Past Events

In commemoration of Frederick Douglass' 200th birthday and the Museum of African American History's acclaimed exhibit, Picturing Frederick Douglass: The Most Photographed American of the 19th Century, join us for a panel discussion and Q&A with some of the leading experts on Frederick Douglass's life and legacy.

With more than a dozen years of experience as an author, magazine journalist, and historian, Garrett Graff presents a talk on the ongoing investigation into the alleged collusion between the Trump administration and Russia. [](https://news.wgbh.org/2018/02/22/politics-government/muellers-method-understanding-course-russia-investigation "") **» SEE ALSO:** [Garrett Graff's interview with WGBH News.](https://news.wgbh.org/2018/02/22/politics-government/muellers-method-understanding-course-russia-investigation"")

This is the second presentation in our 2018 Science Literacy series at MIT Dr. Helmuth and Dr. Coley combine their expertise to discuss how we respond to uncomfortable facts of climate change.

This is the first presentation in the Citizens Literacy program, a joint project between Science for the Public, Belmont Library and Belmont Media Center. The Citizens Literacy program will present speakers on science issues, civic issues and media issues in an effort to promote public awareness and response to important concerns of our time. Dr. Cziczo explains climate change, plus how we can help shape policy.

Margaret Sullivan is the media columnist for The Washington Post, writing on journalism ethics, free speech, and the intersection of politics and the news media. She talks with Nicco Mele, Director of the Shorenstein Center, about the #MeToo Movement, Trump's affect on the media, and the troubling decline of local newspapers.

Activist and author Kevin Powell explores America during the civil rights movement, with an emphasis on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through examinations of the landscape of that era and what has changed since, he highlights the work that remains to be done in the twenty-first century around race, gender, class, sexual identity, spiritual and religious beliefs, different abilities and disabilities, and more. He also explores today’s young people, American pop culture, and social media and its effect on activism.

Are science and religion forever locked in conflict or can they coexist? On issues from evolution and the big bang to new advances in technology and medicine, religion and science are often at odds. The panelists for this talk tackle some of the most controversial breakthroughs in science, including gene editing. What happens as our ethical and religious institutions struggle to keep up with science’s latest developments? We address the weighty questions asking if science refutes religion or if they are two separate issues. Unfortunately, we had technical issues with audio for this talk, so enjoy engaging clips from the mics that were functioning - watch more below:

Sandro Galea, M.D., DrPH is an international leader in the field of public health. Here he discusses the numerous socio-economic factors that impact health, and also provides some comparisons between the cost of health and the state of health between the U.S. and other wealthy nations. Photo: By Thatcher Cook for PopTech [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

There has been remarkable progress in global health over the last five decades, including eradication of smallpox, large scale treatment of AIDS, and dramatic reductions in childhood and maternal deaths. Through its foreign policy and foreign assistance, the U.S has lead in these and other health achievements, which have boosted life expectancy and economic development worldwide. A healthier world has been both a gift to humankind and a benefit to the U.S. But will the U.S. continue to lead in addressing future global health challenges: making the world safer from pandemic threats, achieving universal health coverage, and confronting chronic diseases? Dr. Jonathan Quick, a Senior Fellow at Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, is also international public health expert. He is the author of the forthcoming book, _The End of Epidemics: The Looming Threat to Humanity and How to Stop It._ Photo: A U.S. Public Health officer in Monrovia, Liberia in 2014. By Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Hoskins.

The Climate Action Business Association (CABA) explores current trends and future outlooks for the state's solar industry. Since 2010, the Massachusetts clean energy economy has expanded exponentially. As we continue transitioning to a distributive electric grid, questions arise about where energy is generated and how it is utilized by interconnected customers. CABA convenes policy experts, industry professionals, and community advocates to collaborate on a collective vision for the state and asks questions such as, "What does the future electric grid look like?", "Where do utilities and solar companies fit into that vision?".