Bill Clinton
Jane Goodall
Loretta Lynch
Theresa May
Diana Nyad
Tom Friedman
Madeleine Albright
Colin Powell
Jane Fonda
Rick Steves
Jeb Bush
Susan Rice
Rita Moreno
Dan Rather
Bill Nye
Van Jones
Ken Burns
Newt Gingrich
Philadelphia Speakers Series
Presenting the World Up Close®
Since 2004, the Philadelphia Speakers Series has presented remarkable individuals who have left an indelible mark on their respective fields. Our speakers are distinguished leaders, creative visionaries and courageous trailblazers who will challenge your mind, enlarge your world, and make you laugh.
I like some animals more than some people, some people more than some animals.
It’s the choices that you make and the things that you’re willing to accept and not accept that define who you are.
Science is the best idea humans have ever had. The more people who embrace that idea, the better.
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
If I didn’t have a front-row seat on history, it was at least a seat on the aisle.
I believe that each person is more than the worst thing they’ve ever done.
Becoming a subscriber brings you into a vibrant community that celebrates the power of ideas.
2023-2024
- Van Jones
- Jane Fonda
- Adam Kinzinger
- Maria Yovanovitch
- Laurie Santos
- Michael Beschloss
- Céline Cousteau
2022-2023
- Loretta Lynch
- John Brennan
- Maria Ressa
- Erik Larson
- Tom Friedman
- Scott Kelly
- Anthony Ray Hinton
2021-2022
- John Bolton
- Platon
- Walter Isaacson
- Mara Liasson
- Jamie Metzl
- Theresa May
- Bill Nye
2019-2020
- John Kerry
- Zanny Minton Beddoes
- Bob Woodward
- Douglas Brinkley
- Peter Diamandis
- Susan Rice
- Jason Alexander
2018-2019
- James Comey
- Lisa Genova
- Gloria Steinem
- Jeb Bush
- Bryan Stevenson
- Ian Bremmer
- Dave Barry
2017-2018
- David Cameron
- Jeffrey Toobin
- Cokie Roberts
- Robin Wright
- Rick Steves
- Newt Gingrich
- Paul Nicklen
2016-2017
- Jon Meacham
- Ehud Barak
- Rita Moreno
- John Cleese
- Martin Dempsey
- Ted Koppel
- Michele Norris, Jason Riley and Morris Dees
2015-2016
- Leon Panetta
- Sanjay Gupta
- Michio Kaku
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Diana Nyad
- Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords
- Dennis Ross
2014-2015
- Alan Alda
- Julia Gillard
- Ken Burns
- Olympia Snowe
- David Gergen
- David McCullough
- Dan Rather
2013-2014
- Bill Bryson
- George Papandreou
- Robert Gates
- Steve Wozniak
- Billy Collins
- Jon Huntsman, Jr.
- Doris Kearns Goodwin
2012-2013
- President Bill Clinton
- Jeannette Walls
- Lisa Ling
- P.W. Singer
- Erskine Bowles
- Vicente Fox
- Nando Parrado
2011-2012
- Ron Chernow
- Michelle Rhee
- Valerie Plame Wilson and Joe Wilson
- Michael Pollan
- Azar Nafisi
- Stanley McChrystal
- Tom Brokaw
2010-2011
- Thomas Friedman
- Elizabeth Gilbert
- Ben Carson
- Charles Krauthammer
- F.W. de Klerk
- Mark Shields
- Karl Rove and Howard Dean
2009-2010
- Pervez Musharraf
- Jean-Michel Cousteau
- Laura Bush
- Robert Reich
- Mia Farrow
- David Brooks
- Greg Mortenson
2008-2009
- Steve Forbes
- Paul Rusesabagina
- Garrison Keillor
- Joseph Ellis
- Anna Quindlen
- Jane Goodall
- Bob Woodward
2007-2008
- Robert Ballard
- George Will
- Christiane Amanpour
- Madeleine Albright
- Salman Rushdie
- Frank McCourt
- The Capitol Steps
2006-2007
- Amy Tan
- James Lovell
- Colin Powell
- Paul Bremer
- Michael Medved
- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Beck Weathers
2005-2006
- Elie Wiesel
- Walter Cronkite
- Bill Moyers
- John Major
- David McCullough
- Mark Russell
- Christine Todd Whitman
2004-2005
- Henry Kissinger
- James Carville
- Mary Higgins Clark
- Ehud Barak
- Dave Barry
- Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Frank Abagnale