The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

11:00am EDT

The Color of Capital: Closing the Gap for BIPOC Founders

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

Meet the changemakers working to ensure that BIPOC entrepreneurs in Massachusetts have the resources to build thriving businesses and lasting legacies.

Speakers

Nicole Obi

President & CEO, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts

Nicole Obi is the President & CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA)whose mission is to drive economic equity and prosperity for Massachusetts to achieve inclusive growth through advocacy, programming, and strategic partnerships that enable Black-owned businesses... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Business

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

2:00pm EDT

Powering New England

Friday May 30, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT

Booth Theatre

We’re all flicking on light switches, charging our phones and using heat to stay warm in the winter. That takes a lot of power — and New England is going to keep needing even more of it in the future. Join us for a deep dive into our regional energy landscape, where we’ll examine options for power sources, how to address the rising demand for energy, and who the key players are for building, operating and maintaining these critical infrastructures. We’ll also delve into how new and evolving regulatory frameworks could influence energy production, distribution and consumption for years to come.

In partnership with

Friday May 30, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Climate & Environment

11:30am EDT

Backing Black Arts in Boston

Saturday May 31, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT

Booth Theatre

Local arts and culture luminaries discuss moving Black arts from the margins to the center in Boston.

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Arielle Gray

Reporter, WBUR

Arielle Gray is a storyteller and artist currently based in Boston. She is a reporter at WBUR, where she reports on Black and brown communities through the lens of art and culture. She joined WBUR in 2018 as a reporting fellow before being hired full-time. Her work examines the liminal... Read More →

Dawn Simmons

Co-Producing Artistic Director, The Front Porch Arts Collective

Dawn Simmons is the Co-Producing Artistic Director of The Front Porch Arts Collective and an award-winning director, producer, playwright, administrator, cultural consultant, and educator. Over the last decade Dawn has used her own artistic practice to push the New England theatre... Read More →

Catherine Morris

Director, Arts & Cultue, The Boston Foundation

Over the last 20 years, Catherine Morris has spent her career supporting BIPOC artists by producing shows, creating platforms as well as mobilizing and engaging local audiences to experience the arts from a Black perspective. In her new role, she will oversee the Foundation’s multifaceted... Read More →

Ty-Juana L. Flores

Arts Administrator

Ty-Juana L. Flores is an arts administrator and impact driven leader who is passionate about building an equitable arts and culture ecosystem for her hometown Boston. As a thought partner and change agent, she has held various roles in fashion manufacturing, design, higher education... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Arts & Culture

1:00pm EDT

Sandwiches of History

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

Booth Theatre

From TikTok to the table, bite into a delectable session that’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Barry Enderwick

Barry W. Enderwick has passion for food, cooking, culture, and of course, eating. In 2018, he came across The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book published in 1909 and decided to try some of the recipes on social media. Today, Barry makes sandwiches from old recipes as written, then plusses... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Arts & Culture, Food & Drink

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

4:00pm EDT

Why Museums Matter

Saturday May 31, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT

Booth Theatre

The heads of the Peabody Essex Museum, MassArt, and ReMuseum, reflect on why museums matter and what they can offer their communities.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Lisa Tung

Executive Director, MassArt Museum

Lisa Tung is the Executive Director at The MassArt Museum.

Stephen Reily

Founding Director, Remuseum

An art collector and arts patron, Stephen Riley answered a call in 2017 to serve as Director of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, and for more than four years he led the institution under a new mission to “invite everyone to celebrate art forever.” Under Reily’s leadership... Read More →

Lynda Roscoe Hartigan

Director & CEO, Peabody Essex Museum

As a curator, scholar and museum executive, Lynda Roscoe Hartigan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to PEM. During her time as Chief Curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, she led an internationally recognized acquisition initiative to build collections of works... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Arts & Culture

5:30pm EDT

Boston Comedy Showcase

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Booth Theatre

Discover the next Mindy Kaling or Bill Burr at this must-see showcase of local stand-up talent.

Featuring:
Bethany Van Delft (host)
Emily Ruskowski
Alex Giampapa
Tooky Kavanagh
Dan Boulger
Orlando Baxter

Sponsored by

In partnership with

Speakers

Bethany Van Delft

Comedian

Bethany Van Delft is an award winning stand up comedian, and regular host and storyteller for The Moth, the critically acclaimed storytelling show. When she is not on stage, or tending to her family, you can find her incessantly decluttering.

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

Arts & Culture, Live performance

5:30pm EDT

Massachusetts: A Song of Itself

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT

Booth Theatre

A poet, author and songwriter premieres his new work using music, poetry and storytelling to explore our country’s history of revolution and resilience.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Regie Gibson

Literary Performer & Educator

Literary performer & educator, Regie Gibson, has lectured & performed in the U.S., Cuba & Europe. Representing the U.S., Regie competed for & received both the Absolute Poetry Award in Monfalcone, Italy & the Europa en Versi Award for performance poetry in LaGuardia di Como, Italy... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
Booth Theatre 820 Commonwealth Ave, Brookline, MA 02446, USA

History, Live performance