On November 12, 2022, The Verge will join the Chicago Humanities Festival for a full day of exploring how big tech impacts the public in a series of conversations called “The Social Mind.” The day will end with an interactive afterparty with video games provided by Bit Bash. 

The series begins with David Pierce (editor-at-large at The Verge) sitting down with New York Times investigative reporter and author of The Chaos Machine Max Fisher to talk about how Social Media has rewired our brains. Next up, The Verge deputy editor Alex Heath will host a discussion about the future of the feed and how the algorithms that control what we see online impact our real world. The final conversation will explore how social media is affecting the mental health of America’s youth with Nicole Wetsman (health tech reporter for The Verge), Dr. Megan Moreno (a leading researcher on adolescent social media), and a special guest.

After the conversations end, the public can join an interactive afterparty with experts from The Verge and video games provided by Bit Bash. Dedicated to turning Chicago into an amazing place for the indie games community, Bit Bash will bring unique, interactive games to the afterparty that night, and a few games will be made available throughout the day. 

The Verge is Vox Media’s 10-year-old technology brand,  covering the intersection of technology, science, art, and culture.. With a massive audience and award-winning investigative journalism, The Verge is an authoritative voice on modern technology and the future.

“For years now, The Verge has been reporting on the impact of social media on our communities, how we connect with one another, and how these platforms are shaping our democracy,” says The Verge’s VP and general manager Andrew Melzinek. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Chicago Humanities Festival this year to host a series of sessions on the impact of social media in our minds. CHF is a leader in thought-provoking and insightful programming, and The Verge is looking forward to sharing in those discussions with the Chicago community.”

All events with The Verge will be held in the downstairs theater at Steppenwolf. Festival-goers can join in any of the individual conversations or grab an all access pass to stay logged into The Verge action all day – for all three panel discussions and the Bit Bash afterparty.

The Verge panels are part of Chicago Humanities Festival’s Day at Lincoln Park, which also includes events with former presidential candidate and spiritual leader Marianne Williamson, author and scholar Reza Aslan, and Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Lange. The Day at Lincoln Park is also only one part of CHF’s larger Fall Festival, which runs from October 22nd – December 9th this year, with events at locations all over the city. For more information and tickets, go to ChicagoHumanities.org