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

Viet Thanh Nguyen in Conversation with Ailsa Chang

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

CFA Concert Hall

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Sympathizers” and the All Things Considered host reflect on living and writing as an “other.”

In partnership with

Speakers

Ailsa Chang

Host, All Things Considered, NPR

Ailsa Chang is an award-winning journalist who hosts All Things Considered along with Ari Shapiro, Mary Louise Kelly and Juana Summers. She landed in public radio after practicing law for a few years.Previously, she was a congressional correspondent with NPR's Washington Desk. She... Read More →

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Author, Pulitzer Prize Winner & Professor

Viet Thanh Nguyen is the author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Sympathizer and of Nothing Ever Dies, a finalist for the National Book Award. A recipient of the MacArthur Foundation and Guggenheim fellowships and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Nguyen... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

3:30pm EDT

Higher Education Today

Friday May 30, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT

CFA Concert Hall

Two college presidents discuss how they’re navigating this turbulent moment in higher ed.

Speakers

Evan Smith

Senior Advisor, Emerson Collective

Evan Smith is a senior advisor at Emerson Collective, working closely with journalists and funders around the country to support the local news ecosystem. He’s also a Professor of Practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches... Read More →

Danielle Holley

President, Mount Holyoke College

Danielle R. Holley is the twentieth president of Mount Holyoke College. A noted legal scholar and educator, Holley served as Dean of the School of Law at Howard University (2014 - 2023) prior to joining Mount Holyoke. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Harvard Law... Read More →

Dr. Melissa Gilliam

President, Boston University

Dr. Melissa Gilliam is Boston University’s eleventh president. She is a physician and interdisciplinary researcher focused on adolescent health and well-being. She joined Boston University from The Ohio State University, where she served as executive vice president and provost... Read More →

Friday May 30, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

Business

11:30am EDT

The Future of Journalism

Saturday May 31, 2025 11:30am - 12:00pm EDT

CFA Concert Hall

Four veteran news leaders talk about what’s gone wrong for journalism and why there’s reason for hope.

Speakers

Evan Smith

Senior Advisor, Emerson Collective

Marty Baron

Former Editor, The Boston Globe & The Washington Post

Martin Baron is an American journalist who was editor of The Washington Post from December 31, 2012, until his retirement on February 28, 2021. He was previously editor of The Boston Globe from 2001 to 2012; during that period, the Globe's coverage of the Boston Catholic sexual abuse... Read More →

Nancy Barnes

Editor, The Boston Globe

Nancy Barnes is the editor of The Boston Globe. A veteran journalist who has held the top job at news organizations across the country, Barnes has produced journalism of the highest caliber. Prior to joining the Globe, she was the SVP/News & Editorial Director of NPR from 2018 through... Read More →

Kevin Merida

Fmr. Executive Editor, The LA Times

Kevin Merida is an American journalist and author. He formerly served as executive editor at the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw and coordinated all news gathering operations, including city and national desks, Sports and Features departments, Times Community News and Los Angeles... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 11:30am - 12:00pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

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

A Conversation with Katie Gatti Tassin

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

CFA Concert Hall

The personal finance expert and host of “Money with Katie” shares her best advice on how to earn, save, and invest.

The first 200 attendees will receive a copy of Gatti Tassin's book "Rich Girl Nation."

Speakers

Katie Gatti Tassin

Founder, Money with Katie

Katie Gatti Tassin is the host of the Money with Katie podcast and author of the newsletter of the same name. Her fresh personal finance advice tackles the subject at hand with a unique outlook, and her casual approach and deep, self-taught knowledge speaks directly to followers who... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 2:30pm - 3:30pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

Business

5:30pm EDT

Inside the Creative Process

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

CFA Concert Hall

Three Boston creatives — an NPR Tiny Desk winner, the former Boston Poet Laureate, and a hit making WBUR podcast host — circle up to unpack the creative process, ending with live performances from Amador and Olayiwola.

Sponsored by

Speakers

Amory Sivertson

Host & Senior Producer, WBUR Podcasts

Amory Sivertson is the host/reporter of Beyond All Repair and the co-host and senior producer of Endless Thread. She's one of the founding producers of Modern Love: The Podcast and the former producer of Dear Sugar Radio (now called Dear Sugars).Previously, Amory was the studio... Read More →

Alisa Amador

Singer & Songwriter

Praised by NPR’s Bob Boilen as a “powerful voice whose tender performance commands attention and fosters connection,” Alisa Amador made history in 2022 with the first-ever Spanish language song to win the prestigious Tiny Desk Contest. Now, two years later, the bilingual singer/songwriter... Read More →

Porsha Olayiwola

Fmr. Poet Laureate, City of Boston

Porsha Olayiwola is a native of Chicago who writes, lives and loves in Boston. Olayiwola is a writer, performer, educator and curator who uses afro-futurism and surrealism to examine historical and current issues in the Black, woman, and queer diasporas. She is an Individual World... Read More →

Saturday May 31, 2025 5:30pm - 6:30pm EDT
CFA Concert Hall 855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, USA

Arts & Culture, Live performance