MICHAEL SMERCONISH

Nationally-Syndicated SiriusXM Radio Host, CNN Host & Contributor, Newspaper Columnist, & New York Times Best-Selling Author

Michael Smerconish is the host of a daily radio program heard nationwide on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel 124 from 9a.m. – Noon ET.

He is also the host of CNN’s “Smerconish”, which airs Saturdays at 9 a.m. ET. He was a longtime newspaper columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer and his columns were routinely re-printed in newspapers all across the country.

He is the author of eight books. He has donated all of the proceeds for five of them to charity. One was a novel, TALK, for which the television rights were optioned by Warner Brothers. His latest non-fiction book is titled: Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: American Life in Columns.

His one-man, live performance, “Things I Wish Knew Before I Started Talking” debuted on Hulu and is currently streaming on Amazon, Apple and Google.

He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lehigh University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and resides in the Philadelphia suburbs where he and his wife have raised four children.

SUNDAY CLOSING KEYNOTE

THE MINGLE PROJECT

In an era defined by division, echo chambers, and algorithm-driven isolation, Michael Smerconish brings forward The Mingle Project. This national effort to rebuild community through genuine connection and open dialogue. Drawing on years of work examining political polarization and social fragmentation, Smerconish shows how structured, small-group interactions can bridge differences, deepen understanding, and strengthen the social fabric.

He’ll share the origins of the project, the evidence behind why it works, and the practical steps leaders can use to bring the Mingle approach into their own organizations and communities. Attendees will leave with a powerful framework for creating connection, easing division, and leading in a way that brings people together rather than pushing them apart.