The Ideas Festival Emory is scheduled to return for its second year on Saturday, October 18, at the Oxford College campus of Emory University. The event, organized by the university’s Center for Public Scholarship and Engagement (CPSE), will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This year’s festival will feature more than 30 participants, including scientists, scholars, musicians, filmmakers, and other creative professionals. The program includes conversations, performances, and stories that address current social issues.
Kenneth Carter, founding director of the CPSE and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology at Emory University, explained the motivation behind the event: “Ideas Festival Emory is based on a simple idea: knowledge belongs to all of us. When people come together to talk about the challenges we all face, the closer we can get to solutions.”
Singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash will headline the festival with a keynote conversation and live taping alongside Sing for Science podcast host Matt Whyte at 5 p.m. Cash has had a career spanning over four decades with ten No. 1 country singles and four Grammy Awards. She has also published books and essays in outlets such as The New York Times and Rolling Stone.
Other notable speakers include Kevin Young, poetry editor at The New Yorker and former director of both the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Young will discuss arts funding with Atlanta author Jessica Handler.
The festival’s film segment features producer-director Brad Lichtenstein discussing his latest documentary about Wilmington in 1898—a coup led by white supremacists against Black political power in North Carolina.
Local topics are also part of the agenda. Rose Scott will record a live episode of her WABE show focusing on Atlanta’s preparations as a World Cup host city in 2026. John Kessler, former food critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution now based in Chicago, will also participate.
Additional programming includes performances by poet Kim Addonizio with musician Danny Caron and singer-songwriter Anya Marina. Food trucks and barbecue will be available during the event.
Carter said about this year’s lineup: “I couldn’t be happier about this year’s featured speakers. They remind us that great ideas come from labs, libraries, and from songs, poems, neighborhoods and lived experience. At Emory, we’re creating a space where those voices can come together where ideas aren’t just studied, they’re shared.”
Registration for Ideas Festival Emory opens in early August; more information is available on the CPSE website or through their sponsorship page.
