Superb Speakers

By Claire Miller

Award-winning actress and cancer advocate Laura Linney will grace the stage of the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts on Oct. 3 in the first program of the 2023-2024 New Albany Community Foundation Lecture Series season.

Starring in the Showtime series The Big C, a show about a woman’s journey with terminal cancer, led Linney to her cancer advocacy.

Linney will be interviewed by NPR art desk reporter Neda Ulaby for the Arts and Health lecture this year. Her experience using her Hollywood career to bring awareness and funding for cancer research is sure to be among the topics discussed.

Why should you attend? A three-time Academy Award nominee, Linney is perhaps best known for her work on the Netflix series Ozark as the cutthroat character Wendy Byrde alongside co-star Jason Bateman.

The rest of the 2023-24 season is packed with recognizable names, valuable experts and inspiring thought leaders.

NPR’s Morning Edition host Leila Fadel will moderate the Civil Discourse and Debate event between conservative syndicated political columnist Jonah Goldberg and New York Times columnist and progressive journalist Ezra Klein.

Both Goldberg and Klein are authors, podcast hosts, and founders of media companies The Dispatch and Vox respectively.

Why should you attend? Fadel will lead Goldberg and Klein, operating on different sides of the political spectrum, through a robust debate.

For the Mental Health and Social Justice program, Columbus’ own Edwaard Liang, BalletMet’s artistic director, will interview prolific ballet dancer Misty Copeland.

Why should you attend? In 2015, Copeland became the first African American principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history. Copeland has an incredible story and prodigal talent that led her to the top stages and national fame after beginning ballet at the late age of 13.

General Wesley Clark and author Malcolm Nance are slated to speak in the National Security program.

Clark is a retired four-star United States Army officer with a 34-year career in the military. He served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1997 to 2000 and has written four books on the subjects of war and defense.

Nance is a New York Times bestselling author, former MSNBC terrorism analyst and former Navy senior chief petty officer.

Why should you attend? Clark and Nance have a wealth of knowledge from their backgrounds and expertise which will offer unique perspectives on the subjects of national security, terrorism and counterintelligence.

Tickets for all programs go on sale in the late summer. Visit www.newalbany foundation.org for more information.