Press Room

The Atlantic Festival Evening Event Schedule Announced, September 21–24 from 7–8:30PM

Music: Jon Batiste, The Atlantic’s music director
Video: Don Mischer Productions

Tim Cook joins opening night of  The Atlantic Festival, September 21,
in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg
Bob Woodward to appear on closing night of festival on September 24
Festival features interviews with José Andrés, the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II interviewed by Laurene Powell Jobs, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chris Evans, Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, Larry Hogan, Padma Lakshmi, Billy Porter

Apple CEO Tim Cook will be interviewed by The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, during the opening night of The Atlantic Festival, taking place virtually September 21–24. The nightly headliner events will stream 7–8:30 p.m. ET at The Atlantic and on other platforms.

Bob Woodward will close out the festival on Thursday, interviewed by Goldberg about his new book, Rage. Woodward, the renowned investigative reporter and associate editor at The Washington Post, will take part in the final night of the festival’s events, which will also feature a special performance by the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.

Also just announced, on Wednesday night the Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II will be in conversation with Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, which is the majority owner of The Atlantic.

The schedules for all four nights have just been released below and at TheAtlanticFestival.com, where there is information about the full schedule of events. All festival events are free to attend. Press may register at TheAtlanticFestival.com.

As the United States looks to rebuild amid the coronavirus pandemic and our racial reckoning, The Atlantic Festival will explore the events of 2020 and venture to understand who we are as a nation and what we might become. It will also include forums on race and justice, education, small business, the future of work, and health equity, along with the annual “Women of Washington” event.

The evening event schedules follow. For updates, please visit our website.

Monday, September 21: 7–8:30 p.m. ET

  • Performance by actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith

  • Apple CEO Tim Cook, interviewed by The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg

  • Stacey Abrams, the founder of Fair Fight Action, interviewed by Alex Wagner, contributing writer at The Atlantic, about revisiting voting rights

  • Chef and humanitarian José Andrés, interviewed by managing editor Gillian White, about fighting the hunger crisis

  • Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, interviewed by NBC News senior business correspondent and MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle about the future of flying

Tuesday, September 22: 7–8:30 p.m. ET

  • Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi discusses the state of the union with Jeffrey Goldberg

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of  the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, interviewed by The Atlantic’s staff writer Alexis Madrigal about the battle against COVID-19

  • Actor Billy Porter discusses representation in Hollywood with Alison Stewart, host of WNYC’s All of It

  • Alicia Garza, principal at Black Futures Lab and co-founder of Black Lives Matter, interviewed by The Atlantic’s contributing writer Jemele Hill

  • Actor and producer Chris Evans, along with Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani, co-founders of the civic-engagement website A Starting Point, interviewed by Alex Wagner

Wednesday, September 23: 7–8:30 p.m. ET

  • Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg

  • Ayesha Curry, a best-selling author and the founder of Eat. Learn. Play., interviewed by The Atlantic’s staff writer Shirley Li

  • A conversation about Good Lord Bird with author and National Book Award winner James McBride and the actors Ethan Hawke and Joshua Caleb Johnson, who star in a forthcoming television adaptation of the novel, interviewed by Alison Stewart

  • Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, interviewed by The Atlantic’s staff writer James Fallows

  • Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, talks about the world ahead with The Atlantic’s staff writer Ed Yong

  • Priyanka Chopra Jonas, actor, producer, activist, and Global Citizen ambassador, and Global Citizen co-founder Hugh Evans discuss sharing the wealth with The Atlantic’s staff writer Derek Thompson

Thursday, September 24: 7–8:30 p.m. ET

  • Maryland Governor Larry Hogan talks about states leading the way through the pandemic with The Atlantic’s staff writer McKay Coppins

  • Samantha Bee, host of Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, discusses what it takes to produce a talk show amid a pandemic with Jemele Hill

  • Ibram X. Kendi, contributing writer at The Atlantic and director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, interviewed about anti-racism in America by The Atlantic’s senior editor Yoni Appelbaum

  • Bob Woodward, interviewed by Jeffrey Goldberg about his new book, Rage

  • Padma Lakshmi, host and producer of Taste the Nation, explores American identity with The Atlantic’s senior editor Lauren Williams

  • The Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II discusses faith during these uncertain times with Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective

  • Plus, a special performance by the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations

The Atlantic Festival is supported by Facebook as the Founding Level Underwriter; Genentech, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and the Walton Family Foundation as the Presenting Level Underwriters; Allstate, Eli Lilly and Company, and U.S. Bank as Supporting Level Underwriters; and AARP, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ExxonMobil, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Nestlé Waters North America, and PayPal as Contributing Level Underwriters.