Announcing Vox Conversations: a conference about ideas that will shape the future

On September 21 and 22, Vox will hold its first conference. Or, as the case may be, its first un-conference.

Our theory is this: There are already a lot of panel discussions about legislation in Washington. And this is, let’s face it, a pretty depressing year in American politics. So what if we had some real conversations about the ideas that aren’t going to happen this year but should shape our future?
What if instead of talking about next year’s appropriations, we talked about a universal basic income? What if instead of relitigating Obamacare, we asked what the government could actually do to make people live longer? And what if rather than bemoaning the state of politics today, we started from scratch on the question of what changes are needed to make our government work in this age of polarization?

Or maybe we should talk about something totally different.
The idea of this conference is to get 150 people into a room and then let the conversation — or conversations — follow their own momentum. Any participant can put any topic on the agenda at any time and discuss it with whoever shows up.
To that end, we’re looking for a broad range of participants — not just people we already know. If you think you’d be a good fit, apply using the form below:

We want to find the grad student whose research will change everything, the Hill staffer who sees a better way, the entrepreneur who has figured out what’s wrong with the system, the industry leader with a vision of what could be different.

All the details to apply for an invitation are here. In order to have a real conversation, this will be a small event, so invitations will be limited. But hopefully it will be the first conversation of many.