Past Events

In 2021, Northern Ireland commemorates its centenary, but Brexit, more than any other event in that 100-year history, has jeopardised its very existence. Events since 2016 have complicated political relationships within Northern Ireland and further destabilised the devolved institutions established in the wake of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Feargal Cochrane’s urgent analysis argues that Brexit is breaking peace in Northern Ireland, making it the most significant event since Partition. Endless negotiations and uncertainty have brought contested identities back to the forefront of political debate. Always so much more than a line on a map, the border has become an existential marker of identity as well as a reminder of the dark days of violent conflict. Cochrane explores how and why the Brexit negotiations have been so destabilising for politics in Northern Ireland, opening the door to a violent past.

November is National Native American Heritage Month. The Curiosity Desk’s Edgar B Herwick III is joined by award-winning filmmaker Katsitsionni Fox and President of the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB), Jean-Luc Pierite. NAICOB is the only urban Indian center in Massachusetts that has provided cultural, social, educational and professional services to the New England Native American community for over 50 years. Learn more about Indigenous culture and linguistics with Edgar, Katsitsionni and Jean-Luc.

GBH's Emily Rooney talks with historian and writer Jon Meacham about his book, "The Soul of America." In this conversation they cover the importance of researching history and how understanding past events can illuminate and help solve issues of today.

Recorded as part of the virtual 2020 Making History Gala organized by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Matt Fernandes and his team at SEAS look to Nature for examples of quality engineering, and one of their investigations has led to innovation in design. The skeletal structure of the Venus Flower sea sponge (a.k.a. glass sponge) can bear extraordinary weight. Fernandes hopes to apply this unique structure to next-generation architecture and engineering design. Image: Belmont Media Center

WorldBoston’s annual State of the State Department is a high-level speaking event, serving as an annual occasion to assess the strength of a critical instrument in the pursuit of U.S. national interest, within a policy context. In addition to critically evaluating the current state of the State Department, we will also look at U.S. diplomacy through the lens of the transatlantic relationship. Ambassador Nicholas Burns will be joined by E.U. Ambassador to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis for an exciting conversation about the dynamic between the State Department and transatlantic diplomacy.

Architect and designer, Fred Dust was looking for a way to merge creation, social change and dialogue when he joined design firm IDEO, attracted by its collaborative design culture. He began to concentrate on constructive conversation which he discovered was critical to problem-solving in all sorts of different settings from schools, to non-profits and governments.

Now Dust has put all these lessons into his new book, Making Conversation. It offers readers a tool kit, outlining 7 essential elements for meaningful conversations. Joining the conversation is Seth Henderson from Aspen Institutes’s Better Arguments Project, a new national civic initiative created to help bridge ideological divides and help train Americans to conduct better arguments. The idea is that arguments don’t have to drive us apart but can bring us together and that the more Americans engage each other, the healthier and stronger our democracy will be.

BAP is a partnership between the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program, the nonprofit organization Facing History and Ourselves, and Allstate.

The pandemic has put critical issues front and center for many cities, including stimulating economic development, expanding public space, reducing air pollution, addressing traffic incidents and fatalities, and promoting equity. Reports have repeatedly shown that communities of color and environmental justice communities are much more likely to have been hit hard by COVID-19, making innovative approaches that address these issues crucial to recovery. In response, many cities have turned to tactical street interventions. In Massachusetts, the widely-praised Shared Streets and Spaces grant program has dispersed $10.2 million for 103 tactical projects to cities across the Commonwealth in a record 100 days. GBH News transportation reporter Bob Seay and MassINC fellow Dr. Tracy Corley explore the impacts of tactical street projects on equity in local communities. Bob and Tracy welcome Kate Fichter, Assistant Secretary for Policy Coordination for MassDOT, Warren Logan, Policy Director of Mobility and Inter Agency Relations for the City of Oakland, CA, and David Kucharsky, Director of Traffic and Parking Director for the City of Salem to discuss the successes and challenges of Shared Streets, Slow Streets, and related projects that aim to improve transportation access and connections for all. This event is one of a series of TTOD Talks co-produced by MassINC and the GBH Forum Network. Image: Pexels.com

How did America begin? That simple question launched acclaimed author Nathaniel Philbrick on an extraordinary journey to understand the truth behind our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. Marking the quatercentenary of the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth, the Boston Public Library and American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) co-host a virtual talk with Nathaniel Philbrick about his 2006 book, "Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War." This talk is part of the BPL's Baxter Lecture series. Ryan Woods, Executive Vice President and COO of American Ancestors and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), will moderate. Before the conversation begins, Beth Carroll-Horrocks of the State Library of Massachusetts will offer brief comments.

## Resource Links To purchase a copy of this 2006 book, visit [Trident Booksellers](www.tridentbookscafe.com) . (Use the coupon code BPLSHIP and get it shipped free!) Learn more about host David Leonard and his work at the [Boston Public Library.](https://www.bpl.org/content/leonard-david/) Learn more about moderator Ryan Woods and [his work at American Ancestors.](https://www.americanancestors.org/about/staff/executive-office) See the Massachusetts Library’s website for the full range of holdings, services and programs for the study of the people and the history of Mass. [State Library of Massachusetts](https://www.mass.gov/orgs/state-library-of-massachusetts) MA State Library's [Bradford Manuscript]( https://www.mass.gov/info-details/bradfords-manuscript-of-plimoth-plantation) MA State Library's [Digital version of the original Bradford Manuscript](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/208249) Visit American Ancestors’ [online portal](mayflower.americanancestors.org) for all things Mayflower. Find additional author events, webinars, and family history resources, chat with an expert genealogist: www.americanancestors.org [Chat with a genealogist](https://www.americanancestors.org/chat) at American Ancestors & NEHGS. Save 20% on [Of Plimoth Plantation by William Bradford: The 400th Anniversary Edition; The Mayflower Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth, 1620](https://shop.americanancestors.org/collections/great-migration-mayflower-sale?pass-through=true ) and other early New England titles. Visit the [Boston Public Library online](www.bpl.org) for reading lists, online event information and more. See the June 2020 Baxter Lecture with [Dr. Frank Bremer in conversation with Dr. Ken Minkema](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_LP6HTuBjs&feature=youtu.be) .

Across multiple administrations since the end of the Cold War, American foreign policy has been misconceived, inconsistent, and poorly implemented. As a result, America and the free world have fallen behind their rivals in power and influence. Meanwhile, threats to security, freedom, and prosperity, including nuclear proliferation and jihadist terrorism, have grown. In Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World, H.R. McMaster lays out a comprehensive indictment of a quarter century of flawed policies and strategies, told from his perspective as a soldier, commander, scholar, and national security advisor. A central theme of the book is what he calls “Strategic Narcissism” — a mind-set that all too often leads presidents and their advisors to craft policies based on wishful thinking and to define problems as one may like them to be rather than to understand them on their own terms. Overcoming Strategic Narcissism, McMaster argues, is critical to defending America and the free world from grave and developing threats.

Dr. Basu explains the growing concern in medical circles that climate change is introducing unexpected diseases and other health conditions. He describes how medical training is changing to prepare future professionals. Image: Belmont Media Center