The Office of Public Lectures presents: Chatbot Shmatbot: AI Isn鈥檛 Just a Product with Noah Smith
7 p.m.
础滨听isn’t听magic听鈥斕�it’s听made of human choices. Join UW’s听VP for听AI, Noah Smith,听at 天美影院Bothell to explore who controls AI, what it听optimizes听for, and why open infrastructure is essential for a smarter, more听equitable future.
Registration opens September 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: A Conversation with Paola Ramos
6:30 p.m.
Emmy-winning journalist Paola Ramos and UW’s Sophia Jord谩n Wallace explore Latino voter engagement, political power, and the demographic shifts quietly reshaping American elections.
Registration opens September 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Continuity and Change in Immigration Politics with Sophia Jord谩n Wallace
6:30 p.m.
How did immigration become America’s most polarizing issue? UW’s Sophia Jord谩n Wallace traces the rhetoric, policy shifts, and public responses defining this urgent and deeply human debate.
Registration opens September 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: What Feeds Us: Science, Climate, and the Future of Food with Pamela Ronald
6:30 p.m.
Climate change is threatening the crops that feed us all. UC Davis geneticist Pamela Ronald reveals how her discovery of flood-tolerant rice is helping millions of farmers adapt 鈥� and what plant science means for the future of food.
Registration opens September 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: From Franklin’s Key to ChatGPT: 250 Years of American Technology with Margaret O’Mara
6:30 p.m.
Who gets to invent 鈥� and who gets left behind? 天美影院historian Margaret O’Mara traces 250 years of technological change to illuminate the power, inequality, and听possibility听defining our AI-powered future.听
Registration opens September 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Now What? Making Sense of the Midterms with Megan Ming Francis
6:30 p.m.
Democracy听feels听fragile in 2026, right?听UW’s Megan Ming Francis examines the tensions, frustrations, and fault lines that shaped the midterms 鈥� and what the outcomes tell us about where America goes from here.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lecture presents: An Evening with Hasan Piker
7 p.m.
He reaches 30,000 viewers daily on Twitch. Now Hasan Piker brings his sharp political commentary to the 天美影院community鈥� in conversation with historian Daniel Bessner on media, power, and a generation finding its voice.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Doing Science on a Burning Planet 鈥� What Does It Feel Like? with Cristina Mejia Visperas
6:30 p.m.
Climate data is everywhere 鈥� so why听isn’t听enough changing? USC’s Cristina Visperas explores the raw, urgent emotions of scientists grappling with a crisis that accelerates faster than our response to it.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lecture presents: THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION: A Conversation with Camille Zapata
6:30 p.m.
How听does government build trust in an era of misinformation? Join Camille Zapata, Digital Director for Governor Newsom, and UW’s Jevin West to explore digital storytelling, public opinion, and what it all means for democracy.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: How to Tell a Great Story on Film with Sterlin Harjo
6:30 p.m.
From Sundance to听Reservation Dogs, Sterlin Harjo has spent two decades telling Indigenous stories with humor, heart, and zero apology. He joins UW’s Chris Teuton for a conversation on craft and culture.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: On Impunity: An Evening with Philippe Sands听
6:30 p.m.
What does justice look like on a global scale? Renowned lawyer and author Philippe Sands brings the human stories behind international law to life 鈥� and makes the case for why it matters now more than ever.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Comics As Journalism with Joe Sacco
6:30 p.m.
From Palestine to Gaza, Bosnia to India 鈥� Joe Sacco has drawn the stories the world needs to see. The pioneering cartoonist and journalist听brings听his full body of work to life at Town听Hall听Seattle.
Registration opens December 9, 2026.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Wounded Desert:听Disability, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice with Sunaura Taylor
6:30 p.m.
When a community’s land is poisoned, who bears the burden? Scholar Sunaura Taylor explores how disability, illness, and environmental harm intersect 鈥� and how one Tucson community turned decades of injustice into art, memory, and collective healing.
Registration opens March 11, 2027.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Walking on Eggshells: The Plight of Conservatives in Higher Education and the Implications for the Future of America’s Public Square with Pete Peterson
6:30 p.m.
Are campuses losing their commitment to open debate? Pepperdine’s Pete Peterson examines the forces reshaping higher education 鈥� and the bold leaders charting a path forward for America’s public square.
Registration opens March 11, 2027.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Forging a Radical Dalit Humanism: Toward a Liberated Future with Shailaja Paik
6:30 p.m.
Caste is not just history 鈥� it shapes identity, agency, and belonging right now. MacArthur Fellow Shailaja Paik examines Dalit resistance and the transformative power of radical humanism.
Registration opens March 11, 2027.
The Office of Public Lectures presents: Are Aliens Real? An Evening with the Archives of the Impossible with Jeffrey Kripal
6:30 p.m.
What does it mean to listen 鈥� really listen 鈥� to accounts of alien encounters? Rice University’s Archives of the Impossible is a serious, peer-reviewed archive asking exactly that. Come curious. Stay open.
Registration opens March 11, 2027.