Variety + Rolling Stone's Truth Seekers Summit Presented by Showtime

Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Variety & Rolling Stone's Opening Remarks	9:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Truth Seekers Award & Q&A - Rachel Maddow	9:30 AM - 10:00 AM	Host of the Emmy Award-winning “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC will be honored with the 2023 Variety and Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Award, recognizing her extensive accomplishments in journalism, followed by a Q&A about her experience in the news industry.	Rachel Maddow - Host, The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC Ramin Setoodeh (Moderator) - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety
Washington Political Roundtable	10:00 AM - 10:45 AM	Leading journalists converge to share their approach to covering the dynamic but volatile world of key political players and trends.	Laura Barrón-López - White House Correspondent, PBS NewsHour Mary Bruce - Chief White House Correspondent, ABC News Mehdi Hasan - Host, The Mehdi Hasan Show and Political Analyst, MSNBC Noah Shachtman (Moderator) - Editor-in-Chief, Rolling Stone
Keynote Conversation with Roy Wood Jr.	10:45 AM - 11:15 AM	Hear about Wood, Jr.'s approach to engaging audiences with his candor and comedic outlook on current events and culture.	Roy Wood Jr. Alex Morris - Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone
Conversation with Dawn Porter	11:30 AM - 12:00 PM	Find out about Porter's filmmaking experiences on the Showtime four-part documentary series "Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court," which explores the history of the Supreme Court’s justices and major decisions.	Dawn Porter Cynthia Littleton (Moderator) - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety
"Couples Therapy" Conversation with Dr. Orna Guralnik	12:00 PM - 12:20 PM		Dr. Orna Guralnik Cynthia Littleton (Moderator) - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety
Closer Look at the Innocence Project with Jason Flom	12:20 PM - 12:35 PM		Jason Flom - Founding Board Member, The Innocence Project and CEO and Co-Founder, Lava Media and Lava for Good Jem Aswad (Moderator) - Executive Editor, Music, Variety
The Art of Investigative Storytelling	1:30 PM - 2:10 PM	A look at the creative minds behind breakout investigative and true crime storytelling. What are the latest trends in deciding on subject matter, landing the right interviews and building an entertaining narrative for audiences?	Tracy Pattin - Co-Producer & Host, "Variety Confidential" Shannon Evangelista - Executive Producer, "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace" Mike Gasparro - Executive Producer, "Shiny Happy People," "Duggar Family Secrets; Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal" Sarah Amos - VP, Development & Production (Non-Fiction TV, Documentaries) and Executive Producer, Condé Nast Entertainment, "The Secrets of Hillsong" Jehane Noujaim - Director and Executive Producer, "The Vow" Zach Heinzerling - Director, "Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence" Kate Storey (Moderator) - Senior Features Editor, Rolling Stone
Conversation with Laverne Cox	2:10 PM - 2:30 PM	Find out about Laverne’s work as an LGBTQ+ advocate	Laverne Cox Aramide Tinubu (Moderator) - TV Critic, Variety
Conversation with Sacha Jenkins	2:30 PM - 2:50 PM		Sacha Jenkins Jem Aswad (Moderator) - Executive Editor, Music, Variety
Documentary Filmmaker Roundtable	2:50 PM - 3:30 PM	An exploration of leaders in documentary filmmaking who are elevating the entertainment category to new creative heights. What is their approach to crafting narratives around real subjects and their stories?	Liz Garbus, “Harry & Meghan" Dan Cogan, “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York" Sam Pollard, "The League" Lisa Cortés, "Little Richard: I Am Everything" Roger Ross Williams, "The 1619 Project" Addie Morfoot - Contributing Writer, Variety

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET

Variety & Rolling Stone's Opening Remarks

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Truth Seekers Award & Q&A - Rachel Maddow

Host of the Emmy Award-winning “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC will be honored with the 2023 Variety and Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Award, recognizing her extensive accomplishments in journalism, followed by a Q&A about her experience in the news industry.

Rachel Maddow - Host, The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC
Ramin Setoodeh (Moderator) - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM ET

Washington Political Roundtable

Leading journalists converge to share their approach to covering the dynamic but volatile world of key political players and trends.

Laura Barrón-López - White House Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
Mary Bruce - Chief White House Correspondent, ABC News
Mehdi Hasan - Host, The Mehdi Hasan Show and Political Analyst, MSNBC
Noah Shachtman (Moderator) - Editor-in-Chief, Rolling Stone

10:45 AM - 11:15 AM ET

Keynote Conversation with Roy Wood Jr.

Hear about Wood, Jr.'s approach to engaging audiences with his candor and comedic outlook on current events and culture.

Roy Wood Jr.
Alex Morris - Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM ET

Conversation with Dawn Porter

Find out about Porter's filmmaking experiences on the Showtime four-part documentary series "Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court," which explores the history of the Supreme Court’s justices and major decisions.

Dawn Porter
Cynthia Littleton (Moderator) - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety

12:00 PM - 12:20 PM ET

"Couples Therapy" Conversation with Dr. Orna Guralnik

Dr. Orna Guralnik
Cynthia Littleton (Moderator) - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety

12:20 PM - 12:35 PM ET

Closer Look at the Innocence Project with Jason Flom

Jason Flom - Founding Board Member, The Innocence Project and CEO and Co-Founder, Lava Media and Lava for Good
Jem Aswad (Moderator) - Executive Editor, Music, Variety

1:30 PM - 2:10 PM ET

The Art of Investigative Storytelling

A look at the creative minds behind breakout investigative and true crime storytelling. What are the latest trends in deciding on subject matter, landing the right interviews and building an entertaining narrative for audiences?

Tracy Pattin - Co-Producer & Host, "Variety Confidential"
Shannon Evangelista - Executive Producer, "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace"
Mike Gasparro - Executive Producer, "Shiny Happy People," "Duggar Family Secrets; Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal"
Sarah Amos - VP, Development & Production (Non-Fiction TV, Documentaries) and Executive Producer, Condé Nast Entertainment, "The Secrets of Hillsong"
Jehane Noujaim - Director and Executive Producer, "The Vow"
Zach Heinzerling - Director, "Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence"
Kate Storey (Moderator) - Senior Features Editor, Rolling Stone

2:10 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Conversation with Laverne Cox

Find out about Laverne’s work as an LGBTQ+ advocate

Laverne Cox
Aramide Tinubu (Moderator) - TV Critic, Variety

2:30 PM - 2:50 PM ET

Conversation with Sacha Jenkins

Sacha Jenkins
Jem Aswad (Moderator) - Executive Editor, Music, Variety

2:50 PM - 3:30 PM ET

Documentary Filmmaker Roundtable

An exploration of leaders in documentary filmmaking who are elevating the entertainment category to new creative heights. What is their approach to crafting narratives around real subjects and their stories?