See for yourself what happens when a socialist and a libertarian walk onto a stage together, when Fairfield University welcomes Nick Gillespie and Bhaskar Sunkara for a conversation titled “Political Extremism vs. Reason: Insurrection or Collaboration?” on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Dolan School of Business Event Hall.

Bhaskar Sunkara is the founding editor and publisher of Jacobin magazine, which offers socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture. Sunkara was a 21-year-old college student at George Washington University when he launched the publication in 2010; Jacobin currently has a paid print circulation of 75,000 and an online audience of more than three million readers each month.

Sunkara is the former vice-chair of Democratic Socialists of America and the author of the 2019 book The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality.

Nick Gillespie is an editor-at-large at Reason magazine, the libertarian magazine of “free minds and free markets,” and the host of a podcast titled The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Salon, and numerous other publications. He has been a columnist for Time and The Daily Beast and was a regular contributor to the late, lamented satire site, Suck, where he wrote under the name Mr. Mxyzptlk.

Gillespie is a frequent commentator on radio and television networks such as National Public Radio, CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and PBS.

This Open VISIONS Forum lecture is presented in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences’ Common Ground Series. “As a University, Fairfield has an important role to play in promoting and encouraging open debate about our civic institutions and traditions. We have a particular obligation to create an environment where our students can develop their capacity for reason and inquiry in pursuit of truth, and deepen their own personal engagement with the important political and cultural issues of our time," said University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD. "We expect this conversation to be a lively one, and we present it in this Open VISIONS Forum as part of our ongoing commitment as University to provide a forum for the greater community to engage in respectful dialogue and vigorous debate."

The Open VISIONS Forum – Common Ground Series lecture featuring Nick Gillespie and Bhaskar Sunkara is supported, in part, by Moffly Media, Delamar, Delamar Spa, and Artisan. Tickets are on sale now at quickcenter.com for $30, $20 for Quick Members, or $5 for Fairfield students. For more information, contact the Quick Center Box Office at 203-254-4010, Monday through Friday, from 12 to 5 p.m.