Past Events

Hear from the seven finalists for the 2019 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. Nominees conducted investigative reporting and created pieces that examine effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics. **2019 Goldsmith Prize Finalists ** Connor Sheets, Alabama Media Group _Alabama’s ‘Beach House Sheriff’_ J. David McSwane and Andrew Chavez, _The Dallas Morning News_ _Pain and Profit_ Daffodil Altan, Andrés Cediel, Abbie VanSickle for The Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and FRONTLINE, PBS _Trafficked in America_ Barbara Laker, Wendy Ruderman, Dylan Purcell, Jessica Griffin, Garland Potts for _The Philadelphia Inquirer_ _Toxic City: Sick Schools_ Ginger Thompson, Michael Grabell, Topher Sanders, Melissa Sanchez, Duaa Eldeib, Jodi S. Cohen, Alex Mierjeski, Claire Perlman, Ken Schwencke, Adriana Gallardo, and staff for ProPublica _Zero Tolerance_ Christian Sheckler, Ken Armstrong for _South Bend Tribune_ ProPublica _Criminal Justice in Elkhart, Indiana_ Michael Rothfeld, Joe Palazzolo, Nicole Hong, Rebecca Davis O’Brien, Rebecca Ballhaus, Alexandra Berzon, Lukas I. Alpert, Michael Siconolfi, Carmel Lobello, Shelby Holliday, Jarrard Cole, Anthony Galloway, Joel Eastwood for _The Wall Street Journal's_ "Trump’s Hush Money" **Update:** following the panel discussion, the Shorenstein Center announced [the winner of the 2019 Goldsmith Awards.](https://shorensteincenter.org/2019-goldsmith-prize-winner/ "") Congratulations to J. David McSwane and Andrew Chavez of the _The Dallas Morning News_ for their series ["Pain and Profit"](https://interactives.dallasnews.com/2018/pain-and-profit/ ""). Financial support for the Goldsmith Awards Program is provided by an annual grant from the Goldsmith Fund of the Greenfield Foundation. The program is administered by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the State Department have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning. What effect are these changes having now, and how will they affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries? Ambassador Nick Burns and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield team up to address these questions.

Author John Leland explores a simple yet profound question in his latest book _Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons From a Year Among the Oldest Old._ Drawing upon interviews with some of the oldest residents of New York City, listening to them weave tales of experience and wisdom they have gained as they approach their twilight years, Leland gives us sound advice on the pursuit of happiness. Image Source: Book Cover

Jane Coaston, a senior politics reporter at Vox, talks on the subject of conservative political ideology and right wing politics. Prior to joining Vox, Coaston covered the 2016 election for MTV News, examining the Republican Party and the American right wing in depth. Image Source: Pexels

Wayside Youth and Family Support Network's Multi-Service Center hosts a screening of NOVA's film ["Addiction"](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/education/addiction/ "") followed by a panel discussion with local experts about the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. Hosted at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA. Watch NOVA's entire film "Addiction" and find screening resources [here](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/education/addiction/ ""). Image Source: Pexels

One hundred years ago, a North End community was devastated by the rupture of a molasses tank that caused damage to the neighborhood and claimed twenty-one lives. Debate over the fallout of the flood remain in the folklore of Boston to this day. Questions on the matter pertaining to the role of big business taking responsibility for the flood damage and how reactions were handled by all involved still resonate.  Stephen Puleo, author of the book Dark Tide, and a panel with first-hand knowledge of labor issues then and now, discuss these lingering questions and relate them to what's happening in Boston's service industry now. Image: Old South Meeting House

The “yellow vest” demonstrations in France began in November as a response to a proposed gas tax increase. They quickly expanded to more violent protests against a wide range of perceived injustices perpetrated by non-responsive elites and the government of President Macron. The events fit a long French tradition of how to influence an unresponsive state. But many of the grievances, such as rising income inequality and worries about national identity, do not seem peculiarly French at all. So to what extent is the French conflict a harbinger for other countries, and to what extent is it peculiarly French? Patrick Chamorel earned both his university degree and Ph.D. from Sciences-Po in Paris and holds a Master in Public Law from the University of Paris. In the 1990s he served as a Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Industry and in the Policy Planning Office of the Prime Minister. But for more than two decades he has lived mainly in the United States, studying and teaching about U.S. politics, French politics, and transatlantic relations.

The threat of cyber conflict in the 21st Century comes to the forefront with Gus Coldebella. Threats such as industrial sabotage, election meddling, and others attacks are just examples of how the world of cyberspace presents a new form of international conflict and sabotage. Is the United States prepared to respond to such threats?

James Bennet is the editorial page editor of _The New York Times_. He oversees the editorial board and the Letters and Op-Ed sections. In this fellows lecture at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, Bennet discusses the role opinion pages in daily news, and what happens when an op-ed like the anonymous letter from a former member of the Trump administration becomes the news.

Udodiri R. Okwandu is a Doctorate student at Harvard University studying the links between social and science. She works to trace the histories of unethical medical practices used in America from the 19th century to present a history of racial inequality within the medical treatment industry. Udodiri uses this history to shed light on the ways in which problematic conceptualizations of race have contributed to health disparities among black Americans.