Past Events

In this year’s Disability ReFramed panel discussion, Celebrating Our Childhood on TV, we spotlight the recently launched American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) Special Collection: Representing Children with Disabilities on Public Television, which illustrates how public media has consistently led the way in improving accessibility, representation, and inclusive storytelling. Our panelists, disability rights activist and author Emily Ladau and violinist Adrian Anantawan, share how their lives were impacted by seeing themselves represented onscreen during their formative years. The conversation is moderated by Donna Danielewski, the executive director of accessibility at GBH.

Public media has always told the stories that speak to all viewers in the most accessible way. The GBH show “ZOOM” was the first open-captioned children’s television show and — funded by the Department of Education — featured disabled “ZOOMguests” to support the transition of disabled students into mainstream schools. Other shows like “Feeling Free” created a place just for disabled children, while still others — including “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers Neighborhood,” and “Arthur” — featured disabled actors, guests, or characters. For an entire generation, these were memorable television firsts.

View our shared and living Resource Document from the event. Please feel free to reach out via email to Accessibility@WGBH.org with any edits or comments.

Visit the AAPB donation page to give today, and type “Disability ReFramed ” in the dedication box when you submit your gift. Organizations interested in partnering with the AAPB to enhance this collection should reach out directly at aapb_notifications@wgbh.org.



Plus, view behind-the-scenes items from the Special Collection . . .


Before the discussion, join us in the GBH Atrium for a light reception and view select items from the new special collection, highlighting public media’s long‑standing work to amplify the experiences of children with disabilities — many in shows produced right here at GBH! A joint project of the AAPB, MLA, NCAM, and the Media Access Group, this collection reflects a shared commitment to accessibility across GBH.


Do you have a memory or impact story to share for possible inclusion in our event? We want to hear from you!

DM us to share your story or fill out this brief form.


Disability ReFramed is a GBH annual conversation that imagines what the future could be.

This event is presented with support from our sponsors: Learn Behavioral BCI Centers, PNC Bank, and Vinfen.
Accessibility: This event was captioned using CART, and featured American Sign Language interpreters (ASL). Both available for live and virtual audiences.

Join us at the GBH Studios at the Boston Public Library for NOVA science trivia! Get ready for creative categories that test your knowledge of science, from the depths of the universe to the history of science. This month, we will dive into ocean trivia, survival science, and paternal nature!

In this live recording of GBH Amplifies, chef Tracy Chang of PAGU brings together a dynamic trio of local fermenters, Aya Abe Rowe (Aya’s Culture Kitchen), Bob Florence (Moromi Shoyu), and Flora Spivak (Somerville Fermentation Festival), to explore the deep roots, science, and community spirit behind the world's most alive foods. From biotech labs and tech startups to rigorous apprenticeships with master craftspeople in Japan, the panelists share how their scientific curiosity transformed into a passion for small-batch fermentation and ancestral knowledge.

While the live audience enjoys an inventive tasting of natto-parmesan spreads, gochujang cookies, miso potato salad, and naturally fermented sencha sparkling tea, the conversation dives deep into the philosophy of kaizen (continuous improvement) and the power of food to spark human connection. Tune in to discover how these flavor pioneers are honoring the past, driving culinary innovation, and gearing up for the upcoming Somerville Fermentation Festival.

GBH Amplifies is a community conversation series focused on expanding the reach of local voices from Greater Boston and beyond. The series features community leaders hosting public conversations in the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, providing a platform for inclusive perspectives on the issues that matter most to New England communities. GBH Amplifies happens weekly on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm at the GBH BPL Studio. This event is free and open to the public.

GBH Amplifies is also being supported by the Barr Foundation.

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.

When’s the last time you checked your paystub?


Most Americans don’t anymore. It can be hard to find them on HR websites. But Americans really should be checking their paystubs. Each of those deductions is a monument to fierce battles over what life should be like, on and off the job. They are also a reminder, every few weeks, that so much of what it has meant to be a citizen has been tied to the work that Americans have done.



Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, a professor of history at the University of Georgia, speaks at the Charles River Museum on the history behind the deductions on our paystubs and their connections to American democracy and capitalism.

Massachusetts spent its first 250 years inventing the country. Independence started here. So did public education, the telephone, the polio vaccine, the World Wide Web's first American node, and a long line of the institutions and ideas the rest of the country grew up using. Where Liberty Sparks Innovation is a one-day gathering at GBH about what this state helps invent in the next 250. The people, technologies, and institutions that carry the experiment forward to America at 500.

The day is part of Our America 250, a statewide initiative honoring the Revolution's quarter-millennium by treating it as a starting line rather than a finish. The program convenes scientists, founders, civic leaders, artists, educators, and organizers — including voices the first 250 years left out — for the kind of cross-generational conversation Massachusetts has always been good at hosting.

These talks will look to the future, and serve as living digital time capsules to be reviewed and acted on for the next 250 years.



SCHEDULE
Further details on the event schedule and line-up of speakers can be found here.

• 3:00 PM - Welcome Remarks
• 3:05 PM - Block 1
• 4:05 PM - Break
• 4:25 PM - Block 2
• 5:30 PM - Break
• 5:55 PM - Block 3
• 6:55 PM - Closing Remarks

GBH is joining the Refugee Supper Club for their second Cambridge Refugee Food Festival! A vibrant outdoor food market featuring bites from around the world, all crafted by talented refugee chefs and cooks living in Greater Boston.

Taste flavors from Cuba, Haiti, Morocco, Somalia, Ukraine, Venezuela, and more while learning about the rich cultures, traditions, and journeys behind each dish. In addition to global eats, the festival will highlight local organizations supporting refugee communities, with educational activities, storytelling, and resources for deeper engagement.

Kick off summer with GBH at our studio at the Boston Public Library on June 20 at 11 AM for a free community celebration! We’re marking our nation’s upcoming 250th birthday with the launch of America’s Awesome Kids, a new series of mini‑docs featuring real kids from across the country—highlighting their diverse geographies, talents, traditions, and experiences.

Enjoy hands‑on activities, face painting, photo ops with your favorite PBS KIDS characters, and plenty of awesome kids in the spotlight.

As we look ahead to America’s 250th anniversary, we’re excited to celebrate the next generation of leaders—kids who are helping their communities, sharing their stories, and flexing their civic skills. Come celebrate summer, our community, and the awesome kids shaping tomorrow!

Wars and borders divide us, but the World Cup brings us together. It is the greatest unifying force on the planet, capturing the hearts of over five billion viewers who gather to celebrate passion, teamwork, and the beautiful game. For one spectacular month every four years, the globe becomes a single, cheering stadium.

Here in Boston, as one of several hosts cities in the US, seven matches will have been played, and millions will have visited Beantown. Even if you don’t understand the game, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement. To help us explore the significance of Boston hosting the event, we'll speak to a few journalists who have been covering the action on and off the pitch.

Guests:

Omar Cabrera
Mass Latino and NE Revolution Spanish Announcer

Caleb Pongratz
Major League Soccer Lead content contributor for Spotrac

Esteban Bustillos
Reporter for GBH News

Esteban is a reporter for GBH News. Born and raised in Texas, he interned at the San Antonio Express-News, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and The Dallas Morning News before coming to Boston. He’s a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper, The Mercury, and was a DJ for Radio UTD.

GBH Amplifies is a community conversation series focused on expanding the reach of local voices from Greater Boston and beyond. The series features community leaders hosting public conversations in the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, providing a platform for inclusive perspectives on the issues that matter most to New England communities. GBH Amplifies happens weekly on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm at the GBH BPL Studio. This event is free and open to the public.

GBH Amplifies is also being supported by the Barr Foundation.

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.

7:15-7:50pm Pre-event reception

7:50-7:58pm Guest are seated in Fraser Performance Studio

8:00-9:00pm Live performance in Fraser Performance Studio

The two-time Grammy-nominated Neave Trio closes out GBH Music’s 2025-2026 season with "American Mosaics," a program celebrating the diverse voices that have shaped, and been shaped by, American musical traditions. As a musical cornerstone of America 250, the concert contributes to GBH’s organization-wide examination of national identity leading up to and beyond the semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026. The performance explores the uniquely American sound of composer Aaron Copland and his influential teacher, Rubin Goldmark, and introduces the Boston premiere of "A Vast Palette," a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Jennifer Higdon. The concert opens with works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Black British composer who drew deep inspiration from African American spirituals, and closes with pieces by Astor Piazzolla, whose nuevo tango style was informed by his upbringing in New York City during the height of the Jazz Age. “American Mosaics" is hosted by Brian McCreath, host of CRB's Boston Symphony broadcasts. The performance will be recorded for future broadcast on GBH 2 and as part of In Concert on CRB Classical 99.5. The program is funded by the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation.

The Charlestown Historical Society hosts a discussion on the legacy of the Battle of Bunker Hill led by GBH News Features Editor Jennifer Moore. She sits down with author Donald Ryan, VP of Charlestown Historical Society, Dr. Timothy Riordan, and President of Charlestown Historical Society, Julie Hall, who share their insights into the recent excavations around Bunker Hill and lesser-known stories from the monumental day 251 years ago.

Descendants of those who fought the Battle of Bunker Hill also share family histories based on artifacts, journals, weapons and more from their family archives.