A photographer, a poet, and paleoanthropologist meet to talk about belonging, place, and the spaces that shape us.

Amy Clark’s research focuses on the evolution and emergence of modern humans and closely related hominins, such as Neanderthals. She is particularly interested in using the archaeological record to understand the evolution of traits that are particularly well-developed in our species, such as cumulative culture and hyper social behavior.

Shellburne Thurber (b.1949) is based in Cambridge, MA. Her work addresses issues of loss, containment and the synergistic relationship of constructed space and human energy. She graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University.

Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah is a Ghanaian American poet, editor, and educator living out the diaspora in Boston, Massachusetts. They are both Black & alive. Emmanuel is the school librarian at the Joseph Lee School in Dorchester, and Boston’s current poet laureate.

Vaccine expert and viral immunologist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett will deliver a lecture at the Shaw Roxbury Branch Library. Corbett was named a TIME Hero of the Year in 2021 for her instrumental role in developing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Zenobia Moochhala, Undersecretary of Business Strategies at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development will discuss the Commonwealth’s defense and dual-use ecosystem, SHIELD, and efforts to strengthen Massachusetts’ role in this growing global sector.

BPL President David Leonard leads an expert discussion sorting AI facts from AI fiction, exploring what challenges and opportunities the tools offer, and how cultural heritage institutes are AI actors who can leverage the tools for the public good.

The Adams Presidential Center partners with Revolutionary Spaces for an engaging conversation exploring the remarkable leadership and enduring contributions of John and Abigail Adams and their relevance to America today. Renowned historians and civic education leaders Colleen Shogan, PhD, and Kurt Graham, PhD, come together at Boston’s historic Old South Meeting House for an insightful discussion of the Adams family’s leadership, civic values, and lasting impact on our constitutional democracy.

Dr. Shogan also introduces In Pursuit: Lessons of American Leadership, an America 250 project featuring essays on leadership lessons from presidents and first ladies, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Pulitzer Prize-winning historians, military leaders, and other iconic Americans. She shares highlights from the essays focused on the extraordinary leadership of John and Abigail Adams, as well as John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Adams, offering fresh perspectives on how their experiences and leadership lessons continue to resonate today.

Two groups arrive on the North American coast to begin new lives: the Puritans and the Cavaliers, names and ideologies born in the bloodshed of the English Civil War. Ryan J. Woods sits down with historian David Reynolds to explore these ships’ dueling images and their legacies, also this acclaimed author’s processes for research and writing about America’s history.

This conversation with author of "Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia", Sam Dalrymple, explores the history and consequences of five pivotal partitions in modern Asia, examining how the division of territories and communities shaped the region’s political landscape, identities, and enduring conflicts.