The Roberta Buffett Institute's 2025–26 event series Brave New Futures aims to prompt new thinking about visions of the world beyond the present conjuncture, a project that involves assessments of the contemporary moment internationally as well as fresh ideas about the future. The series includes our quarterly daylong Buffett Symposia, which will take up the subjects of youth peace-building in the fall, global disinformation in a post-moderation world in the winter, and millennial visions of the future in the spring.
Series Lineup
Michael Grunwald on “We Are Eating the Earth”
Wednesday, October 29 from 4:00–5:00 p.m. at Pancoe Auditorium, 2200 Campus Drive, Evanston
Northwestern's Center for Synthetic Biology organized a talk with Michael Grunwald on his new book, We Are Eating the Earth.
Grunwald shows how the world, after decades of ignoring the climate problem at the center of our plates, has pivoted to making it worse, embracing solutions that sound sustainable but could make it even harder to grow more food with less land. He also tells the stories of the dynamic scientists and entrepreneurs pursuing real solutions.
Co-sponsored by Northwestern's Roberta Buffett Institute, Institute for Policy Research, Trienens Institute for Sustainability & Energy, and Global Poverty Research Lab.
The Peace We Make: A Student-Led Buffett Symposium
Friday, November 7 from 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Young people are leading global efforts to end conflict, defend human rights, and advocate for sustainable peace. This student-led symposium brought together activists, political councilmembers, NGO leaders, and negotiators from across the world to explore how youth are transforming the future of peace and justice.
The daylong program featured panel discussions, community-building spaces, and a special conversation with 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad.
Buffett Symposium: Global Disinformation in a Post-Moderation World
Thursday, January 22 from 5:15–6:45 p.m. at Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago
Friday, January 23 from 8:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m. at 720 University Place, Evanston
The global information environment is undergoing a significant transformation, as major social media platforms and government institutions retreat from their active roles in combating disinformation. These shifts mark the emergence of a “post-moderation” era—one in which individuals and communities must take greater responsibility for identifying, interpreting, and responding to disinformation. This symposium convenes global experts and practitioners from industry, public policy, academia, and civil society to address urgent priorities for this new era.
Co-hosted with the Center for Communication & Public Policy.
Buffett Conversation: Maria Lipman & Benjamin Nathans on "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement"
Wednesday, February 11 from 12:30–1:45 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Roberta Buffett Visiting Professor Maria Lipman (Northwestern University) and Alan Charles Kors Professor of History Benjamin Nathans (University of Pennsylvania) will discuss Nathans' new Pulitzer Prize-winning book, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement.
The book tells the story of dissent in the USSR from Stalin's death to the collapse of communism. Rather than treat Soviet dissidents as avatars of Western liberalism, or take their invocation of rights and legal norms as natural, the book investigates how, as products themselves of the Soviet order, dissidents arrived at a conception of law and human personality so at odds with official norms.
Co-sponsored by Northwestern's Department of History and Chabraja Center for Historical Studies.
Elliott Speaker Series: Thea Riofrancos on "Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism"
Tuesday, February 17 from 12:30–1:45 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Join us for an Elliott Speaker Series event with Thea Riofrancos, Associate Professor of Political Science at Providence College, on her new book Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism (W.W. Norton 2025). Her book provides an in-depth analysis of the growing industry of green technologies and the environmental, social, and political consequences of the mining it requires. Drawing on fieldwork in Chile, Nevada, and Portugal, Professor Riofrancos explores the environmental and social costs of the global race to expand lithium mining amid supply chain concerns and offers compelling ideas for harmonizing climate action with social justice.
Buffett Book Talk: Marc Lynch on "America’s Middle East: The Ruination of a Region"
Wednesday, March 4 from 12:30–1:45 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Join us for a Buffett Book Talk with Marc Lynch on his new book, America’s Middle East: The Ruination of a Region. Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, will discuss his new book, America’s Middle East: The Ruination of a Region.
From the Gulf War to Gaza, the book discusses how and why Washington ensnared itself in the Middle East and situates US policy towards the Middle East in the broader context of its foreign policy towards the region since the end of the Cold War.
Buffett Symposium: Brave New Futures
Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 10 at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Our spring Buffett Symposium will feature intergenerational discussions on millennial visions of the future. Additional details are forthcoming.
Buffett Conversation with Laura K. Cooper, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia
May 22 at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Join us for a Buffett Conversation with Laura K. Cooper—Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia—moderated by Ambassador (ret.) Ian C. Kelly. As the Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Ms. Cooper was responsible for policy concerning Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia (Belarus, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Moldova). She was also a career member of the Senior Executive Service and previously served as a Principal Director in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Global Security Affairs, with policy responsibility for mission assurance, defense continuity of operations, and homeland counterterrorism.
