Lakeside Lecture Series
The Lakeside Lecture Series brings speakers of national renown and from diverse backgrounds to Lakeside’s campus to expose Lakeside students to differing perspectives on a range of topics. A goal of the series is to foster open and inclusive dialogue in order to learn about the world and about each other.
Lectures are free of charge, and registration is required; register at the links below.
As part of Lakeside’s goal to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our community, in-person events may shift to a virtual format, be postponed, or canceled due to COVID-19. Thank you in advance for your flexibility.
2023-2024 Lecture Speakers
Matika Wilbur
Dan Ayrault Memorial Lecture
Oct. 25, 2023
Ms. Wilbur had to cancel her appearance for the evening lecture. She still plans on visiting with the students during the school day.
Matika Wilbur is a critically acclaimed social documentarian, speaker, National Geographic Explorer, and photographer from the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington. She co-hosts the All My Relations podcast with Dr. Adrienne Keene, providing a platform that invites guests to delve into subjects facing Native peoples today and explore the connections between land, nonhuman relatives, and one another. Her recently published work, Project 562, a crowd-funded initiative to visit, engage, and photograph people from more than 562 sovereign tribal nations in North America, is her fourth major creative venture elevating Native American identity and culture.
Anne Applebaum
Bernie Noe Endowed Lecture on Ethics and Politics
Jan. 31, 2024
A Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, journalist, and commentator on geopolitics, Anne Applebaum examines the challenges and opportunities of global political and economic change through the lens of world history and the contemporary political landscape. Informed by her expertise in European history and her years of international reporting, Applebaum shares perspectives on the far-reaching implications of today’s volatile world events. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning “Gulag: A History” is about the Soviet concentration camps. Her book “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine” received her second Duff Cooper Prize and the 28th Lionel Gelber Prize in 2018. Her other books include “Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1946,” which won a Cundill Prize for Historical Literature, and “Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe.” She is a senior fellow of international affairs and Agora fellow in residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.
Shankar Vedantam
Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture
March 6, 2024
Shankar Vedantam is the host and executive editor of National Public Radio’s Hidden Brain radio show and podcast, which is regularly listed as one of the top 20 podcasts in the world. Vedantam was NPR’s social science correspondent between 2011 and 2020, following 10 years as a reporter and columnist at The Washington Post. He is the author of two nonfiction books: “The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars and Save Our Lives” and “Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain,” an exploration of deception’s role in human success. He speaks internationally about how the “hidden brain” shapes our world.
Photo by Jamey Stillings.
Speakers are selected by a speaker selection committee that includes 11 members drawn from the faculty, staff, parents/guardians, alumni, students, and trustees. The committee is happy to receive suggestions for future speakers. Email the speaker selection committee at development@lakesideschool.org.
Views and opinions expressed by speakers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Lakeside School.
The Lakeside Lecture Series is made possible through individual endowments established by members of the Lakeside community. Each series has a distinct mission.
- The Bernie Noe Endowed Lecture on Ethics and Politics supports a lecture or debate on political, ethical, or philosophical subjects, with the intent of promoting open discussion. The lecture was renamed by the Belanich family in honor of Noe in September 2021.
- The Mark J. Bebie ’70 Memorial Lecture sponsors speakers on topics related to the environment, technology, education, and other subjects that were of interest to Bebie.
- The Dan Ayrault Memorial Endowed Lecture honors the memory of Dan Ayrault, head of school from 1969 to 1990. Honoring Ayrault’s passion for education, lectures are designed to foster a robust exchange of ideas.