Yahoo News B.J. Novak, Chrissy Teigen, Uzo Aduba Set for Propper Daley’s A Day of Unreasonable Conversation
On Sept. 15, Propper Daley’s second A Day of Unreasonable Conversation gathering will return to Los Angeles, after being canceled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The invite-only event — produced in collaboration with social impact and culture change agency Invisible Hand — will take place at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and will feature a day full of programming designed to unite television creators (writers, producers, executives) with cultural changemakers to participate in conversations. Conversations will center on intellectual humility, mental health, social and economic division, reproductive rights, climate change, responsible tech, and more. These discussions, coupled with a networking reception to follow, are intended to positively influence future television storylines and help maintain authenticity in narratives seen on screen.
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“Now more than ever, television creators are telling the stories that shape our culture and influence what we feel, think, and believe about one another,” Greg Propper, President of Propper Daley, said in a statement. “A Day of Unreasonable Conversation is all about acknowledging the reality that these creators are telling stories in an increasingly complex and fractured world – and while there are no simple solutions to the many challenges we face as a country and a world right now, television creators hold the keys to building empathy, introducing nuance, and laying the groundwork for a better world.”
This year’s scheduled guests include former vice president Al Gore, actor Uzo Aduba, writer and director B.J. Novak, author Chrissy Teigen, New York Times columnist, podcast host and author Ezra Klein, author and advocate Heather McGhee, author and professor Safiya Noble, civil rights attorney and former public defender Scott Hechinger, poet Warsan Shire, surrealist blues poet and organizer aja monet, and author and podcast host Jay Shetty, with additional conversations from many more.
Emmy-Nominated host Baratunde Thurston, who has produced for The Daily Show and is the author of the New York Times bestseller How to Be Black, will be the day’s master of ceremonies. FOX Entertainment, Hillman Grad Productions, Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios and Sony Pictures will all serve as co-chairs.
Says FOX Entertainment president Michael Thorn: “FOX Entertainment is proud to co-chair this important gathering of our industry’s most influential changemakers by supporting and encouraging dialogue between writers, artists and creators that is sure to have a positive impact on the future of storytelling.”
Propper Daley — a social impact agency known for building and executing programs in collaboration with leading foundations, nonprofits, brands, and individual philanthropists — first introduced this program in 2019, welcoming 470 guests and featured speakers including Stacey Abrams, John Legend, America Ferrera, Geena Davis, and Kerry Washington to discuss political topics like segregation, immigration, and voting.
“We’re living in the midst of concurrent crises,” Genevieve Roth, founder of Invisible Hand, said in a statement. “For those of us who make it our life’s work to tell stories, this moment presents both a challenge and an opportunity. The thought-leaders, experts, and storytellers we’ve curated for A Day of Unreasonable Conversation will help creators understand the complex issues of our time — and empower them with the information they need to craft authentic narratives that help viewers everywhere navigate the world around them.”
