An argument can be made that Robert Caro – author of The Power Broker and the four volume The Years of Lyndon Johnson – is the greatest biographer, if not greatest writer of nonfiction, of the past century. The Power Broker celebrated its 50th anniversary in print in 2024, including a special exhibit at the New York Historical Society (if you hurry, you can still visit. The exhibit closes the first week in August. It’s well worth the trip.). Meanwhile, the literary world eagerly (and somewhat nervously) awaits the fifth and final volume of The Years of Lyndon Johnson, which the 89-year-old Caro is still writing and for which he has not yet announced a release date.
There are many aspects of Caro’s writing that elevate him to the pantheon of “great”: his turn-every-page style of investigative journalism, the type of immense dedication to understanding his subjects that he willingly moves from NYC to the Hill Country of Texas to better comprehend the environment around LBJ’s formative childhood years. But for me, the reason I read anything Caro writes is his ability to make even the most mundane topics fascinating.
The Power Broker is a 1,300-page tome (and only limited to 1,300 pages because that was the maximum number of pages that could be bound in a single volume) about early-20th century urban planning in NYC and the man who made it all happen (Robert Moses). It’s riveting and reads like a novel.
The Path to Power, the first volume of the LBJ series, opens with a lengthy overview of the Texas Hill Country landscape, including three pages dedicated solely to describing the wild grasses of the region. It’s captivating and sets the tone for the entire series.
Today we are releasing the mostly complete agenda for CMEpalooza Fall 2025 (Wednesday, October 22.) As usual, we have designed CMEpalooza with the same spiritual essence as a Robert Caro book: to be both informative and entertaining. Our goal is to take topics that, while important, can also be a bit dry if not presented appropriately and turn them into and enjoyable educational experiences for everyone.
You will see some of the standard topics on the agenda – accreditation standards, grant review, outcomes assessment, etc. – though all with a unique ‘Palooza spin. But you will also see some newer topics that we are featuring for the first time, such as social listening and utilizing circadian rhythm science in educational event planning. We’re happy with the blend of sessions and hope you will be too. And if you’re not, blame Scott.
We still have some pending information for a couple of the sessions and will be making updates over the next few weeks. For now, take a few minutes to peruse the agenda, block off your calendar for Wednesday, October 22, and enjoy the remaining weeks of summer!
CMEPALOOZA 