Jamelle Bouie, a New York Times political columnist and a provocative voice on social media, will be the speaker for the 2026 Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture at UC Riverside.
The talk, “What’s the Matter with American Democracy?” will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 2 at the University Theatre, 900 University Avenue in Riverside. The event is free, and guests are asked to register in advance, as seating will be limited. Parking is free in Lot 6.
A question and answer session will follow the lecture and will be hosted by Myisha Cherry, a UCR associate professor of philosophy whose writing and research involves the intersection of moral psychology and political philosophy. Guests are encouraged to submit questions in advance of the lecture.
In his writing and commentary, Bouie seeks to help audiences analyze current events through the lens of human history and in the age of social media. In 2019, in the Columbia Journalism Review, David Uberti of The Wall Street Journal wrote Bouie is “one of the defining commentators on politics and race in the Trump era.”
Bouie, 38, is based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and started his career at The American Prospect, later moving on to Slate and The Daily Beast. He has been a CBS News commentator, including on “Face the Nation.” He maintains an active presence on social media sites including Instagram and TikTok, and hosts a podcast on 1990s political and military thrillers called “Unclear and Present Danger.”
In 2021, Bouie received the Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis Journalism. In 2022 he was inducted into the Society of American Historians and in 2024 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Science. In 2025, he received the Carey McWilliams Award for a major journalistic contribution to the public’s understanding of politics from the American Political Science Association.
Bouie is a photography enthusiast who collects vintage analog cameras. He shoots in both digital and film formats, often posting his images on his website.
The endowed lecture series brings to campus each year a journalist of exceptional achievement to address topics related to the news media. Past lecturers have included media stalwarts such as Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Scottie Reston, and George F. Will.
The lecture series’ 2025 speaker was Ari Shapiro, then of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The 2024 lecturer was Michael Barbaro, host of the New York Times “The Daily” Podcast. Other guests in recent years included Soledad O’Brien, formerly of CNN; Nikole-Hannah Jones of The New York Times, and David Leonhardt of The New York Times.
The lecture was established in 1966 by the late Howard H (Tim) Hays, then editor of The Press-Enterprise, in collaboration with UCR. Hays was a leader in the Citizens University Committee that successfully lobbied the state legislature to open a campus in Riverside in 1954, and was a founding member of the UCR Board of Trustees. In 1997, Hays’ son Tom Hays endowed the lecture and the Hays name was added to the title in honor of Tim Hays.
