The WBUR Festival: Full Schedule

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

Craft, Commerce and Community: A Conversation with Tristan Walker

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

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

The founder of Walker & Company talks about being an entrepreneur, building his men’s grooming brand, and how his latest venture lets him focus on education and craft.

Speakers

Shirley Leung

Columnist, The Boston Globe & Co-author, Power Play

Shirley Leung is an award-winning columnist for The Boston Globe covering the intersection of business and politics. She co-authors the Globe’s new Power Play newsletter, co-hosts the Globe Opinion podcast “Say More,” and contributes regularly to GBH’s Boston Public Radio. A former Globe b... Read More →

Tristan Walker

Founder, Heirloom Craft

Tristan Walker is the the founder of Heirloom Craft, Inc. and serves on the Shake Shack, Inc. and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Board of Directors. Fortune Magazine named him as one out of 50 of the “World’s Greatest Leaders.” His first company, Walker & Co., was acquired by Procter... Read More →

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

Business

3:00pm EDT

Sweet Success: How Jeni Britton Built a Food Empire

Friday May 29, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT

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

The founder of Jeni’s Ice Creams traces her entrepreneurial journey – from artisanal ice cream to fiber bars – and shares her recipe for success.

Speakers

Meagan McGinnes-Bessey

Managing Editor, Digital Audience & Community Engagement, WBUR

Meagan McGinnes-Bessey is the managing editor of digital audience & community engagement at WBUR, Boston's largest NPR newsroom. She oversees the newsletter and social media teams.

Her mouthful of a title really means thinking about the ways and places WBUR can bring its local journalism to more communities — and then how to better connect while there. That could be through newsletters, on our website, on Instagram, YouTube, in person at WBUR CitySpace or... Read More →

Jeni Britton

Founder, Jeni's Ice Creams & Floura Fiber

Jeni Britton is the founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, renowned for reinventing artisanal ice cream nationwide. Named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People and an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow, Jeni has spent recent years pioneering a new fiber revolution. As the founder of Floura, sh... Read More →

Friday May 29, 2026 3:00pm - 3:45pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Business

4:15pm EDT

Growing Up Underground: A Conversation with Zayd Ayers Dohrn

Friday May 29, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm EDT

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

The son of Weather Underground leaders and author of the new memoir “Dangerous, Dirty, Violent & Young” recounts his childhood on the run in the radical ’60s and ’70s, tracing how secrecy, extremist ideology and trauma shaped his family life.

Speakers

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 →

Zayd Ayers Dohrn

Author, Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young

Zayd Ayers Dohrn was born underground and raised in New York City. He is the author of the book Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young; creator of the hit Crooked Media podcast Mother Country Radicals, and writer (with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tom Morello) of the punk rock protest musical Revolut... Read More →

Friday May 29, 2026 4:15pm - 5:00pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Politics

11:45am EDT

The New American Dream: Is Upward Mobility Still Possible?

Saturday May 30, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT

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

Economists and social innovators examine why fewer Americans now earn more than their parents. The consequences are particularly devastating for lower-income households, but research has identified powerful ways to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

In partnership with:

Speakers

Raj Chetty

Director of Opportunity Insights & Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University and the Director of Opportunity Insights, which uses big data to study the science of economic opportunity: how we can give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding? Chetty’s work has been... Read More →

Michael Jonas

Executive Editor, CommonWealth Beacon

Michael Jonas is the executive editor of CommonWealth Beacon, a nonprofit publication covering Massachusetts politics and public policy. An award-winning journalist with a particular focus on education, criminal justice reform, and health care, he previously wrote a weekly column on politics f... Read More →

Saturday May 30, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Business

1:00pm EDT

Driving Herself Sane: A Conversation with Lindy West

Saturday May 30, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT

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

The culture critic, comedian, activist and bestselling author of “Shrill” reflects on her new memoir “Adult Braces” and the intense discourse it’s generated around millennial feminism, body positivity and polyamory.

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Lindy West

New York Times Bestselling Author & Comedian

Lindy West is the author of three books: the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill as well as the essay collections The Witches Are Coming and Shit, Actually. Lindy is a former contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and her work has appeared in This American Life, The Guardian... Read More →

Ally Jarmanning

Senior Reporter, WBUR

Ally Jarmanning is a senior reporter focused on criminal justice and police accountability. She champions data and public records in the WBUR newsroom, reporting her own stories and working with fellow reporters on projects and daily news. She started at WBUR writing for Morning Edition and later... Read More →

Saturday May 30, 2026 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Arts & Culture (Sponsored by the BSO)

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

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

Media

3:30pm EDT

How to be Healthier: A Conversation with Dr. John Whyte

Saturday May 30, 2026 3:30pm - 4:15pm EDT

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

Join the American Medical Association CEO for insights on the real value of medical interventions like full-body scans and fitness trackers, and how to find health information you can trust.

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Deb Becker

Senior Correspondent & Host, WBUR

Deborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. Her reporting focuses on mental health, criminal justice and education.

Deb is also a substitute host on several WBUR programs and helps produce and report for various WBUR special projects. Deb also worked on the launch... Read More →

Dr. John Whyte

CEO, American Medical Association

John Whyte, MD, MPH, is chief executive officer of the American Medical Association. A board-certified internist, Dr. Whyte previously served as the chief medical officer at WebMD, leading initiatives that expanded strategic partnerships, created new business opportunities, and positioned WebMD at the forefro... Read More →

Saturday May 30, 2026 3:30pm - 4:15pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Health & Wellness (Sponsored by Takeda)

4:45pm EDT

Longevity Myths and Medicine: A Conversation with Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel

Saturday May 30, 2026 4:45pm - 5:30pm EDT

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

The author of “Eat Your Ice Cream” separates interventions that improve longevity and quality of life from those that don’t.

Sponsored by:

Speakers

Deb Becker

Senior Correspondent & Host, WBUR

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel

Former Health Policy Advisory, Obama Administration & Member COVID-19 Advisory Board, Biden Administration

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, is Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds appointments in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Department of Health Care... Read More →

Saturday May 30, 2026 4:45pm - 5:30pm EDT
Marsh Chapel

Health & Wellness (Sponsored by Takeda)

12:30pm EDT

1:45pm EDT

3:00pm EDT

4:15pm EDT

11:45am EDT

1:00pm EDT

2:15pm EDT

3:30pm EDT

4:45pm EDT

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