The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

9:30am EDT

Nicholas Burns in Conversation with Asma Khalid

Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT

A former United States Ambassador to China and an NPR White House correspondent examine relations between the U.S., China, and the world.

Speakers

Asma Khalid

White House Correspondent, NPR

Asma Khalid is a White House correspondent for NPR. She also co-hosts The NPR Politics Podcast.Khalid is a bit of a campaign-trail addict, having reported on the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections. She joined NPR's Washington team in 2016 to focus on the intersection of demographics and politics. During the 2020 presidential campaign, she covered the crowded Democratic pri... Read More →

Nicholas Burns

Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to China

Nicholas Burns is an American diplomat and international relations scholar. He served as the United States ambassador to China from 2022 to 2025.Burns has had a 25-year career in the State Department and has served as under secretary of state for political affairs. Appointed by President... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 9:30am - 10:30am EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

Politics

11:00am EDT

Misinformation and Disinformation, Explained

Friday May 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT

CFA Concert Hall

Tech leaders in the fight for truth online share what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to be done.

Speakers

Costanza Sciubba Caniglia

Global Strategy Lead, Anti-disinformation

Costanza Sciubba Caniglia is a public policy expert and a researcher working on disinformation studies. Her research focuses on state-sponsored coordinated information operations and propaganda.She is the founder and Director of Istituto di Geopolitica Digitale, a think tank working... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

Politics

12:30pm EDT

Kimberlé Crenshaw in Conversation with Jamelle Bouie

Saturday May 31, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT

FitRec

The pioneering scholar and writer who coined the term “intersectionality” and a leading New York Times columnist try to make sense of race and politics today.

Speakers

Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw

Civil Rights Advocate & Professor

Kimberlé Crenshaw is a pioneering scholar and writer on civil rights, critical race theory, Black feminist legal theory, and race, racism and the law. In addition to her position at Columbia Law School, she is a Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Los... Read More →

Jamelle Bouie

Opinion Columnist, The New York Times

Based in Charlottesville, Virginia, Jamelle Bouie is a columnist for the New York Times. He covers history and politics. In addition, he co-hosts the Unclear and Present Danger podcast on the political and military thrillers of the 1990s.Before the Times, Jamelle was chief political... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
FitRec 915 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Politics

1:00pm EDT

Immigration in Crisis

Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

CFA Concert Hall

In this new era for migrants, a Latinx community leader and a local immigration attorney tackle headline-making deportations and court battles.

Speakers

Simón Rios

Reporter, WBUR

Born in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, Simón Rios is an award-winning bilingual reporter in WBUR's newsroom. The son of an Uruguayan father and an American mother, he is a proud father and currently lives in Milton.Simón joined the station after two years at The Standard-Times... Read More →

Matt Cameron

Immigration Attorney

Matt Cameron has been practicing immigration law for more than eleven years, and also has extensive experience in criminal and appellate matters. Matt is a graduate of Seton Hall Law School presently licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Federal District Court... Read More →

Gladys Vega

President, La Colaborativa

Gladys Vega is a nationally recognized leader in immigrant rights, economic justice, and community-led transformation. For over 30 years, she has fought to dismantle systemic barriers and create sustainable pathways for historically excluded communities, growing La Colaborativa from... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

Politics

2:30pm EDT

Ending Gun Violence: The Boston Blueprint

Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT

Booth Theatre

Could Boston be a national model for creating safe neighborhoods? Learn what’s working from the city’s senior advisor for community safety and gun violence reduction advocates in conversation with a leading journalist in the field.

In partnership with

Speakers

James Burnett

Managing Director, The Trace

James Burnett is the founding editor and managing director of The Trace (thetrace.org), a nonprofit media organization dedicated to reporting on gun violence, and a journalism fellow with the University of Virginia’s Gun Violence Solutions Project. His newsroom experience includes... Read More →

Isaac Yablo

Senior Advisor for Community Safety, Office of Mayor Wu

Isaac Yablo is the Senior Advisor for Community Safety for the Office of Mayor Wu, with many years of experience in Government. Skilled in providing assistance to local government, social service agencies, and law enforcement officials in the areas of gun violence reduction, CVI Ecosystem... Read More →

Michelle Caldiera

Co-founder & Co-CEO, Uncornered

Michelle Caldeira is the co-founder of Boston Uncornered, an organization that engages and supports active gang-involved individuals to end violence and generational urban poverty. Born in Guyana, Michelle was raised in Brooklyn, New York, earned her BA in Sociology from Binghamton... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Politics