Rolling Stone and Variety Announce Final Truth Seekers Program and Special Issue presented by Showtime Documentary Films 

Variety and Rolling Stone announced today the final lineup for their Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Showtime Documentary Films, on August 25 in New York. 

The summit coincides with the Truth Seekers journal, a collaboration between Variety and Rolling Stone. The special issue features a deep dive from Variety’s Addie Morfoot into the heated debate in the nonfiction community on the question of who — and who shouldn’t — have the right to tell the stories that involve historically marginalized communities. The story also delves into the rise of celebrity-financed biographical productions and whether such titles qualify as documentaries. 

Other features include The 10 Best Documentaries of the Last 10 Years and a Salute to “60 Minutes” Veteran Lesley Stahl, recipient of the Variety–Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Award for Media. 

Agenda times listed in ET below: 

10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Truth Seekers Award and Keynote Conversation with Lesley Stahl, Emmy Award-Winning Correspondent, 60 Minutes 

Interviewed by Cynthia Littleton, co-editor-in-chief, Variety 

10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Talk Trendsetters Roundtable 

Moderator: Noah Shachtman, editor-in-chief, Rolling Stone 

Panelists: 

Jordan Klepper, Correspondent, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah 

Samantha Bee, Executive Producer and Host, Full Frontal With Samantha Bee 

Soledad O’Brien, Host and Producer 

11:35 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. Keynote Conversation with W. Kamau Bell, Executive Producer and Director, We Need to Talk About Cosby  

Interviewed by Jason Newman, news director, Rolling Stone 

1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. Newsmakers 

Moderator: Brian Steinberg, senior TV editor, Variety 

Panelists:   
Rashida Jones, president, MSNBC  
Neeraj Khemlani, president, CBS News  
Sara Just, senior executive producer, PBS NewsHour Productions 

2:20 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. Truth Seekers Award for Documentary Filmmaking and Keynote Conversation Presented to Barbara Kopple 

Interviewed by:  Thelma Adams, contributor, Variety   

 2:50 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. Conversation with Ramin Bahrani, Filmmaker  

Interviewed by: David Fear, senior editor and critic, Rolling Stone   

3:10 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. True Crime Visionaries Presented by Rolling Stone  

Moderator: Brenna Ehrlich, chief research editor, Rolling Stone  

Panelists:   

Rebecca Jarvis, host, The Dropout podcast and executive producer, The Dropout  

Joe Berlinger, filmmaker, Paradise Lost, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes  

Elizabeth Cole, executive producer, ‘Dateline,’ and president, NBC News Studios and executive producer, The Thing About Pam  

Marc Smerling, executive producer, Mind Over Murder. producer and cinematographer, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst  

Subrata De, EVP & global head of programming and development, VICE News  

Register for the virtual livestream of the event at variety.com/truthseekers