Past Events

This Thursday, May 7, on GBH Amplifies, we’re getting real about what it takes to build, survive, and lead, when the system wasn’t designed for you to win, government entities are cutting funding, while the needs increase.

Guests:

Conan Harris — founder of Conan Harris & Associates, a Boston-based strategist working at the intersection of workforce development, public safety, and economic opportunity.

Jamaal Wornum — community leader focused on creating access, equity, and grassroots impact across Boston.

Joseph Bennett — Boston native who spent over two decades incarcerated, now founder of YardTime Inc., advocating for returning citizens and breaking cycles tied to incarceration.

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.

A Ford Hall Forum screening of Living in Pryde in Boston's theater district at The Modern Theater on Washington St. Filmmakers and residents featured in the film will convene after the screening for a discussion with the audience.

Living in Pryde is a powerful short documentary following residents of The Pryde—New England’s first LGBTQ+ welcoming, affordable senior housing community. As LGBTQ+ rights face renewed challenges, the film highlights a generation that came of age without basic legal protections. Residents draw on a lifetime of resilience, reflecting on surviving the AIDS crisis, fighting for same-sex marriage, and coming out as transgender. Located in a former public school in Boston’s Hyde Park, The Pryde is both a refuge and a target—a place where community becomes a powerful force in the ongoing fight for civil rights and equality.

GBH Music and Jazz Boston welcome cuatrista Fabiola Méndez and her quartet to Calderwood Studio for a celebration of International Jazz Day. Méndez is an Emmy-nominated composer and musician known for her unique blend of genres, including folk, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean influences. Notably, Méndez was the first musician to graduate from Berklee with the Puerto Rican cuatro, the island’s national instrument, as her primary instrument. Following her viral GBH Jazz Instagram reel about the cuatro in 2025 and her well-received performance during the 2024 GBH Music Holiday Spectacular, Méndez returns to GBH in April for the first time as a headliner. Drawing inspiration from the mountains of Puerto Rico to the African rhythms of the Caribbean, Méndez and her quartet will present a collection of original works — taking the listener on a journey of storytelling through Latin folk and jazz. The concert takes place at 8 pm in Calderwood Studio with a pre-concert reception at 7:15pm. Paris Alston, of GBH News Rooted, will host the performance, which will be filmed for broadcast on GBH2. This event is made possible by the Goldstein Family Fund.

7:15-7:50pm Pre-event reception
7:50pm Guest are seated in Calderwood Studio (general admission)
8:00-9:00pm Live performance in Calderwood Studio

To know the name Judy Blume is to know and love literature. Her influential novels are classics, from "Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret" to "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Blume touched the lives of tens of millions of readers. Mark Oppenheimer shares his new biography of the iconic author.

GBH is proud to present a special America 250 edition of Outspoken, designed to bridge the gap between 18th‑century revolutionary ideals and 21st‑century “Artivism.”

Curated by Amanda Shea, Outspoken transforms the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library’s Newsfeed Café into a high‑energy, immersive performance space for a powerful evening of conversation and spoken word.

This Artivist Panel Discussion brings together historians and activists Dart Adams and Jalyse Ware in a moderated conversation with Amanda Shea centered on 250 Years of Unfinished Sentences—exploring our ancestor stories 250 years ago and how spoken word functions today as a tool for liberation.

Following the panel, local poets will take the stage to share their art and voices, continuing the dialogue through performance.

Guests are invited to stay, connect, and enjoy the vibe. Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase at the Newsfeed Café throughout the event. Join us for this engaging and thought‑provoking evening.

Arno Michaelis, a former Neo-Nazi and author of "My Life After Hate," and Mubin Shaikh, a former jihadist supporter turned counterterrorism expert share their journeys from radicalization to redemption. They reflect on their transformations, the beliefs that once fueled their hatred, and the turning points that led them to turn their lives around and be agents of change.

Beyond the Page invites you to a captivating evening with Emily Franklin, the bestselling author of The Lioness of Boston. Join us as she unearths the story behind her newest novel, Love & Others Monsters, in conversation with fellow author and award-winner, Ben Shattuck.

The untold origin story of Frankenstein, a feminist reckoning of sisters, survival, and the creation of monsters… 

Love & Other Monsters is the story of Claire Clairmont, the younger stepsister of Frankenstein author, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. It was Claire who, during one stormy and scandalous summer, changed the course of literature —only to be forgotten by history.

Step behind the scenes with Franklin and Shattuck as they delve into a story of love, lust, art, and betrayal.



TICKETS

* Virtual Admission — $0
Attend the live conversation on April 28th.

* BTP Bundle — $60
Attend the live conversation and receive the book, shipped straight to your door. This ticket includes: 

• Virtual admission to the live program on April 28th
• A SIGNED copy of Love & Other Monsters by Emily Franklin 
• GBH Membership (includes access to PBS Passport)

Books can be added at the point of registration. All books will be shipped following the event.

Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder of Generation Hope, Susan Blum, anthropologist at University of Notre Dame, and Paul LeBlanc, visiting scholar at Harvard Graduate School of Education, join moderator Anya Kamenetz to navigate discuss the question: What is college for today—and what is at stake for our democracy if its purpose erodes?

Massachusetts is home to the second-largest Brazilian population in the country, with thriving communities across Greater Boston and MetroWest. Brazilians are launching businesses, revitalizing neighborhoods, and creating pathways to economic opportunity.


Five local business leaders in the Brazilian community joined us for a conversation about entrepreneurship, economic mobility, and the growing influence of Brazilians in Massachusetts—and what their success means for the region’s future.

Learn what industries Brazilian entrepreneurs are building here and how are they shaping the state’s economic future.

From construction and real estate development to professional services, food, retail, and a growing number of women-led and family-owned enterprises, Brazilian entrepreneurs are helping drive innovation, job creation, and community investment across the Commonwealth.

Our panelists include:

• Real Estate Development & Construction - Nelson de Oliveira, Founder & CEO at Nelson Group
• Professional Services - Fernando Castro, President of Income Tax Plus
• Food Services - Renato Valentin, Co-founder of Tavern in the Square
• Personal Services - Flavia Leal, Owner of Flavia Leal Beauty School
• Consulting and Investment - Manuel Mendes, Global Executive Director of IXL Center for Innovation, Excellence and Leadership

Thanks to these organizations for an evening of networking in the GBH Atrium:

1. Brazilian American Center (BRACE)
2. Brazilian Women’s Group
3. Brazilian Workers Center
4. Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CDLE USA)
5. Downtown Framingham INC
6. Brazilian Consulate
7. Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers ( MAPS)
8. Brazilian Community Heritage Foundation 
9. Instituto Diáspora Brasil (IDB)

Join us at the GBH Studios at the Boston Public Library for a night of 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.