
Education Wednesdays
Chautauqua Institution wants to say “Thank You!” to those who serve in Chautauqua County K–12 schools for your hard work, dedication and commitment to helping your students grow and learn. And – we want to make sure Chautauqua County students can join us to continue their learning experiences during the summer!
We invite anyone who works or is a student in a Chautauqua County K–12 school to visit us at Chautauqua Institution on one (or all) Wednesdays from June 21 to Aug. 24 at no cost to you.
Obtain Your Education Wednesday Gate Pass Starting June 1
NEW THIS YEAR: To get your Education Wednesday gate pass:
- In person: Visit the Main Gate Welcome Center Ticket Office.
- By phone: Call 716-357-6250.
- Online: (1) Go to tickets.chq.org. (2) Point to Lectures & Daily Tickets. (3) In the Specials section, click Education Wednesdays. Then complete the form to reserve your pass.
Activities on-grounds are great for all ages! Join us for weekly Wednesday events:
- Play CHQ activities from 12–2 p.m. in Bestor Plaza and 4–6 p.m. at Miller Park
- CLSC Young Reader Book Discussions and activity at Alumni Hall at 12:15 p.m.
Come explore the Chautauqua Visual Arts Galleries, enjoy lectures, evening entertainment and more!
The Special Studies experience offers classes for youth and adults in subjects ranging from art, music, photography, culinary arts, religion and philosophy, to fitness, dance, history, literature and writing. Enjoy Chautauqua’s unique learning experience and enrich your mind, body and spirit!
June 25 Events


Sian Leah Beilock
Sian Leah Beilock is the 19th president of Dartmouth, and the first woman in the role in Dartmouth’s 255-year history. In her first year, she has positioned Dartmouth as a global leader on critical issues in higher education and beyond, including climate change and sustainability, affordability for middle-income families and championing the importance of dialogue across differences. It is this vision of creating educational environments where different ideas flourish that Beilock brings to the Chautauqua Lecture Series in a week dedicated to “Themes of Transformation: Forces Shaping Our Tomorrow.”
Under Beilock’s leadership, Dartmouth has launched the first-of-its-kind “Dartmouth Dialogues” initiative, which facilitates conversations and skills that bridge political and personal divides; creates a culture where all students are able to engage with viewpoints and perspectives different than their own; and in turn, advances meaningful debate and conversations on the most pressing issues of our time.
A distinguished cognitive scientist, Beilock is also one of the world’s foremost experts on performance under pressure. Among her honors for that work are a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and the Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, as well as the author of 120 peer-reviewed papers and two critically-acclaimed books — Choke and How The Body Knows Its Mind — published in more than a dozen languages. Her 2017 TED Talk on performing under pressure has been viewed more than 2.7 million times.
Beilock earned her bachelor of science in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego, and doctorate degrees in psychology and kinesiology from Michigan State University.


Uma Viswanathan
Uma Viswanathan is a mission-driven leader dedicated to fostering belonging in communities, institutions, and culture. With over two decades of experience in philanthropy, leadership development, and social change, she has opened new perspectives and mobilized significant philanthropic resources to support human-centered, culturally rooted leadership and civic engagement.
As the former Executive Director of New Pluralists, she led a groundbreaking philanthropic collaborative that, in just three years, raised and invested $40M to support the emerging field of pluralism, enabling diverse storytellers, practitioners, and researchers to shape and test ways to heal our polarized culture. As a grant maker with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Uma championed diverse and culturally-rooted leadership approaches and stewarded over $200M in philanthropic investments towards community-driven systems and cultural transformation.
She has shaped national conversations on fostering harmony across differences, including engagements with the White House, TED, and the Council on Foundations. A certified meditation and breathwork instructor with the Art of Living Foundation, Uma holds a BA in psychology and an MA in the history of science from Harvard University.


Dance All-Star Gala
Curated by Sasha Janes, Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance, the annual All-Star Alumni Dance Gala serves as a celebration of the exceptional talent consistently produced by the Chautauqua School of Dance. Artists from top-tier national companies join forces for an exciting mixed repertoire evening of contemporary and classical dance. In addition to the performance, alumni host discussion panels and serve as School of Dance guest faculty, graciously sharing their knowledge with the next generation of Alumni All-Stars. Come celebrate the extraordinary talent that Chautauqua has nurtured from school to stage.
July 2 Events


“Johnny Carson at 100”
Johnny Carson’s 100th birthday year is celebrated with a look back at his remarkable 30-year legacy as the “King of Late Night” and the pivotal role that Carson’s “Tonight Show” played in shaping the modern era of stand-up comedy. Leading this celebration for the Chautauqua Lecture Series week “Comedy Now: A Week Curated with Lewis Black — In Partnership with the National Comedy Center” is Jeff Sotzing, a television producer and media executive best known for his work in preserving and continuing the legacy of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and stand-up comedian and cultural historian Wayne Federman.
As the president of Carson Entertainment Group for over 30 years now, Jeff Sotzing has been instrumental in managing and curating the extensive Johnny Carson archive, ensuring that Carson’s legacy endures for future generations. He began his career in television working for “The Tonight Show,” notably contributing to one of the most beloved programs of all time while rising through the ranks — from production assistant to stage manager, then associate producer, and by 1990, producer. Sotzing was a key member of the producing team that received an Emmy Award for “The Tonight Show” as Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program in 1992.
Sotzing’s deep understanding of the show’s impact and legacy has positioned him as a key figure in its continued cultural relevance. Under his leadership, Carson Entertainment Group became an early innovator in cataloging, restoring and digitizing television history — preserving thousands of hours of classic “Tonight Show” episodes. His efforts have brought Carson’s timeless humor to modern platforms and new audiences with the production of retrospective specials, documentaries, compilation DVDs and digital content that celebrate Carson’s pioneering contributions to late-night television.
A board member and chief program officer of the Johnny Carson Foundation, Sotzing has played a pivotal role in preserving Carson’s legacy through exhibit collaborations with the Elkhorn Valley Museum in Johnny Carson’s hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska, and with the National Comedy Center, where “Johnny Carson: The Immersive Experience,” with hologram host Jimmy Fallon, opened in 2022.
Wayne Federman is a stand-up comedian, actor, author, cultural historian, Emmy Award-winning producer, and a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts, where he teaches the history of stand-up comedy as well as level-2 stand-up performance. Federman has been a touring stand-up for over 35 years, has his own special on Comedy Central, and has appeared multiple times on “The Tonight Show.”
The producer of the Emmy Award-winning HBO documentaries “The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling” and “George Carlin’s American Dream,” Federman is currently producing a two-part Mel Brooks documentary for HBO/MAX and a Norm Macdonald documentary for Netflix. Federman is the author of the Amazon-bestselling The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain To Dave Chappelle, which is used in curriculum at several universities, and co-host and producer of a popular podcast with the same name. His critically acclaimed three-volume stand-up compilation, The Chronicles of Federman, is streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Amazon.
Federman has acted in numerous films and TV shows, including “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “What We Do In The Shadows,” “Silicon Valley,” “The Larry Sanders Show,” “Community,” “The X-Files,” “Legally Blonde,” “Knocked Up,” “Step Brothers,” “The 40‐Year‐Old Virgin” and “50 First Dates.” Additionally, Federman was also the head monologue writer for NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” over its first season.


Barry W. Lynn
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn served as executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State from 1992 – 2018. An attorney, minister, and long-time activist in the civil liberties field, Lynn came to Americans United with an impressive background in church-state issues.
Before accepting the post at Americans United, Lynn held a variety of positions related to religious liberty. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington lobbying office of the American Civil Liberties Union, where he frequently worked on church-state issues. From 1974 to 1980 Lynn served in a variety of positions with the national offices of the United Church of Christ, including a two-year stint as legislative counsel for the Church’s Office of Church in Society in Washington, D.C.
A member of the Washington, D.C. and Supreme Court bar, Lynn earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. In addition, he is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ who received his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1973. Lynn earned his bachelor’s degree at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Lynn is the author of Piety and Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom and God and Government as well as being co-author of First Freedom First with C. Welton Gaddy. He has also written the autobiographical trilogy Paid to Piss People Off and is a sought-after speaker.


Lewis Black’s The Rant Is Due: Chautauqua
Lewis Black brings his trademark blend of blistering humor and sharp commentary to Chautauqua with his one-of-a-kind show The Rant Is Due. The show where you, the audience, get to rant about all the things that make you go crazy, scratch your head, or explode like Lewis does! Whether it is the bizarre tendencies of your co -worker, the frustrating inadequacy of local government or your undying love of pickles, no subject is off the table. Lewis will be looking for well written, and not necessarily profanity free rants, that he (or perhaps some of our special guests that night!) can voice to the universe for you. Let Lewis be your megaphone! By using our online submission portal, you will be able to send in the final draft of your rant in the weeks and days leading up to the performance. So, join us for a unique amazing show where you can be both in the writer’s room AND the audience all at once.
Remember Chautauqua, this show is yours!
Recommended for audiences ages 18 and older.
July 9 Events


Pablo Hernandez Basulto
An emerging leader in the theater and community engagement field, Pablo Hernandez Basulto is the director of civic artistic programs at The Public Theater where he oversees the Public Works and the Mobile Unit initiatives. One of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Hernandez Basulto joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series during a week celebrating “Art in Action: Building Community Through the Arts” for a conversation that will focus on community-engaged theater and the role that cultural institutions play in fostering civic engagement, artistic innovation, and access for all.
Through his work, Hernandez Basulto has consulted community-based theater at institutions including the National Theatre in London, Seattle Rep, Tulsa Performing Arts Center, and the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Taiwan. Born and raised in Mexico, he started his career at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard University, working closely with Anna Deavere Smith’s Pipeline Project. Later, Hernandez Basulto worked with People’s Palace Projects and the Augusto Boal Institute in Rio de Janeiro, collaborating with With One Voice, an international network of choirs composed of people experiencing houselessness.
In 2022, he became the inaugural staff board representative of The Public. Hernandez Basulto is an artist ambassador with the New York Civil Liberties Union, an alumnus of Northeastern University, and a member of the board of Theatre of the Oppressed NYC.


Chenxing Han
Chenxing Han’s work delights in the interplay between Buddhism, Asian America, spiritual care, pedagogy, translation, and creative expression. Chenxing is the author of the books Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists (2021) and one long listening: a memoir of grief, friendship, and spiritual care (2023), along with many essays and articles for mainstream and academic audiences. A national speaker and workshop leader, she has received fellowships from Hedgebrook, Hemera Foundation, the Lenz Foundation, and the University of Michigan. Trained as a Buddhist chaplain, Chenxing holds a BA from Stanford University and an MA from the Graduate Theological Union and the Institute of Buddhist Studies. She is a founder of Listening to the Buddhists in Our Backyard; May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial for Asian American Ancestors; and Roots and Refuge: An Asian American Buddhist Writing Retreat.


Malpaso Dance Company
With “technical strength, precision, and passion” (Arts Atlanta), the Havana-based Malpaso Dance Company returns to Chautauqua after residencies in 2022 and 2023. Since its founding in 2012 by Daile Carrazana, Osnel Delgado, and Fernando Sáez, the company remains committed to nurturing new voices in Cuban choreography. Witness a thrilling fusion of modern dance and rich Cuban rhythms, crafted by internationally acclaimed choreographers.
July 16 Events
July 16 @ 10:45 am Week Four (July 12–19)
Louise Sheiner & Michael R. Strain
Amphitheater | CHQ Assembly


Louise Sheiner & Michael R. Strain
As the Chautauqua Lecture Series continues its theme dedicated to “The Future of the American Experiment,” scholars Louise Scheiner and Michael R. Strain will approach this topic drawing on their joint expertise in economic policy. The program is the third in a five-part weeklong series presented at Chautauqua in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution, each featuring experts from both organizations.
Louise Sheiner is the Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow in Economic Studies and policy director for the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings Institution, where she pursues research on federal and state and local fiscal policy, productivity measurement, demographic change, health policy, and other fiscal and macroeconomic issues.
At Brookings, she is also affiliated with the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative. Prior to her work at Brookings, she served as a senior economist in the Fiscal Analysis Section for the Research and Statistics Division with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In her time at the Fed, she was also appointed deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (1996) and served as senior staff economist for the Council of Economic Advisers (from 1995 to 1996). Before joining the Fed, Sheiner was an economist at the Joint Committee on Taxation. Sheiner is chair of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee.
She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree in economics, as well as an undergraduate degree in biology, from Harvard University.
Michael R. Strain is the director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, where his research and writing span labor markets, public finance, social policy, and macroeconomics. He oversees AEI’s work in economic policy, financial markets, international trade and finance, tax and budget policy, welfare economics, health care policy, and related areas.
Strein is the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It). He is the editor or coeditor of Preserving Links in the Pandemic: Policies to Maintain Worker-Firm Attachment in the OECD; What Has Happened to the American Working Class Since the Great Recession?; The U.S. Labor Market: Questions and Challenges for Public Policy; and Economic Freedom and Human Flourishing: Perspectives from Political Philosophy. He was a member of the AEI-Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, which published in 2015 the report “Opportunity, Responsibility, and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream.”
Previously, Strain worked in the Center for Economic Studies at the U.S. Census Bureau and in the macroeconomics research group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University.
July 16 @ 2:00 pm Week Four (July 12–19)
Wajahat Ali with Besheer Mohamed
Hall of Philosophy | CHQ Assembly


Wajahat Ali with Besheer Mohamed
Besheer Mohamed is a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center with extensive experience studying Muslim American communities. More broadly, his research examines religious identities, beliefs and practices in the United States, with a particular focus on the intersection of religion and race.
He has led public opinion studies on the experiences and attitudes of Muslim Americans, a religious profile of Asian Americans, the religious composition of Hispanic Americans, and faith among Black Americans, among others. He also publishes regularly in scholarly journals and has authored book chapters for Oxford University Press and NYU Press. His insights have been featured in prominent media outlets such as CNN, NPR, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
Besheer holds a doctorate in sociology and a master’s degree in Middle East studies from the University of Chicago.
Wajahat Ali is a writer and an exhausted, middle-aged dad who drives a minivan and shops at Costco. In his previous life, he was the author of the play, “The Domestic Crusaders,” an attorney, a co-host of a TV show, and a CNN and NYT contributor.
Currently, he is the author of the memoir, Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, and editor of The Left Hook Substack. He co-hosts the Democracy-Ish show with Danielle Moodie and American Unhinged with Francesca Fiorentini. He yearns to have abs but he cannot give up Pakistani food, so he has made peace with his dad bod.


Bandits on the Run
BANDITS ON THE RUN are a musical trio comprised of Adrian Blake Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Regina Strayhorn, known for their distinct combination of cello, guitar, accordion, and found-percussion with sophisticated three-part harmonies and rotating lead vocals. The Brooklyn-based outfit sprang from a chance encounter while busking in NYC’s bustling subways and burst onto the national stage in 2019 when their song, “Love in the Underground,” was featured on the NPR Tiny Desk Contest’s Top Shelf, with the esteemed tastemakers at the station proclaiming, “the band orchestrates a symphony of sound and story through its impressive musicianship and marvelous harmonies.” After recording their 2021 EP, Now Is The Time, with producer Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers), the Bandits took to the screen, devising a short musical film, Band At The End Of The World, commissioned by Prospect Musicals. Since then, they have continued to explore the nexus of indie-folk music and theatrical storytelling, composing music for the Netflix animated series, Storybots, scoring the movie, The Same Storm, adapting several songs from texts by William Shakespeare for a production of As You Like It, and receiving an NEA grant for a new musical with Prospect Musicals, all the while touring the globe with appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Floydfest, Summerfest Milwaukee, Americanafest, F1 Singapore Grand Prix, Mile of Music, and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival.
Bandits on the Run are currently working on the stage musical adaptation of the novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in association with MCC Theater, alongside actor-musician Christopher Sears and Academy Award Nominee Peter Hedges, who wrote the original book and screenplay.
July 23 Events


Musa al- Gharbi
Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist and assistant professor in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University.
His research primarily focuses on the political economy of knowledge production and the social life of scholarly and journalistic outputs. He is a columnist for The Guardian, and his writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and more. al-Gharbi’s first book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, was published by Princeton University Press in October 2024.


Ekep Nkwelle
Ekep Nkwelle is a force in today’s jazz scene, with a journey from Washington, DC, to New York City. She refined her talents at Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University, and The Juilliard School.
Her captivating voice has earned her collaborations with jazz legends like Wynton Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cyrus Chestnut, and the late Russell Malone. She has also performed on renowned stages including SFJAZZ, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, Marians Jazzroom, and the Umbria Jazz Festival.
In 2023, she received the Juilliard Career Advancement Grant, nominated by Marsalis, highlighting her artistry. Beyond performing, Ekep supports influential arts organizations including The National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Jazz Houston, and she is one of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s latest rising stars.
July 30 Events


Joan Donovan
Joan Donovan is an assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies in the College of Communications at Boston University. She is also the founder of The Critical Internet Studies Institute, a nonprofit that develops cutting-edge research and educational programs advancing public knowledge of emerging technologies and the paradoxes of innovation. After first speaking for the Chautauqua Lecture Series remotely in 2020, Donovan will now make her in-person Amphitheater debut during the Week Six study of “The Global Rise of Authoritarianism,” sharing how alternative political media has evolved in recent years, particularly with regard to the swift advancements in AI, and how social media can be abused to enable and empower authoritarian regimes.
Donovan is co-author of the book Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America, which analyzes how meme culture became an important political communication strategy bridging social movements with contemporary political parties from Occupy to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Formerly, she was the research director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media Politics and Public Policy, where she oversaw the Technology and Social Change Research Project, which studied media manipulation, disinformation, and adversarial media movements. In 2023, she blew the whistle on corporate influence over that research program.
Previously, Donovan was the research lead for Data & Society’s Media Manipulation Initiative, which mapped how interest groups, governments, political operatives, corporations, and others use the internet and media to disrupt social institutions. She completed her Ph.D. in sociology and science studies at the University of California San Diego, and subsequently was a postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, where she studied white supremacists’ use of DNA ancestry tests, social movements, and technology.
July 30 @ 2:00 pm Week Six (July 26–August 2)
Anantanand Rambachan
Hall of Philosophy | CHQ Assembly


Anantanand Rambachan
Anantanand Rambachan is of Professor Emeritus of Religion at Saint Olaf College, Minnesota, USA (1985-2021). He was also Forum Humanum Visiting Professor at the Academy for the Study of World Religions at the University of Hamburg in Germany (2013-2017).
Prof. Rambachan has been involved in interreligious relations and dialogue for over 40 years, as a Hindu contributor and analyst. He is a Co-President of Religions for Peace, the largest global interfaith network. and serves as President of the Board of Arigatou International NY, a global organization advocating for the rights of children and mobilizing the resources of religions to overcome violence against children. He also Chairs the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Multifaith Network. He is active in the dialogue programs of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican, and currently participates in the Ethics in Action dialogues at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In 2008, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Professor Rambachan delivered the distinguished Lambeth Interfaith Lecture at the Lambeth Palace in London. Professor Rambachan led the first two White House Celebrations of the Hindu Festival of Diwali in 2003 and 2004.
His books include Accomplishing the Accomplished: The Vedas as a Source of Valid Knowledge in Ṡaṅkara; The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda’s Reinterpretation of the Authority of the Vedas, The Advaita Worldview: God, World and Humanity, A Hindu Theology of Liberation: Not-Two is Not-One; Essays in Hindu Theology and Pathways to Hindu-Christian Dialogue. In addition, Professor Rambachan has authored numerous book-chapters and journal essays. The British Broadcasting Corporation transmitted a series of 25 lectures on Hinduism by Prof. Rambachan around the world.


Miko Marks
Finding freedom through music is something that Miko Marks knows all too well. But it’s more than just freedom. It’s liberation. Deliverance. After living what seems to be multiple lives over, Miko has finally come into the life she was born to live. And she’s more than ready to live it to the fullest – one of truth, authenticity, vulnerability, joy and honesty. There’s a clip on YouTube that is quite striking. It’s an interview from a local Bay Area news channel featuring Miko Marks talking about her journey as a Black woman in country music. “For me, being a country music singer-songwriter, I’m truly dedicated to the work, so it’s an uphill battle, but it’s one I’m willing to climb.” That clip is from 2007. The conversations and the questions 15 years later, in 2022, are the same. Miko has answered them time and time again, but there’s more to her story than the barriers she bridles. She has more to give than the small confines of that one line of questioning. Miko’s life as a Black woman in country and roots music is only a small part of the story. As she readies her latest album, Feel like Going Home, for release (October 14, 2022 via Redtone Records), it’s beyond time to dig deeper.
Miko was born in Flint, Michigan, by a single mother, a free spirit; undoubtedly where Miko gets her fire for life. Along with being passionate about being a mother and instilling strength and independence in Miko, her mother also had a calling for fighting for equal rights for all. She would spend free time protesting on a local level in their town and would travel to Detroit for larger demonstrations, always looking to make a genuine connection with everyone she met, leaving the world better than she found it. This impacted Miko greatly as she grew and was pivotal in Miko finding her own voice. To provide for Miko, her mother would spend nights working 3rd shift at the automotive factory, while Miko’s grandmother would watch over her, helping raise her for most of her young life. For Miko, the women in her life were of utmost importance to her and their hopes and dreams for her were cautiously optimistic while being pragmatic due to the barriers they faced in their own lifetime. The path that Miko is on now would be almost unimaginable for women like her grandmother. Even still she was raised to rise. Miko reflects on the contributions of these women in “Good Life.” “My grandmother’s family came out of the south, working in cotton fields, struggling, looking for hope up north as so many did during the great migration. I wanted to describe that in song and praise her and my mother and my ancestors for their power, and to thank them for persevering so that I could have a good life.”
Aug. 6 Events
August 6 @ 10:45 am Week Seven (August 2–9)
Carla Hall & Kwame Alexander
Amphitheater | CHQ Assembly


Carla Hall & Kwame Alexander
In the midst of a week dedicated to finding one’s passions, seizing opportunities and changing the world, chef and author Carla Hall joins Kwame Alexander in conversation to discuss her work and the philosophy at the heart of it: Always cook with love.
Carla Hall first won over audiences when she competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef: All Stars.” A trained chef who has worked in several professional restaurant kitchens in and around the Washington, D.C. area, Hall believes food connects us all — a belief she strives to convey through her work, her cooking, and in her daily interactions with others.
Known for her work as a judge on Food Network competition shows like “Harry Potter: The Wizards of Baking” and the many iterations (summer, holiday and Halloween) “Baking Championships,” Hall spent seven years co-hosting ABC’s Emmy Award-winning, popular lifestyle series “The Chew,” and is currently featured as the host of “Chasing Flavors” on Max.
Her most recent cookbook, Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration, was published in 2018, landing on annual “Best Cookbook” lists across the country and receiving an NAACP Image Awards nomination. Her debut picture book, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread, was published in November 2021 with Denene Millner Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Illustrated by Cherise Harris, Carla and the Christmas Cornbread is loosely based on Hall’s childhood growing up in Nashville and celebrates family traditions, old and new. Her second children’s book, Carla and the Tin Can Cake, will be available October 2025.
The culinary ambassador chef at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in 2024 Hall was honored by Les Dames d’Escoffier as Grande Dame, a lifetime achievement award and honorary title is given to members in recognition of extraordinary contributions within the fields of food, beverage and hospitality.
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer and No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 40 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, An American Story, The Door of No Return, Becoming Muhammad Ali (co-authored with James Patterson), Rebound, which was shortlisted for the prestigious UK Carnegie Medal, and The Undefeated — the National Book Award nominee, Newbery Honor, and Caldecott Medal-winning picture book illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
The Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and Inaugural Writer-in-Residence at Chautauqua Institution, Alexander is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, three NAACP Image Award nominations and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. In 2018, he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic in Ghana, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an international literacy program he co-founded. Alexander is executive producer, showrunner, and Emmy-winning writer of “The Crossover” TV series, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. “The Crossover” was produced in partnership with LeBron James’ SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Alexander’s production company where he serves as CEO and co-founder, dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children’s and family entertainment.
His mission is to change the world, one word at a time.
August 6 @ 8:15 pm Week Seven (August 2–9)
Chautauqua Opera Company presents Puccini’s La bohème
Amphitheater


Chautauqua Opera Company presents Puccini’s La bohème
Giacomo Puccini’s lush and ravishing score returns to Chautauqua for the first time since 2003. Stage Director Keturah Stickann (LA TRAVIATA, L’ORFEO, THE MOTHER OF US ALL, and HANSEL AND GRETEL) tells this tragic tale through the eyes of an older and affluent Rodolfo, as the poet is haunted by the ghost of Mimì, and the memory of his fellow bohemians. With a full orchestra in the pit, and a strikingly reimagined chamber chorus framing the central characters on stage, this surprisingly intimate LA BOHÈME brings the grand emotions of Italian opera back to Chautauqua’s Amphitheater.
Aug. 13 Events


Robin Wright
Robin Wright is a contributing writer and columnist for The New Yorker, which she has written for since 1988. A distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, she is a former correspondent for The Washington Post, CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, and the Sunday Times of London, and has reported from more than 140 countries. A frequent Chautauqua contributor, Wright returns to the Amphitheater stage for a week on “The Middle East: The Gulf States’ Emerging Influence,” to discuss oil, security, and the evolving Middle East order.
Wright received the U.N. Correspondents Association Gold Medal for international coverage, and the Overseas Press Club Award for the “best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initia¬tive,” for her coverage of African wars. The American Academy of Diplomacy named her journalist of the year for “distinguished reporting and analysis of international affairs.” She also won the National Press Club Award for diplomatic reporting and has been the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant. Her first piece on Iran won the National Magazine Award for best reporting.
Wright is the author of several books, including The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran, Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam, and Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East, which was selected by The New York Times and The Washington Post as one of the most notable books of 2008. Her book, Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World, was selected as the best book on international affairs by the Overseas Press Club.


Kat Armas
Kat Armas is a Cuban American writer and podcaster from Miami, FL. She holds a dual MDiv and MAT from Fuller Theological Seminary, where she was awarded the Frederick Buechner Award for Excellence in Writing, and is currently pursuing a ThM at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Kat’s writing explores the intersections of women, decolonialism, faith, and identity.
Her first book, Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence, and Strength, delves into the stories of marginalized women and how they offer transformative wisdom. Her second book, Sacred Belonging is a 40-Day “decolonized” devotional that focuses on creation, wisdom, spirit, the body, and the feminine. Kat’s third book, Liturgies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World is set to release in November 2025.
Kat is the creator and host of The Protagonistas, a podcast that amplifies the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in theological spaces. She is also a contributor to Voices of Lament: Reflections on Brokenness and Hope in a World Longing for Justice and has written for the National Catholic Reporter, Plough Magazine, RELEVANT, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Sojourners, Christians for Biblical Equality, Missio Alliance, and more. Her work continues to center decolonial thought, women’s voices, and the intersection of faith and identity.


Chautauqua Chamber Music: Canadian Brass
Canadian Brass, the world’s most famous brass quintet, returns to Chautauqua this summer. Celebrated for their virtuosic performances and engaging stage presence, the group seamlessly blends classical, jazz, and contemporary music, making their concerts both diverse and accessible. Since its founding in 1970, Canadian Brass has released over 130 recordings, earning accolades for their artistry and creativity. Their signature style, complete with humor and flair, has delighted audiences worldwide, from grand concert halls to intimate venues. With their iconic gold-plated instruments and passion for music, Canadian Brass continues to redefine the brass ensemble experience.
Program to be announced.
Aug. 20 Events


Jonathan Zittrain
Jonathan Zittrain is the co-founder and director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and an expert on the exquisitely difficult problems of technology governance. He joins the Chautauqua Lecture Series in a week dedicated to the ways that “Past Informs Present” to share his perspective on digital history and preservation, and lessons — and losses — from the early internet as society enters the era of AI.
At Harvard, Zittrain is also the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a professor of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, director of the Harvard Law School Library, and formerly the vice dean for Library and Information Resources. His research interests include the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence; battles for control of digital property; the regulation of cryptography; new privacy frameworks for loyalty to users of online services; the roles of intermediaries within internet architecture; and the useful and unobtrusive deployment of technology in education.
A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Zittrain is the author of 2008’s The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It — predicting many contemporary digital issues — and is currently working on its sequel, Well, We Tried. He holds a bachelor’s in cognitive science and artificial intelligence from Yale University; his J.D. from Harvard Law School; and his Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.


Becca Stevens
Becca Stevens is a nonprofit leader, entrepreneur, priest, survivor, and founder and President of Thistle Farms. She has founded 12 nonprofits and justice enterprises, mentored another 70, and has raised over $75 million to support them. Becca has authored 12 books and sold over 300,000 copies. She has served as chaplain at St. Augustine’s Chapel on Vanderbilt’s campus for almost 30 years. Becca has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, CNN, ABC World News, named a CNN Hero, and White House Champion of Change, and holds seven honorary doctorates. Drawn from 25 years of leadership in mission-driven work, Becca leads important conversations across the country with an inspiring message that love is the strongest force for change in the world.
Stevens founded Thistle Farms in 1997 with a single home for survivors of trafficking and addiction. Over twenty-five years later, it is a global movement for women’s freedom and a 13-million-dollar organization. Today the Nashville flagship includes a residential program that serves as a national model for women’s recovery, and three justice social enterprises that provide jobs to survivors. Stevens developed the Thistle National Network to provide tools, workshops, and conferences to support young organizations wanting to follow its holistic recovery model. There are now 92 organizations, providing over 500 beds to survivors, in its network. She also created Thistle Farms Global Shared Trade which supports 1,400 artisan survivors through 39 partners in 21 countries.
Additional enterprises Stevens has helped establish include the Center for Contemplative Justice and Larkspur Conservation in the U.S.; Escuela Ann Stevens and Sibimbe, Ecuador; Moringa Madres, Mexico; Forging Love, Israel; Love Welcomes, UK, and Love Rises, Ukraine, among others.
Stevens has been featured on PBS NewsHour, The Today Show, GMA, CNN, ABC World News and in The New York Times. Her many awards include CNN Hero, White House Champion of Change, Humanitarian of the Year by the Small Business Council of America, Tennessee Human Rights Outstanding Service Award, and induction into The Entrepreneur Center’s Hall of Fame, and Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame. Becca attended the University of the South and Vanderbilt Divinity School, receiving alumnae distinction awards from both. Stevens has also been conferred seven honorary doctorates.
Stevens speaks to a broad range of non-profit, religious, and business audiences—often in bare feet to show solidarity with those she serves. Drawn from 25 years of leadership in mission-driven work, the courageous stories of women survivors, and wisdom from nature and healing traditions, Stevens inspires and motivates audiences everywhere with practical and loving steps to inspire change in individuals and communities. Her latest book, “Practically Divine,” is available on Harper Horizon.


Nicole Zuraitis
Nicole Zuraitis is a 2X GRAMMY® winning and 4X GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer-songwriter, pianist and arranger, New York-based bandleader, and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. With a “heart as big as her remarkable voice,” (Jazz Police), Nicole is a trailblazing artist who is redefining vocal jazz, earning her a place as one of the top artists and “prolific songwriters” (Broadway World) to watch in jazz and beyond.
As a recording artist, Nicole has released five albums as a leader, and her sixth album, How Love Begins, co-produced with eight-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride, features all original music and was awarded the 2024 GRAMMY for BEST JAZZ VOCAL ALBUM. Nicole is the only artist ever to have won this award who wrote and arranged the entire album herself. In addition to leading her quartet, Nicole performed and recorded with the Birdland Big Band as premier vocalist before taking off as a large ensemble leader of her own, co-producing the Dan Pugach Big Band and guesting for major European big bands. She has headlined the Newport Jazz Festival, along with iconic NYC jazz clubs like Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Birdland, the Blue Note, the Carlyle, 54 Below and the late, great 55 Bar. She has appeared as a featured soloist with the Savannah Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, and Macon Pops and has supported iconic singers like Melanie, Morgan James, Darren Criss, and Livingston Taylor on piano and vocals.

Dining
Explore all Chautauqua Institution has to offer visitors in the way of year-round restaurants and shops.

Shopping
Take a look at the unique stores and businesses that complement Chautauqua Institution’s offerings.