Past Events

Join American Ancestors at the Boston Public Library for an illustrated tour of the Gilded Age, seen through the experiences and artistry of two of its celebrated artists: architect Stanford White and the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Author Henry Wiencek and moderator Curt DiCamillo will take us behind the scenes to show how these two cultural trendsetters transcended scandal to enrich their times.

The creator of landmark buildings that elevated American architecture to new heights, Stanford White was a man-about-town and a canny cultural entrepreneur. Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s painstaking work brought emotional depth to American sculpture; he was the son of an immigrant shoemaker, a moody introvert, and a committed procrastinator. These two artists pursued their own careers in Italy and France, then came together again in New York, where they maintained an friendship and partnership that sustained them. White calmed Sant-Gaudens’s troubled spirits and vouched for him when he failed to complete projects. Saint-Gaudens challenged White to take his artistic gifts seriously and supported him even through the sordid debaucheries that led to White’s sensational murder. In Stan and Gus, the acclaimed historian Henry Wiencek sets these men’s relationship within the larger story of the American Renaissance, where millionaires’ commissions and delusions of grandeur collided with secret upper-class clubs, new aesthetic ideas.

Porter Square Books is thrilled to partner with GBH to bring an in-person event featuring "Under the Radar with Callie Crossley." Callie Crossley will be in conversation with Allison King, author of The Phoenix Pencil Company.

This event will take place at their CAMBRIDGE store. They offer validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley's University Hall.

Excavated between 1639 and 1641, the Mother Brook canal in Dedham is arguably the oldest power canal in North America. The waterway connects the Charles and the Neponset Rivers by way of an inland spring-fed brook. This created a fall of water that was strong enough to power the town’s first grist mill.

Join the Charles River Museum for a talk with Judy Neiswander who discusses industrial uses of the canal and East Dedham’s evolution into a powerhouse of textile production.

The Outlaws Motorcycle Club is the oldest biker club in the world. In its 90 year existence, the club has become known for being involved in organized crime, including (but not limited to) drug trafficking, prostitution rings, weapons trafficking, and violent acts directed at rival clubs. Its presence in Massachusetts is longstanding, with chapters in Taunton and Brockton. FBI Agent Scott Payne went undercover in 2005 to help get some of their members off our streets.

Payne’s new book “Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis” depicts his experiences infiltrating this gang, as well as other extremist groups like the KKK.  

Senior investigative journalist Phillip Martin will welcome Payne and lead this conversation about America’s modern era of domestic terrorism. Payne draws from his experiences infiltrating criminal organizations and white supremacist groups, sharing firsthand accounts of their evolving tactics, recruitment strategies, and use of online platforms. Martin, known for his award-winning reporting on race and extremism, will use his expertise to guide the discussion around what ongoing threats these movements pose to American democracy and public safety.

Also joining this conversation is Heidi Beirich, CSO and co-founder of Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) with decades of tracking extremism groups under her belt, and Ellie Atkins, research fellow in History and Political Science at Boston College, who will speak to her observations and study of extremism worldwide. This conversation sheds light on the hidden networks of hate—and the persistent societal need for vigilance, education, and action in addressing these issues.

John Infranca of Suffolk University Law School and Sara Bronin of the National Zoning Atlas launch the Massachusetts Zoning Atlas, the first resource to comprehensively visualize zoning conditions across the 352 zoning jurisdictions in the Commonwealth.

The Massachusetts Zoning Atlas compiles data from more than 46,000 pages of zoning codes and includes information for over 5,500 zoning districts. It presents this data in an accessible, interactive map that displays key zoning information for each district and enables users to make apples-to-apples comparisons of zoning codes across cities and towns.

They share how the zoning atlas was created and demonstrate how it can be used to analyze zoning throughout the state. Abundant Housing Massachusetts Executive Director Jesse Kanson-Benanav and Citizens' Housing and Planing Association Director of Municipal Engagement Lily Linke share remarks as they discuss how legislators, housing advocates, and the general public can enlist the Atlas to inform zoning reform efforts, support legislative campaigns, aid public education on zoning’s impact and effects, and enable new inroads for scholarly land use research.

The Massachusetts Zoning Atlas is part of the National Zoning Atlas, a project of Land Use Atlas, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to digitize, demystify, and democratize zoning information about zoning conditions in more than 33,000 jurisdictions in the United States.

Explore the Massachusetts Zoning Atlas at https://www.zoningatlas.org/atlas.

Join GBH at the 2025 Open Streets event series, where neighborhood streets are closed to vehicular traffic to create room for community and play. The events allow local businesses to expand into the street and to safely make space for music, games, bicycling, community tabling, and more. On July 12, come to Blue Hill Ave from Warren St. to Quincy Street in Roxbury!

More than 70 million adults in the U.S.—that’s 1 in 4 people—live with a disability; some since birth, some developed over time, and some lives changed unexpectedly. The disabilities community is growing, and no matter how it arrives in your life, a disability is a natural aspect of the human experience. People with disabilities deserve our recognition and support.

Join us for a discussion on ways to be more welcoming to those who are newly managing disability or chronic illness, how to navigate life’s changes with resilience and adaptation, and how together we will build a stronger, more supportive and connected community. Our panelists are Keisha Greaves, a motivational speaker, former Muscular Dystrophy Association National Spokesperson, and founder of the company Girls Chronically Rock; Carl Richardson, the long time Coordinator for implementation of the the Americans with Disability Act, 504, and Diversity Officer for the Massachusetts State House; and Tina Zhu Xi Caruso, a visually impaired photographer, disability advocate and participant in the Netflix series Love on the Spectrum.

Serving as moderator of this important and timely conversation is Nicole Agois Hurel, a musician, educator, arts administrator, and disability advocate whose work centers at the intersection of arts, education and disability. She is the Managing Director of Open Door Arts, an organization that works to increase access, participation, and representation in arts and culture by people with disabilities.

Disability ReFramed is a GBH annual conversation that imagines what the future could be. Come and network prior to the event and learn more from local partner organizations presenting in the GBH Atrium.

This event is presented with support from our sponsors:
the Museum of Science, Vinfen, and Bentley University

Join us at the GBH Studios at the Boston Public Library for a night of NOVA science trivia! Get ready for creative categories and exciting prizes as we test your knowledge, from the depths of the universe to the history of science.

This month, we will test your knowledge of Sun science, the insect kingdom, oceanography, and more!

Join the Charles River Museum and Henrik Broekman for a curiosity-driven discussion of what it is like to pursue your bliss and fully immerse yourself in the world of harpsichords. Throughout his decades of experience in this industry, Hendrik has found himself constantly asked about the craftsmanship behind these exquisite instruments, how they are manufactured, and more. He will be answering these questions while sharing what it is like to build and create a career centered around harpsichords.

Henrik Broekman has been a pioneering craftsman, musician, and harpsichord builder for over 50 years. He worked with both Frank Hubbard and Eric Hertz, though most of his career was spent as Technical Director in the Hubbard Shop. He took over operations after the retirement of Diane Hubbard in 2000 and still plays, repairs, and builds harpsichords.

Initially scheduled in May.

In this unique panel American Ancestors' guest speakers will focus on the defining years of 1860-1920 and bring to life the experiences of a great variety of Americans, from the enslaved-then-free peoples and soldiers who marched with Union Civil War General Sherman to immigrants, workers, Native Americans, and women. Don’t miss learning more about Bennett Parten’s and Manisha Sinha’s groundbreaking research, new books, and insightful discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alan Taylor. 

In Somewhere Toward Freedom, Bennett Parten provides a full account of Sherman’s March to the Sea—the critical Civil War campaign that destroyed the Confederacy. For the first time, he tells this remarkable tale from perspective of the tens of thousands of enslaved people who fled to the Union lines and transformed Sherman’s march into the biggest liberation event in American history.

Manisha Sinha expands our view of the Reconstruction time period in The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic. Her startling original account opens in 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln, that triggered the secession of the Deep South states, and take us all the way to 1920 and the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote—and which Sinha calls the "last Reconstruction amendment."

Join for these historians’ unique and insightful presentations and for the discussion that follows facilitated by moderator Alan Taylor.

Books Featured: Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation by Bennett Parten; and The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 by Manisha Sinha.

Presented in partnership with 10 Million Names and Boston Public Library.