The Speakers Series is open to the public by subscribing to the Series. The lectures are held from 8-9:30pm on seven different evenings, from October through April.
Become a subscriber to the Pittsburgh Speakers Series to guarantee your seats to all 7 performances. You will have the chance to interact with each speaker, as each event will conclude with a question and answer session. Please note that the Pittsburgh Speakers Series is only sold by subscription to the entire series - single tickets to individual lectures will not be sold.
The speakers for the 2011-2012 season, which begins this Fall, are:
RON CHERNOW
Pulitzer Prize-Winning American Historian, Biographer & Author of Alexander Hamilton and Washington: A Life
October 12, 2011 - Wednesday, 8pm
A trusted voice on the history
of business and politics, this
distinguished historian has
profiled the lives of financial
titans such as J.P. Morgan,
The Warburgs, John D.
Rockefeller, and Alexander
Hamilton, earning him the
National Book Award among
other honors. His most recent
work,Washington: A Life,
was published in Oct. 2010 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize in April 2011.
MICHELLE RHEE
Former D.C. Schools Chancellor Featured in Waiting for Superman
November 2, 2011 - Wednesday, 8pm
An outspoken advocate of school
reform, Rhee is best known for
her years as Chancellor of the
D.C. Public Schools from 2007 to
2010. In 1997, she founded The
New Teacher Project, recruiting
10,000 teachers in 20 states over
10 years. Most recently, she
unveiled StudentsFirst on the
Oprah Winfrey Show, with a goal
to raise $1 billion to catalyze
education reform in the U.S.
VALERIE PLAME WILSON & AMB. JOE WILSON
Former Covert CIA Operative & Former Diplomat to Iraq, Portrayed in the Film Fair Game
November 21, 2011 - Monday, 8pm
She was a covert CIA operative
working in counter-proliferation.
He was an American diplomat
to Africa and Iraq. His 2003
New York Times op-ed piece
suggesting the Iraqi nuclear
threat had been exaggerated
allegedly resulted in the
exposure of Valerie Plame
Wilson's identity. Their story
is told in the film Fair Game.
MICHAEL POLLAN
Renowned Sustainable Food Activist Featured in the Documentary Food, Inc.
January 18, 2012 - Wednesday, 8pm
Named by Newsweek as one of
the Top 10 "New Thought
Leaders" in 2009, for the past
20 years, he has been exploring
the places where the human
and natural worlds intersect. His
prize-winning bestsellers include
In Defense of Food, The
Omnivore's Dilemma, The
Botany of Desire, and Food
Rules. In 2008, Pollan co-starred
in the documentary Food, Inc.
AZAR NAFISI
New York Times Bestselling Author of Reading Lolita in Tehran
February 29, 2012 - Wednesday, 8pm
An avid believer in the "republic
of the imagination," her best
known book, Reading Lolita
in Tehran, spent 117 weeks
on The New York Times Bestseller List, and has been
translated into 32 languages.
It paints a vivid portrait of the
Islamic Revolution in Iran and
its effect on Nafisi as a secular
woman and university professor,
and its effect on her students.
STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL
Retired Four-Star General & Former Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan
March 28, 2012 - Wednesday, 8pm
Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates called him "one of
America's greatest warriors."
Known for his candor and
innovative leadership, he is
widely praised for creating
a revolution in warfare that
fused intelligence and operations.
He commanded U.S.
and international forces
in Afghanistan until his
retirement in 2010.
TOM BROKAW
Legendary Television Journalist and Author of The Greatest Generation
April 26, 2012 - Thursday, 8pm
One of the most trusted and
respected figures in broadcast
journalism, he is best known
as the anchor and managing
editor of NBC Nightly News,
a post he held for more than
20 years. He is the author of
The Greatest Generation and the recipient of numerous
awards and honors. Brokaw
currently serves as Special
News Correspondent for NBC.
