Innovation

Susan Freinkel

Award-winning author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, in which she explores one of the most transformative inventions of the 20th century, Freinkel writes about the intersection of science, culture, and the environment, and the issues that arise from humans’ seemingly ceaseless effort to control the natural world.

Robert Levine

The Internet was going to move us into the “information economy” – but information is worth less than ever. In Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back, acclaimed journalist and former Exec. Editor of Billboard, Levine, lays out how the media business can save itself (in spite of itself).

James G. Workman

Award-winning journalist and author of Heart of Dryness, James G. Workman has devoted his life to helping solve the overriding paradox of our time: Water conservation is, ironically, unsustainable. But, why? A former advisor shaping national and global policy under Bruce Babbitt and Nelson Mandela, Workman addresses this riddle in a compelling multimedia program.

Jeffrey Stibel

Jeffrey M. Stibel

In his book Wired for Thought: How the Brain Is Shaping the Future of the Internet, Stibel, a brain scientist, entrepreneur and Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp, demonstrates how the Internet has effectively replicated the human brain, and how the future of business lies in leveraging the understanding of these similarly complex networks.

Emily Liebert

Emily Liebert

Award-winning writer, editor and author of Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit, Liebert examines the positive power and untapped potential of the social networking revolution, beginning with 25 true stories of hope and triumph reaching across cultures — all resulting from Facebook connections.

Tom Philpott

Food & Agriculture blogger at Mother Jones, and co-founder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable-food education, Philpott was named one of Food & Wine’s “ten innovators” who will “continue to shape [America’s] culinary consciousness.” Until recently, he was Food editor at Grist.org, where his biweekly “Victual Reality” column was a must-read on food politics.

Logan Smalley

Logan Smalley

Director of the multi-award-winning documentary “Darius Goes West,” which chronicles the epic cross-country road trip he and 10 others took with Darius Weems, a friend stricken with fatal Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Smalley is a change agent for a new generation. He and Darius prove that idealism and creativity can result in tangible progress.

James R. Chiles

Author of the acclaimed book Inviting Disaster: Lessons from the Edge of Technology, Chiles, a renowned technology and history writer, helps organizations assess risk and avoid catastrophe by examining the repeating patterns of historical and contemporary disasters, and applying the lessons learned to each organization’s daily processes.