The Riley Institute and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI@Furman), and, more recently, South Carolina ETV, have partnered to bring to Furman and the broader community the annual StraightTalk series. This three-part weekly series includes high-profile speakers, academicians, and practitioners who have on-the-ground experience with these timely issues that are relevant to all Americans.

Among our previous featured speakers are national political reporter Robert Costa; NBC’s Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd; former white nationalist leader turned anti-racist Derek Black; U.S. Congressman James Clyburn; former Costco CEO and co-founder Jim Sinegal; U.S. District Judge Brucie Howe Hendricks; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson.