The 18th season of Desert Town Hall-Indian Wells promises to pack a political punch.

Organizers for the speakers' series, which kicks off in January, announced Thursday that physician and author/columnist Dr. Andrew Weil, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will visit the Coachella Valley for the annual four-part event.

“This lineup covers a gamut of what's going on in the world and in the United States,” said Bill Powers, an Indian Wells councilman and president of the board of directors for the nonprofit group that puts together the series.

“We're going to hit everybody's hot button at one point or another during this series.”

Organizers of the speakers' series said they took direction for this season from the audience via a survey that asks attendees to indicate their interests in future speakers and/or topics — and Executive Director Tim Parrott said Gingrich was at the top of just about every list.

“We're really excited about all the presenters,” Parrott said. “We feel really good about being able to provide what the people asked for. It will be a very intriguing year.”

A slight change to the program, however, is the format in which Musharraf will be speaking. Instead of the typical 60-minute speech, organizers plan to have an interviewer on stage for a formal, yet conversational, talk guided by prepared questions. The interviewer will be announced at a future date.

Musharraf is also expected to participate in the traditional audience question-and-answer session during the night's dinner, Parrot said.

“We're trying to be on the cutting edge,” he said.

In the past, the Desert Town Hall-Indian Wells speakers' series has featured Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President George H.W. Bush and other prominent world leaders.