ASU celebrates 5 years of TomorrowTalks speaker series

Known for its forward-thinking approach and national reputation for innovation, Arizona State University creates opportunities for students to engage directly with the people shaping today’s world.

One example is the TomorrowTalks speaker series, which brings today’s leading thinkers into conversation with ASU students — the changemakers of tomorrow.

For the past five years, the program has been led by ASU’s Department of English, hosting distinguished speakers such as Jane Goodall, Percival Everett and Melinda Gates in online discussions about their just-released, thought-provoking books.

Now celebrating its fifth anniversary, TomorrowTalks enters a new chapter as part of the Humanities Institute, expanding its reach and impact across the university.

“TomorrowTalks are a window (into) culture and society today,” says Ron Broglio, director of the institute. “The student engagement with the authors is a special part of the talks. ASU students do an amazing job of showing their sensitivity and inquisitiveness in their conversations with the authors.”

Open to the public and hosted live on Zoom, the series invites students to pose questions directly to guest authors.

This semester's lineup features New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, who will discuss his novel “The Bones Beneath My Skin,” and leading computer scientist Melanie Mitchell, who will speak on the new preface for her nonfiction work, “Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans.”

TomorrowTalks is made possible through partnerships with The Division of Humanities at The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, AZ Humanities and Macmillan Publishers.