40th Asilomar Conference - Feb 12-15, 2027

To register, we prefer you pay online via the black "REGISTER" button. But you may mail a coupon and a check by snail mail. 

Click here forThe confirmed speakers and tentative scheduling

To be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility. Wait for the email message from Barry (probably in October). Be sure you check your email, or you may find you don't have a room. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net .

The confirmed speakers and tentative scheduling are in the following table.  Below the table are some bios of the speakers and summaries of the topics.

Nancy Abrams, a philosopher of science, lawyer, and former lecturer on Cosmology and Culture at U.C. Santa Cruz.

 Science As Spiritual Power

Author of A God That Could Be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of Our Planet, winner of the 2015 USA Best Book Award in philosophy.  Nancy is also a singer/songwriter; her recent songs are on Substack at “The Philosophical Cabaret.”

Science As Spiritual Power

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity.” (Yeats) Why? Can “the best” change this?  It is no coincidence that the worst tend to be the most extreme, in all religions. Yet, so many wonderful people dedicated to saving the planet lack any sense of connection to the larger universe because they have no language or story that meaningfully narrates the experience of being an earthling in the real universe.  Modern cosmology could be key to that story, providing in this dangerous era a new, responsible source of spiritual power.  

James Glaser, Ph.D., PBK; Provost and Prof. of Political Science, Santa Clara University 

Everyday Democracy:  Liberals, Conservatives, and Their Attitudes About Politics

Liberals and conservatives seem to have vastly different opinions about various policies.  But do we actually think differently about politics -- concepts like civility, dialogue, compromise, power, and volunteerism?  I propose that we do. In this talk, I will present some of these differences and offer an explanation of their origins --    and offer some thoughts about what to make of these differences and how they shed light on our current political environment.

Joshua Landy, Prof. of French and Comparative Literature, Stanford University; Co-director or the Initiative in Philosophy and Literature and co-host of the nationally syndicated public radio program “Philosophy Talk’.

“Marcel Proust and the Re-Enchanted World” 

What can we do when the world loses its wonder for us? How can we find, again, the enchantment that we’ve lost? And what has art got to do with any of that? These are some of the big questions Marcel Proust was thinking about when he wrote his twentieth-century masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. This lecture will explore Proust’s inspiring answers, as well as the re-enchanting delights in store for those of us lucky souls who get to read him.

Alejandra Rosselli-Calderon, Ph. D. Cand. U.C. Santa Cruz, Astrophysics;  PBK Scholarship Awardee

A Stellar Perspective of History

The history of humanity is deeply intertwined with the cosmos. From the earliest settlement that developed agriculture to  long voyages across the seas. The history generally taught in school focuses only on the sky as the Greeks saw it, but our ancestors have looked at the sky from every corner of the world for hundreds of thousands of years. In my talk I hope to bring to you just a small look at the cosmos from our very own small speck of a planet.

A Colombian scholar, at UCSC Rosselli-Calderon has had the remarkable opportunity to advance our understanding of how stars and black holes dance together in the depths of space.

Andrew Reddie, (Teaching Excellence awardee) 

faculty at the U.C. Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, and Founder / Director of the Berkeley Risk and Security Lab. 

From Innovation to Instability: Emerging Technologies and International Security Cybersecurity

Debates about emerging technology and international security often gravitate toward distant and speculative futures -- yet many of the most consequential risks are already taking shape today, through artificial intelligence, advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, and missile defenses (e.g., the Golden Dome.  This talk examines the near-term implications of these developments for nuclear deterrence and escalation.  It argues that the central policy challenge is not simply controlling technological capability, but understanding how new systems reshape decision-making under conditions of acute uncertainty.

Davis Sandino, Ll.D.,  Water resource expert, and Professor of Law at Santa Clara University

 An Inside View of the Klamath Dam Removal Project: The Largest Environmental Restoration Project in American History

The Klamath River was one of the largest salmon fisheries on the West Coast. However, during the last 100 years, migratory salmon were blocked from a large part of the watershed by a series of hydroelectric dams.  Now, through the collaborative efforts of the Yurok Tribe, the Karuk Tribe, California, Oregon, the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and PacifiCorp, four dams were removed in 2024, which opened up a large part of the watershed to assist in salmon recovery.  This presentation will explain the story behind the dam removal project and the status of efforts to restore the watershed. 

Gil-li Vardi (Teaching Excellence awardee), Ph.D., Faculty in the Dept. of History and the Program in International Relations, specializing in modern military history (PBK Teaching Excellence awardee)

Is Conventional War Back? The Present and Future of war

The data is clear - for decades, conventional war was in decline. So, is it making a comeback now? And, if we are experiencing a resurgence, what can current conflicts reveal about the character of war today and in the foreseeable future? What - if anything - sets contemporary war apart? What is the meaning of victory (and defeat)? While we cannot predict the future, this talk employs historical analysis and historical thinking to attempt to make sense of the current state of war/

Alexis Wood (UC Berkeley, (PBK Norall Scholarship Awardee ) Ph.D. Cand., Geography, U.C. Davis

 A Geography in Constellation 

What does it mean to know a place? To trace its borders? To inherit its histories and archives or to move through its landscapes? Listen to its stories? Or to confront the stories we make as we experience it?

 This talk takes Northern California and the recurring State of Jefferson secessionist movement as a way into this broader problem. Jefferson presents an unusual geographical object: a region repeatedly named and mapped but never formally constituted; invoked across different historical moments but without stable boundaries, membership, or meaning. I approach the region as a constellation of encounters, landscapes, histories, infrastructures, stories, and political imaginaries whose relations become visible from particular positions and moments. What can partial, situated, and sometimes contradictory forms of knowledge reveal about how regions come into being? And what might the constellation offer as a way of knowing places whose coherence lies precisely in the relations among their fragments? 

Registration, which goes in part to scholarships, is $150 (member and their guests rate), $180 Non-PBKNCA, 

Asilomar cost in 2026 was $682.85/person, double occupancy. Including room, all meals and parking. Of course, it will be a little more in 2027!

We are delighted to invite you to share in a weekend of learning, dialogue, and fellowship at the Asilomar Conference Center on the spectacular Monterey Coast.

But this is more than eight interesting speakers, it is an opportunity to renew old friendships, or make new friends at meals; walk on the beach or the trails. Explore the historic buildings of the Asilomar State Park. Visit the Butterfly Grove Inn to see the beautiful Monarch Butterflies, and much more. 

“Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela.

“Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

Some of you may feel ready for new beginnings.  Some may be eager to expand your learning into unexplored ground.  Some of you may just be eager for a chance to hang with friends in a beautiful,  refreshing and historic coastal retreat.  And for some of you, all three apply.  Thankfully, we are looking forward to a new season for the PBKNCA Asilomar Conference in February!  It is again time to reserve your space for a weekend of learning, inspiration, fellowship and a breath of sanity, on the magnificent Monterey coast. Come, bring a friend, and find out for yourself. 

If you have questions on this year’s program, please contact dfrontczak@scu.edu. For registration or logistics matters, please contact Barry Haskell at bghaskell@comcast.net. Registration is $150, which goes mainly to scholarships. Cost will be similar to last year, about $680 per person, double occupancy, and includes all nine meals and parking. All registered participants will receive forms to reserve their Asilomar accommodations, including meals; please check your email. (Remember, to be part of the PBKNCA package, do not reserve directly with the facility.)

Please join us once again for the annual Asilomar Conference -- to learn, engage in discussions, and to listen to one another in new ways.