Uncharted 2014 coffee break Photo Nancy Rubin
A coffee break at the Berkeley Rep at Uncharted 2014. This year’s Ideas Festival is on Oct. 16-17, still in downtown Berkeley. Photo Nancy Rubin
A coffee break at the Berkeley Rep at Uncharted 2014. This year’s Ideas Festival is on Oct. 16-17, still in downtown Berkeley. Photo Nancy Rubin

Austin has SXSW. Aspen has its Ideas Festival. The Bay Area has Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas, an interactive, eye-opening two days of discussions, debate, workshops, and good food, beer and wine — Friday Oct. 16 and Saturday Oct. 17, 9am-5pm, in downtown Berkeley’s historic Arts District.

“On full display at Uncharted was this incredible ethos of innovation, curiosity and abhorrence for the status quo.” – UC Chancellor Nicholas Dirks

Chris Anderson, Kamau Bell, Laura Tyson, Brad DeLong, and Masha Gessen are among the 2015 festival headliners. With two months to go, Uncharted is still busy solidifying an exhilarating line-up. For updates on participants, bookmark the Uncharted 2015 website.

For a limited time, we’re offering 2 for the price of 1 tickets and a Super Early Bird Rate. You can register now!

Highlights of the confirmed sessions in this third year of Uncharted, which is organized by Berkeleyside, include:

  • The dark heart of Putin’s Russia
  • The economics of Star Trek
  • Does Santa exist and other philosophical questions
  • Criminal justice 2.0
  • What you don’t understand about gentrification
  • Is everything Gwyneth Paltrow says wrong?
  • The intersection of scientific controversy and social activism.

Festival attendees will also hear from a teenager who trains teachers on how to modernize their classrooms, and from an expert on the neuroscience of our relationship with the ocean.

The two-day festival includes pop-up performances by a diverse line-up of musicians, comedians, and artists; interactive labs on design thinking and iPhoneography; and a party with live music, delicious food, craft beers and fine wines. The two days include plenty of time for participants to mingle with speakers and with each other over coffee and nosh.

Nearly 30 sessions, many of them intimate, one-on-one conversations, with some of today’s leading thinkers will take place at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse and The Berkeley Repertory Theatre, both on Addison Street in downtown Berkeley.

The complete Uncharted Festival schedule will be available online in September.

Adam Mansbach and Jeff Chang in conversation at Uncharted 2014. Photo: Pete Rosos
Adam Mansbach and Jeff Chang in conversation at Uncharted 2014. Photo: Pete Rosos

The festival’s Opening Night Party, at Alumni House on the lush UC Berkeley campus, will feature live music, fresh food prepared on giant grills on a leafy outdoor patio, along with wines and beers.

Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas is proud to be supported by the following partners: Cloudera; Wareham Development; DeYoe Wealth Management; Jetton Construction; North Berkeley Investment Partners; The Grubb Company; Panoramic Interests; TMG Partners; 2000 Center Street LLC; Downtown Berkeley Association; UC Berkeley; Whole Foods; and KQED.

Registration for Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas 2015 opens today. Don’t miss out on the limited number of “2 for 1” tickets now on offer! Register now

Check out the Uncharted 2015 website. Follow Uncharted 2015 on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to stay updated. Use hashtag #Uncharted2015

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Tracey Taylor is co-founder of Berkeleyside and co-founder and editorial director of Cityside, the nonprofit parent to Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside. Before launching Berkeleyside, Tracey wrote for...