The Treat Talks Lecture Series, named for late New Hampshire judge William W. Treat, has reached thousands of participants over the years with noted civic leaders discussing key issues of the day in locations throughout the state and online. Our inaugural event in 2012 was a conversation between former US Supreme Court Justice David Souter and PBS NewsHour’s Margaret Warner. In the second Treat Lecture, Justice Souter himself interviewed US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Other events have featured U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, General James Mattis, National Public Radio’s Nina Totenberg, writer and founder of Citizen University Eric Liu, former diplomat and author Dr. Richard Haass, Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, and U.S. national Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, among others.

Judge William W. Treat was famous for hosting dinner parties at his home that brought together guests who represented a wide range of political views. He believed deeply in the value of “cross-party” conversations where guests would listen to each other respectfully and exchange their ideas in order to better understand each other.