About this Event
The wellness industry is on pace to reach $9 trillion by 2028. Every day we hear about another new miracle supplement, must-have wearable or health routine — and yet, are we actually living longer, healthier lives? Or are we just stressing ourselves out with an ever-expanding “Wellness Industrial Complex”?
In his new book, Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel shares his clear, evidence-based answers to wellness culture. Join him for a conversation at MATTER on January 15 to hear how, drawing on decades of scholarship and clinical experience, he has distilled longevity science into a set of clear rules to live by: sleep well, exercise, keep learning, build social connections — and don’t be afraid, on occasion, to eat dessert.
On January 15, skip the hacks, trends and miracle cures. Come for evidence, perspective and a grounded conversation about what truly matters for long-term health — capped off, appropriately, with ice cream.
Note: The price of your ticket includes a copy of .
Agenda (all times in Central Time)
2:30pm | Doors open
3:00pm | Fireside Chat
4:00pm | Networking
4:30pm | Event concludes
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“In a world of schmucks, dimwits, gluttons, couch potatoes, sheep counters, and tech bros touting all manner of solutions to extend your life, it’s a comfort that a highly qualified mensch like Ezekiel J. Emanuel is there to guide us through our health journey. This substantive, fact-rich, and funny account on how to be alive is must-reading for those who value expertise and wisdom.”
—Kara Swisher, New York Times best-selling author of Burn Book
“A provocative, practical read on how to lead a healthy life. With his signature clarity and candor, Ezekiel J. Emanuel debunks disinformation, punctures pseudoscience, and reveals what really counts for longevity.”
—Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Think Again and Hidden Potential
“Eat Your Ice Cream is the wellness book we’ve all been waiting for—refreshingly honest, brilliantly pragmatic, and deeply human. In a world awash with biohacking fads, expensive supplements, and overengineered health advice, this book cuts through the noise with rare clarity. A must-read for anyone who wants a clear, compassionate, and common-sense roadmap to well-being.”
—Mark Hyman, MD, New York Times best-selling author of Young Forever
“With masterful skill and rigor, Ezekiel J. Emanuel cuts through the confusion and complexity of wellness culture and offers a clear path to better health. Essential reading for anyone who wants to get to the heart of how to live a healthy and fulfilling life.”
—Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, former surgeon general of the United States
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, is the Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, the Co-Director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute, and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
Emanuel is an oncologist and world leader in health policy and bioethics. He is a Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was the founding chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health and held that position until August of 2011. From 2009 to 2011, he served as a Special Advisor on Health Policy to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and National Economic Council. In this role, he was instrumental in drafting the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Emanuel also served on the Biden-Harris Transition Covid Advisory Board.
Dr. Emanuel is the most widely cited bioethicist in history. He has over 350 publications and has authored or edited 15 books. His recent publications include the books Which Country Has the World’s Best Health Care (2020), Prescription for the Future (2017), Reinventing American Health Care: How the Affordable Care Act Will Improve our Terribly Complex, Blatantly Unjust, Outrageously Expensive, Grossly Inefficient, Error Prone System (2014) and Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family (2013). In 2008, he published Healthcare, Guaranteed: A Simple, Secure Solution for America, which included his own recommendations for health care reform.
Dr. Emanuel regularly contributes to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and often appears on BBC, NPR, CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets.
He has received numerous awards including election to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the Royal College of Medicine (UK). He has been named a Dan David Prize Laureate in Bioethics, and is a recipient of the AMA-Burroughs Wellcome Leadership Award, the Public Service Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation David E. Rogers Award, President's Medal for Social Justice Roosevelt University, and the John Mendelsohn Award from the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Emanuel has received honorary degrees from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Union Graduate College, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Macalester College. In 2023, he became a Guggenheim Fellow.
Dr. Emanuel is a graduate of Amherst College. He holds a M.Sc. from Oxford University in Biochemistry, and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Steven Collens is CEO of MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub. MATTER helps healthcare innovators achieve their goals faster and more efficiently and increases the odds of their success. MATTER has incubated more than 1,000 healthcare technology ventures and helps leading health systems, life sciences companies, payers and foundations activate innovation to advance their goals.
Prior to assuming his current role, Steven was senior vice president at Pritzker Group, the investment firm led by Tony and J.B. Pritzker. In that capacity, he led the team that created 1871, Chicago’s center for digital startups, which became the top-ranked business incubator in the world in 2018. He previously worked at Abbott in a variety of domestic and international functions, including product management, policy and public affairs. Prior to Abbott, Steven served as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun.
Steven holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a BA from Washington University in St. Louis. He chairs the board of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and serves on the boards of 1871 and the Chicago High School for the Arts. He is a member of ChicagoNEXT, the Chicago mayor’s council on technology and innovation, a Leadership Greater Chicago fellow, and a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
222 W Merchandise Mart Plaza, 222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, United States
USD 25.27
