The Chicago Humanities Festival is back for its 30th anniversary — and this year it’s all about power. The annual fall festival, one of the most anticipated cultural events of the year, includes dozens of exciting events showcasing game-changing ideas from activists, authors, actors, chefs, musicians, and more from all around the globe.
A few highlights of the 2019 festival, which will addresses the central theme of “power”, include author and music legend Patti Smith, actor and producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus, writer George R.R. Martin, author and filmmaker Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and writer and comedian John Hodgman.
Tickets for all events go on sale Oct. 1. Until then, explore the full fall festival lineup from the Chicago Humanities Festival:
Creative Chicago: Art and the City
Saturday, Sept. 14
12 p.m. — 5:45 p.m.
Venue SIX10
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Water Dancer
Wednesday, Oct. 2
7 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
UIC Dorin Forum
725 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago
George R. R. Martin and Eve Ewing
Friday, Oct. 11
7:30 p.m. — 9 p.m.
Symphony Center
220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Rachel Maddow
Saturday, Oct. 12
7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Arie Crown Theater, McCormick Place
2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey: She Said
Tuesday, Oct. 15
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
The Vic Theatre
3145 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago
Patti Smith: Year of the Monkey
Oct. 26, 2019
10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Symphony Center, Armour Stage
220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Caitlin Doughty: Will The Cat Eat My Eyeballs?
Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Alison Roman: Nothing Fancy
Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Simon Critchley: Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us
Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall
111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Ben Lerner: The Topeka School
Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Chicago Architecture Center | Gand Lecture Hall
111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago
Anabel Hernández: Dangerous Investigations
Oct. 26, 2019
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Gary Janetti: Do You Mind If I Cancel?
Oct. 26, 2019
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Beyond the Binary: Alex Iantaffi in conversation with Emem Obot
Oct. 26, 2019
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Chicago Architecture Center | Gand Lecture Hall
111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago
David Blight on Frederick Douglass
Oct. 26, 2019
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Beer History with the Brewseum: Theresa McCulla, Liz Garibay, and Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director Alison Cuddy
Oct. 26, 2019
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Chicago Architecture Center | Grand Lecture Hall
111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago
VS Live with Patricia Smith. Franny Choi, and Danez Smith
Oct. 26, 2019
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave.
Revisiting Candyman: Chicago, Fear, and Public Housing with Lisa Yun Lee and Michael Orange
Oct. 26, 2019
7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Gene Siskel Film Center | Theater 1
164 N. State St., Chicago
Jill Abramson: Merchants of Truth
Oct. 27, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St., Evanston
2019 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction: Sarah Smarsh
Oct. 27, 2019
12:30 pm – 1:30 p.m.
Ryan Center for the Music Arts | Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
70 Arts Cir Drive, Evanston
Daniel Immerwahr: How – Hide An Empire
Oct. 27, 2019
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston
Amitav Ghosh: Gun Island
Oct. 27, 2019
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | John J. Louis Room
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston
Jonathan Safran Foer: We Are Weather
Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St., Evanston
Madeline Miller: Circe
Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Ryan Center for the Music Arts | Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
70 Arts Cir Drive, Evanston
Jennifer Lackey: Incarceration and Education
Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston
Patrick Radden Keefe: Say Nothing
Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | John J. Louis Room
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston
2019 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction: Rebecca Makkai
Oct. 27, 2019
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts | Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
70 Arts Cir Drive, Evanston
Debbie Cenziper: America’s Hidden Nazis
Oct. 27, 2019
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Norris University Center | McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston
Indignant Women: Zahra Glenda Baker, Emily Hooper Lansana, Imani Perry, and Angela Jackson with Hicks D. Gregory
Oct. 27, 2019
4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Norris University Center | John J. Louis Room
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Oct. 27, 2019
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St., Evanston
Sister Helen Prejean: Dead Man Walking
Oct. 31, 2019
6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, Sanctuary
77 W. Washington St., Chicago
Jared Yates Sexyon and Henry Rollins on Masculinity
Oct. 31, 2019
8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, Sanctuary
77 W. Washington St., Chicago
South Side Soul: Ayana Contreras, Tone B. Nimble, Ruben Molina, and Mario Smith
Nov. 1, 2019
6 p.m. – 6:50 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, Solarium
7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago
Carlo Rotella on South Shore
Nov. 1, 2019
6 p.m. – 6:50 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, Dining Room
7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago
Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble
Nov. 1, 2019
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, Paul Robeson Theatre
7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago
Eric Foner: Reconstruction and the Constitution
Nov. 2, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago
Caitlin Zaloom on Student Debt
Nov. 2, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago
Sean Carroll: Many Worlds
Nov. 2, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago
Sasha Sagan on Finding Meaning
Nov. 2, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts | Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago
Ibram X. Kendi: How – Be an Antiracist
Nov. 2, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago
Sarah Knott: Mother Is a Verb
Nov. 2, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago
Tanisha C. Ford: Dressed in Dreams
Nov. 2, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts | Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago
Ghost Work: Mary L. Gray in conversation with Natalie Foster
Nov. 2, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago
Katherine Franke on Reparations
Nov. 2, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago
Spatial Justice: Maria Gaspar, Liz Ogbu, and Susana Vasquez
Nov. 2, 2019
5 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts | Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago
Suketu Mehta: An Immigrant’s Manifesto
Nov. 2, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago
Anne Anlin Cheng: Ornamentalism
Nov. 2, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago
2019 Chicago Tribune Literary Award: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Nov. 3, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
Beth Macy: Dopesick
Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Lawrence (Ren) Weschler on the Legacy of Oliver Sacks
Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Gary Tinterow on Inclusive Museums
Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | Edlis Neeson Theater
220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago
Music of the 1970s: John Corbett & Vivien Goldman
Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago | Stage Two
618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
John Hodgman: Medallion Status
Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Christian Smith on the Power of Religion
Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Kwame Onwuachi: Notes from a Young Black Chef
Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | Edlis Neeson Theater
220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago
David Opdyke: This Land
Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago | Stage Two
618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Mobituaries with Mo Rocca
Nov. 3, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 E. Randolph St., Chicago
Leslie Jamison: Make It Scream, Make It Burn
Nov. 3, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago | Stage Two
618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Salman Rushdie: Quichotte
Nov. 4, 2019
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The Vic Theatre
3145 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago
Power Couples: Doug Peck, Rob Lindley, and a full cast
Nov. 4, 2019
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Francis W. Parker School | Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium
330 W. Webster Ave., Chicago
Eli Saslow: Rising Out of Hatred
Nov. 6, 2019
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Francis W. Parker School | Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium
330 W. Webster Ave., Chicago
The Legacy of the Chicago Defender: Myiti Sengstacke-Rice in conversation with Brandis Friedman
Nov. 8, 2019
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Blanc Gallery
4445 S. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago
Cooking with Cannabis: Joline Rivera, David Yusefzadeh and Mike Sula
Nov. 8, 2019
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Peach’s Restaurant
4652 S. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago
Supermajority: Ai-jen Poo, Alicia Garza, and Cecile Richards
Nov. 8, 2019
7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Harold Washington Cultural Center | Performing Arts Center
4701 S. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago
David E. Sanger: War in the Cyber Age
Nov. 9, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Daniel Parolek: Thinking Big, Building Small
Nov. 9, 2019
11 a.m – 12 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Jonathan Calm on the Green Book
Nov. 9, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago
Richard Brookhiser: Give Me Liberty
Nov. 9, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Jesselyn Silva: In The Ring
Nov. 9, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Harold Holzer on Daniel Chester French
Nov. 9, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Desk 88: Senator Sherrod Brown and Connie Schultz
Nov. 9, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
Emmet Gowin: Photographing Nuclear Sites
Nov. 9, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Mikki Kendall on Powerful Women
Nov. 9, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Ari Seth Cohen on Style Over 60
Nov. 9, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Nuclear Power after Chernobyl: Kate Brown, Gregory B. Jaczko, and Adam Higginbotham in conversation with Emma Belcher
Nov. 9, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Reginald Dwayne Betts: Felon
Nov. 9, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Poetry Foundation
61 W. Superior St., Chicago
Jane Elliott: The Anatomy of Prejudice
Nov. 10, 2019
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Nikki Giovanni in conversation with Tiff Beatty
Nov. 10, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Sarah Vowell: Past and Present
Nov. 10, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Francis W. Parker School | Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium
330 W. Webster Ave., Chicago
