The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

11:30am EDT

Dying Well

Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

A bestselling author and a death educator talk about how we reckon with the end of life and what happens when we die.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Robin Young

Co-Host, Here & Now, WBUR

Robin Young brings more than 25 years of broadcast experience to her role as host of Here & Now. She is a Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker who has also reported for NBC, CBS and ABC television and for several years was substitute host and correspondent for "The Today S... Read More →

Sebastian Junger

Author

Sebastian Junger is the New York Times bestselling author of Tribe, War, Freedom, A Death in Belmont, Fire, and The Perfect Storm, and codirector of the documentary film Restrepo, which was nominated for an Academy Award. He is also the winner of a Peabody Award and the National... Read More →

Suzanne O'Brien

Founder & CEO, DoulaGivers Institute

Suzanne B. O’Brien, RN is the Founder & CEO of Doulagivers Institute. Her life's mission is to increase access to high quality end of life education and care for patients and families throughout the world. She has developed free resources and trainings for family caregivers and... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Dance Theatre 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Health

12:30pm EDT

Frontiers of Medicine

Friday May 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT

Booth Theatre

Scientists and members of the sickle cell community share how new gene therapies developed in Massachusetts are transforming lives — and what these breakthroughs could mean for other diseases.

Sponsored by

Friday May 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Health

1:00pm EDT

A Conversation with Emily Oster

Friday May 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Tsai Performance Center

A leading parenting researcher and an award-winning journalist on what really matters for children (and what doesn’t).

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Emily Oster

CEO & Founder, ParentData

Emily Oster is on a mission to empower parents by providing the data and tools they need to make confident decisions. Emily is a Professor of Economics at Brown University, and the founder and CEO of ParentData, a data-driven guide to pregnancy, parenting, and beyond. ParentData’s... Read More →

Alyssa Rosenberg

Letters & Community Editor, The Washington Post

Alyssa Rosenberg is the Letters and Community Editor at The Washington Post. Previously, she spent ten years at The Post as a columnist and op-ed editor, and she won the 2023 Gerald Loeb Award for Commentary for her coverage of the 2022 infant formula shortage. She lives in Washington... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Tsai Performance Center 685 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Health

1:00pm EDT

Our Homeless Neighbors

Friday May 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Dance Theatre

A devoted street doctor and the subject of Tracy Kidder’s “Rough Sleepers” shares his experience with a journalist who publishes the work of homeless writers.

In partnership with

Speakers

Dr. Jim O'Connell

President, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program

Dr. O’Connell graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1970 and received his master’s degree in theology from Cambridge University in 1972. After graduating from Harvard Medical School in 1982, he completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts... Read More →

James Parker

Staff Writer, The Atlantic

James Parker is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Turned On, his 1998 biography of the punk-rock performer Henry Rollins, has been described as “breathlessly brilliant” (New Musical Express) and “a modern-day Pilgrim’s Progress” (Feed.com). He was previously a staff writer for the Boston Phoenix, where he won New England Newspap... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Dance Theatre 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Health

5:30pm EDT

The Future of Reproductive Rights

Friday May 30, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Tsai Performance Center

An actress (Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, Girls5eva) who testified to Congress about her abortion and a pro-choice advocate get personal about the state of reproductive rights in this country.

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Darcy Roake

Unitarian Universalist Minister

Darcy Roake is a PhD history candidate at Tulane University with a focus on the reproductive health and justice movements in the U.S. and France. Darcy is also a Unitarian Universalist Minister. Rev. Darcy has a wide background in social justice and pastoral care in settings as varied... Read More →

Busy Philipps

Actress & ACLU Ambassador

Busy Philipps is a New York Times Best-Selling author, actor, activist, writer and previous late-night talk show host of Busy Tonight. Philipps served as executive producer on the show, alongside Tina Fey. In 2018, Philipps released a collection of humorous autobiographical essays... Read More →

Jessica Weitz

Nationwide Director of Artist & Entertainment Engagement, ACLU

Jessica Herman Weitz is the Director of Artist & Entertainment Engagement at the ACLU. Jessica educates, inspires, and activates artists + entertainment companies to speak up for the ACLU and the issues we fight for - which means working across the country with artists to fight for... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Tsai Performance Center 685 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Health

2:00pm EDT

Dr. Anthony Fauci in Conversation with Meghna Chakrabarti

Saturday May 31, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

FitRec

America’s leading infectious disease expert joins On Point’s host and editor to discuss the state of public health.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Meghna Chakrabarti

Host, On Point, WBUR

Meghna Chakrabarti is the award-winning host and editor of On Point. Based in Boston, she is on the air Monday through Friday.On Point has been frequently recognized for excellence in journalism under Meghna's leadership.Chakrabarti is the former host of Radio Boston, WBUR’s acclaimed... Read More →

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Fmr. Director, National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases

Dr. Anthony Fauci is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, and the chief medical advisor to the president from 2021 to 2022.

Saturday May 31, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
FitRec 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Health