The fourth of our 500th Anniversary Lectures, entitled The Rule of Law versus the Law of Rulers: The Battle Between Democracy and Authoritarianism, given by Richard Stengel will be taking place in New York on Thursday 25 September 2025.

Richard came up to Christ Church in 1977 to read English. He is the former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Obama administration. Prior to going to Washington, Stengel was the Editor of TIME for seven years. He was also the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center. In the 1990s, he collaborated with Nelson Mandela on the South African’s autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom.” He is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Mandela's Way" and the creator of "Mandela: The Lost Tapes," a 10-part award-winning podcast on Audible recounting his conversations with Mandela. In 2012, Stengel won an Emmy award for his work as executive producer of TIME's documentary, "Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience." His most recent book is “Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation.” He is the co-chair of the board of CARE, the global humanitarian organization, and is an on-air political analyst for MSNBC. 

Ali Velshi is an award-winning journalist, host of "Velshi" and Chief Correspondent for MSNBC, and a weekly economics contributor to NPR's "Here And Now." He has covered multiple U.S. Midterm and Presidential elections and significant news stories around the globe, including extensive reporting from Israel during the war with Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe during the Russian invasion, the Syrian refugee crisis from Turkey and Jordan, and the Iran Nuclear Deal in Tehran. He hosts the "Velshi Banned Book Club” on MSNBC, and the "Velshi Banned Book Club" podcast. Velshi is known for his immersive on-the-ground reporting and his interactive discussions with small groups, which form part of his ongoing series, Velshi Across America. He previously worked as an anchor and correspondent for Al Jazeera America and CNN. He has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, and is the recipient of two National Headliner Awards and a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award.