Past Events

GrubStreet, the Boston Literary District, and Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity joined forces to host "Who Are We When We’re At Home: the Black Experience in Boston” during the [Muse and the Marketplace 2017](https://grubstreet.org/muse/ "grub street conference link") conference at the Park Plaza Hotel. Boston Globe Associate Editor and Op-ed columnist Renee Graham moderates a conversation about the experience of code/switching that's common to African Americans nationally but also particularly in greater Boston, a city with its own very complicated and contradictory racial history. She’s joined at the table by the poet Charles Coe, historian Kerri Greenidge, and Boston’s Chief Resiliency Officer, Dr. Atyia Martin.

The Engine Company 40 Firehouse in East Boston's Jeffries Point neighborhood operated from 1924-1977, after which it stood vacant for almost 30 years. In 2005, the local youth organization ZUMIX was chosen to redevelop the building. Today the historic Firehouse contains an inspiring cultural and performance space for participants in ZUMIX programs and the East Boston community at large. Hear from Executive Director Madeleine Steczynski how the nonprofit transformed a long-abandoned firehouse into a Gold LEED certified youth development center with award-winning programs, featuring a state-of-the-art recording studio, radio station and gorgeous performance hall. (Image: Zumix)

**Ken Ludwig** speaks to an audience about introducing young children to the work of Shakespeare. Ludwig is the winner of the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book of 2014, _How to Teach Shakespeare to Children_. In it, Ludwig provides the tools to help children come to love and understand Shakespeare’s works.

Since the Six Day War, history has unfurled in the Middle East at a rapid pace, impacting generations of Israelis, Palestinians and, indeed, the entire region. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer will moderate a discussion among several Israeli thought leaders and activists on the social, political and religious challenges - and opportunities - for Israel in the next 50 years. Co-presented by CJP and JCC Greater Boston as a program of the Comm**UNITY** Israel Dialogue and the Jonathan Samen Hot Buttons, Cool Conversations Discussion Series. Photo: [Six day war. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Chief of staff Yitzhak Rabin, Gen. Rehavam Zeevi (R) And Gen. Narkis in the old city of Jerusalem.](http://http://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05 ) CC BY-SA 3.0, via [Wikimedia Commons](http://http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

For over half a century, every U.S. president has made nuclear nonproliferation a chief foreign policy objective. President Trump has called the Iran accord “a disastrous deal,” and has promised to dismantle it, while North Korea continues to pursue a larger, more sophisticated nuclear arsenal. Is the Iran nuclear deal “good” for the U.S.? What should American policy be toward North Korea? And what is the likelihood of terrorists building or obtaining a nuclear weapon?

Coastal waters can be important feeding grounds for white sharks, particularly areas with high densities of seals and sea lions. In addition, female white sharks also visit coastal waters to give birth to their young. Baby and juvenile white sharks have been found to use shallow open beach habitats and bays as nurseries. So, what does a white shark nursery look like? Probably like your favorite beach. And, why are they there? Probably for the same reasons you are; it’s safe in shallow waters, there is plenty of easy-to-obtain food (not to worry – that doesn’t include you), and it’s warm! Just like any summer beachgoer, baby white sharks don’t like the cold, so they quickly migrate to warmer waters, following the coastline when the temperature drops. We’ve learned all this using a variety of new technology such as acoustic and satellite transmitters, autonomous underwater and aerial vehicles (spybots), and underwater camera (selfie) stations. We’ve even learned about how El Niño can change their migration behavior and how that effects public perception of sharks. Come learn what we think makes for a good white shark nursery and where we might predict the next ones to pop up.

In this mini-documentary, Dr. Daniel Cziczo explains what atmosphere is, what it does, how it changes, why it needs our care on Earth. He also explains terraforming, geoengineering, and the search for atmospheres on certain moons and even exoplanets.

Dr. Brian Helmuth discusses how climate change is experienced by different species on a very local level. Organisms such as mussels and fish in the same environment can be impacted by local ocean temperature and acidity very differently. Understanding these differences in this time of rapid climate changes can help us understand the variability of different species to adapt –or not. Dr. Helmuth also describes some of the innovative and international projects from his lab that engage young people in addressing the climate change challenge.

**Noam Chomsky**, MIT's Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy, and **Amy Goodman**, host of the award-winning independent news program _Democracy Now!_ discuss the unprecedented rate of inequality in the U.S. and its impacts on society and democracy, as addressed in Chomsky's book/doc film, [_Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power_](http://www.harvard.com/event/noam_chomsky/ ""). Noam Chomsky is widely regarded as the most influential thinker of our time, but never before has he devoted a major book to one topic: income inequality. "Requiem for the American Dream" is not an essay collection but an entire work of some 70,000 words based on four years of interviews with Chomsky by the editors. Chomsky considers these to be his final, long-form documentary interviews. It is a book that makes Chomsky's breadth and depth accessible, and at the same gives us his most powerful political ideas with unprecedented, breathtaking directness. It will go down as one of his greatest and most lasting contributions. Requiem for the American Dream is being produced in tandem with the film of the same name that was recently released in selected theaters and is now available to watch via online streaming.

The first round of the 2017 French presidential election – the most unpredictable in decades — will take place on April 23. The unpopular incumbent, Francois Hollande, did not seek a second term, leaving five candidates chasing a place in the second-round runoff on May 7. With Hollande’s would-be Socialist successor Benoît Hamon on the margins, and main opposition Republican nominee Francois Fillon dogged by scandal, the race is wide open for the young maverick Emmanuel Macron – and for the National Front’s Marine Le Pen. Will France follow recent British and American election results down a populist, anti-immigrant path? This talk, to be held 48 hours after the first round returns, explores the issues and the stakes facing French voters in April, May and June, when parliamentary elections will decide who governs France for the next five years and whether the Fifth Republic is strong enough to withstand the combined challenges of populism and weakened parties.