Night of Ideas Returns to New York, Including Performances, Debates, Workshops, and Flash Talks Featuring Richard Hell, Jim Holt, Christiane Ahouefa Fagbemi, Randy Frazer, Lucy Sante, and Members of the Oulipo Literary Collective

New York, March 17, 2026 – Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, will partner with Harper’s Magazine, Interintellect, and New York Review Books to present its 2026 Night of Ideas program at its New York headquarters. This annual event — an engaging marathon of debates, performances, readings, and more — brings together influential thinkers, civil society leaders, artists, decision makers, and the public for discussions on pivotal global issues. 

Since 2016, Night of Ideas has been held in over 100 countries and 300 cities worldwide. This year, it returns to 18 U.S. cities. Bringing together artists and advocates from both sides of the Atlantic, the 2026 Night of Ideas cycle marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It will explore the philosophical and political roots of our democracies, includingreason and the rule of law, the pursuit of progress, freedom of expression, and equal access to education and culture—and will ask what might become of these guiding principles as we look ahead to the next 250 years. 

The evening will open with a keynote conversation on inequality and democracy featuring writer and journalist Alissa Quart (executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project), and philosopher Juliana Uhuru Bidadanure. The conversation will be followed by a series of conversation-starting flash talks by leading American and international thinkers and activists across generations, including Christiane Ahouefa Fagbemi (president of Cité des Chances), Jim Holt (author of Why Does the World Exist?), P.E. Moskowitz (author of The Case Against Free Speech), poet Ramya Ramana, and Randy Frazer (executive director of YVote). 

Throughout the evening, the Albertine bookstore will host readings on the promises and contradictions of American democracy curated by Harper’s Magazine, now celebrating its 175th anniversary, alongside a program on encounters with French and American literature curated by New York Review Books. These readings will feature writers Lucy Sante, Richard Hell, Sophie Kemp, and Stephanie Wambugu and actors Emily Davis and Reggie D. White.

Audiences can also take part in a series of intimate, participatory salons hosted in partnership with Interintellect and writing workshops led by members of Oulipo, the famed literary collective whose ranks have included Georges Perec and Italo Calvino. The program will include live music and culminate in a festive closing session with cocktails and a performance by Peter Matson and Domenica of the New York dance band Underground System. 

The 2026 Night of Ideas cycle launched in February, and numerous events will take place from March until May across the U.S. in partnership with prestigious American institutions including the Intuit Art Museum in Chicago; the Carter Center in Atlanta; the Wexner Center for the Arts and Centre d’excellence at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH; the Wende Museum in Culver City, CA; the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Gage Academy of Art in Seattle; and Rice University in Houston. 

Mark your calendar for the New York edition of Night of Ideas on March 31, 2026, and visit nightofideas.org for the latest news and programming announcements.