasts.
Diana Fleischman is an evolutionary psychologist, writer, podcaster and former psychology professor. Fleischman has been a lecturer in the department of psychology at the University of Portsmouth from 2011 to 2020. She writes about sex differences, moral psychology, evolution and reproductive technology. In August 2020, she started a blog at Psychology Today called How to Train Your Boyfriend, having the same title as a book she is writing.
Bridget Phetasy is an American writer, podcast host, and political commentator. Her work covers political polarization, addiction, religion, media fragmentation, and other topics. She is a writer and contributing editor for The Spectator and has written for The Federalist (website), Playboy magazine, Tablet (magazine), Quillette, The Atlantic, and other outlets. She is also the host of the Weekly Dumpster Fire on YouTube and the Walk-Ins Welcome podcast.
Freddie Sayers is a journalist and interviewer who runs the UK-based media platform UnHerd. Before taking the reins at UnHerd, Freddie was Editor-in-Chief of global data company YouGov, founder of multiple media and data startups including political news website PoliticsHome and messaging survey company InConvo (now YouGovChat). As a commentator he has also been published in the Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Spectator and Prospect.
Winston Marshall was the co-founder of the folk-rock band Mumford & Sons. After leaving the band, Marshall established himself as a prominent figure in media and intellectual circles. He has written for various publications including The Free Press and The Spectator, and hosted podcasts such as “Marshall Matters” and “The Winston Marshall Show”. He has appeared on numerous media platforms including BBC, Fox News, and Sky News Australia. He is also a co-founder of the 'Dissident Dialogues' festival of ideas, which brings together leading intellectuals for discussions and debates.
Briahna Joy Gray is an American political commentator, lawyer, and political consultant who served as the National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign. Gray is a columnist at The Intercept and her work has appeared in The Guardian, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Current Affairs, and The Week, among others. She received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Harvard College.
Dan Granger is the CEO and founder of Oxford Road, a leading ad agency and ad-tech developer. Since starting Oxford Road in 2013, Dan has teamed with countless companies on TV, radio and podcast advertisements on some of the country’s biggest shows, including Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan.
Tom Nash is a quadruple amputee and DJ. He exercises his unique knack for storytelling alongside his often dark and dry sense of humor, to lead audiences down a path of self discovery, encouraging them to inspect their lives from a different angle. Tom’s grounded approach to working out what’s important and setting aside the noise of life, resonates with listeners. Tom explains how harnessing the power of adversity helped him to build a more pragmatic, productive and self-reflective mindset.
Harleen Kaur is a former NASA engineer. Kaur is working to shatter people’s news filter bubbles. She co-founded Ground News with Sukh Singh to help combat disinformation, fake news, and media biases. The platform compares how news sources across the political spectrum cover major stories.
Greg Lukianoff is an attorney, New York Times best-selling author, and the President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). He is the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, Freedom From Speech, and FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus. He co-authored The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure with Jonathan Haidt. Most recently Greg co-authored The Canceling of the American Mind: Cancel Culture Undermines Trust and Threatens Us All—But There Is a Solution with Rikki Schlott.
Jonathan Kay is a Canadian journalist. He was the editor-in-chief of The Walrus, and is a senior editor of Quillette. He was previously comment pages editor, columnist, and blogger for the Toronto-based Canadian daily newspaper National Post. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Atlantic, Foreign Affairs and other news organizations. His books include Among The Truthers, Legacy: How French Canadians Shaped North America, Your Move: What Board Games Teach Us About Life, Panics and Persecutions, and Magic In The Dark: One Family’s Century Of Adventures In The Movie Business.
Anna Khachiyan is a Russian born, American cultural critic, writer, and co-host of the podcast Red Scare based in New York City. Kachiyan received the Patrick J. Quigley memorial scholarship from Rutgers University in 2006, studying economics and art history. She went on to pursue a master's degree in art history at New York University. On March 29, 2018, Khachiyan started the cultural commentary podcast Red Scare, with co-host and actress Dasha Nekrasova. The podcast covers current topics in American culture and politics in both a comedic and serious tone.
Andrew Gold is the host of Heretics podcast and YouTube channel. He is a former BBC & HBO documentary maker and has investigated some of the world’s most taboo topics. After being told he couldn’t continue as a TV presenter on UK TV, he turned to independent podcasting.
Ayishat Akanbi is a writer, cultural commentator, fashion stylist and photographer based in London. Her writing has been published in Stylist, Huck and Dazed, she has appeared on CNN and BBC news, and she has spoken about social justice, arts and culture at the Sydney Opera House, the Tate Museum, The Design Museum and Google. She's worked with a range of celebrity clients including artists Koffee, Rod Stewart, Emeli Sandé and many others.
Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun, and UPI. He has also contributed to CNN, Fox, C-SPAN, Charlie Rose, the I Am Rapaport: Stereo Podcast, and Bloggingheads tv.
Jacob Siegel is a reporter at The Daily Beast and an Army veteran. He was an editor and contributor to Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War, an anthology of short fiction by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Seigel’s work has been published in The New York Times, Tablet, Politico, New York Daily News, Vice, and the National Endowment for the Humanities Magazine, among other places.
Nathan J. Robinson is the editor of Current Affairs. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, The Nation, Salon, The Guardian, and elsewhere. A graduate of Yale Law School, he is a PhD student in Sociology and Social Policy at Harvard University, where his work focuses on contemporary left social movements. He is the author of Why You Should Be A Socialist.
Michael Moynihan is an American journalist, former National Correspondent for Vice News. He was previously the cultural news editor for The Daily Beast, the managing editor of Vice magazine, and a senior editor of the libertarian magazine Reason. Moynihan is co-host of The Fifth Column podcast along with Matt Welch and Kmele Foster.
Michael Moynihan is an American journalist, former National Correspondent for Vice News. He was previously the cultural news editor for The Daily Beast, the managing editor of Vice magazine, and a senior editor of the libertarian magazine Reason. Moynihan is co-host of The Fifth Column podcast along with Matt Welch and Kmele Foster.
Joshua Luke Smith is a poet for the people. He’s a songwriter, storyteller, podcaster and published author. He’s the founder of Orphan No More, a record label and creative community as well as The Psalmists, a charity helping the lives of offenders through creative expression and self-reflection. Joshua has been featured in Complex Magazine, BBC 1XTRA, BBC 6 Music, Premier Radio, UCB Radio, Wordplay and many other media outlets. He has given a TEDX Talk, tours extensively and speaks at conferences around the world.
Stephen Blackwood is the founding President of Ralston College. He has held visiting positions at Harvard University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Cambridge. His intellectual interests include philosophy, religion, psychology, theology, ethics, politics, nature, and art. His book on the Roman poet-philosopher-statesman, Boethius, was published by Oxford University Press.
Masih Alinejad is an Iranian journalist and women's rights activist known for her fearless criticism of the Iranian government and advocacy against compulsory hijab laws. Born in 1976 in Iran, she began her activism at a young age, facing persecution for her dissenting views. Alinejad pursued a career in journalism, exposing corruption and human rights abuses in Iran. In 2014, she gained international attention for launching the "My Stealthy Freedom" campaign, challenging mandatory veiling laws. Despite facing threats and smear campaigns, she continues her advocacy from exile in the United States, inspiring others to stand up against oppression.
Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason, the libertarian magazine of "free minds and free markets," and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie. Gillespie served as the editor in chief of Reason.com and Reason TV from 2008 through 2017 and was Reason magazine's editor in chief from 2000 to 2008. Under his direction, Reason won the 2005 Western Publications Association "Maggie" Award for Best Political Magazine.
Alex Gutentag is an American journalist. She is a senior editor at Public and a contributing editor for Compact. Her work has been published in Tablet.
Sohrab Ahmari is an Iranian-American columnist, editor, and author. He is a founding editor of the online magazine Compact. He is a contributing editor of The Catholic Herald, and a columnist for First Things. After serving as a Robert L. Bartley fellow at The Wall Street Journal in 2012, Ahmari joined the publication as assistant books editor. Ahmaris has authored multiple books including: The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chao. His most recent book, Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty – and What to Do About It, was released in 2023.
Mia Hughes is an Ottawa-based British journalist and director of gender research for Michael Shellenberger's nonprofit Environmental Progress. She is the author of The WPATH Files, an investigative report into the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
Stella O’Malley is a psychotherapist, bestselling author, public speaker, and parent with extensive experience in counseling and psychotherapy. Stella is the founder and Executive Director of Genspect, an international organization that advocates for a healthy approach to sex and gender. As a prominent figure in the mental health landscape, Stella delivers public talks and lectures at venues and events across the world.
Alex Berenson, an investigative journalist. He writes for the Unreported Truths Substack, with approximately a quarter-million subscribers. He has written 13 novels and three non-fiction books, most recently PANDEMIA- dealing with issues regarding the Covid Pandemic. From 1999 to 2010, he worked for the New York Times.
tickets on sale NOW!
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
richard dawkins
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
John McWhorter
Steven Pinker
KOnstantin Kisin
Francis Foster
John Vervaeke
Michael Shellenberger
Chris Williamson
Thomas Chatterton Williams
Kathleen Stock
Freddie Sayers
Bridget Phetasy
Diana S. Fleischman
Africa Brooke
Lee Fang
Alex O'Connor
Mary Harrington
Ayishat Akanbi
Andrew Gold
Anna Khachiyan
Greg Lukianoff
Jonathan Kay
Dan Granger
Harleen Kaur
Tom Nash
Briahna Joy Gray
Jacob Siegel
Eli Lake
Michael Moynihan
Nathan J Robinson
Joshua Luke Smith
Stephen Blackwood
Masih Alinejad
Nick Gillespie
Alex Gutentag
Sohrab Ahmari
Mia Hughes
Stella O’Malley
Alex Berenson
Explore TWO DAYS OF DEBATE,
DISCUSSION, DISAGREEMENT AND DISCOVERY.
- richard dawkins
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- John McWhorter
- Steven Pinker
- Konstantin Kisin
- Francis Foster
- John Vervaeke
- Michael Shellenberger
- Chris Williamson
- Briahna Joy Gray
- Thomas Chatterton Williams
- Kathleen Stock
- Freddie Sayers
- Bridget Phetasy
- Diana S. Fleischman
- Africa Brooke
- Lee Fang
- Ayishat Akanbi
- Alex O'Connor
- Mary Harrington
- Andrew Gold
- Anna Khachiyan
- Greg Lukianoff
- Jonathan Kay
- Dan Granger
- Harleen Kaur
- Tom Nash
- Jacob Siegel
- Eli Lake
- Michael Moynihan
- Nathan J Robinson
- Joshua Luke Smith
- Stephen Blackwood
- Masih Alinejad
- Nick Gillespie
- Alex Gutentag
- Sohrab Ahmari
- Mia Hughes
- Stella O’Malley
- Alex Berenson
- Maud Maron
ticket on sale NOW!
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
Dissident Dialogues
THE WORLD’S LEADING AND MOST Original THINKERS COME TO
NEW YORK CITY
FOR TWO DAYS OF DEBATE, DISCUSSION, DISAGREEMENT AND DISCOVERY.
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN!
"We hope you will join us for the inaugural festival of ideas that is Dissident Dialogues a chance to meet the leading heterodox and original thinkers, philosophers, writers and speakers of our time - debating the toughest questions."
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BREATHTAKING
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
tickets
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- General seating
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- Light lunch, refreshments and dinner provided
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FESTIVAL
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas
May 3rd - 4th
NEW YORK CITY
A place for Dangerous Ideas