UW Public Lectures

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Thinking with Monsters: A Conversation with Novelist Gerardo Sámano Córdova

October 8, 2025 3:30 pm

Communications 202

FreeSold outOpen

A literary conversation between novelist and artist Gerardo Sámano Córdova and UW professors María Elena García (CHID) and Vanessa Freije (JSIS/History).

Uché Blackstock

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Unpacking Legacy: From the Personal to the Systemic with Dr. Uché Blackstock

October 9, 2025 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Dr. Uché Blackstock reflects on personal legacy and systemic racism in medicine, tracing her family’s groundbreaking path while urging reform in healthcare to protect and uplift BIPOC practitioners.
Registration opens September 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

Expert Insights: How AI is Shaping Instructional Design

October 15, 2025 6:00 pm

Livestream

FreeAvailableOpen

Discover how AI is transforming instructional design, what AI can (and can’t) do and how to future-proof your role with essential new skills in this short webinar.

October 15, 2025 5:00 pm

Kane Hall (Room 210)

FreeAvailableOpen

Andrei Okounkov delivers the Walker-Ames Scholar Special Lecture: The Language of Mathematics.

Emily M. Bender, Alex Hanna

The Office of Public Lectures presents: The AI Con with Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

October 21, 2025 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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In this lecture, Dr. Emily Bender and Dr. Alex Hanna expose AI hype as corporate-driven distortion, fueling false fears and creativity’s decline. They offer critical tools to decode these narratives and resist the exploitative systems they obscure.
In person is sold-out, livestream is still available.

Lecture Details

Three hikers on a forest trail with a dog.

Nature heals: The global movement for mental and physical health

October 22, 2025 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle

$8AvailableOpen

Join UW Environment for the 2025 Doug Walker Lecture & Reception with Mark Berejka, exploring the rise of the nature & health movement and how communities can benefit.

Samuel Kelly Lecture 2025| Beyond Status: Living Undocumented in Disruptive times

October 23, 2025 7:00 pm

Alder Hall Auditorium

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This year's lecturer, Dr. Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky, invites us to explore undocumented immigration status, identity and the human experience.

Peter Sellars

The Office of Public Lectures presents: The Art of Refuge, Resistance and Regeneration with Peter Sellars

October 24, 2025 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle

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In this lecture, Peter Sellars explores how the arts foster civic imagination, emotional connection, and moral renewal—sharing global examples of art as a transformative force across institutions, crises, and communities in times of division and deep societal change.
Registration opens September 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

Ed Yong

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Becoming a Birder with Ed Yong

November 4, 2025 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Discover how birding became Ed Yong’s path to healing and wonder. In this talk, he explores nature’s power to restore, revealing how paying attention to birds can reconnect us to joy, presence, and the truest reality.
Registration opens September 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

Carey Candrian

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Healthcare Where All Can Thrive: Advocating For Older LGBTQ Adults with Carey Candrian

December 4, 2025 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Discover how inclusive communication can transform healthcare for older LGBTQ adults. This inspiring talk explores ways to foster trust, reduce disparities, and create a system where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
Registration opens September 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

John Wood Jr.

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Philosophical Nonviolence and the Democratic Ideal with John Wood Jr.

January 14, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Join this lecture on reviving MLK’s vision of the beloved community—where inclusion, cultural goodwill, and nonviolence expand democracy beyond voting. Discover how these values can bridge today’s deep divides and strengthen the soul of American civic life.
Registration opens December 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

George Conway III

The Office of Public Lectures presents: America’s Character and the Rule of Law with George Conway III

February 25, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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This talk will explore how America’s constitutional democracy depends not just on laws, but on citizen character. Amid rising civic unrest, it asks: can empathy, honor, and mutual respect renew the republic—and keep it, as Franklin once warned?
Registration opens December 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

Alexis Pauline Gumbs

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Primary: Alma Thomas, Sisterhood and the Revolutionary Quality of Light with Alexis Pauline Gumbs

March 4, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Step into a poetic, participatory lecture on Alma Thomas’s vibrant legacy. Through Alexis Pauline Gumbs' lyrical lens, explore Black women’s creativity, audience intimacy, and the rhythms of Earth as art—where abstract expression meets presence, color, and cultural memory.
Registration opens December 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

Adam Hanieh

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Palestine to Iraq with Adam Hanieh

March 6, 2026 12:00 pm

Livestream

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Explore how World War I reshaped the Middle East. This lecture traces anti-colonial movements, Palestine’s pivotal role, and the shift from British to American power—linking regional upheaval to the global rise of fossil capitalism and reimagined imperial hierarchies.
Registration opens December 10, 2025.

Lecture Details

Bertha Hidalgo

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Unlocking Secrets: Interrogating the Epigenome to Reveal Pregnancy Risks in Moms with High Blood Pressure with Bertha Hidalgo

April 7, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Discover how epigenetics is revolutionizing maternal health. In this lecture, Dr. Bertha Hidalgo reveals how early biomarkers and population research unlock new tools to prevent hypertensive pregnancy disorders—advancing equity, innovation, and the future of prenatal care.
Registration opens March 10, 2026.

Lecture Details

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

The Office of Public Lectures presents: A Larger Freedom: Multiracial Democracy and the Radical Reconstruction of the United States with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

April 30, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle

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Uncover the deeper roots of democratic erosion in America. This lecture challenges myths about 2024, examining long-standing structural forces and offering urgent insights into how we can recognize decline, protect rights, and build an inclusive democratic future for all.
Registration opens March 10, 2026.

Lecture Details

Briana Scurry

The Office of Public Lectures presents: My Greatest Save with Briana Scurry

May 13, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Join legendary goalkeeper Briana Scurry as she shares her powerful journey of triumph, adversity, and redemption—offering raw insight into her Olympic glory, career-ending injury, and the global impact of soccer through an unforgettable, deeply personal lens.
Registration opens March 10, 2026.

Lecture Details

Ron Krabill

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Five Ways to Watch the World Cup with Ron Krabill

May 19, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Explore five provocative perspectives on the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s impact—economic, cultural, and political. This talk examines what hosting the tournament means for Seattle and beyond, challenging assumptions and sparking fresh debate about global spectacle and local consequence.
Registration opens March 10, 2026.

Lecture Details

Robert Macfarlane

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Is A River Alive? Exploring the lives, deaths and rights of rivers with Robert Macfarlane

May 27, 2026 6:30 pm

Town Hall Seattle, Livestream (Hybrid)

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Flow into a radical reimagining of rivers—as sentient beings with rights. This global lecture blends activism, art, and law to reveal how river justice shapes our survival in a world where water is more than resource—it’s kin.
Registration opens March 10, 2026.

Lecture Details

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Past Lectures

Thinking with Monsters: A Conversation with Novelist Gerardo Sámano Córdova

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Unpacking Legacy: From the Personal to the Systemic with Dr. Uché Blackstock

Expert Insights: How AI is Shaping Instructional Design

The Office of Public Lectures presents: The AI Con with Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

Nature heals: The global movement for mental and physical health

Samuel Kelly Lecture 2025| Beyond Status: Living Undocumented in Disruptive times

The Office of Public Lectures presents: The Art of Refuge, Resistance and Regeneration with Peter Sellars

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Becoming a Birder with Ed Yong

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Healthcare Where All Can Thrive: Advocating For Older LGBTQ Adults with Carey Candrian

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Philosophical Nonviolence and the Democratic Ideal with John Wood Jr.

The Office of Public Lectures presents: America’s Character and the Rule of Law with George Conway III

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Primary: Alma Thomas, Sisterhood and the Revolutionary Quality of Light with Alexis Pauline Gumbs

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Palestine to Iraq with Adam Hanieh

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Unlocking Secrets: Interrogating the Epigenome to Reveal Pregnancy Risks in Moms with High Blood Pressure with Bertha Hidalgo

The Office of Public Lectures presents: A Larger Freedom: Multiracial Democracy and the Radical Reconstruction of the United States with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

The Office of Public Lectures presents: My Greatest Save with Briana Scurry

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Five Ways to Watch the World Cup with Ron Krabill

The Office of Public Lectures presents: What Does Law Mean in Crisis? How Crip Feminist Technoscience Will Save Us with Ly Xīnzhèn M. Zhǎngsūn Brown

The Office of Public Lectures presents: Is A River Alive? Exploring the lives, deaths and rights of rivers with Robert Macfarlane