Senator Adam Schiff on Iran, AI, and the DOJ's drift toward political weaponization. He warns of efforts to suppress voters in 2026 and what it will take for Democrats to defend America's democratic institutions.
Adam Schiff
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2024, after two decades of service in the House of Representatives. He serves on the Agriculture, Judiciary, Small Business and Environment and Public Works Committees, and is a member of the Senate National Security Working Group.
SCHEDULED APPEARANCES
STAY CONNECTED
Be the first to find out about new speakers and sessions, and special events.
Cascade PBS Ideas Festival
THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING YEAR
Cascade PBS Ideas Festival will return in 2027
KEEP CONNECTED - JOIN OUR NEWSLETTERABOUT THE 2026 FESTIVAL
The 2026 Cascade PBS Ideas Festival was a full-day celebration of ideas, journalism, and public discourse held on Saturday, June 6th, in Seattle's historic Fremont neighborhood, spread across three adjacent venues — Fremont Studios, The Picklr, and Hidden Hall. The event featured live podcast recordings and studio television tapings from major media outlets including The Atlantic, NPR, The New Yorker, CNN, PBS, and Pushkin, with programs such as Fresh Air, Radiolab, The Political Scene, Radio Atlantic, and Open to Debate all taping live on stage. Speakers included Ibram X. Kendi, Nancy Pelosi, Monica Lewinsky, Laverne Cox, Kenny Mayne, Tonya Mosley, Adam Schiff, and others drawn from journalism, politics, culture, and the arts. Beyond the main sessions, the festival included community meetups, speaker meet-and-greets, food trucks, DJs, live music, happy hour - and surprises. The festival brought together more than a thousand PBS supporters for what has become a highly anticipated annual event that fosters intellectual discourse and expands understanding of the issues shaping our world.



2026 SPEAKERS
Laverne Cox
Emmy-winning actress, producer, LGBTQ+ advocate, and author
Nancy Pelosi
Speaker Emerita, United States Congress
Ibram X. Kendi
Author, Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age
Monica Lewinsky
Activist, Writer, Producer
Tonya Mosley
Co-Host Fresh Air / Creator and Host of Truth Be Told
Kenny Mayne
Former ESPN Host, Podcast Host
Robby Hoffman
Emmy-winning writer, Emmy-nominated actor, and Comedian
Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
Author of America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation's Anniversaries
Knute Berger
Host, Mossback's Northwest
Adam Schiff
U.S. Senator, California
Nick Zentner
Geologist, Host of Nick on the Rocks
Patricia Murphy
Host, Seattle Now / KUOW
Hanna Rosin
Host, Radio Atlantic
Tyler Foggatt
Host, The Political Scene
Danielle Pletka
Distinguished Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Kevin Sur
Host, KEXP's Sounds of Survivance
Paris Jackson
Host, The Newsfeed
David Rind
Host of CNN Podcast, "One Thing"
Girmay Zahilay
King County Executive
Rebecca Nagle
Writer and Host, First America
Laura Gibson
Musician / Writer
Daisy Hernández
Author, Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth
Molly Webster
Senior Correspondent, Radiolab Co-Host
Gene Tagaban
Storyteller, Speaker, Mentor, Teacher and Counselor of the Spirit
Julia Ioffe
Author, MOTHERLAND: A Feminist History of Modern Russia; Founding Partner, Washington Correspondent at Puck
Steve Phillips
Host of Democracy in Color podcast, Author, and Columnist at The Guardian, The Nation
Hozoji Matheson-Margullis
Musician, Helms Alee, Lozen, Tacos!, and Uukwuuk
John Donvan
Moderator-in-Chief
Brangien Davis
Cascade PBS, Arts and culture writer / television host
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Theoretical Physicist and Cosmologist, Author of The Edge of Space and Time