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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

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

Politics & Society

Lavin’s politics and society speakers are chosen for their ability to cut through spin, bridge the left-right divide, and deliver informed, comprehensive commentary: what are the political trends, how do they affect your industry, and what’s next?

42 Politics & Society
Speakers

Heather McGhee

Author of New York Times Bestseller The Sum of Us

How can all Americans prosper, together?

Clint Smith

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of How the Word Is Passed and Above Ground | The Atlantic Staff Writer

The legacy of slavery still shapes our cities, roads, and stories today. Understanding our history will help us make sense of our world—and fight for a better one.

Karen Hao

Instant New York Times Bestselling Author of Empire of AI | One of the Most Influential People in AI (TIME, Business Insider) | Lead Designer of The Pulitzer Center's AI Spotlight Series | Co-Host of BBC's Podcast The Interface

Will AI produce broad-based societal benefit for all? Or return us to an age of empire? The path forward is in our hands.

Kwame Anthony Appiah

Author of Cosmopolitanism | One of America's Leading Public Intellectuals | President of the American Academy of Arts & Letters

Honor and shame can be used to change the world for the better.

Naomi Klein

Internationally Bestselling Author of Doppelganger, This Changes Everything, The Shock Doctrine, and No Logo

AI, misinformation, and polarization have made everything familiar feel slightly off. But we can still reclaim our democracy—and ourselves.

Nikole Hannah-Jones

Speaker on Democracy, Civil Rights, and American History | Pulitzer Prize-Winning Creator of The 1619 Project | Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-Winning 1619 Project Hulu Docuseries | MacArthur Genius

Our history can illuminate the future we're fighting for.

Jay Van Bavel

Professor of Psychology & Neural Science at NYU | Award-Winning Author of The Power of Us

To build powerful teams, you need to harness the power of a shared team identity.

Carissa Véliz

Associate Professor, University of Oxford | Author, Prophecy and Privacy Is Power

As AI drives more business decisions, leaders who understand what prediction is—and what it isn't—will be better equipped to leverage uncertainty and defy the odds.

Kathryn Paige Harden

Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin | Director, Developmental Behavior Genetics Lab | Author, Original Sin

Our genes and environment shape who we become. Understanding them can help us create a truly just and equal society.

David Wallace-Wells

Bestselling author of The Uninhabitable Earth | New York Times columnist

The most important driver of climate change is human action. We have our hands on those levers.

Andrew Marantz | New Yorker Writer | Author of Antisocial

Andrew Marantz

New Yorker Staff Writer | Author of Antisocial

Our digital lives shape our democracy—here's how we can leverage that to create a better world.

Jared Diamond | Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse, and Upheaval

Jared Diamond

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Collapse, and Upheaval

Nations and individuals share the same techniques to survive a crisis—and thrive beyond it.

Wajahat Ali | TED Speaker | Author of Go Back to Where You Came From | Daily Beast Columnist

Wajahat Ali

Author of Go Back to Where You Came From

When we share our stories, we create an inclusive world—and build a multicultural coalition of the willing.

Danielle Wood | Director of MIT’s Space Enabled Research Lab | Assistant Prof. of Media Arts and Sciences

Danielle Wood

Director of MIT’s Space Enabled Research Lab | Associate Prof. of Media Arts and Sciences

Space technology is imperative for sustainable development on Earth—and for the benefit of all.

Derek Thompson

#1 New York Times Bestselling Co-Author of Abundance | Host of thePlain English Podcast | CBS News Contributor

We live in a world of scarcity. But there's a better way forward—into a future of abundant housing, energy, innovation, and progress on all fronts.

Jonathan Metzl

Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University | Award-winning author of Dying of Whiteness and What We've Become

What happens to the soul of a nation—and the meanings of safety and community—when we normalize mass shootings?

Rick Mercer | Host of The Rick Mercer Report for 15 years | Author of Talking to Canadians and Rick Mercer Final Report | Winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

Rick Mercer

Host of The Rick Mercer Report for 15 years | Bestselling Author of Talking to Canadians and Rick Mercer Final Report | Winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

Canada is a nation worth loving—and ranting about.

Steven Pinker

One of the world's top public intellectuals | Author of Rationality, Enlightenment Now, and When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . . | Harvard Professor

Common knowledge—what we assume everyone knows—can help us make sense of life's biggest social, political, and economic questions.

Chuck Klosterman | Renowned Cultural Critic | Author of 12 Books, Including Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Chuck Klosterman

Renowned Cultural Critic | New York Times Bestselling Author of 10 Books, Including Football and Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Pop culture is American culture.

Laura Galante

Leading Cybersecurity Executive | Former Director, Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center and IC Cyber Executive | Principal, WestExec Advisors

Cyberspace—like our land, sea, and air—is another domain we need to protect.