Past Events

Henry Kissinger was once hailed as a “miracle worker” for his peacemaking in the Middle East, pursuit of détente with the Soviet Union, negotiation of an end to the Vietnam War, and a secret plan to open the United States to China. Yet he was assailed from the left and from the right for his indifference to human rights, complicity in the pointless sacrifice of American and Vietnamese lives, and reliance on deception and intrigue. Was he a brilliant master strategist—“the 20th century’s greatest 19th century statesman”—or a cold-blooded monster who eroded America’s moral standing for the sake of self-promotion?

 Diplomatic historian Thomas Schwartz offers a fair-minded answer to this question. Schwartz is Distinguished Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, where he specializes in the foreign relations of the United States. He has served on the U.S. State Department's Historical Advisory Committee and as president of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations. Henry Kissinger and American Power is his third book. This conversation is part of the esteemed Lowell Lecture Series at the Boston Public library. Learn more about the[** Vanderbilt Television News Archive**](https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/) that supported much of Schwartz's research for this book.

Long an authority on the human mind, Howard Gardner’s latest book reflects on his own childhood and intellectual development in addition to a review of his groundbreaking work on multiple intelligences- including his own. Throughout his career, Gardner has focused on the human mind in general, and on specific minds of particular creators and leaders. Reflecting now, he concludes that he has a “synthesizing mind” – possessing the ability to survey experiences and data across a wide range of disciplines and perspectives. The thinkers he most admires – including biologist Charles Darwin and literary critic Edmund Wilson – are exemplary synthesizers. Gardner contends that the synthesizing mind is particularly valuable at this time and proposes ways to cultivate a possibly unique human capacity. Image: Book Cover

The typical American diet can be considered a health threat. The combination of processed food, excess red meat, high salt and excess sugar are associated with the high incidence of obesity, diabetes-2, heart disease, certain cancers, and other diseases. But there is a solution. Dr. Willett is the most cited nutritionist internationally. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of many national and international awards for his research. Included in his many famous research projects are the Nurses’ Health Studies I and II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Together, these cohorts have involved nearly 300,000 men and women with repeated dietary assessments, providing the most detailed information on the long-term health consequences of food choices. Dr. Willett discusses how diet directly affects health, and how people can avoid the numerous diseases associated with harmful diet. He also talks about his best-selling book Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy. And he explains how misinformation about diet and health must be addressed by professionals.

Lt. Gen. Liquori and Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein (Retired) join WorldBoston to discuss the importance of the space domain to U.S. national security and the evolution of the U.S. Space Force. Established on December 20, 2019, the U.S. Space Force (USSF) is a very new branch of the Armed Forces. The USSF organizes, trains, and equips space forces in order to protect U.S. and allied interests in space and to provide space capabilities to the joint force. How did the USSF come to be? Why is it of interest to the U.S. to have a Space Force? What U.S. and allied interests is the USSF protecting in space? (Photo: [Flickr/CaptSpaulding](https://www.flickr.com/photos/captspaulding/45792072805/in/photolist-2cLukSD-L7cCai-doQSr3-55rD9h-CgLVGe-2jtXDDj-wmY3qQ-P3G7ap-2gEe4mP-Dbpp8q-DiZNGU-2hpAWHk-LUvoRa-GFh513-21XMVuB-cAFg55-LRNhtq-8U65MG-cAFgVC-MVTSPo-23SbGUR-2jeKKuA-L5nbx9-2jfQ9ZT-2iYAkQQ-e7Xfe8-9S7MGp-LRNkM9-cAFgfY-8DNuSJ-7yuQFL-2jroGGB-cAFiVo-cAFiEq-Uo7ck-vj7kj2-cAFjyJ-24Tqmg2-cAFguE-cAFhPW-cAFfT7-LK6z2G-cAFis1-2i2oeDL-cAFieL-CFUThG-KXFJHi-cAFi2y-NknZvL-DbJMfH/) , image cropped)

“The Objects That Remain” is Laura Levitt’s memoir and examination of the ways in which the material remains of violent crimes inform our thinking about trauma and loss. Considering artifacts in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and evidence in police storage facilities across the country, Levitt’s story moves between intimate trauma, the story of an unsolved rape, and genocide. She asks what it might mean to do justice to these violent pasts outside the justice system or through historical accounts. This talk is the first in a trilogy of women storytellers convened by Ford Hall Forum, the country's oldest public forum. Laura Levitt, author of “The Objects That Remain,” is a professor of Religion, Jewish Studies, and Gender at Temple University. Moderator Barbara Abrams is associate professor in the World Languages and Cultural Studies Department at Suffolk University.

Boston Public Library President David Leonard talks with Barbara F. Berenson, author of "Massachusetts in the Woman Suffrage Movement: Revolutionary Reformers." This conversation is part of the esteemed Lowell Lecture Series and the "Arc of History: Contested Perspectives" series at the Boston Public library. Image courtesty of Barbara F. Berenson

Dr. Bower explains the structure and dynamics of deep ocean currents and the vital role of these currents in maintaining the Earth’s climate. She discusses the concern among climate and ocean scientists about one of the major systems, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the implications of a slowdown in that system. Dr. Bower also describes the technical challenges of measuring systems like the AMOC.

Wade Davis attracted global attention with his opinion piece in Rolling Stone magazine raising this question: Does Covid-19 signal the end of the American era? Why did he ask this disturbingly profound question and why has it struck a chord around the world? Hear a conversation on the history of U.S. leadership and its unraveling. Image: Cambridge Forum

Anthropologist Wade Davis latest book, Magdalena: River of Dreams brings to life the story of the great Río Magdalena, illuminating Colombia’s complex past, present, and future. Image: Book Cover

Although fewer people are driving to work every day, data shows that, outside of Boston and job centers like MetroWest, congestion and miles traveled haven’t decreased much since last year – they’ve simply moved closer to home. Many Gateway Cities and surrounding communities lack safe sidewalks and bike lanes as well as parks, grocery stores, places of worship, and pharmacies in the neighborhoods people live, making car travel a must. And in this pandemic, travel is making it harder to contain the spread of COVID-19. 15-Minute Cities, a COVID-19 recovery tool lauded by mayors around the globe, puts most of a resident’s needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from home. Having essentials a short walk away helps people follow public health guidance and stay close to home. The concept also promises to refill municipal coffers drained by critical services to address the public health and economic crisis. But are Gateway Cities in Massachusetts primed to follow the lead of other metropolitan areas in leveraging this tool for recovery? Join GBH Reporter Bob Seay and MassINC Researcher Dr. Tracy Corley as they welcome Tom Skwierawski of the City of Fitchburg, Francisco Ramos of NewVue Communities, Aimee Gauthier of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, and Denise Delgado, Executive Director of Egleston Square Main Street to probe this topic. Image courtesy of Francisco Ramos