Past Events

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?".

Harvard Book Store and Mass Humanities welcome NYU professor and scientific director of Crime Lab New York Patrick Sharkey for a discussion of his latest book, Uneasy Peace: The Great Crime Decline, the Renewal of City Life, and the Next War on Violence. He is joined in conversation by sociologist and Harvard University professor William Julius Wilson. From New York’s Harlem neighborhood to South Los Angeles, Sharkey draws on original data and textured accounts of neighborhoods across the country to document the most successful proven strategies for combatting violent crime and to lay out innovative and necessary approaches to the problem of violence. At a time when crime is rising again and powerful political forces seek to disinvest in cities, the insights in this book are indispensable. (Image: [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/bird-s-eye-view-cars-crossing-crossroad-5486/ "Pexels") and Book Cover)

Kurt Andersen takes the long view on fake news in his new book "Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History", arguing that huckstering has always been part of America's DNA.

This Podcast Garage community discussion celebrates two award-winning artists, collaborators, and friends: Vusumuzi “Vuzi” Maduna and Ekua Holmes. Their sculptures, masks, and collage-based works are an exploration of ancestral voices, family histories, and the power of hope, faith and self-determination.