Jonathan Van Ness Gets Curious About Voting

Join Jonathan Van Ness for a live recording of his "Getting Curious" podcast, themed on Getting Out the Vote, which will feature U-M scholars and students.

Hosted by the Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, and Global Engagement; the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; and the Spectrum Center. 

Tickets are free and available here.

From Van Ness' bio

Who is Jonathan Van Ness?

Glad you asked, because he's actually a lot of things.

A hairstylist by trade turned personality, writer, comedian, and entertainer by life. Jonathan is seeking to celebrate authenticity and uniqueness within the beauty and entertainment industry as an HIV+ nonbinary truth teller, Jonathan is determined to make this world a better, more equitable yet funnier place. As a true multi-hyphenate, Jonathan Van Ness is doing the most with his time by performing his sold-out stand up comedy on tour, being an award-winning television personality, starting a sustainable haircare brand, being a New York Times best-selling author, practicing his gymnastics & figure skating skills, and having a podcast. There’s also the garden, chickens, cats, and dogs that he takes care of with his husband Mark, whom he married in 2020. Don’t let Jonathan near an adoption center, because he will leave with another cat (or two).

Faculty Expert

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Director, Center for Racial Justice; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology; Research and Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative

Watkins-Hayes is an internationally-recognized scholar and expert widely credited for her research at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and human service institutions, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS; poverty; and race, class, and gender studies. Dr. Watkins-Hayes has published three books, numerous articles in journals and edited volumes, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.

Faculty Expert

Jenna Bednar

Professor of Political Science and Public Policy

Bednar's research combines positive political theory and systems theory to analyze how institutions remain effective in complex environments. She has contributed to the scholarly inquiry of the design of federalism; theoretical and experimental work on cultural evolution and institutional performance; and applied realms such as campaign contributions, transboundary water systems, and environmental sustainability.

• Resilient Democracies
• Get out the vote
• Jonathan Van Ness
• Getting Curious
• Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, and Global Engagement
• Arts Initiative
• Turn Up Turnout
• 2024 elections