The Atlantic Festival 2024

Kick off The Atlantic Festival with the Ideas Stage, where we will have a series of rigorous conversations to unpack this consequential moment we’re facing as a nation. Political strategist and former senior counselor to President Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, will explore the high stakes of the presidential election with Tim Alberta; U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm will talk about the race to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 with Atlantic senior editor Vann R. Newkirk II; U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will discuss the state of the U.S. economy with Atlantic senior editor Ron Brownstein; and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will sit down with Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg for a conversation about the future of global and domestic democracy.

The U.S. surgeon general recently labeled today’s youth mental-health crisis “the defining public-health issue of our time.” Join us for a series of timely conversations tackling the complex realities facing America’s kids. Hear from pioneering psychologists Lisa Damour, a consultant to Pixar’s latest film, Inside Out 2, and Alfiee Breland-Noble, the founder and president of the AAKOMA Project, as well as other renowned educators, thought leaders, and child advocates as we highlight innovative solutions to help today’s youth overcome societal pressures and reach their greatest potential.

This session will also include a conversation produced by our underwriter W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Carla Thompson Payton, W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s chief strategist and impact officer, will speak with AtlanticLIVE’s executive vice president, Candace Montgomery, about today’s intersecting issues, as well as policy solutions to serve children and families.

Can AI save lives by accelerating inclusive clinical research? Join us for an interactive live podcast recording to find out. This session will explore the transformative potential of AI in clinical research, from drug discovery to patient recruitment and study design. Discover how AI can expand access and potentially lead to life-saving healthcare solutions for all. Hear from top healthcare and tech experts as they share their pioneering efforts to advance clinical research by expanding access to underrepresented patients and working to ensure that we avoid perpetuating human biases and widening health equity gaps.

This session is produced by our underwriter and is independent of The Atlantic’s editorial staff.

Join as we celebrate the evolving world of technology and how the shifts might redefine our societal and economic structures—and even change the functioning of human nature. The future of mobility is poised to be more sustainable, connected, and efficient with innovations that could drastically change how people and goods move around the world. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg discusses how these trends will shape the way forward. Also in this hour, Ethan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, will explore the implications and potential of AI. The impact of AI and new technologies are rapidly transforming the landscape of work, offering both challenges and opportunities to reshape how we approach productivity, creativity, and work in the future. These conversations will be led by Atlantic staff writers Ross Andersen and Jerusalem Demsas. Hear from The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson as he brings his hit virtual series, “The Most Interesting Thing in Tech,” live to the Innovation Stage.

Nicholas will also host a conversation with Jared Spataro, CVP of AI at Work at Microsoft, for a session produced by our underwriter. Nicholas and Jared will delve into new research on the anatomy of AI-powered organizations, exploring how companies can adapt and compete in an unpredictable AI landscape and the implications for the status quo at work—from organizational structures to the cultural DNA of a business.

Behind the secured fences and barbed wire of prisons, there is a population often forgotten—a microcosm of America’s ills and systemic failures. In the shadows, communities are organizing, advocating for policies that center humanity before punishment. Join us as we explore criminal justice in America. The CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper will join C. J. Rice for an in-depth conversation about the unlikely ways their lives intertwined, leading to an Atlantic cover story that gripped readers and set the course for Rice’s exoneration. We will unpack the state of America’s prisons and jails, from deteriorating facilities to the restoration of detainee rights, and examine how communities are rethinking the crucial role they could play in rehabilitation.

This session will also feature a conversation produced by our underwriter the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Yukari Kane, the founder and CEO of the Prison Journalism Project, will join Bria Gillum, the senior program officer of criminal justice for the MacArthur Foundation, for a candid discussion on shifting the narrative in criminal-justice reform.

Small businesses power the American economy, making up 99.9 percent of all U.S. companies and employing nearly half of the private-sector workforce. U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman joins The Atlantic for an important discussion about the economic outlook for small business. We will also have a timely conversation with the U.S. Black Chambers President and CEO Ron Busby Sr., along with other leading entrepreneurs and small-business advocates, as we unpack the challenges, opportunities, and solutions to helping small-business owners build a sustainable future.

This session will also include a conversation produced by our underwriter Goldman Sachs. Asahi Pompey, global head of corporate engagement at Goldman Sachs, will speak with a graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses about the importance of access to capital in helping small businesses grow, scale, and thrive.

As average life expectancy has increased around the world, groundbreaking innovations and research are reshaping the future of aging. In this hour, The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson will bring his hit virtual series, “The Most Interesting Thing in Tech,” live to the Innovation Stage. Cynthia Kenyon, vice president of aging research at Calico Life Sciences, and Celine Halioua, the founder and CEO of Loyal, a biotech start-up developing drugs to help dogs live longer and healthier lives, will explore the underlying mechanisms of aging, the latest advances in the science of longevity, and how Loyal’s breakthroughs could lead to breakthroughs for people. This conversation will be led by Atlantic staff writer Ross Andersen.
This session will also feature a conversation produced by our underwriter Eli Lilly and Company. Anne E. White, Executive Vice President and President of Lilly Neuroscience of Eli Lilly and Company, joins Nicholas Thompson to explore the shifting paradigm of care of Alzheimer’s disease and how we view and approach the disease – and the people with it.

Join us at Politics and Prose as the historian and author Timothy Snyder discusses the release of his new book, On Freedom, with Atlantic staff writer Gal Beckerman. A work of political philosophy imbued with hope, his new work explores what freedom is, how it’s been misunderstood, and why it’s our only chance for survival. Timothy Snyder will sign copies of On Freedom immediately following the conversation.

This session is open to the public.

The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other OECD country in the world. Despite the staggering spend, the collective physical and mental health of our nation continues to be challenged. This is due, in large part, to a system that’s disproportionally set up to deal with the consequences of poor health as opposed to preventing those problems from occurring in the first place. By reshaping healthcare through vitality, we can strategically influence and change behaviors that contribute to poor health – and help address many of the health challenges facing society. The Cigna Group Chairman and CEO David Cordani and The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson will share what they’ve learned from visiting several U.S. cities to talk about the societal impact of improving vitality.


This session is produced by our underwriter and is independent of The Atlantic’s editorial staff.

Meet us on the Ideas Stage as we examine crucial issues shaping the future of democracy. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman will discuss navigating the rise of political polarization with Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg; The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, Sarah Longwell, and Bill Kristol will join Atlantic contributor Evan Smith to explore the future of American conservatism; Elaine Welteroth and Uché Blackstock will highlight sustainable solutions to close inequities in U.S. maternal health care; and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will sit down with The Atlantic’s Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Caitlin Dickerson to discuss global migration.

Join us for an open bar, passed appetizers, and snacks. Network and unwind outdoors on the District Pier before evening programming gets under way. Open to Pass Holders only, no additional reservations are required. You must be 21+ to attend.

Enjoy an evening on the Pier and experience a fireside chat with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and The Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Often referred to as one of the most powerful women in American political history, Pelosi will have a wide-ranging conversation with Goldberg on her new book, The Art of Power, to explore her journey from housewife to House speaker—how she became a master legislator, a key partner to presidents, and one the fiercest defenders of the future of democracy.