Lecturers at the Jefferson Educational Society

Michael Smerconish returns to the Jefferson in “An Evening with Michael Smerconish” for Global Summit 2022. Smerconish, 60, is an acclaimed author, political commentator, lawyer, and newspaper columnist. He is the host of the weekly CNN Saturday program, “Smerconish,” as well as the Michael Smerconish program on Sirius XM.

Before 30, Smerconish was appointed to the George H.W. Bush administration as regional manager of Philadelphia in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Smerconish has interviewed Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barrack Obama, and Joe Biden. The CNN host also has joked that the only person of interest to him that he hasn’t sat down with is famed “Seinfeld” creator Larry David.

During his accomplished career in media, Smerconish has hosted programs on CNN, MSNBC, and guest-hosted on Fox News, and made appearances on “Larry King Live,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and “The O’Reilly Factor.” All the while he was writing a weekly column for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

To date, Smerconish has published successful books including Morning Drive: Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking (2009); Instinct: The Man Who Stopped the 20th Hijacker (2009); and Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right (2018).

Smerconish offers a unique perspective of his transition from decades as a steadfast Republican to a registered Independent in his auto-biographical film aired in 2020: “Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Talking.”

Smerconish received a BA from Lehigh University and went on to earn a JD from the University of Pennsylvania.