Charles Krauthammer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of New York Times No. 1 bestseller, "Things that Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics," presents a lecture, 8 p.m. Oct. 9, State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton.

Krauthammer, well-known for his conservative political views, writes a popular opinion column in the Washington Post and appears nightly on Fox's evening news program, "Special Report with Bret Baier."

Krauthammer was born in New York City, but grew up in Montreal, Canada. He was interested in politics even as a child, with names like Trudeau featuring more prominently in his life than Kennedy. His favorite subject in grade school was current affairs. "Politics have always been a major part of my life," he says in a phone interview.

Krauthammer was educated at McGill University (B.A.1970), Oxford University (Commonwealth Scholar in Politics) and Harvard (M.D. 1975).

While serving as a resident and then chief resident in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, he published scientific papers, including the discovery of a form of bipolar disease, that continue to be cited in the psychiatric literature.

In 1978, he quit medical practice, came to Washington, D.C., to help direct planning in psychiatric research in the Carter administration.

In a twist of events that he details in his book, he ended up a writer for the New Republic magazine in 1981. . When asked by young people, "How can I start a career as a political columnist?" he jokingly replies, "Well, first, go to medical school."

His New Republic writings won the 1984 National Magazine Award for Essays and Criticism, the highest award in magazine journalism.From the New Republic, he moved on to write for the Washington Post, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for columns in 1987. "My first reaction was 'Well, now I know what the first line of my obituary will be,'" he jokes.

Soon he was invited to opine as a panelist on PBS' "Inside Washington" and became a well-known figure for his right-wing political views on Fox News. Krauthammer coined and developed The Reagan Doctrine (Time magazine, April 1985). New York Times columnist David Brooks says "he's the most important conservative columnist."

From 2001 to 2006, he served on the President's Council on Bioethics. He is president of The Krauthammer Foundation and chairman of Pro Musica Hebraica, an organization dedicated to the recovery and performance of lost classical Jewish music. He is also a member of the Chess Journalists of America.

Despite his keen interest in the politics of the nation, Krauthammer has no interest in running for office. "I'm having too much fun doing what I do right now."

Krauthammer has his watchful eye on the 2016 political race for president of the United States and predicts Hillary Clinton will be the nominee for Democratic candidate. "It will be Hillary, no question."

As for the Republic candidate, Krauthammer sees the race as wide-open. "It's an open seat. Every Republican governor and senator should be looking themselves in the mirror right now, asking, 'Am I the next president of the United States?'"

For his appearance at the State Theatre, Krauthammer will discuss these and other current affairs. "I will talk about everything under the sun, everything that is legally permitted under the sun."

After he speaks, he will take questions from the audience. "Hopefully, the citizens of Easton will bring their questions to the table."

Krauthammer's appearance at the State is part of the annual ParenteBeard Speakers Forum,

Krauthammer is already hard at work on a follow up to "Things that Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics." The experience of having the book published and watching it become so successful fills Krauthammer with gratitude.

"I really wrote the book because I wanted to leave something behind in case I got hit by a bus and instead it seems I've won the lottery."

Tickets: State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton St., Easton; statetheatre.org, 1-800-999-STATE, 610-252-3132