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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260617T190000
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UID:63907-1781722800-1781726400@bigtentusa.org
SUMMARY:From Mar-a-Lago to Mega-Yachts: Trump and the New Gilded Age
DESCRIPTION:How much inequality can a democracy withstand before citizens push back? That was the central question explored in BigTentUSA’s conversation on June 17 with New Yorker staff writer and author Evan Osnos\, moderated by Ed Luce\, Financial Times US National Editor. \nDrawing from his latest reporting and book The Haves and the Have-Yachts\, Osnos examined the growing concentration of wealth and power in America\, arguing that today’s oligarchs wield influence not only through money\, but through control of information\, technology\, and political institutions. The discussion explored the unprecedented alliance between political power and extreme wealth\, the rise of tech billionaires\, and the ways social media and artificial intelligence could accelerate economic inequality in the years ahead. \nThe conversation also looked abroad for lessons\, highlighting how corruption and democratic backsliding have unfolded in countries such as Hungary—and what Americans can learn from those experiences. \nThe takeaway was clear: democratic change rarely begins with majorities. It starts when engaged citizens decide enough is enough—and take action to make democracy work for everyone. \n  \nABOUT THE SPEAKERS: \nEvan Osnos has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2008. In addition\, he is co-host of The New Yorker’s Political Scene podcast\, and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. His coverage ranges from politics and foreign affairs to white-collar crime and espionage. His first book\, “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune\, Truth\, and Faith in the New China\,” won the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book “The Haves and Have-Yachts: Dispatches on the Ultrarich\,” was an instant New York Times bestseller. Prior to The New Yorker\, he worked as the Beijing bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune\, where he was on teams that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 and 2008. Before his assignment to China\, he worked in the Middle East\, reporting mostly from Iraq. He lives with his family near Washington\, D.C. \nEdward Luce is the US national editor and columnist at the Financial Times. Before that he was the FT’s Washington Bureau chief. Other roles have included South Asia bureau chief\, Capital Markets editor\, and Philippines Correspondent. Luce was previously the speechwriter for US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers\, in the Clinton administration. \nHe is the author of four highly acclaimed books: Zbig\, The Life of Zbig Brzezinski: America’s Great Power Prophet (2025); The Retreat of Western Liberalism (2017); Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent (2012); and In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India (2007).
URL:https://bigtentusa.org/event/the-haves-and-have-yachts/
LOCATION:BigTent Zoom Room
CATEGORIES:BigTent Spotlight Speaker Series,BigTent Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://bigtentusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Recap_Evan-Osnos_Ed-Luce.webp
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T200000
DTSTAMP:20260617T193112Z
CREATED:20260617T193112Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260617T193112Z
UID:64153-1782414000-1782417600@bigtentusa.org
SUMMARY:Casting A Wide Net: Building Alaska’s Future Across Party Lines
DESCRIPTION:What happens when leaders put problem-solving ahead of partisanship? \nJoin BigTentUSA on Thursday\, June 25 at 7 PM ET / 3 PM AKST for a timely conversation with Alaska congressional candidate Bill Hill\, an independent\, and Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins\, a Democratic candidate for governor. \nIn a political era defined by division\, Alaska has often charted its own course. Hill and Kreiss-Tomkins will discuss the importance of bipartisan coalition-building\, the unique political culture that makes cooperation possible\, and what it takes to govern across ideological lines. \nThe conversation will also explore the challenges and opportunities facing Alaska’s fishing industry and coastal communities—issues that are critical to the state’s economy\, environment\, and way of life. From strengthening local economies to navigating rapid change\, we’ll examine how leaders can build durable solutions that bring people together. \nDon’t miss this opportunity to hear how Alaska’s independent spirit may offer lessons for the rest of the country. \n  \nABOUT THE SPEAKERS: \nBill Hill is running for Alaska’s Congressional At-Large seat\, and grew up in a small village in Bristol Bay\, Alaska – the home of the largest salmon run in the world. He grew up subsistence fishing and hunting\, trapping\, and raising and racing sled dog teams with his family. Bill is first and foremost a commercial fisherman\, joining his dad on the family fishing boat when he was 12 and fishing every fishing season in Bristol Bay since. Bill also worked in rural construction\, from building houses\, working on remote health clinics and canneries\, environmental remediation\, and on a crew that installed the sewer system in the Bristol Bay Borough. A son of two teachers\, Bill spent nearly 25 years working as a teacher\, a principal\, and a superintendent\, and was named Alaska Superintendent of the Year in 2023. He’s a proud union guy\, having been part of both the Laborers union and the NEA. Bill is a husband\, dad of four\, and Chada (grandpa) to 7. Bill and his family have lived in Anchorage\, Fairbanks\, and Juneau. Now he and his wife Diane are back in Naknek\, population 470. \nJonathan Kreiss-Tomkins — known as JKT — is running for governor of Alaska in an open-seat election. Born and raised in the island community of Sitka in Southeast Alaska\, JKT became interested in politics at a young age. At 13\, he attracted national attention\, leading Howard Dean’s presidential campaign’s Alaska efforts. During his senior year of college\, he received recruitment calls to run against the powerful eight-year Republican incumbent for his home district. He mounted a scrappy underdog campaign in 2012\, defeating him by 32 votes. At 23 years old\, JKT was the third-youngest legislator elected in Alaska history\, and served in the Alaska House of Representatives for 10 years. Four years in\, in 2016\, he worked across the aisle to help sweep into power a “bipartisan coalition” majority caucus of all House Democrats\, as well as independents and moderate Republicans. That bipartisan coalition remains in power today. JKT is running for governor to bring a new generation of leadership to the governor’s office — supporting schools\, lowering the cost of energy\, building new homes\, and balancing the budget — so that the next generation will also call Alaska home.
URL:https://bigtentusa.org/event/building-alaskas-future/
LOCATION:BigTent Zoom Room
CATEGORIES:BigTent Spotlight Speaker Series,BigTent Events
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