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Society of Skeptics Upcoming Speakers

Below is a list of Society of Skeptics speakers for the 2025-2026 fall season. All lectures will take place in the Chiang-Elghanayan Center for Innovation and Collaboration, beginning at 7 p.m. Look for the video recording of each lecture to be posted to Blair's website the following day.

Date	Speaker
September 23	Sue Altman, state director for Senator Andy Kim: Public service & political engagement
September 30	Jessica Olmstead ’00, P’29, director of financial intelligence for BNP Paribas: Financial security & anti-money laundering
October 14	Alexandra Kilgore ’07, strategic planner for DMPM Strategic Initiatives Group: The U.S. Department of Defense & military
October 21	Roberto Felipe ’03, Co-founder & CEO of SONSIE Skin Inc.: Fashion & entrepreneurship
October 28	Dr. Jessica (Flynn) Deede ’94, Sports medicine doctor & professional sports injury analyst: Sports medicine & the NFL
November 11	Dr. Terrence Roberts: Little Rock Nine & the integration of Little Rock's Central High School
November 18	Dr. James Shope, Rutgers environmentalist: Climate change & coastal erosion in the mid-Atlantic
December 2	Timothy Peacock ’08, senior project manager for Google: Cybersecurity
December 9	Andre Matias ’07, U.S. immigration attorney: Immigration changes
January 20	Ruthie Peretti, founder, Marksboro Mills: Local agriculture & food systems
February 10	Carrie Giddins Pergram ’92, professor, American University: Political communication in our current moment
February 17	Doug Bandow, fellow at the Cato Institute: U.S. role in a changing world
March 24	Tom Hulick ’85, CEO & managing partner, Strategy Asset Managers: Analyzing modern financial markets
March 31	Jason Howk, national security expert: The costs of war at home and abroad
April 7	John Garth, journalist and award-winning biographer of JRR Tolkien: Tolkien, the Great War & Lord of the Rings
April 14	Matt Alario ’02, vice president of sales & partnerships at Exorde Labs: AI, Data & Mis/Disinformation
April 21	Dr. Peter Mandaville ’90, professor of government & politics & director of the Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University
April 28	Kim Cross, NY Times bestselling author of narrative nonfiction, author of the 2026-2027 all-school read

Recent Lectures

Author, Journalist & Historian Kim Cross Grounds Skeptics

4/24/26

Blair will host journalist and author Kim Cross on April 28 to discuss her storytelling approach, which emphasizes human detail and personal perspective in reporting on complex events.

Skeptics’ Dr. Peter Mandaville ’90 Invited Students to Look at the Bigger Picture

4/17/26

Blair welcomed Dr. Peter Mandaville ’90—now a professor at George Mason University and former U.S. State Department advisor—back to campus on April 21 for the Society of Skeptics to speak to students about his career in global politics, religion and identity.

Society of Skeptics Upcoming Speakers

Society of Skeptics Upcoming Speakers