Past Events

It has been nearly one year since the attacks on October 7th, the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. That day, and the war that ensued, has led to an explosion in antisemitism worldwide and terrible suffering on both sides of the war. Our Hot Buttons Cool Conversations panel of American, Israeli and Palestinian experts will explore the war’s impact in Israel and its political reverberations in this country, including the war’s influence on our looming elections and how the election results could influence the conflict in Israel, Gaza and the rest of the world. 

Bring your smartest friends to the GBH Studios at the Boston Public Library for a nerdy night of NOVA science trivia! Get ready for creative categories and exciting prizes as we test your knowledge of the natural world, space, the history of science, and more!

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Rita Duffy was born in Belfast and graduated with an honorary BA and MA in Fine Art from the University of Ulster in 1985. One of Ireland's groundbreaking visual artists, she has produced acclaimed public art projects, including her early project Thaw, inspired by the Belfast ship Titanic. This post-conflict project explored Belfast’s relationship with the iceberg and aimed to connect local experiences of colonialism and sectarianism with a universal climate crisis. In 2011, she was awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to work at the Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster. She was recognized for her contribution to visual arts in Ireland in 2018 and elected to Aosdana, Ireland’s elected “people of the arts.” She was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Architects and was an associate at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she looked at the role of art in post-conflict societies. In 2024, she was appointed the Charlotte Maxeke-Mary Robinson Irish South Africa Research Chair at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.

Her recent projects include The Shirt Factory Project, The Souvenir Shop, Soften the Border, and The Raft. She has held residencies at the Long Room Hub at Trinity College in Dublin and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Duffy’s work is held in museum and private collections worldwide and her public art projects continue to grow in scale and ambition, exploring issues of female identity, history and politics, and borders.

Produced by Boston College Lowell Humanities Series, cosponsored by Irish Studies at Boston College and the Art, Art History, and Film Department.

The alarming acceleration of global warming is a grave threat to all forms of life. The only viable solution is the reduction and removal of the excess greenhouse gases --atmospheric CO2 and methane-- produced chiefly by fossil fuels. This requires immediate transition to renewable energy, combined with removal of atmospheric CO2. But there is a move to delay that transition by means of solar geoengineering. This approach involves the release of chemical particles high in the atmosphere that will shade the Sun. It does not eliminate the CO2 buildup. Solar geoengineering introduces serious risks that must be explained by responsible scientists.

Daniel Cziczo, a prominent atmospheric scientist specializing in the vital role of clouds in climate dynamics, explains the global warming threat and the risks involved in solar geoengineering.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE is pleased to present a film preview and discussion of our upcoming film,  The American Vice President. The event will feature an extended clip from the film and a panel discussion with filmmakers and participants.

Click this link to join:  https://wgbh.zoom.us/j/99844801974

Featured guests include:

Michelle Ferrari is the writer, producer, and director of The American Vice President. She has been creating innovative, critically-acclaimed documentaries for more than two decades. Her work has been seen on PBS, HBO, and at film festivals nationwide, and has garnered honors from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Writers Guild of America, among many other organizations. A frequent contributor to American Experience, her numerous credits include Peabody Award -nominee The Vote, The Eugenics Crusade, Rachel Carson, and Seabiscuit.

James E. Hite is author of Second Best: The Rise of the American Vice Presidency.

The discussion will be moderated by Cameo George, executive producer of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. George is an Emmy Award-winning producer, writer and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in documentary, broadcast television and digital content production. George has produced, developed and commissioned innovative programming at CNN, NBC News and ABC News.

About the film: The American Vice President explores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to a position of political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, when a grief-stricken and then scandal-plagued America was forced to clarify the role of the vice president, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh and surprising perspective on succession in the executive branch.

An Israeli and a Palestinian who has lost a close family member to the conflict tell their personal stories of loss and explain their choice to engage in dialogue and reconciliation. Robi Damelin, spokesperson and director of International Relations for The Parents Circle - Families Forum joined the organization after her son was killed by a Palestinian Sniper. Layla Al-Sheikh, lives in Bethlehem in the West Bank. In 2002, her six-month-old son, Qussay became ill, and Israeli soldiers prevented her from taking him to the hospital, and he soon died from the lack of timely treatment.

The moderator is Charles M. Sennott, an award-winning author and editor with 30 years of experience in international, national, and local journalism. Previously, Sennott worked for many years as a reporter at the Boston Globe, where he became Bureau Chief for the Middle East and Europe and a leader of the paper's international coverage.

 The Parents Circle - Families Forum is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization made up of more than 750 bereaved families. Their common bond is that they have lost a close family member to the conflict. But instead of choosing revenge, they have chosen a path of reconciliation. Through their educational activities, these bereaved members have joined together to take tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis on journeys of reconciliation. Learn more about the work of
The Parents Circle – Families Forum
 
American Friends of the Parents Circle – Families Forum shares the human side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the American public in order to foster a peace and reconciliation process.

Presented by Suffolk University's Ford Hall Forum, Political Science & Legal Studies Department, Communication, Journalism & Media Department, Office of Diversity, Access, and Inclusion, Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion, and The Parent’s Circle – Families Forum and the Global Citizens Circle.

This event is SOLD OUT.

Calling all fans of This Old House and craft beer! We invite you to attend this unique 90-minute tasting experience. Guests will be sent a kit containing a selection of four independent, craft beers celebrating the season of Oktoberfest. Whether you're versed in many brew styles or just beginning to learn more about the finer points of artisan craft beer, this entertaining virtual event will expand your knowledge of the history and process that goes into creating these special brews. Each beer has been hand-picked by Certified Cicerone® Cindy Mooney, the co-founder of Your Beer Friend, and the evening’s host.

This exclusive private Zoom will feature This Old House host, Kevin O’Connor, and Charlie Silva, General Contractor. Engage with them as they taste along with you and CIndy. The talented This Old House duo will share unique anecdotes from their arsenal of stories amassed working on the show. Swap tasting notes in the chat with them as you savor the four distinct brews we’ll be sampling during the event.

We hope you, or whoever you're giving this beer kit gift to, is excited to come along on this craft beer journey with us and the duo from This Old House!

Ticket purchases for this event support GBH programming.

Your ticket includes:

- 4 cans of craft beer (enough for two to taste) that will be shipped directly to your door

- Access to the virtual tasting led by Cindy Mooney along with This Old House’s Kevin O’Connor and Charlie Silva

- 90 minutes of beer education which incorporates your beer-related audience questions

IMPORTANT NOTES: Kits cannot be shipped to Canada and the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Vermont, Utah, Rhode Island and West Virginia. We also can not ship to any PO boxes.

Guests must be 21 years old to participate in alcohol related events.

PLEASE NOTE:

- This event is SOLD OUT. The deadline to register for this tasting event was Friday, August 23 at 5pm ET.

- You will need to show identification and sign upon delivery to prove you are 21+ years of age. (The beer will not be delivered without proof of ID)

- This kit includes 4 cans of beer, each can serves tasting pours for 2 people

Photo Credit: Connie Chornuk

Luisa Neubauer, the acclaimed German climate activist and co-founder of the school strike for climate movement in Germany, commonly referred to as Fridays for Our Future discusses her recent co-authored book, Beginning to End the Climate Crisis: A History of our Future with Sabine von Mering, director of the Center for German and European Studies and professor of German and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Brandeis University and co-editor of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism, and a climate activist with 350Mass, and Jule Manitz, a climate justice activist with Extinction Rebellion Boston, where she plays a pivotal role in organizing and supporting impactful protests, including civil disobedience actions.

The moderator is Beth Daley, executive editor and general manager of The Conversation and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for climate reporting at The Boston Globe.

In this book, Luisa Neubauer, the best-known German climate activist, and her co-author create the history of our future. If we don’t change course now, we’ll eliminate ourselves. Politicians, entrepreneurs, citizens, everyone must take action. But how? One thing is undisputed: There is no planet B. We must inform and organize ourselves to save the future. In Beginning to End the Climate Crisis, Neubauer presents solutions that are ready to be implemented and must finally be put into practice. But she also demonstrates the attitude with which we must deal with this exceptional situation: undaunted but level-headed. And unyielding towards those who determine our future. Because the last chance for a positive end to the climate crisis is NOW.

This event is part of a new series of author events - the First Annual Book Festival- , presented by Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University and Brandeis University Press. The series is based on recently published books from Brandeis University Press and brings prominent authors to Boston to discuss topics of current and enduring interest.

For world-recognized scientist and visionary, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, trees are a religion. In her eyes, forests are cathedrals that present humanity with numerous divine gifts including the source of the planet’s potential salvation. “I want to remind you that the forest is far more than a source of timber.  It is our collective medicine cabinet.  It is our lungs. It is the regulatory system for our climate and our oceans.  It is the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. It is the mantle of our planet and our sacred home.”

Orphaned at a young age in Ireland, Diana was the last child to receive a full Druidic education which immersed her in ancient Celtic wisdom before she attended University College, Cork where she gained an extensive scientific education. But she never forgot the old wisdom and Diana has spent a lifetime trying to understand trees and share that knowledge with the world. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades for her work and has spent decades curating, planting and restoring the global forest. In addition to authoring numerous books on the topic Diana is also the subject of the documentary Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees (available on Amazon).

 Our Green Heart is Diana’s latest book, and in it she challenges us all to dig deeper into the science of forests and the ways they will save us from climate breakdown – and then do our part to plant and protect them.

“The children of earth’s future need a world where these essential connections are revitalized and respected.  We can give them this future by pledging to revive the global forest.  Pick up a trowel.  Plant a native tree every year for six years.  It’s that simple”.

Charles Walcott has been a leader in the research on migratory creatures, especially birds. He explains in this program what scientists presently know, and how scientists investigate the sensory maps of migratory creatures. For example, pigeons use both the sun and the Earth’s magnetic field as a compass to navigate long distances. But how pigeons know the direction toward home is still uncertain.