Frequently Asked Questions

All lectures begin at 8 pm and conclude at approximately 9:30 pm.

After a few welcoming remarks from the series moderator and an introduction, the evening’s speaker will deliver his or her comments followed by a lively Q&A session of questions from the moderator along with questions from the audience. The evening will conclude at approximately 9:30 pm.

The 2025-2026 Philadelphia Speakers Series is sold out. By adding your name to the Early Notification List, you will receive information about our 2026-2027 season the same evening that subscriptions go on sale. We encourage you to place your order immediately as orders are processed by the date in which they are received, and will be processed as soon as all current subscribers complete their renewal period.

The Speakers Series is only sold as a subscription to all seven lectures – tickets to individual lectures are not for sale. Not only does this make it possible to keep the cost of each subscription at a relatively low level, but it furthers the series’ goal of promoting civic dialogue and understanding by presenting a diverse roster of renowned authorities who collectively speak to a broad range of topics and perspectives to enhance our community’s understanding of our increasingly complex world. We are proud that subscribers to the Speakers Series welcome the opportunity to hear from a speaker whose views they may not agree with, and even relish the opportunity to challenge him or her with a question.

$460 – Bronze Seating
$510 – Open Seating
$560 – Silver Seating
$650 – Gold Seating
$710 – Platinum Seating

Prices do not include $20 per subscription shipping fee.

Open Seating is unreserved seating, sometimes called general admission. The areas designated in blue on the seating map on our Order Tickets page show where open seating is located – you may choose any available seat in those sections.

Our seating is different from most other events in that we seek to eliminate empty premium seats caused by unused reserved tickets. Therefore, at 8:00 pm, empty reserved seats become available to all other ticket holders. If you have open seating tickets, you may line up behind the “Line Forms Here” signs. After 8:00 pm, ushers will escort you to available seats in the reserved seating sections, with the exception of orchestra box seating. This seating process will take less than two minutes. Patrons with reserved seats that arrive after 8:00 pm will be directed to available open seating in the balcony.

Subscriptions for the 2025-2026 season went on sale March 25, 2025, the day after the 6th lecture of the season. All existing subscribers will receive a renewal packet in the mail. If you are interested in becoming a new subscriber, you are encouraged to place an order as soon as possible to increase your chances of obtaining seats, since the Speakers Series has historically sold out. The Speakers Series is only sold as a subscription to all seven lectures – tickets to individual lectures are not for sale.

Current subscribers who renew before the deadline of May 2, 2025, with no changes to their subscription, will receive confirmation by the end of May. Current subscribers with change requests will be confirmed once the order is seated. Subscription changes are processed in date-received order, based on seating availability. Watch for your seating change confirmation in May or June. New subscriptions will receive confirmation by early July.

If you do not see your email confirmation, be sure to check your Spam folder. In the search bar in your email program search for “Speakers Series.” If you do not receive confirmation by mid-July, contact [email protected] to inquire, or phone the Ensemble Arts Philly Box Office at 215-893-1955.

Tickets are mailed in early September, in plenty of time for the first lecture.

If you’re not getting subscriber emails, please send an email to [email protected] asking to be included on our list. Please include the name that your subscription is under and the patron number printed on your tickets.

If any of your contact information has changed, please send us an email to [email protected] with your new information and we will be sure that your patron record is updated at the box office.

You simply can’t beat the “real,” live, in person experience! Being present to hear our speakers share anecdotal, “behind the headlines” stories about their unique experiences for nearly an hour and then take questions from the audience – maybe even YOUR question – is priceless. Some subscribers have described the Speakers Series as a continuing education course with a virtual “who’s who” of national and global figures.

The best-known speakers offer engaging and provocative evenings for our subscribers. But it is often the lesser-known (or even completely unknown) names that make the most profound impact on our patrons. The single most frequent comment we hear from subscribers is that the speakers they were least interested in initially were the ones they’ve enjoyed the most. Just ask a long-term subscriber about their evenings with Platon, Zanny Minton Beddoes, or Anthony Ray Hinton.

Each season, seven of the world’s most celebrated and influential personalities are selected to share their unique experience and perspectives on a wide variety of topics from world affairs and politics, to history and the environment, books and authors, business and economics, and the arts. Take a look at the listing of past speakers.

The Speakers Series offers seven individual lectures, generally scheduled from September through April.

Yes! There will be a question card inserted in your program. At 8:25 pm and again at 8:35 pm, ushers will walk down the aisles to collect questions from the audience. There are always more questions submitted than the moderator is able to ask, but many audience submissions are included in the Q&A.

Yes, as long as we have your email address, we will send you a survey after each lecture.

All sales are final. No refunds, exchanges, or cancellations. Tickets are not returnable. If you can’t attend a lecture, we encourage you to offer your tickets to a friend, neighbor or colleague to allow them to enjoy the Speakers Series in your place.

View the full list of speakers and dates here.

Videos and transcriptions are not available. The lectures are live, in-person events only.