Discussions, debates, and discovery.

Learn about our upcoming events featuring thoughtful discussions, Firing Line debates, in-depth seminars, and much more. Recordings of past events are also available.

Upcoming Events

Dinner Seminar with Ross Douthat

Ross Douthat joined The New York Times as an Opinion columnist in April 2009. His column appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Previously, he was a senior editor at The Atlantic and a blogg...

The Twitter Files: The Censorship Industrial Complex

Matt Taibbi is the author of 4 New York Times bestsellers, a columnist for Rolling Stone, and one of the lead journalists for The Twitter Files.

Talk with Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine

Jim Bridenstine served as NASA’s 13th administrator, represented Oklahoma’s First Congressional District in the House of Representatives, and flew combat missions as a Naval Aviator in...

“I think that the overall intellectual and political climate on campus is great, but this is clearly the result of the presence of the Buckley Institute and its programing. It serves as a reminder of the diversity of political and social viewpoints and absolutely encourages debate and discussion on campus.”

— Felse Kyle ’26

“The Buckley Institute … proves that it is possible to succeed and thrive as conservatives.”

— Trevor MacKay ’25

“Buckley provides like-minded students an outlet to discuss centrist ideas.”

— Nicholas Surdel ’25

“My favorite experience was the Disinvitation Dinner in NYC. This was what opened my eyes to the essence of the Buckley Institute in the first place.”

— Noah Riley ’25

“The Lincoln seminar was really interesting, and I feel like I’ve appreciated it more as time has passed.”

— Manav Singh’ 25

“The exposure I’ve had to the issue because of Buckley opportunities—a summer internship, talks with leading politicians such as Governor Chris Sununu, and dinners with heterodox thinkers like Bari Weiss, to name a few—has helped me find and become more confident in my voice.”

— Libby Snowden ’24

“I actually have sorority friends who are super liberal but were really excited to come to the Ted Cruz event. And I think that is an exciting part of Buckley, that you can just get people who are interested in politics, liberal or moderate, to just have a place to actually hear these ideas that I never heard before.”

— Julia Zrihen ’24

“I saw these Buckley Program speakers coming through and they clearly represent a totally different worldview. I would just go to these talks and I would meet these incredibly thoughtful people who would be able to defend positions that I had never heard really defended properly before.”

— Alex Hu ’23

“It’s just what you go to college for. You’re supposed to kick the tires on a lot of ideas, get exposed to a lot of perspectives.”

— Harry Graver ’14

Our Events

Conferences

The Buckley Institute sponsors an annual conference each fall featuring panel discussions and a gala dinner. These events attract hundreds of students, faculty, alumni, and other members of the community.

Disinvitation Dinners

The phenomenon of disinviting a speaker from campus or creating such a ruckus during the speech that someone's speech is effectively quashed is one of the most virulent assaults on free speech on college campuses. In 2015, the Buckley Institute decided to turn that practice on its head and instead invite the disinvited to speak in a place of honor. Our annual Disinvitation Dinner has become a favorite event for Buckley Institute supporters, students, and new friends.

Firing Line Debates

The Firing Line Debate Series seeks to model thoughtful and respectful discourse across political lines by bringing in experts with opposing views to debate a wide variety of policy and political topics.

Seminars

As part of our effort to promote thoughtful discussion, the Buckley Institute sponsors seminars on a wide range of topics. We offer these seminars throughout the academic year.

Speaker Series

Throughout the academic year, the Buckley Institute produces a lecture series, free and open to the public, that brings to the Yale campus notable intellectual leaders, politicians, and professionals from across the disciplines.