The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

11:15am EDT

Fantasy and Fact: Inside the Emotional Marketplace of OnlyFans

Friday May 29, 2026 11:15am - 12:00pm EDT

WBUR CitySpace @ 890 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

The creator of the podcasts Slow Burn and Fiasco dives into the making of OnlyFantasy, his new series on digital intimacy, along with the show’s co-host.

Speakers

Gracie Canaan

Co-Host, Only Fantasy, Audible

Gracie Canaan is a writer and comedian based in New York. She is the writer and lead actor in the Oscar-qualifying short film BOOTIE'S. She is an alumnus of the NBC's Late Night Writer's Workshop and wrote for Season 1 of the talk show The Green Room with Nadia Brown on Ovation TV... Read More →

Amory Sivertson

Host and 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 d... Read More →

Ben Brock Johnson

Director, Digital Audio, WBUR

Ben Brock Johnson is the director of digital audio at WBUR, where he helps direct strategic and editorial initiatives involving digital audio across the organization. Ben also co-hosts the podcast Endless Thread, serves as a tech correspondent for Here & Now, and is a guest host for WBUR programs... Read More →

Leon Neyfakh

Co-founder, Prologue Projects & Co-host, OnlyFantasy

Leon Neyfakh is a journalist best known as the co-creator of Slow Burn, the host of Fiasco, and the co-host of Think Twice: Michael Jackson and Backfired. Before starting Prologue Projects, a podcast production company based in New York, he was a reporter for Slate, The Boston Globe, and The Ne... Read More →

Friday May 29, 2026 11:15am - 12:00pm EDT
WBUR CitySpace

Media

12:30pm EDT

Why Facts Matter: A Conversation with Yvonne Rolzhausen

Friday May 29, 2026 12:30pm - 1:15pm EDT

Marsh Chapel @ 735 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

The Atlantic’s research chief discusses fact-checking, truth and fairness in an age of misinformation and disinformation.

Speakers

Lisa Mullins

Host, All Things Considered, WBUR

Lisa Mullins is the voice of WBUR’s All Things Considered. She anchors the program, conducts interviews, and reports from the field. Mullins is also guest anchor of the WBUR and NPR midday show Here & Now.
From 1998 through 2012, Mullins was chief anchor of the daily international news program, “The World,” co-produced by the BBC, WGBH and PRI. Her foreign reporting has taken her to Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Cuba, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Hong Kong, South and North Korea and... Read More →

Yvonne Rolzhausen

Research Chief, The Atlantic

Yvonne Rolzhausen is the Research Chief at The Atlantic and the head of the fact-checking department. She started as an intern at the magazine while attending Tufts University and has been with Atlantic Media for over 30 years. Rolzhausen frequently lectures at various universities and overseas on... Read More →

Friday May 29, 2026 12:30pm - 1:15pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Media

1:45pm EDT

Reimagining Public Media’s Future: A Conversation with Katherine Maher

Friday May 29, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm EDT

College of General Studies Auditorium @ 871 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

NPR’s president & CEO discusses the future without federal funding.

Speakers

Evan Smith

Managing Director for Events, The Atlantic

Evan Smith is the former CEO of The Texas Tribune and host of the weekly interview program Overheard with Evan Smith. He is currently the Managing Director of Events for The Atlantic.

Katherine Maher

CEO, NPR

Katherine Maher is the President and CEO of NPR, with deep experience leading public interest institutions through technological disruption and strategic transformation. Her areas of expertise include information and media, good governance and democracy, civil and human rights, international development... Read More →

Friday May 29, 2026 1:45pm - 2:30pm EDT
College of General Studies Auditorium

Media

1:30pm EDT

Truth Across Borders

Saturday May 30, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT

Tsai Performance Center @ 685 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

Three media leaders convene for a multigenerational, bilingual Spanish-English conversation on the challenges and future of journalism around the globe.

Speakers

Marty Baron

Former Editor, Boston Globe & 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 scandal earned... Read More →

Paola Ramos

Contributor, MS Now/ Telemundo & Host, The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos

Paola Ramos is an author and Emmy-Award winning journalist. Ramos is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC/MS NOW. She is also the co-host of iHeartMedia’s “The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos” Ramos is a former Corresponded for Vice News. Her reporting has taken her along... Read More →

Javier Marin

Media Entrepreneur, Founder of Tiempo & El Planeta

Javier Marín is a media entrepreneur and author of Live from America: How Latino TV Conquered the U.S. Founder of Tiempo Company, publisher of El Planeta and El Tiempo Latino. A Harvard Business School alum, he explores media, identity, and the growing power of Spanish in shaping America’s... Read More →

Saturday May 30, 2026 1:30pm - 2:15pm EDT
Tsai Performance Center

Media

2:15pm EDT

Bloodlines & Bylines: Robin Young & Zolan Kanno-Youngs in Conversation

Saturday May 30, 2026 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT

Marsh Chapel @ 735 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA

The longtime Here & Now host and her nephew, a New York Times White House correspondent, trade personal newsroom anecdotes and discuss how family, trust and ethics can shape journalism in today’s turbulent political moment.

Speakers

Zolan Kanno-Youngs

White House Correspondent, The New York Times

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House Correspondent for The New York Times. He is on a team of reporters covering President Trump and his agenda. While he covers domestic and foreign policy broadly, his work focuses on immigration, homeland security, race and inequality. Based in the Washington bureau... Read More →

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 →

Saturday May 30, 2026 2:15pm - 3:00pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Media

11:15am EDT

12:30pm EDT

1:45pm EDT

1:30pm EDT

2:15pm EDT

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