SXSW Sets ‘Conversations About America’s Future’ With Clinton, Hill And More

SXSW has partnered with The Texas Tribune Festival for “Conversations About America’s Future” at this year’s SXSW conference and festival. The two-day series will take place March 14-15 at the Fairmont Austin as part of the SXSW Conference’s Government & Politics Track. SXSW kicks off on March 13 and continues through March 22.

This marks the return of the series which will bring some of the nation’s best-known journalists together with top elected officials, political activists, and influential thought leaders — timely considering this is an election year. Guests slated to appear this year include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Anita Hill, Gretchen Carlson, Andrew Yang, among others.

“The 2020 election is the most important election of our generation, and at SXSW our goal is to address the issues that affect the lives of all citizens,” said SXSW Chief Programming Officer Hugh Forrest. “We’re fortunate to have a young, diverse and engaged audience looking for solutions to the complex problems that face the next generation.”

The Government & Politics Track at SXSW aims to discuss issues that affect the lives of all citizens. Topics included include technology regulation, livable cities, privacy issues, and the challenges of maintaining civil engagement in the age of social media. These sessions will also address creating policies that encourage competition and economic growth while balancing legacy systems.

“Conversations About America’s Future” sessions include:

Former U.S. Secretary of State, Senator and First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton in conversation with MSNBC political analyst and host of AM Joy Joy Reid
U.S. Representative and Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff, in conversation with NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent and host of MSNBC’s Kasie DC Kasie Hunt
Former Chicago Mayor, ABC News contributor and author of The Nation City: Why Mayors are Running the World Rahm Emanuel, in conversation with Recode co-founder and editor-at-large Kara Swisher
Lawyer and Head of the Hollywood Commission to Eliminate Sexual Harassment and Advance Equality in the Workplace Anita Hill, in conversation with Politico senior Washington correspondent and Politico Playbook co-author Anna Palmer
Journalist, author and co-founder of Lift Our Voices Gretchen Carlson, in conversation with Glamour editor-in-chief Samantha Barry
Former congressman and Democratic presidential candidate, and Powered By People founder Beto O’Rourke in conversation with The Washington Post national political reporter and moderator of Washington Week on PBS Robert Costa
Entrepreneur, founder of Venture 4 America and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang in conversation with New York Times media columnist Ben Smith
Four of the Lincoln Project’s founding members — independent political strategist Reed Galen, national political strategist Steve Schmidt, national political strategist John Weaver, and long-time Republican media consultant and author Rick Wilson — in conversation with CNN anchor and host of At This Hour, Kate Bolduan
Justice Democrats spokesperson Waleed Shahid, Mayor of Stockton, California Michael Tubbs, and Harris County (TX) Judge Lina Hidalgo in conversation with TIME national correspondent Charlotte Alter, the author of The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leadership will Transform America
Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast Jackie Kucinich, New York Magazine Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi, CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju, and Politico senior writer and Politico Playbook co-author Jake Sherman in conversation with senior media reporter at NBC News and MSNBC and the author of Byers Market, Dylan Byers

U.S. Representative Will Hurd, former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence in the Office of the DNI, Sue Gordon in conversation with editor-in-chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg