Spanning the many themes and trends of SXSW, Featured Speakers present a snapshot of the ideas that can most transform our future.

Browse 2019 Featured Speakers video highlights below. Explore more videos on the SXSW Youtube Channel and listen to sessions on the SXSW Schedule by clicking the audio symbol next to each item.

For more influential speakers at SXSW, visit the Keynotes page.

Stay tuned for 2020 SXSW programming announcements throughout the season at SXSW News.

• Composer (Us, Get Out) Michael Abels in conversation with Politifact creator and professor Bill Adair (Making Film & Episodics Track)

• Beat Games s.r.o co-founder and Head of Music Jaroslav Beck (Future of Music Track)

• Founder and Chief Trend Curator of the Non-Obvious Company Rohit Bhargava (Fantastic Future Track)

• Producer, songwriter, artist Benny Blanco (Future of Music Track)

• Amazon Web Services Vice President of Public Sector Partners and Programs Sandy Carter (Tech Industry & Enterprise Track)

• Future of Sex founder and podcast host Bryony Cole (Connection & Culture Track)

• Founder, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Co-Chairman of Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio (Tech Industry & Enterprise Track)

• Cannabis rights activist Steve DeAngelo (Cannabusiness Track)

• Starburst Accelerator co-founder & Managing Partner Van Espahbodi (Space Track)

• Graphika Chief Innovation Officer Camille François (Tech Industry & Enterprise Track)

• Entrepreneurs and Magnolia founders Chip and Joanna Gaines (Media & Journalism Track)

• Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital Arlan Hamilton (Startups Track)

• Fashion designer and founder Tommy Hilfiger in conversation with Tommy Hilfiger Global CEO Daniel Grieder (Connection & Culture Track)

• Entrepreneur and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes in conversation with TechCrunch’s Josh Constine (Tech Industry & Enterprise Track)

• Author and co-founder and CEO of Affectiva Dr. Rana el Kaliouby (Fantastic Future Track)

• Cirque du Soleil, One Drop Foundation and Lune Rouge founder Guy Laliberté (Climate & Social Action Track)

• Multi-Grammy Award winning musician, producer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Ben Lovett (Future of Music Track)

• Designer, author and technologist John Maeda (Design Track)

• Actor and comedian Cheech Marin in conversation with Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Connection & Culture Track)

• IMDb Founder and CEO Col Needham (Film & TV Industry Track)

• Bassist, composer, and YouTuber Adam Neely (Future of Music Track)

• James Beard Award-winning chef and author Kwame Onwuachi (Connection & Culture Track)

• Executive Director of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation Cat Packer (Cannabusiness Track)

• Canva CEO and co-founder Melanie Perkins (Design Track)

• C3 Presents concert and festival promoter Huston Powell (Future of Music Track)

• Google Stadia Games and Entertainment VP Jade Raymond in conversation with journalist Chris Morris (Game Industry Track)

• Musician, producer and songwriter Nile Rodgers in conversation with music industry executive and entrepreneur Merck Mercuriadis (Creating & Monetizing Music Track)

• Quantitative futurist, author and founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute Amy Webb (Tech Industry & Enterprise Track)

• Mojang Studios Chief Brand Officer Lydia Winters (Game Industry Track)

• Author and scholar Shoshana Zuboff (Tech Industry & Enterprise Track)

• Activating Change with a Cello and a Shovel (Connection & Culture Track) – An exploration of how to use culture to transform social problems that create division and uncertainty into moments that confirm community and activate change, featuring musician Yo-Yo Ma and artist Pedro Reyes. Moderated by NPR’s Peter Sagal.

• Big Brother Is Racist: Surveillance vs. Persons of Color (Government & Politics Track) – A discussion about how surveillance and surveillance technologies, historically and currently, have been disproportionately deployed against persons of color, as well as the harmful impacts of such deployments, with Senior Advocacy and Policy Counsel at the ACLU Chad Marlow; Director of Georgetown Law’s Communications & Technology Law Clinic, and Associate Director of the Center on Privacy & Technology Laura Moy; Co-Director of MediaJustice Steven Renderos; and sociopolitical comedian, author, and host W. Kamau Bell.

• The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen (Connection & Culture Track) – A behind-the-scenes conversation with Bon Appétit Test Kitchen chefs Brad Leone, Claire Saffitz, Andy Baraghani, Molly Baz, Chris Morocco, Carla Lalli Music, and Alex Delany appearing on stage together for the first time outside of New York.

• Changing the Immersive Storytelling Wild West (Experiential Storytelling Track) – A conversation about how to collaborate to create sustainable, transformative and inclusive work in immersive storytelling, between Royal Shakespeare Company Director of Digital Development Sarah Ellis; anthropologist, technologist, professor and Intel senior fellow Genevieve Bell; and Guild of Future Architects Executive Director Kamal Sinclair. Moderated by Watershed CEO Clare Reddington.

• Featured Session: Courtney A. Kemp, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson & Jeffrey Hirsch (Film & TV Industry Track) – Join executive producers Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Courtney Kemp from Starz’s Original Series Power, as they sit with president and CEO of Starz, Jeffrey Hirsch, for a look inside the wildly popular drama series as well as upcoming expansions to the Power cinematic universe including the upcoming spinoff, Power Book II: Ghost starring Mary J. Blige.

• Escaping Doom: Transforming Science into Experience (Design Track) – A conversation about how scientific research can be integrated into an engaging, entertaining, and educational storytelling experience, with Gensler principal David Kramer; University of Texas Assistant Dean, School of Design and Creative Technologies Doreen Lorenzo; Associate Professor in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Texas Fernanda Leite; and general manager of Unreal Engine at Epic Games Marc Petit.

• The Future of Influence is #accountable (Advertising & Brand Experience Track) – A conversation about the spread of misinformation on social platforms and the responsibility of influencers, featuring actress and activist Sophia Bush and Seed Health co-founder and co-CEO Ara Katz.

• Featured Session: Hear To Slay Podcast with Roxane Gay & Tressie McMillan Cottom (Connection & Culture Track) – A live podcast recording offering compelling conversations and uncommonly incisive reads of the politics and pop culture that shape the world we live in, featuring writer, editor and podcaster Roxane Gay; award-winning professor and author Tressie McMillan Cottom; and Special Guest.

• How to be Political in an Apolitical World (Future of Music Track) – A conversation about political activism in the music industry and the role artists can play in driving change, featuring Run the Jewels manager Amaechi Uzoigwe; #iVoted founder Emily White; Middle West Management and “46 for 46” founder Kyle Frenette; and artist and activist Madame Gandhi.

• Immersive Entertainment and the Future of Games (Game Industry Track) – Join technology pioneer, entrepreneur, and scientist Nolan Bushnell; founder of Collabsco Valerie Vacante; and Hollywood Creative Director turned game maker Zai Ortiz.

• Latino Film Institute: Pipeline, Platform & Launch (Film & TV Industry Track) – A conversation about the ideas and programs that LFI have placed into action to address the lack of representation in Hollywood and focus on the next generation of content creators, featuring Director of Research and Civic Engagement for the Division of Social Sciences at UCLA Dr. Ana-Christina Ramón; actor producer and humanitarian Edward James Olmos; Founder & Co-Program Manager of LatinX in Animation Magdiela Hermida Duhamel; and writer and Latino Film Institute executive director Rafael Agustin.

• Nat Geo Storytellers: Exploration Unleashed (Film & TV Industry Track) – A conversation about modern day exploration with National Geographic’s award-winning scientist, technologist and adventurer Albert Lin, and award-winning correspondent, investigative journalist, and National Geographic’s Mariana van Zeller.

• The Women Who Run the Shows (Film & TV Industry Track) – A discussion about the experiences of female showrunners, their unique backstories and influences, including their early days in the industry to calling the shots, and their roles in comedy and on set, with multi-talented stand-up comedian, writer, and actress Phoebe Robinson; Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens showrunner Karey Dornetto; and Executive Producer and showrunner of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Jen Flanz.