SXSW Sessions

Join actor and comedian John Leguizamo, NBC News Anchor and Senior National Correspondent Tom Llamas, Director Ben DeJesus and Showrunner Carolina Saavedra as they preview the upcoming MSNBC Films and NBC News Studios series Leguizamo Does America. Llamas will moderate an in-depth discussion with Leguizamo, DeJesus and Saavedra on Leguizamo’s storied career and the groundbreaking new series that focuses on the unmistakable influence and contributions of U.S. Latinos. Available on MSNBC beginning April 16, Leguizamo Does America invites viewers to grab a seat and ride alongside Leguizamo on a tour across the country to celebrate the history, culture, food, and politics of Latinos shaping America.

Climate Change is the single biggest threat facing our planet at this moment. We’ve seen young climate activists rise to the challenge and use their voices to start global movements and influence change. But what would happen if we equipped them with the capital and the resources to tackle the issue head on, in the same way we invest in hungry start-up founders? That’s the question investor and Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian asked himself when he started the 776 Foundation and Fellowship Program and pledged $20M to climate issues over the next 10 years. The inaugural class of Fellows are nearly one year into the program and are hard at work on projects across the climate solution spectrum from curbing food waste in rural Kenya by deploying solar powered cold storage units to building highly specialized robots working to automate synthetic biology. Hear from Alexis, Lissie Garvin the Director of the 776 Foundation and two of the fellowship program’s bright young minds Maya Penn and Rostam Reifschneider, as they discuss their respective companies, the urgency for climate action and why they all believe our next generation holds the key to unlocking the solutions.

Imagine you're running late for your flight from JFK, traffic is heavy and your map app is predicting two hours of traffic. Instead of jumping in a cab, you walk to the nearest Skyport, board your flying taxi and make your Delta flight with time left to grab your morning coffee. Joby’s flying taxis - an all-electric aircraft vehicle - are here. In this session, join JoeBen Bevirt (Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation) and Pam Fletcher (Chief Sustainability Officer of Delta Air Lines) as they discuss exploring uncharted territories and reimagining travel to build a more sustainable and innovative future for travel.

Join Katie Lowes and Guillermo Diaz, stars of the hit show “Scandal” and new Shondaland Audio rewatch podcast “Unpacking the Toolbox” as they reminisce about behind the scenes stories and memorable moments filming the show. Go back in time with Huck & Quinn of B613 fame to where it all started! #GladiatorsAssemble

Boots Riley is an activist, filmmaker, and musician who's debut feature film Sorry to Bother You premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released to resounding box office success and widespread critical acclaim. Fervently dedicated to social change, he was deeply involved with the Occupy Oakland movement and was one of the leaders of the activist group The Young Comrades. Riley is the recipient of the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Feature Film, and SFFILM's Kanbar Award. He is currently working on the dark absurdist comedy I'm a Virgo for Prime Video.

Join some of the leading researchers who will share their perspectives on the future of psychedelic science. Those with decades of experience have knowledge that is crucial to finding the right paths forward as psychedelics go mainstream. The psychedelic science torch is getting passed to the next generation, with fresh perspectives on both ancient and future medicines. Can we take the “trip” out of psychedelics and do we want to? Will “next gen” psychedelic compounds have an advantage over today’s medicines? Documentarian and researcher Hamilton Morris (Hulu’s “Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia”), pharmacology professor & Heffter Institute founder David Nichols, Psychiatry & Neuroscience professor Rachel Yehuda (Mt. Sinai) and Palo Santo’s Tim Schlidt explore the future of psychedelic science.

The internet is the collective mind of humanity — the circulatory system of thought itself. Those who control the internet control the future of our species. Yet the current business model of the internet is mind control via mass surveillance. Privacy is a fundamental aspect of freedom: the ability to communicate and co-create our lives without interference from third parties. If we can’t control our communication, we can’t control our lives. Based on their experiences in the front-lines of activism and creating privacy-enhanced infrastructure, Chelsea Manning and Harry Halpin will put forward a revolutionary plan for an internet that is private by default.

Cybercriminals, con artists, digital spies. We call them many things but they all have the same motive - to steal your data and information and ultimately, your money. Last year, Americans lost nearly $7 billion dollars to online crime. That’s 9 zeroes. There’s no denying that tech has enabled incredible progress, but our increased connectivity comes with great risk. It’s time to take the best of technology and put it to work for protection vs. exploitation and battle back against the relentless onslaught from hackers.   In this session, actor and producer Robert Downey Jr., who recently set out to learn everything he can about online crime and its impact on the world, brings together three of the industry’s most knowledgeable minds – Aura CEO Hari Ravichandran, security expert and former FBI agent Eric O’Neill, and New York Times bestselling author Maria Konnikova – for a riveting discussion about the true scope of the crisis Americans are facing, a look inside the minds of cybercriminals and how they are able to manipulate our families and wallets, and thoughtful solutions on what can really be done to fight back.   If you have a phone in your pocket, join this session, then join the fight.

Apple’s VP of Health, Dr. Sumbul Desai, sits down with Women’s Health Editor-in-Chief Liz Plosser to share Apple’s approach to creating tools that empower people to lead healthier lives, with scientific validation and privacy at the core.   Since the release of the Health app in 2014 and Apple Watch in 2015, Apple has introduced a wide array of powerful and innovative features, across areas like heart health, mobility, sleep, mindfulness and menstrual health — including the breakthrough new temperature sensing capabilities for Apple Watch that enable retrospective ovulation estimates.   Dr. Desai and Plosser will examine how science-based technology can act as an intelligent guardian for health, moving people from being passengers on their own health journey into the driver’s seat, armed with meaningful, actionable insights.

As Second Gentleman, Mr. Emhoff is working to share the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration with people across the country and around the world.   Mr. Emhoff has traveled to 32 states, two native nations, and seven countries. During his travels, he has met with health care professionals, parents, teachers, caregivers, community leaders, legal aid providers, small-business owners in urban and rural areas, communities of color, and Tribal communities to hear their stories and to share how the Administration is working to help their families.   As the first Second Gentleman, married to the first woman vice president, Mr. Emhoff knows the power and importance of having women in leadership positions. He has seen what it has meant to young girls and boys to look up to Vice President Kamala Harris and is a champion for gender equality. Mr. Emhoff has met with gender ministers in both Japan and France and has hosted roundtable discussions with women and young girls around the world to discuss the importance of equity in the workplace, equal pay, and protecting reproductive rights and health care.   As the first Jewish spouse of an American president or vice president, Mr. Emhoff has been honored to share his Jewish heritage and culture—from celebrating Passover in the White House to affixing Mezuzahs on the doorposts of the Vice President’s Residence. Mr. Emhoff has been a leading voice on combating antisemitism and hatred wherever it exists. He convened Jewish leaders at the White House for the first of its kind roundtable to bring attention to the rise in antisemitism. He has also worked with Jewish student leaders on campus and with the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting Antisemitism to promote a whole-of-society approach to countering antisemitism. He regularly engages with individuals from the Jewish community as well as other faith-based groups to discuss the Administration’s priorities to strengthen religious tolerance and protect religious freedom. Mr. Emhoff has been a leading voice on combating antisemitism and hatred wherever it exists.   As a lawyer for over 30 years, Mr. Emhoff cares deeply about justice and equality in our legal system. He is an advocate for access to legal aid and removing barriers – legal, social, and financial – to ensure that every person can get the help they need to arrive at justice.