As the performance season settles into full swing, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is proud to launch its 2026 season of Trailblazing Talks — a captivating speaker series designed to spark curiosity and inspire audiences of all ages.
This year’s lineup features five award-winning inspirational speakers, each bringing powerful stories, breathtaking visuals and unique perspectives from their work as journalists, photographers, explorers and scientists. From the search for humanity’s origins to the preservation of our planet, the series offers a rare opportunity to learn directly from those shaping our understanding of the world.
Held inside the beautiful Muriel Kauffman Theatre, each talk includes an hour-long presentation filled with immersive storytelling, photography, video and a live Q&A session.
Attendees can take advantage of a special subscription package, offering a 30% discount for those who attend the full series. Subscribers will enjoy the same reserved seat at all five events and access to a wide-ranging program that’s perfect for students, educators, families and curious minds of all kinds.
The Trailblazing Talks series is not just about exploration — it’s about connection, understanding and the joy of learning something new.
Digging for Humanity’s Origins
Paleoanthropologist Louise Leakey
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026
Why are Homo sapiens the only surviving species of our evolutionary family? Louise Leakey, part of the legendary Leakey family of scientists, delves into the deep history of early human ancestors and the evolutionary mysteries that continue to shape our understanding of who we are — and where we come from. Born and raised in Africa, Leakey brings firsthand knowledge and decades of field experience to this compelling look at the human story.
(Photo by Laura Buchanan)
Leave Only Footprints
CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Conor Knighton
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026
A broken engagement and a broken heart left Conor Knighton longing for a change of scenery. He got the idea to set off and explore America’s ‘’best idea” and he might have gone a bit overboard. Over the course of a year, Conor visited every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion. The Emmy award-winning CBS Sunday Morning correspondent invites us along on a whirlwind tour, highlighting unexpected stories, colorful characters and profound lessons he unearthed along the way.
(Photo courtesy of Conor Knighton)
In Search of Lost Cities
Explorer Albert Lin
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
In 2016, Albert Lin lost his leg below the knee as a result of a car accident in the California Dunes. His transformation through the use of innovative prosthetics drives his relentless quest into the farthest reaches of our planet — from Mongolia to the Mayan jungle — employing a technologist’s approach to unearth lost cultural stories and rituals. Now, Albert Lin is a professional explorer who is blurring the boundaries between human and machine while uncovering the lost wisdom of our past.
(Photo courtesy of Albert Lin)
The Planet in Our Hands
Photographer Mattias Klum
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Mattias Klum is a masterful storyteller full of unbelievable adventure-seeking experiences. Through dramatic images and heart-stopping tales of facing down an Asiatic lion, embedding with a tribe of meerkats, stalking deadly vipers and nearly getting burned alive atop a hot air balloon over a dense Amazon jungle, he weaves humor, beauty and wonder into each talk, reminding us that what we have is worth saving.
(Photo courtesy of Mattias Klum)
Bay of Life: From Wind to Whales
Photographer Frans Lanting and Science Writer Christine Eckstrom
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Frans and Christine live by California’s Monterey Bay, which happens to be America’s top biodiversity hotspot. 100 years ago, it was on the verge of ecological collapse because of the clear cutting of Redwood forests and its wildlife in crisis. Fast forward to today and Monterey Bay is a thriving example of renewal and recovery. Frans and Christine share the story of how damaged ecosystems can be restored when people take the time to care and act together.
(Photo courtesy of Frans Lanting)
Every speaker has their own unique and inspiring story to tell; all rooted in the world we all get to share. These storytellers are ready to pass their experiences to this generation and the next. They are not offering just words, but the possibility for others to step into their shoes and carry the torch forward.
Each presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. and subscriptions are available for purchase on our website. A subscription guarantees you the same seat for all five Trailblazing Talks presentations.
This series offers something rare in today’s busy world: the chance to slow down and listen and learn from those who have seen the farthest corners of the earth — and come back with stories to share.
