Discourse Dinners
Approximately five times per semester, we hold off-the-record discourse dinners and student perspectives panels about hot-button topics in today’s political scene. With intimate access to IOP fellows and other prominent figures, we cater an exquisite dinner for an audience of 50–100 students curious about interacting firsthand with bipartisanship. Frequently, we aim to arrange a panel of at least one Democrat and Republican; in this setting, the temptation of political theater takes a backseat to civil discourse.
Our guests have included the following: Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), Governor Eric Holcomb (R-IA), NRSC Chair Brock Lowrance, Washington Examiner journalist Byron York, IOP Co-Director Ned Price, WGB immigration reporter Sarah Betancourt, communications professor Matthew Baum, economics professor Jason Furman, and government professor Ryan Enos. In one of our most attended events, we hosted an hour-long discussion with former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and HKS professor Ryan Enos about America’s shifting coalitions ahead of the contentious midterm elections. Attendees were afforded a rare opportunity to see the Speaker in his most authentic form, prepared to answer any audience question while respectfully sparring with Enos about the influence of President Trump over Republican lawmakers, priorities of prospective candidates, and the most effective forms of populism amid today’s affordability crisis. In particular, the Speaker expressed his bipartisan accomplishments during his tenure, including holding House-wide movie nights to discourage any animosity between members.
Below, you can find some of our most popular discourse dinners.
April 6, 2026: America’s Shifting Coalitions
In one of our most attended events, we hosted an hour-long discussion with former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and HKS professor Ryan Enos about America’s shifting coalitions ahead of the contentious midterm elections. Attendees were afforded a rare opportunity to see the Speaker in his most authentic form, prepared to answer any audience question while respectfully sparring with Enos about the influence of President Trump over Republican lawmakers, priorities of prospective candidates, and the most effective forms of populism amid today’s affordability crisis. In particular, the Speaker expressed his bipartisan accomplishments during his tenure, including holding House-wide movie nights to discourage any animosity between members.
November 14, 2025: Leading in a Divided America
On November 14th, 2025 HUBS hosted a discourse dinner that tackled one of the most important questions facing our generation: what does effective leadership mean and look like in an increasingly polarized country? Former Governor of Indiana, Eric Holcomb, joined HUBS to explain how he navigated specific policy issues like healthcare, criminal justice, and immigration and, often, worked across political lines to pass the most effective legislation for his constituents during his time in office from 2017 to 2025. The panel was followed by a lively dinner with Gov. Holcomb.
March 28, 2024: Immigration in Focus: Border Security, Policy, & Humanitarianism
On March 28, 2024, HUBS hosted a lively discourse dinner on the topic of immigration, focusing particularly on border security, policy disagreements, and humanitarianism. Guest speakers for the event included former congressman Will Hurd (R-TX) and Harvard Graduate School of Education professor and director of the Immigration Initiative at Harvard, Dr. Carola Suarez-Orozco. Following the panel, students joined Rep. Hurd and Dr. Suarez-Orozco for dinner to continue the discussion, bringing their own perspectives, beliefs, and past experiences with immigration into dialogue with the insight of our panelists.
October 12, 2023: Content Regulation in Education
On October 12, 2023, HUBS hosted a discourse dinner focused on content regulation in education. Guest speakers for the event included Amy Layton, a generalist at the Boston Public Library, Dr. Victoria Greer, superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools and virtual panelist Ashley Jacobs, founder of Parents Unite, a movement advocating for critical thinking and diversity of thought in K-12 education. The panel was followed by a dinner with table-led focuses exploring regulation attempts in different states, the values associated with both sides of the issue, personal experiences, and the role of public education in raising children.
February 23, 2023: The Government’s Role in Regulating Social Change
HUBS’s inaugural discourse dinner event was held on February 23, 2023 and focused on the government’s role in regulating social change. Guest speakers for the event included Harvard Kennedy School Professor Archon Fung, former United States Congresswoman Jaime Herrera-Beutler, former Mayor of Newton, MA and Director of the IOP Setti Warren, and the Chief Counsel at the Republican National Committee Matt Raymer. Following a panel, student participants and guest speakers broke into dinner tables discussing the government’s role in regulating either the environment, education, or healthcare systems.