Learning on Vacation

We’re living in the most age-diverse time in human history, with equal numbers of people alive at every age, from birth to age 70 and beyond. Simultaneously, we’re the most age-segregated nation we’ve ever been — a dangerous experiment linked to a raft of problems, including generational conflict, rampant ageism, and an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. It’s time to turn the situation around and build the…

Shannon Taggart is a filmmaker, researcher, and curator whose work sits at the intersection of paranormal investigation, art, and cultural history. Her documentary films and curated symposia have brought together some of the most compelling voices in the fields of the unexplained, psychical research, and spiritual history. The Shannon Taggart Symposium is an annual gathering she creates to offer audiences a rare, deeply intellectual, and…

David Wallace-Wells is an acclaimed columnist and staff writer for The New York Times. Neither a scientist nor an environmental activist per se, Wallace-Wells is a celebrated climate change speaker and journalist who uses the power of storytelling to move the needle on climate action. He also writes a weekly newsletter on climate change, technology and the future of the planet, themes that will frame his lecture opening Chautauqua’s Week…

Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to the United States of America. He has held many leadership roles in the Republican Party, and he believes it will be conservative, free market policies, not politics that secures a sound economic future for Americans. Advocates For Balance at Chautauqua, Inc. is…

G. James Sammarco still remembers the thrill of singing as a boy soprano, at the age of ten, with the Columbus Boy Choir. Being selected by Gian Carlo Menotti, he had the chance to perform in the world premiere of the opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, stepping into the shoes of the curious young shepherd boy. It was his first experience of storytelling through music. The Columbus Boy Choir spent summers at Chautauqua, rehearsing for their…

Aja Barber is a writer and sustainability consultant focusing on the intersections of sustainability, fashion, and the textile industry. Her work explores the traditions of privilege, wealth inequality, racism, feminism, colonialism, and how these systems of power affect our buying habits. Consumed is her debut book, a treatise on the state of fashion, climate change, and social justice. The book reveals the endemic injustices in our consumer…

Ron Gonen is the founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, a firm at the forefront of building the circular economy. Closed Loop Partners is comprised of an asset management business, innovation center and operating group that builds and operates circular economy infrastructure, including the largest privately held recycling company in the U.S. It is this work that will inform his presentation during Week Four of the Chautauqua Lecture Series,…

Katharine K. Wilkinson is a human on Earth. As a bestselling writer, teacher and climate expert, she has inspired hundreds of thousands of climate journeys through transformational projects that shift our cultural narratives about what’s possible and nurture engagement in renewing our world. Her books include Climate Wayfinding — called “invaluable” by frequent Chautauqua lecturer Bill McKibben — the bestselling…

Drawing on his experience as a cultural commentator and advocate for spiritual renewal, Rainn Wilson closes Chautauqua’s Week Four theme “Wasted: Our Era of Disposability” in conversation, weaving humor with a sense of moral urgency to discuss how disposability affects not only our environment but also erodes our sense of meaning, relationships and community. Wilson is an Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actor best known for…