Join us for the first event of this year’s PCAL Cultural Enhancement Series on Thursday, October 16th, at 7 PM in the Jody Richards Hall Auditorium as we host award-winning journalist, Caitlin Dickerson!

More than 80 million people have been forced from their homes worldwide by conflicts, climate change, persecution or destitution—a number that grows every day. From Warsaw, Poland, which has accepted more Ukrainian refugees fleeing war than any city in the world, to dangerous camps in Northern Mexico where asylum seekers wait to enter the United States, Dickerson’s on-the-ground reporting highlights the vulnerability and complexity of life on the move, which often exacerbates pre-existing inequality. As she wrote for The Atlantic, “Being forced from one’s home causes irrevocable harm to anyone who experiences it… Some find stability—and, if buffeted by the right passport, family connections, or luck, can even find greater prosperity. But that is no replacement for what they have lost.”

In this powerful talk, Dickerson shares stories from the frontlines of global displacement, offering a rare, human-centered view of the migration crisis. She challenges audiences to confront the moral and political questions surrounding national borders, identity, and belonging. Listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of the lived realities behind headlines, the systems that shape migration policy, and the urgent need for compassionate, informed responses in a rapidly shifting world.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Peabody Award, and Edward R. Murrow Award, Caitlin Dickerson engages audiences on the power of journalism as a check against systemic inequality, telling stories of remarkable resilience and hope from the front lines of the world’s refugee crisis.