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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Eyal Press

Inequality is the most salient issue in America today: racial, economic, and moral. To change it, we must confront it.

Author of Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America

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Breaking Ranks and Heeding the Voice of Consciousness

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Author’s Corner with Eyal Press

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Navigating Today’s Moral Dilemmas

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How Can Ordinary People Change Society?

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Why Do We Choose to Act When it Would Be Easier to Do Nothing?

Lavin Exclusive Speaker

In his critically acclaimed book Dirty Work—named one of the best books of 2021 by Publishers Weekly—author EYAL PRESS offers a striking, urgent, and compelling new narrative on social and economic inequality today. Especially relevant in the aftermath of the pandemic, Press’s masterfully reported and beautifully written book describes, with “great empathy,” (The New York Times) the lives of the workers we rely on. More than that: it explores how we all participate and benefit in this system, and how, by acknowledging it, we can finally build the fair and equitable world we desire.

“Press’s lucid narrative is studded with gut-wrenching scenes . . . This deeply reported and eloquently argued account is a must-read.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review) of Dirty Work

Eyal Press’s fascination with the intersection of morality and politics has informed his writing on everything from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to urban poverty to America’s abortion wars. In his most recent book Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, he explores work that society deems necessary, but would prefer not to see: jobs that disproportionately fall on low-income, undocumented women and people of color to carry out, and which come with trauma, shame, and PTSD. The New York Times, which chose Dirty Work as one of its 100 Notable Books of 2021, writes, “It’s a testament to [Press’s] insight and vision that in spite of the ugliness to which he exposes us on almost every page, he still makes us want to set aside cynicism and pessimism and join him in finding ways to strengthen the moral bonds between us, however flawed we might be.” Acclaimed writer Rebecca Solnit affirms that, “though the moral injury impacts the workers first, it belongs to us all,” declaring that ultimately, this is a book “about human sacrifice and the forces that disguise it.” We can no longer look away or ignore the plight of those who we used to take for granted in our society—Dirty Work ignites and propels a necessary conversation about how we can create a kinder, better world.

Press is also the author of Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People, a powerful exploration of what impels ordinary people to defy the sway of authority and convention. As a speaker, he aims to challenge and inspire audiences by probing vexing dilemmas that play out in all of our lives. How far should a person go to keep his or her conscience clean? Where should the line between personal conviction and professional duty be drawn? Eloquent and engaging, Press navigates such questions with the grace and subtlety that has distinguished his essays, articles, and books.

His earlier book, Absolute Convictions: My Father, a City, and the Conflict that Divided America, chronicles the anti-abortion threats that his father—a local doctor—received in his hometown of Buffalo, and investigates how hard-line convictions on certain issues have divided America over the past three decades. Both a personal account of a family in distress and a social history on America’s most contentious question, Press paints a picture of the social and economic roots of America’s volatile internal conflicts. He is a past recipient of the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism, and he won a Hillman Prize for the investigative reporting he did in Dirty Work.

Lavin Exclusive Speakers

Angela Duckworth

Author of Grit, the #1 New York Times Bestseller | Pioneering Researcher on Grit, Perseverance, and the Science of Success

Daron Acemoglu

2024 Nobel Prize Winner | 3rd Most Cited Economist in the World | MIT Institute Professor | Bestselling Co-Author of Why Nations Fail and Power and Progress

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

Greg Hoffman

Nike's Former Chief Marketing Officer | Author of Emotion by Design

Nicholas Thompson

CEO of The Atlantic | Former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED

Speech Topics

Psychology

The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times

What motivates people to follow their conscience, even in the face of severe personal harm? What makes someone disobey authority in favor of personal morality—of “doing the right thing?” In this talk, Eyal Press looks at the moral and psychological dynamics of conforming to authority. Drawing on groundbreaking research by neuroscientists and moral psychologists, Press provides concrete examples of some of history’s most heroic acts of dissent, from World War II to the 2008 financial crisis. He unwraps the motivation behind following your conscience, and argues that the boldest breaches of conformity are often carried out not by radicals seeking to overthrow the system, but by true believers who cling with unusual fierceness to their convictions. Dramatic, inspiring, and resonant, Eyal Press’ talk is an urgent call to consider our shared humanity.