The Chicago Humanities Festival is back for its 30th anniversary — and this year it’s all about power. The annual fall festival, one of the most anticipated cultural events of the year, includes dozens of exciting events showcasing game-changing ideas from activists, authors, actors, chefs, musicians, and more from all around the globe.

A few highlights of the 2019 festival, which will addresses the central theme of “power”, include author and music legend Patti Smith, actor and producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus, writer George R.R. Martin, author and filmmaker Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and writer and comedian John Hodgman.

Tickets for all events go on sale Oct. 1. Until then, explore the full fall festival lineup from the Chicago Humanities Festival:

Creative Chicago: Art and the City

Saturday, Sept. 14
12 p.m. — 5:45 p.m.
Venue SIX10
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Ta-Nehisi Coates: The Water Dancer

Wednesday, Oct. 2
7 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
UIC Dorin Forum
725 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago

George R. R. Martin and Eve Ewing

Friday, Oct. 11
7:30 p.m. — 9 p.m.
Symphony Center
220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

George RR Martin for Chicago Humanities Festival
Photo by Minesh Bacrania ©PRH

Rachel Maddow

Saturday, Oct. 12
7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Arie Crown Theater, McCormick Place
2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey: She Said

Tuesday, Oct. 15
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
The Vic Theatre
3145 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago

Patti Smith: Year of the Monkey

Oct. 26, 2019
10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Symphony Center, Armour Stage
220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Caitlin Doughty: Will The Cat Eat My Eyeballs?

Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Alison Roman: Nothing Fancy

Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Simon Critchley: Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us

Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Art Institute of Chicago, Fullerton Hall
111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Ben Lerner: The Topeka School

Oct. 26, 2019
12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Chicago Architecture Center | Gand Lecture Hall
111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago

Anabel Hernández: Dangerous Investigations

Oct. 26, 2019
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Gary Janetti: Do You Mind If I Cancel?

Oct. 26, 2019
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Beyond the Binary: Alex Iantaffi in conversation with Emem Obot

Oct. 26, 2019
2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Chicago Architecture Center | Gand Lecture Hall
111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago

David Blight on Frederick Douglass

Oct. 26, 2019
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Beer History with the Brewseum: Theresa McCulla, Liz Garibay, and Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director Alison Cuddy

Oct. 26, 2019
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Chicago Architecture Center | Grand Lecture Hall
111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago

VS Live with Patricia Smith. Franny Choi, and Danez Smith

Oct. 26, 2019
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave.

Revisiting Candyman: Chicago, Fear, and Public Housing with Lisa Yun Lee and Michael Orange

Oct. 26, 2019
7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Gene Siskel Film Center | Theater 1
164 N. State St., Chicago 

Jill Abramson: Merchants of Truth

Oct. 27, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St., Evanston

2019 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction: Sarah Smarsh

Oct. 27, 2019
12:30 pm – 1:30 p.m.
Ryan Center for the Music Arts | Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
70 Arts Cir Drive, Evanston

Daniel Immerwahr: How – Hide An Empire

Oct. 27, 2019
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston

Amitav Ghosh: Gun Island

Oct. 27, 2019
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | John J. Louis Room
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston

Jonathan Safran Foer: We Are Weather

Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St., Evanston

Madeline Miller: Circe

Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Ryan Center for the Music Arts | Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
70 Arts Cir Drive, Evanston

Jennifer Lackey: Incarceration and Education

Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston

Patrick Radden Keefe: Say Nothing

Oct. 27, 2019
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Norris University Center | John J. Louis Room
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston

2019 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction: Rebecca Makkai

Oct. 27, 2019
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts | Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
70 Arts Cir Drive, Evanston

Debbie Cenziper: America’s Hidden Nazis

Oct. 27, 2019
4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Norris University Center | McCormick Auditorium
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston

Indignant Women: Zahra Glenda Baker, Emily Hooper Lansana, Imani Perry, and Angela Jackson with Hicks D. Gregory

Oct. 27, 2019
4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Norris University Center | John J. Louis Room
1999 Campus Drive, Evanston

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Oct. 27, 2019
6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium
600 Emerson St., Evanston

Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Chicago Humanities Festival

Sister Helen Prejean: Dead Man Walking

Oct. 31, 2019
6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, Sanctuary
77 W. Washington St., Chicago

Jared Yates Sexyon and Henry Rollins on Masculinity

Oct. 31, 2019
8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, Sanctuary
77 W. Washington St., Chicago

South Side Soul: Ayana Contreras, Tone B. Nimble, Ruben Molina, and Mario Smith

Nov. 1, 2019
6 p.m. – 6:50 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, Solarium
7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago

Carlo Rotella on South Shore

Nov. 1, 2019
6 p.m. – 6:50 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, Dining Room
7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago

Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble

Nov. 1, 2019
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
South Shore Cultural Center, Paul Robeson Theatre
7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago

Eric Foner: Reconstruction and the Constitution

Nov. 2, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago

Caitlin Zaloom on Student Debt

Nov. 2, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago

Sean Carroll: Many Worlds

Nov. 2, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago

Sasha Sagan on Finding Meaning

Nov. 2, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts | Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago

Ibram X. Kendi: How – Be an Antiracist

Nov. 2, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago

Sarah Knott: Mother Is a Verb

Nov. 2, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago

Tanisha C. Ford: Dressed in Dreams

Nov. 2, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts | Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago

Ghost Work: Mary L. Gray in conversation with Natalie Foster

Nov. 2, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago

Katherine Franke on Reparations

Nov. 2, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago

Spatial Justice: Maria Gaspar, Liz Ogbu, and Susana Vasquez

Nov. 2, 2019
5 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts | Performance Hall
915 E. 60th St., Chicago

Suketu Mehta: An Immigrant’s Manifesto

Nov. 2, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
International House, Assembly Hall
1414 E. 59th St., Chicago

Anne Anlin Cheng: Ornamentalism

Nov. 2, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Oriental Institute Museum | Breasted Hall
1155 E. 58th St., Chicago

2019 Chicago Tribune Literary Award: Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Nov. 3, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 E. Randolph St., Chicago

Henry Louis Gates for Chicago Humanities Festival 2019
Photo by Stephanie Berger

Beth Macy: Dopesick

Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Lawrence (Ren) Weschler on the Legacy of Oliver Sacks

Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Gary Tinterow on Inclusive Museums

Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | Edlis Neeson Theater
220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago

Music of the 1970s: John Corbett & Vivien Goldman

Nov. 3, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago | Stage Two
618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

John Hodgman: Medallion Status

Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Christian Smith on the Power of Religion

Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Kwame Onwuachi: Notes from a Young Black Chef

Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago | Edlis Neeson Theater
220 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago

David Opdyke: This Land

Nov. 3, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago | Stage Two
618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Mobituaries with Mo Rocca

Nov. 3, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Harris Theater for Music and Dance
205 E. Randolph St., Chicago

Leslie Jamison: Make It Scream, Make It Burn

Nov. 3, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago | Stage Two
618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Salman Rushdie: Quichotte

Nov. 4, 2019
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The Vic Theatre
3145 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago

Power Couples: Doug Peck, Rob Lindley, and a full cast

Nov. 4, 2019
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Francis W. Parker School  | Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium
330 W. Webster Ave., Chicago

Eli Saslow: Rising Out of Hatred

Nov. 6, 2019
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Francis W. Parker School  | Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium
330 W. Webster Ave., Chicago

The Legacy of the Chicago Defender: Myiti Sengstacke-Rice in conversation with Brandis Friedman

Nov. 8, 2019
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Blanc Gallery
4445 S. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago

Cooking with Cannabis: Joline Rivera, David Yusefzadeh and Mike Sula

Nov. 8, 2019
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Peach’s Restaurant
4652 S. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago

Supermajority: Ai-jen Poo, Alicia Garza, and Cecile Richards

Nov. 8, 2019
7:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
Harold Washington Cultural Center | Performing Arts Center
4701 S. Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago

David E. Sanger: War in the Cyber Age

Nov. 9, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Daniel Parolek: Thinking Big, Building Small

Nov. 9, 2019
11 a.m – 12 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Jonathan Calm on the Green Book

Nov. 9, 2019
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago

Richard Brookhiser: Give Me Liberty

Nov. 9, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Jesselyn Silva: In The Ring

Nov. 9, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Harold Holzer on Daniel Chester French

Nov. 9, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Desk 88: Senator Sherrod Brown and Connie Schultz

Nov. 9, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Field Museum | James Simpson Theatre
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Emmet Gowin: Photographing Nuclear Sites

Nov. 9, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Mikki Kendall on Powerful Women

Nov. 9, 2019
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Ari Seth Cohen on Style Over 60

Nov. 9, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Nuclear Power after Chernobyl: Kate Brown, Gregory B. Jaczko, and Adam Higginbotham in conversation with Emma Belcher

Nov. 9, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago | SAIC Ballroom
112 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Reginald Dwayne Betts: Felon

Nov. 9, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Poetry Foundation
61 W. Superior St., Chicago

Jane Elliott: The Anatomy of Prejudice

Nov. 10, 2019
10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Nikki Giovanni in conversation with Tiff Beatty

Nov. 10, 2019
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Venue SIX10 | Feinberg Theater
610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Sarah Vowell: Past and Present

Nov. 10, 2019
5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Francis W. Parker School  | Diane and David B. Heller Auditorium
330 W. Webster Ave., Chicago