South by Southwest® (SXSW®) has announced Aza Raskin, co-founder of The Earth Species Project, as a Keynote Speaker for SXSW 2026 (March 12-18), as well as the second wave of Featured Sessions for the Innovation Conference.
In his keynote, Aza Raskin (lead photo) will explore how AI is being used to decode the languages of other species—revealing complex, learned communication across the animal kingdom—and what breaking the interspecies language barrier will unlock for the future of humanity.
“Aza’s work with The Earth Species Project is the kind of content the SXSW Innovation Conference was built on: experts breaking down scientific advancements that feel ripped from our wildest imaginations. We’re thrilled to have him deliver a keynote this year,” said Greg Rosenbaum, SVP of Programming for SXSW. “With groundbreaking keynotes, urgent featured sessions, and plenty of opportunities for attendees to immerse themselves in conference and
festival programming, SXSW 2026 will be an experience you don’t want to miss.”
Featured Sessions
SXSW has added the following Featured Sessions to the 2026 Innovation Conference program:
● The Mythical Model: Next Gen Creator-Brand Partnerships—Rhett & Link,
co-founders of internet-first entertainment studio Mythical and Good Mythical
Morning co-hosts, will share their innovative brand partnership model, in
conversation with Scalable founder Kaya Yurieff and Co-Founder and CEO of
Agentio, Arthur Leopold.
● The Internet of Value Meets the Internet of Intelligence—Li Fan, Circle’s Chief
Technology and AI Officer, will discuss her vision for building compliant and scalable
financial infrastructure to support the convergence of AI and blockchain.
● The Future of News—Newsweek’s Jennifer H. Cunningham, The New York Times’
Rebecca Grossman-Cohen, The Guardian’s Betsy Reed, and Stagwell’s Alexis
Williams will challenge assumptions and champion news, and explore how
advertisers and marketers can re-engage with journalism.
● Craft Still Wins: The Irreplaceable Role of Human Instinct, Taste, and Emotion—Greg
Greenberg, Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Media Arts Lab, will explore the
irreplaceable role of human instinct, taste, and emotional intelligence in the creative
process in a world increasingly focused on AI.
● The Great Flip: Why Every Industry Is Running Backwards—Sam Jordan, strategist
and researcher at Future Today Strategy Group, shares a practical framework for
identifying and leading inversions in your industry: reversing a traditional order of
operations through technology.
● The Power of Storytelling: Shape Culture & Create Community—Cheryl Miller Houser
will share how brands and leaders can shape culture and achieve long-term
connection, loyalty, and growth through storytelling.
● 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2026—MIT Technology Review Executive Editor
Niall Firth will share the publication’s annual list of ten breakthrough technologies
and how each will impact the way we live and work.
● Last Meals Live with Mythical Chef Josh—The hit food-interview series Last Meals
Live hosted by Josh Scherer will bring its signature blend of humor, heart, and
existential reflection, featuring culinary conversations and special guests.
● The Internet After Search—Cloudflare CEO and co-founder Matthew Prince will
examine the post-search Internet, focusing on how AI systems and agents are
breaking the traditional web funding model.
● Launch, Land, Orbit: The Future of Space with Firefly—A fireside chat with CEO Jason
Kim and VP of Engineering Brigette Oakes on will discuss what’s on the frontier for
the company and where the space industry is headed next.
● How Crypto is Building New Capital Markets for Everyone, not just Wall Street—Pedro
Miranda of the Solana Foundation and Rodolfo Gonzalez from Foundation Capital
will examine the shifted on-chain economy and the emerging consumer crypto
landscape powered by infrastructure built for financialized crypto.
● Why Work Feels So Unfair and How Hard Conversations Help—Workplace expert
Amy Gallo will reveal how the inability (or unwillingness) to have hard conversations
at work is eroding trust in organizations, and what managers can do about it.
● A conversation with Alex Blania
SXSW Hall of Fame
Each year, SXSW honors those who have made an indelible mark on their industry, the SXSW
community, and the world. SXSW is excited to announce celebrated chef, restaurateur and
humanitarian José Andrés will be inducted into the SXSW Hall of Fame for 2026.
José Andrés has been a fixture at SXSW for nearly a decade, from early appearances with
Anthony Bourdain and Austin pitmaster Aaron Franklin to his first panel in 2018 on the power of
food to change the world. A documentary on his disaster relief efforts through World Central
Kitchen, ‘We Feed People,’ premiered at SXSW in 2022, and in 2023 he delivered a keynote on
using storytelling to move people to act for the greater good.
“SXSW has always been a place where ideas from every corner of culture sit at the same long
table, challenging us to think bigger and act bolder – and reminding us that we all have the
power to spark real change,” said José Andrés. “I’m humbled by this recognition and deeply
grateful for the connections and inspiration this festival has brought to my work as a chef,
storyteller, and humanitarian.”
In addition to his Hall of Fame induction, Andrés will participate in a Featured Session as well.
Crossover Day
Thursday, March 12th will be Crossover Day, where the final day of SXSW EDU coincides with
the first day of SXSW, offering special access and co-programming available to SXSW and
SXSW EDU attendees. This year, with all SXSW programming running simultaneously across
Innovation, Film & TV, and Music, for the first time ever SXSW EDU attendees will have access
to SXSW Innovation, Film & TV and Music programming (with some exclusions) on Crossover
Day.
Jennifer B. Wallace, award-winning journalist of The Mattering Institute, will deliver the Crossover Day Keynote on mattering: the feeling that we are valued and have an opportunity to add value. Wallace introduces a new framework to confront the loneliness, burnout, and lack of purpose so many of us face today and shares the importance of finding meaning and value in your work, education and in life.
Featured Sessions co-programmed by SXSW and SXSW EDU include:
● Moonshots that Move the Needle—Arati Prabhakar, Kumar Garg, Jamie Sterling,
and Eden Xenakis will discuss how to design and fund programs that use
moonshot-centered models to turn potential into impact and accelerate
breakthroughs in teaching and learning.
● Strategy in the Times of Chaos: Imagining Futures of Education—Marina Gorbis
and Dr. Maisha T. Winn will share foresight techniques for imagining radically
different futures and detecting signals of reinvention and scholarship on how
communities depicted as under-resourced create practices and institutions of their
own.
About SXSW
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in
Austin, Texas, SXSW is known worldwide for conferences and festivals that celebrate the
convergence of technology, film and television, music, education, comedy and culture. The
annual event serves global professionals through sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions,
and networking that consistently generates unexpected discoveries when diverse communities
come together. SXSW 2026 runs March 12-18 in downtown Austin, preceded by SXSW EDU
March 9-12. Learn more at sxsw.com.