Full Schedule

The former ambassador, mayor of Chicago and White House chief of staff talks about the future of his party and his political career.

Presented by Results for America

Past the hype and the fear, AI optimists talk about what the technology is doing and could do for people, communities and institutions.

Presented by Western Governors University

The Democratic nominee for Texas governor on her campaign, her vision for Texas and what it would take to turn the state blue.

Dallas’ Bold Plan to Cut Child Poverty in Half and Put 150,000 Residents on a Path to Prosperity

In recent years, Dallas has achieved the biggest reduction in child poverty of any major city in America. Nonprofit organizations are coming together to set clear goals and teaming up with local government and education leaders to help put children and families on a path to economic opportunity. Join us to discuss how Dallas leaders are working to improve education outcomes and help more residents earn a living wage.

The Texas author on her new book, "Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America.”

What it means to be Muslim in Texas today, navigating faith, identity and belonging in a divided moment.

Main Street Needs Health Insurance That Works

Across Texas, small business owners rely on health insurance to recruit and retain talent. Unfortunately, surging premiums are forcing owners into painful tradeoffs between doing right by employees and protecting the balance sheet. Morgan Health, a division of JPMorganChase focused on improving employer-sponsored health care, is convening this panel to uncover opportunities to make coverage more affordable and predictable. The conversation will focus on policy moves that expand choice, improve transparency, and help local small employers compete and thrive.

How AI is reshaping democracy, for better and worse, and what's actually at stake.

The historian and author on his new book, "American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington.” 

Veterans, advocates and a leading clinician examine the promise of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and what Texas's landmark investment means for those who've served.

Texas Democratic legislators on their party's priorities, and how they plan to fight for them in the next legislative session.

Supported by Raise Your Hand Texas

Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and Ms. Magazine Executive Editor Katherine Spillar join The 19th’s Emily Ramshaw to discuss the difficulty holding perpetrators of gender-based violence accountable and what still needs to be done.

Energy leaders on how renewables are reshaping the Texas grid, what it means for reliability and what comes next.

Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell discusses her new book, "How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time.” 

Texas oil and gas experts on navigating a tumultuous few years and what the industry's future means for the state.

Presented by bp America

The Washington Post executive editor sits down with Brian Stelter on leading one of America's most consequential newsrooms through one of its most turbulent moments.

The two-term governor of Oklahoma makes his case for conservative governing and what the rest of the country can learn from his home state.

The nation's most prominent defender of public education on the threats facing it and why Texas is at the center of the fight.

Supported by Austin Community College District

As prediction markets reshape political forecasting, Texas lawmakers and industry leaders on the regulatory questions, policy implications and what it means for how we understand elections.

Who decides what Texas remembers, and what gets left out?

Supported by University of Texas Press

With a historic investment on the horizon, a conversation about what our state parks can, will and should look like a generation from now.

Supported by Reissa Foundation

Nearly one year after her dominant electoral victory, Mikie Sherrill discusses governing in New Jersey and her vision for the Democratic Party.

Presented by Results for America

The Georgian is out of Congress and has had a falling out with Trump. What’s next for her and her movement?

The former Tennessee senator and author of “The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump”  sits down with CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Garrett Haake 

Arts and culture leaders on how creativity holds communities together and what happens when the support for it disappears.

Presented by Houston Endowment
Supported by University of Texas Press

Cutting property taxes are expected to be a priority again in 2027. Policy experts and lawmakers on what real reform looks like.

DEI is being reshaped in the courts, on campuses and in the workplace. What does it mean for the country and Texas?

Presented by The Baylor Line

The New York Times' Maggie Haberman discusses the reporting from her new book, "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.” 

Texas Republican legislators on the direction of their party and what the next legislative session could mean for the state.

Presented by Beer Alliance of Texas
Supported by Raise Your Hand Texas

What the decline of reading means for learning, democracy and what it means to be human, and what we can do about it.

Supported by the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) and University of Texas Press

South Texas political and civic leaders on what the region's shifting political landscape means for Texas and the nation.

Presented by Methodist Healthcare Ministries

The senator from Georgia discusses how faith informs his politics and winning as a Democrat in a traditionally red state.

The fights over voting rights and redistricting are reshaping American democracy, and nowhere more so than Texas.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers on what's coming in the next legislative session and the battles ahead.

Presented by bp America
Supported by Raise Your Hand Texas and Beer Alliance of Texas

Expanding Housing Supply and Affordability in Texas

Texas’ rapid growth is creating new economic opportunity, but also putting pressure on housing – making it harder and more expensive for people to live within reach of where they work. As costs rise and supply struggles to keep pace, leaders across sectors are working to increase housing supply and improve affordability. Join JPMorganChase for a conversation on how policy, innovation and investment can help scale housing solutions – from zoning and permitting reform to new construction and partnerships –and what it will take to keep stable housing within reach for Texas families.

Texas is a key testing ground for what American higher ed becomes next. Hear from state leaders about where things are headed and what’s at stake.

Presented by Houston Endowment
Supported by Trellis Foundation, The Baylor Line and Western Governors University

Statewide Democratic candidates on their strategy for November and what it would take to finally win here.

With screens reshaping childhood, is the response from schools, lawmakers and parents working?

When the Governor of Florida transforms a beloved public honors college in a political coup, students and professors confront a new reality: their campus is ground zero in a growing nation-wide assault on academic freedom. 90 minutes.

(RSVP required (RSVP will be open beginning Sept. 1). Screenings are open to all badge holders. Seating is limited inside the theater, and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

The man leading Houston ISD's state takeover makes his case.

Corpus Christi leaders on the city's water challenges, how they're addressing them and what it means for Texas communities facing the same pressures.

Presented by Methodist Healthcare Ministries

America has never been more diverse, or more divided. What Texas reveals about whether pluralism can survive the moment.

Presented by University of Texas Press

The executive director of the Catholic Charities of the RGV sits down with Religion News Service’s Niala Boodhoo for a live taping of the “Oh God Now What” podcast.

Presented by Methodist Healthcare Ministries
Supported by The Baylor Line

Writers on how American identity is lived, imagined and contested through literature.

Presented by Houston Endowment

The reporters with the deepest access to the Trump White House on what this presidency looks like up close, and what history will make of it.

Follow three prominent Texas women—elected Republican leaders with divergent views on the conservative movement—as they confront the soul of their party ahead of the contentious 2024 election cycle. 39 min.

RSVP required (RSVP will be open beginning Sept. 1). Screenings are open to all badge holders. Seating is limited inside the theater, and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

City leaders and housing reformers on what's driving Texas's affordability crisis and whether the policy fixes are working.

Supported by Reissa Foundation

The ProPublica and New York Times Magazine reporter discusses her debut book, a true story of murder, deception and a justice system that rewarded lies.

Texas superintendents on what it actually takes to lead public schools at this moment, and what they need from the Legislature next year.

Presented by Raise Your Hand Texas
Supported by Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) and Houston Endowment

The sharp wit and insightful art of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes examines the challenges confronting US democracy ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 90 minutes.

RSVP required (RSVP will be open beginning Sept. 1). Screenings are open to all badge holders. Seating is limited inside the theater, and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Leading political journalists break down the races, coalitions and dynamics that will determine control of Congress in November.

Supported by: HCA Healthcare

Three Texas content creators and influencers on how they're changing political engagement, and what that power means for democracy.

How years of changing rules have affected the hemp industry. And how THC should be regulated in Texas.

The hosts of one of America's most popular political podcasts bring their live show to Austin for a special TribFest taping on the midterms, the state of democracy and what's at stake in November.

What school takeovers mean for students, families and local control. 

National Book Award winner Imani Perry joins Atlantic staff writer Adam Serwer for a conversation about race, identity and the promises America has made, and broken, across 250 years.

Uncover overlooked chapters of the borderlands history. Drawing on newly surfaced documents and on-location storytelling from Laredo to San Ygnacio to Camargo, this film reconstructs a movement rooted not in nationalism, but in a radically local and ancient vision of self-government. 47 minutes.

RSVP required (RSVP will be open beginning Sept. 1). Screenings are open to all badge holders. Seating is limited inside the theater, and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

What the July 4 floods revealed about Texas, and what it will take to be ready for what's next.

A conversation with San Antonio's mayor on how she's navigating housing, infrastructure and the future of urban life in real time.

Presented by Results for America
Supported by Reissa Foundation

Executions returned to Texas 50 years ago. Is the system working as intended?

In 1972, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress, one of many firsts in her career as a trailblazing political leader. 89 minutes.

RSVP required (RSVP will be open beginning Sept. 1). Screenings are open to all badge holders. Seating is limited inside the theater, and is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Geeks Who Drink, celebrating 20 years of trivia in Austin, hosts this year's Trivia Night. Grab three friends and unwind after Day 2 with some friendly competition. And be sure to grab a bite from our friends at Quattro Gatti Ristorante e Pizzeria.

Open to all badge-holders. No additional ticket required. RSVP page coming soon.

The author of “Jesus and John Wayne” talks about her new book, “Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made.” 

Three of America's leading legal and historical minds on what the Constitution actually promised, who it left out, and whether, 250 years later, that promise is being kept.

Texans in Congress on what the state needs from Washington right now and what they're fighting for on behalf of their state.

Presented by bp America
Supported by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

Lawmakers and industry leaders on what the federal and state governments should do to make sure the AI revolution is safe and prosperous. 

New state laws and university policies are limiting teaching and research about race and gender. How does this matter on campus and beyond?

Childcare in Texas is too expensive and too essential to ignore. What will it take to fix it?

What shifting U.S. trade policy means for Texas, its businesses and its future.

How Texas Latinos are voting and what both parties are getting right and wrong about the state's fastest-growing electorate.

The former White House deputy chief of staff discusses the Texas political map, the midterms and the future of the Republican party with CNN politics reporter Patrick Svitek 

New York Times reporter Jazmine Ulloa discusses "El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race and Memory" with The Texas Tribune/ProPublica’s investigative editor Zahira Torres.

The Republican, who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Homeland Security Committee, looks back on his time in the U.S. House and serving Central Texas.

Presented by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

A parent, an advocate and a legal scholar on the human and legal consequences of Texas' trans legislation and what comes next.

What more do colleges need to do to train people for the changing world?

Supported by Raise Your Hand Texas

One of the world’s leading futurists on what the data actually tells us about where technology is taking us, and whether we're ready.

Policy reporters and advocates examine the state of reproductive rights four years after the Dobbs decision, from the courts and statehouses to the lived experiences of patients and providers.

Texas media leaders on how journalism is evolving in the Lone Star State and what's at stake for democracy if it doesn't.

Supported by The Baylor Line

A scientist, builder and journalist on why humanity's next chapter in space changes everything, and why Texas is leading the way. 

From Guidance to Outcomes: Scaling Effective Advising for Postsecondary Success

This panel will explore how districts, policymakers, and partners are strengthening postsecondary advising to ensure more students successfully transition from high school to college and careers. Attendees will gain insight into how effective advising models are implemented, the outcomes they drive, and what it takes to scale these supports across systems.

What defines a journalist today, how that's changing and what it means for the profession and the public.

Data centers are reshaping Texas communities, and the fight over who controls their growth doesn't break along familiar political lines. Will the state step in?

People who have been Texas’ ICE detention centers describe what’s happening, who's being held and what it means for communities, families and the rule of law.

The National Book Award-winning author and historian discusses the arguments behind his new book, "Chain of Ideas: How Authoritarian Thinking Takes Root in America."

The four-year degree isn't working for everyone. So what is? A conversation about economic mobility and how well new pathways are delivering a better future for families.

Presented by Houston Endowment
Supported by Raise Your Hand Texas and Western Governors University

What does it actually take to keep American elections free, fair and secure?

The author of "The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader" on why the nation's founding document matters more than ever, and how to actually read it.

What will it take to ensure no Texan goes hungry?

Presented by Methodist Healthcare Ministries

CBS News' David Pogue discusses his new book, "Apple: The First 50 Years.

Photojournalists documenting Texas on why images matter, what they can say that words cannot and what it means to bear witness.

With world-class medicine in Texas cities, and critical shortages elsewhere, what will it take to improve access and close the gap?

Presented by Methodist Healthcare Ministries
Supported by American Heart Association, Western Governors University and St. David's HealthCare

Immigration judges, including two fired by the president, on what's happening inside the courts under the Trump administration.

Austin has long been defined by its progressive identity. A growing conservative community is changing that. What does it mean for the city's future?

The Festival isn't over when the closing keynote ends — it's just getting started. Head straight to Brazos Hall for CatchLight Live and TribFest's official after party.

Downstairs, striking photojournalism comes to life through large-scale projections, live music and storytelling from the photographers who were there. Upstairs, a skyline terrace lounge keeps the night going with open bars and views of downtown Austin. Transportation will be provided from First Baptist Church.

Presented by Lynne Dobson and Greg Wooldridge, Tejemos Foundation, CatchLight, Photowings and Texas Monthly
Supported by Beer Alliance of Texas