In keeping with the theme of the SEG International Exposition and 89th Annual Meeting coming up 15–20 September in San Antonio, Texas, we have assembled an exciting Technical Program of hot topics and hot technologies for hot plays. The hot technologies and topics range from machine learning and full-waveform inversion (FWI) to near surface and the environment, with a good representation of all areas of interest in between. The hot plays represented include tight rocks and unconventional plays, but deep water and conventionals are also well represented, creating a good balance between land and marine technical topics. There's something for everyone in this program, and there are a lot of new, up-and-coming technical areas for those wishing to expand their scope, both technically and geographically.