2026 January Series Lineup

Calvin University is excited to announce its speaker lineup for the 2026 January Series. Now in its 40th year, the award-winning series is continuing its new year-round format, begun in 2025, with plans to offer 10 public lectures in January and several others throughout the year.

Despite this change from the original format of 15 January lectures, the series continues to provide unique opportunities to engage in free, high-caliber, liberal-arts talks presented by thought leaders and inspiring voices from around the globe. 

Following a successful January Series in July, which shared lectures on three consecutive Wednesdays in July 2025, Calvin is opening the series’ next season on weekdays from Jan. 19 through 30 at 12:30-1:30 p.m (EST). Attendees can experience the January Series in person at Calvin’s Covenant Fine Arts Center, via simulcast, or digitally on demand. Additional remote viewing sites will be available across the continent.

This year’s lineup includes the following speakers, as noted on the January Series site:

• Rev. Naomi Tutu on “Our Shared Humanity”—Tutu will share how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles can guide reconciliation, justice, and cross-cultural understanding. Drawing on her lifelong activism and experience leading truth and reconciliation workshops, Tutu will offer practical insights for building bridges across race, gender, and culture.
• Kaitlin Curtice on “Journeying with Story”—Curtice will reveal how powerful stories function like living seeds, growing into trees that define who we are. An award-winning author and poet-storyteller, Curtice will incorporate readings from her newest book, Everything Is a Story, to discover ways we can interact with stories and reclaim them for love and kinship.
• Majora Carter on “Developing Healthy, Equitable Cities for All”—Carter will share how economic diversity is a cornerstone of healthy, vibrant communities. Guided by her experience in urban revitalization, Carter will illustrate how low-status communities need to use the same talent-retention strategies that successful businesses implement, reducing the brain-drain that cripples local economic progress.
• Dr. Vivek Murthy on “Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World”—Murthy will discuss the growing epidemic of loneliness and its profound impact on health and well-being. Drawing from his book Together and his experience as U.S. surgeon general, Murthy will explore how human connection and strong communities are essential for personal and public health.
• Harry Smith on “Less is More, More or Less”—Smith will share insights on how simplifying life can create more meaning, satisfaction, and peace. Drawing on decades of storytelling as an Emmy- and Peabody-winning journalist, Smith will offer reflections on balance, fulfillment, and what truly matters.
• David Brooks on “The Path to Cultural Repair”—Brooks will offer insights to help us become more understanding toward others and find the joy that comes from being seen. His latest book, How to Know a Person, draws on neuroscience, theater, philosophy, history, and education. He will share how this integrated approach can enhance human connection.
• Dr. Samantha Nutt on “Conflicted? The World of War”—Nutt will explore the devastating impact of war on civilians and the global implications of conflict. Drawing from over 20 years of frontline humanitarian work and her bestselling book Damned Nations, Nutt will offer a powerful, firsthand perspective on war, aid, and public health.
• Wu Man on “The Pipa: A Musical Bridge between Cultures”—Man will share how the pipa, a pear-shaped, four-stringed Chinese lute, can serve as a bridge between cultures. Through music and storytelling, Man will explain how this ancient instrument has helped her connect with her heritage and engage audiences across the globe. Drawing on decades of performance, composition, and cross-cultural collaboration, Man will offer a compelling vision of music as a tool for understanding and unity.
• Tom Medema on “America at 250”—Medema will explore how America’s National Parks serve as living classrooms. Drawing on decades of experience as a ranger and senior leader in the U.S. National Park Service, Medema will share powerful stories that illuminate how these treasured landscapes have contributed to the story of the United States over the past 250 years.

Sabrina Little on “Sports as a Laboratory for Virtue”—Little will explore how sports can act as a laboratory for developing our character. Drawing on her experience as a philosopher and ultramarathon runner, she will share practical insights into how sports can develop virtue, foster moral development, and avoid the possibility of forming a vice.