Past Events

Gen Z Environmental Justice Educator & Founder of QueerBrownVegan Isaias Hernandez converses with Boston Public Library President David Leonard on his journey and work as a Queer Brown and Vegan person.

Join Revolutionary Spaces for the launch of Eli Merritt’s new eye-opening book, Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution. Merritt reveals the deep political divisions that almost tore the Union apart during the American Revolution, and how the founding generation succeeded in holding the young nation together by uniting for the sake of liberty and self-preservation. Disunion Among Ourselves has inevitable resonances with our present era of political hyperpolarization and serves as a touchstone for contemporary politics, reminding us that the founders overcame far tougher times than our own through commitment to ethical constitutional democracy and compromise.

“Eli Merritt deftly explores a revolutionary America rife with divisions and driven by a fear of civil wars on multiple fronts. Deeply researched, wide-ranging, and insightful, Disunion Among Ourselves persuades that our national Union began from, and still depends on, fending off the many demons of disunion.”—Alan Taylor, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Chair at the University of Virginia and author of American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750-1804

“Disunion Among Ourselves tells an important story that has been missed or skipped over in nearly all histories of the Revolution. It has indeed, as promised, recovered ‘a whole area of the Revolution’ previously underappreciated, and for that is invalu­able.”—Richard Kreitner, writer and historian, author of Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America’s Imperfect Union “Disunion Among Ourselves is an elegantly written and deeply researched book that challenges long-accepted myths about the origins of the American Union. Merritt shows that the seeds of the Civil War lay in the American Revolution and that the founding fathers had good cause to fear disunion and internecine conflict. The chance to build a new republic might have been fumbled away without superior statecraft––and indeed it nearly was.

This suspenseful account supplies a timely lesson for our own hyper partisan times –that the values of moderation, compromise, and the rule of law are prerequisite to the survival of democracy.” - Ian W. Toll, author of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy Doors open at 5:30pm and is free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of The Lowell Institute. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Executive Producer and host of NPR’s “Living on Earth" Steve Curwood converses with Boston Public Library President David Leonard as part of the Boston Public Library's 2023 Lowell Lecture Series _You are Here: Climate Change and What’s Next._ Their 60-75 minute conversation is followed by an audience Q&A from both the in-person and virtual audiences. Steve Curwood is the executive producer and host of “Living on Earth.” He created the first pilot of “Living on Earth” in 1990 and the show has run continuously since April 1991. “Living on Earth” is currently aired on more than 250 National Public Radio/Public Radio International affiliates and XM/Sirius Satellite Radio.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in widespread charges of war crimes and calls for justice. But what exactly are war crimes? Opinions of what constitutes a war crime have evolved, as have ways to identify and punish the perpetrators. How will the war crimes committed in Ukraine be dealt with? Join WorldBoston for a timely discussion of this topic with **Dr. Michael E. O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow and Director of Research in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution**. The program will feature expert remarks from Dr. O’Hanlon, live audience Q&A, and time for networking and discussion with other globally-oriented participants.

Microbial ecosystems sustain all forms of life -including humans—in all environments. However, there are many unknowns about how these diverse and complex communities form, evolve and survive. The study of microbial ecosystems requires biology –and a lot of physics and chemistry, all combined. Dr. Cordero’s lab is a leading force in this field. Dr. Cordero explains the physics and chemistry involved in the formation of these amazing -and essential- ecosystems. This is one of the most fascinating (and demanding) areas of science today.

In recent years, Latin America has experienced a wave of changing political trends, both domestic and international. From a left-wing surge, as evidenced by recent elections, to the rise of the non-alignment stance, these developments will have a lasting impact on the region and the rest of the world. Join WorldBoston for a timely discussion of this topic featuring Ambassador Jorge Heine, Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and Global Fellow at The Wilson Center. The program features expert remarks from Ambassador Heine and live audience Q&A.

Dr. Fedorenko's lab specializes in unusual language-related adaptations and capacities. She discusses a case of normal first language acquisition despite the absence of the left temporal lobe, a brain region necessary for language development and processing. In this case, the right brain compensated for the missing temporal lobe in the left brain. The child proved exceptional in language skill. Dr. Fedorenko also describes other work in her lab's _Interesting Brains Project_

The old adage about the free lunch fits plastic perfectly – there there is no such thing. Yes, at first it was shiny, bright and inexpensive and seemed like it could be used for almost anything – until we got the price tag. And now it might be too late to fix it. 100 years down the road the world is discovering the myriad unintended consequences of plastic which far outweigh its cheap convenience. Almost daily, scientific research brings us fresh horrors about plastic; it is no longer just turtles or whales choking on the stuff, now it has invaded us. Microplastics are in our blood, human breastmilk and even our brains. Little did we know that when we put plastic into medical devices and food packaging, it would leach into those syringes and water bottles causing dangerous health consequences intrinsically and extrinsically. Only 5% of plastic can be recycled so that means 95% is being dumped into our oceans, landfills and bodies at an unremitting pace. What can be done to break our toxic addiction to plastic, and to terminate its lethal global legacy? To help us understand the scale of the problem and see what steps California and other countries are already taking with the Global Plastics Treaty – **Cambridge Forum** speaks to Dr. Roberto Lucchini, who edited the special edition of "Global Health" on the findings of the Minderoo Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, John Hocevar, Greenpeace’s Oceans Campaign Director and Veronique Greenwood, a science journalist and essayist who frequently contributes to the New York Times, the BBC, and National Geographic. ### Resources [Plastic actually isn't cheap - Veronique Greenwood - Boston Globe](Plastic actually isn’t cheap - Veronique Greenwood - Boston Globe https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/11/opinion/plastic-isnt-actually-cheap/) [Link to the report of Minderoo-Monaco Commission](https://annalsofglobalhealth.org/collections/the-minderoo-monaco-commission-on-plastics-and-human-health) [Trying to live a day without plastic- New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/11/style/plastic-free.html) [Plastic pollution could be slashed by 80% by 2040, UN says](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/16/plastic-pollution-could-be-slashed-by-80-by-2040-un-says) [Plastic Free President Coalition](https://www.plasticfreepresident.org/#coalition) [Greenpeace report (May 2023) on toxic hazards of recycled nlastic](https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/new-greenpeace-report-calls-out-toxic-hazards-of-recycled-plastic-as-global-plastics-treaty-negotiations-resume-in-paris/)

The story Coakí - William Wildcat- tells, begins 800,000 years ago. There does not appear to be a break in the lineages of humans and our ancestors Neanderthal and Homo Heidelbergensis using fire and hand tools to create forest clearings to select for plants and animal habitats for food, medicine, and materials important to countless groups of people. These forest gardening practices are our collective heritage and are a defining feature of our identity as a species. We call our ancestors and many of our living relatives “Indigenous” to distinguish them from those of us who have recently lost these practices. We see these practices disappearing around the world as we continue the deforestation of the planet. Our ancestral forest gardening practices are not lost, however. They are still practiced in many surviving traditions, such as the dehesas of Spain and other Mediterranean forest gardening and silvopasture practices, and the ancient form of milpa still practiced in Mesoamerica. It is from a marriage of these ancient agroforestry practices and modern ecology science that a powerful regenerative agriculture system called syntropic agroforestry was born. Syntropic agroforestry restores ecosystems and local economies, creates food security and a diversity of nutrient dense foods, and protects cultures from globalization as it heals human relationships with the forests. Coakí lives in the Mimbres watershed near the Gila wilderness area, in the unceded lands of the living Chiricahua peoples, of the Brown bear, of the Jaguar, and of the forests and wetlands which stood there 400 years ago. He studies, practices, and teaches these modern and ancient technologies there. He is in conversation with Jessica Alvarez Parfrey, Executive Director of Transition US. ### Resources [The Lost Forest Gardens of Europe](https://www.shelterwoodforestfarm.com/blog/the-lost-forest-gardens-of-europe) [Illustrated Guide to Agroforestry](https://agroflorestaemquadrinhos.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/final-english-22-10-under-revision-1.pdf) [Life in Syntropy Documentary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSPNRu4ZPvE) [Modern Farmer Article on Syntropic Agriculture](https://modernfarmer.com/2023/05/syntropic-agriculture-boosts-soil-vitality-using-the-wisdom-of-the-forest/) [Anastassia Makarieva Biotic Pump 1: Global Cooling](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcDvVQOTuOw) [Anastassia Makarieva Biotic Pump 2: Water Cycles](https://forum-network.org/lectures/no-trees-no-rain/)

** A “fast-paced and highly absorbing” (Wall Street Journal) history of the fierce final chapter of the "Indian Wars," told through the lives of the two most legendary and consequential American Indian leaders, who led Sioux resistance and triumphed at the Battle of Little Bighorn**. Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull: Their names are iconic, their significance in American history undeniable. Together, these two Lakota chiefs, one a fabled warrior and the other a revered holy man, crushed George Armstrong Custer’s vaunted Seventh Cavalry on June 25, 1876. Both had grown to manhood on the High Plains of the American West, in an era when vast herds of buffalo covered the earth, and when their nomadic people could move freely. The Battle of Little Bighorn was the beginning of the end for their treasured and sacred way of life. Drawing on a wealth of previously ignored primary sources, award-winning author Mark Lee Gardner delivers the definitive chronicle, thrillingly told, of these extraordinary Indigenous leaders. _The Earth Is All That Lasts_ is a grand saga, both triumphant and tragic, of their struggle to maintain the freedom of their people against impossible odds. Presented by the American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/NEHGS in partnership with GBH Forum Network. ### Resources - Books _Witness: A Hunkpapha Historian's Strong-Heart Song of the Lakotas_ by Josephine Waggoner (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2013) _The Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger_, edited by Thomas R. Buecker and R. Eli Paul (Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, 1994) _The Sitting Bull Surrender Census: The Lakotas at Standing Rock Agency, 1881_ by Ephriam D. Dickson III (Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2010) _Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy_ by Ernie LaPointe, Great-Grandson of Sitting Bull (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2009)