First Things Executive Seminars are a close relative of our Intellectual Retreats. Smaller, shorter in duration, and sponsored by local Editor’s Circle members, executive seminars convene a group of fifteen to twenty scholars and readers for a Friday evening dinner and Saturday morning seminars in various cities. While the Intellectual Retreats attract participants from across the country, executive seminars are targeted to working professionals in a specific geographic area who may not be able to travel to an Intellectual Retreat or devote an entire weekend to an event. Furthermore, they introduce local First Things readers and supporters to one another and to organizations doing critical work where they live. 

First Things held its first 2022 executive seminar in Austin on April 1–2 in collaboration with the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture. Twenty First Things readers and scholars packed into the Austin Institute’s seminar room to discuss the topic of “Religion and the Politics of Revolution.” Other planned 2022 seminar locations include Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Atlanta.