Past Events

**WGBH’s 2018 Innovation IdeaLab** convened powerful writers, grassroots activists, economists, architects and green designers around the theme of [The Changemakers](http://forum-network.org/series/changemakers-wgbh-innovation-idealab/ "") for the popular day-long gathering supported by The Kendeda Fund. The purpose of the IdeaLab is to plant new stories for public media, with sessions ranging from Saving Nature, Saving Ourselves; to The Future of Work; and Designing Green and Equitable Communities.

WGBH’s 2018 Innovation IdeaLab convened powerful writers, grassroots activists, economists, architects and green designers around the theme of The Changemakers for the popular day-long gathering supported by The Kendeda Fund. The purpose of the IdeaLab is to plant new stories for public media, with sessions ranging from Saving Nature, Saving Ourselves; to The Future of Work; and Designing Green and Equitable Communities. **In this session:** » Bill McKibben, Author, Educator, Environmentalist » Tara Houska, Campaigns Director, Honor the Earth; Attorney, Couchiching First Nation » Chad Brown, US Navy Veteran; Founder, Soul River Runs Deep » Lucy Cooke, Zoologist, Author, Broadcaster

Bob "Cooz" Cousy, the Hall of Fame Boston Celtics captain who led the team to its first six championships, has a lot to be proud of. But now, at age 90, he has one last piece of unfinished business. He seeks to make amends with his great partner on the Celtics, fellow Hall of Fame member Bill Russell, now 84. Cooz tells author Gary M. Pomerantz in the new book, [_The Last Pass_](http://www.garympomerantz.com/books/the-last-pass "The Last Pass book link"), that he should have been more publicly opposed to the prejudice Russell faced. **WATCH LIVE:** Join us for this important conversation about loyalty and bravery in the face of racism. Streaming here at 4 p.m. on October 29th.

Artist Ai Weiwei and the MFA Boston's Matsutaro Shoriki Chair of Art of Asia, Christina Yu Yu, met in Boston for the launch of the book _Ai Weiwei: Beijing Photographs 1993–2003_ by MIT Press. Opening remarks by Roger Conover, Executive Editor at the MIT Press. The book is an autobiography in pictures. Ai Weiwei is China’s most celebrated contemporary artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. This book offers an intimate look at his world in the years after his return from New York and preceding his imprisonment and global superstardom. The photographs capture the artist’s emergence as the uniquely provocative figure that he is today. With more than 600 carefully sequenced images culled from an archive of more than 40,000 photographs taken by Ai Weiwei, there is no more revealing portrait of his life in China than this. Image: [www.flickr.com](https://www.flickr.com/photos/a-weidinger/22825274976 "Ai Weiwei")

Authors Julie C. Day, Hillary Monahan, and Paul Tremblay read from their rather dark stories and discuss horror, writing and more. Part of the Speculative Boston author series, held this time at Trident Booksellers & Cafe. Image: [www.pexels.com](https://www.pexels.com "pexels")

Investigative journalist Carey Gillam writes about Monsanto, the global agri-chemical corporation, which recently merged with Bayer and is now worth $60 billion. In a recent court battle in San Francisco, the company lost against one individual groundskeeper who is dying from lymphoma. DeWayne “Lee" Johnson attributes his cancer to the use of Monsanto’s ubiquitous weedkiller,RoundUp. He won $289 million in compensation. This landmark lawsuit has opened the door for hundreds of other cancer cases to proceed to trial. For her work, Gillam received the prestigious Rachel Carson Book Award for unveiling decades of corporate secrets and deceptive tactics by powerful pesticide companies, and exposing how the corporate pursuit of profits has taken priority over protection of the public. Image: Bookcover

Hear from a panel of experts on the issues surrounding the renewals of Temporary Protected Status for many of the immigrants living in Massachusetts. This group of advocates works closely with individuals to navigate the process for continuing to live in the U.S. while situations in their countries of origin remain difficult and make it impossible for them to return home. The Lenny Zakim Fund Award Bridge Builder Breakfasts bring donors and grantees together to hear from thoughtful leaders and experts on topics that are current and vital to the LZF mission and community. Presented by The Lenny Zakim Fund in Collaboration with Barr Foundation and Hyams Foundation. [www.thelennyzakimfund.org/](http://www.thelennyzakimfund.org/ "thelennyzakimfund.org")

Communities around the world are working on solutions to make our buildings, streets and infrastructure resilient to more frequent storms and sea level rise associated with climate change. Very few, however, want to talk about the sensitive topic of managed retreat (commonly known as climate migration). How do you even begin talking about uprooting entire communities? Who will pay for it? Who makes these decisions? The BSA Foundation hosts a conversation that starts to address these questions. Hear from planning, economic development and community engagement leaders that have begun the task. Don’t miss the special remote appearance from the Center for Planning Excellence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where they are actively working with residents from Isle de Jean Charles on relocating an entire community from their sinking island. Image: [www.pexels.com](https://www.pexels.com/ "pexels")

In eight wide-ranging essays, collected in _We Can't Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies, and the Art of Survival_, Jabari Asim explores such topics as the twisted legacy of jokes and falsehoods in black life; the importance of black fathers and community; the significance of black writers and stories; and the beauty and pain of the black body. What emerges is a rich portrait of a community and culture that has resisted, survived, and flourished despite centuries of racism, violence, and trauma. These thought-provoking essays present a different side of American history, one that doesn’t depend on a narrative steeped in oppression but rather reveals black voices telling their own stories. Asim is an author, poet and playwright. For this discussion he is joined in conversation by _Boston Globe_ columnist Adrian Walker. Image: Book Cover

WGBH Events hosts a discussion about heroes and heroines. Learn from Dr. Sarah Zaidan, Joel Christian Gill, and Dyan deNapoli about superheroes and culture, history through comics, and a local hero saving the world one penguin at a time.