Beginning on June 21 and concluding on Aug. 24, the nine-week summer season probably has something for everyone – lectures, concerts, plays, opera, religion, art, and education.

Here are the weeks’ themes:

Week One – June 21-27

Themes of Transformation: Forces Shaping Our Tomorrow

Doris Kearns Goodwin arrives at HISTORYTalks on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. Goodwin will speak this summer at Chautauqua Institution.

“Transformation is constant and unavoidable, and in this anthology week we resist the comfort of stasis to confront the trends, discoveries and challenges that are molding our future landscape.

We’ll consider our own role in the changes around us: Are we catalysts or mere reactionaries?  Through insightful, interdisciplinary case studies, Chautauqua will bring together social scientists, economists, changemakers and futurists to examine the impact of transformation on us, our communities and our world,” – chq.org.

Mary Matalin and “Ragin’ Cajun” James Carville open the 2025 Summer Assembly at Chautauqua Institution, taking the Amphitheater stage for a conversation exploring themes of transformation in our current political and media moments. Key players on the national political stage — they each have over 40 years of experience in politics and have individually worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — Matalin and Carville will consider “Forces Shaping Our Tomorrow” as they also reflect on previous transformative eras they’ve experienced and helped shape, – chq.org.

Week Two – June 29-July 5

Comedy Now: A Week Curated with Lewis Black

James Carville, a political commentator known for leading former President Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, speaks before introducing Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., at a campaign stop at the Spotlight Room at the Palace, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, in Manchester, N.H. Carville will speak this summer at Chautauqua Institution. AP file photo

For more than 35 years, he has toured as a comedian, and although Black is ending his touring career, he is not retiring, but shifting his focus on other endeavors.

“I want to get back to writing,” Black said. “I do a Rantcast. I want to do some of that live.”

Black is a longtime supporter and donor of the National Comedy Center and NCC Advisory Board member. When the NCC opened in 2018, Black went on Stephen Colbert’s late night show specifically to promote the NCC and Jamestown.

The week of 10:45 a.m. lectures, held in partnership with the NCC, will investigate how comedy genres, styles and content have evolved to meet modern tastes and sensibilities, and the comedian’s role in defending free speech.

Black will lecture with his “Inside Out” and “Inside Out 2” directors Pete Docter and Kelsey Mann, respectively, to discuss the intersection of humor and the heartfelt. Their conversation opens week co-curated with Black himself, and in partnership with the NCC.

Week Three – July 5-12

Art in Action: Building Community Through the Arts

“Chautauqua has long offered a cross-fertilization of art forms, bringing together art makers and art lovers in community — and increasingly it serves as an incubator for new, exciting work, providing a window into the process of creative experimentation and excellence. What are the dual roles and responsibilities of the artist and the audience, and what do works of art tell us about cultural, political, and social ideas and/or ideals? This week aims to connect impactful artistic experiences with a deeper understanding of artistic meaning and process from the makers themselves,” – chq.org.  Lincoln and the Bard Author George Saunders is scheduled for a 10:45 a.m. lecture.

Week Four – July 12-19

The Future of the American Experiment

A Week in Partnership with American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution

“Chautauqua brings two of America’s most highly regarded think tanks together on its historic lecture platform for a series of discussions on the issues driving the national discourse. What is the state of our democratic republic today? What is its immediate and long-term future? How can Americans find common ground on our most urgent challenges following a bruising national election and continued partisan division? AEI and Brookings experts show the way, in the Chautauqua tradition of sharing diverse and divergent perspectives in smart, good-faith conversation,” – chq.org. American Enterprise Institute President Richard Doar, and Brookings Institution President Cecilia Elena Rouse are scheduled for 10:45 a.m. lectures.

Week Five – July 19-26

Innovation in Capitalism: How to Meet 21st-Century Challenges?

“In light of world-shaking events that define recent history — such as Big Tech’s emergence as the dominant industry, global conflicts, financial collapses and a deadly pandemic — this week we put our finger on the pulse of the global economy, and especially the American capitalist system. Our expert lecturers will give us their best assessment of the state of play today, what the next 75 years hold, and how America and all of us can be best positioned to continue to succeed and lead in the 21st century,” – chq.org.

Week Six – July 26-Aug. 2

The Global Rise of Authoritarianism

“In its 2021 Freedom in the World assessment, the nonprofit Freedom House noted a sharp acceleration the previous year in a global decline of democracy, an effect of what it characterized as decades-long trend of rising authoritarianism. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that a median of 31% of respondents across 24 different nations are supportive of military rule or an authoritarian leader. In this week, we travel across the globe to nations where authoritarian regimes hold or are gaining power to understand: How? Why?,” – chq.org.

Week Seven – Aug. 2-9

“Honoring a shared mission to change the world through the power of storytelling, award-winning author, poet, producer and educator Kwame Alexander returns to the Amphitheater stage to lead a series of conversations on making a positive difference in our world. Kwame’s 2023 Amphitheater lecture quickly established a connection between the author and the Chautauqua community, leading to his current role as the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and inaugural Writer in Residence — that shared love will be evident throughout this inspiring week at Chautauqua,” chq.org.

Scheduled lecturers include LeVar Burton, actor, director, literary advocate; host and producer, “Reading Rainbow,” and Kwame Alexander, author, Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances; Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts and inaugural writer in residence, Chautauqua Institution.

Week Eight – Aug. 9-16

The Middle East: The Gulf States’ Emerging Influence

“Building on a decades-long legacy of thoughtful and informative programming focused on the Middle East, Chautauqua in this week focuses specifically on the increasingly influential states that border the Persian Gulf, including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran and Iraq. We’ll seek to understand the histories, demographies and economies of the Gulf states, how they are ruled or governed, and their relationships to each other and the broader Middle East — especially in the context of ongoing conflicts including Israel-Palestine,” – chq.org.

Week Nine – Aug. 16-24

Past Informs Present: How to Harness History

“We know the saying ‘those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it’ — how does what we know of the past influence the way we draft our own histories for the future? If history is a story, what do those stories mean, and how can those stories be edited or reinterpreted to serve different purposes, even purposes at odds? As we consider history as science, as art, as philosophy. How do fields including politics, industry and faith impact how we interpret history,” – chq.org.

Scheduled to lecture is Doris Kearns Goodwin, a presidential historian, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.