Past Events

GBH is proud to present award-winning author Téa Obreht for April’s virtual Beyond the Page event! Obreht is the international bestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife (2011) and Inland (2020), as well as an accomplished short story writer whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper’s Magazine, among many others.

Obreht answers audience questions about her writing and creative processes, and give insights on the publishing industry. She will also be sharing more about her latest novel, The Morningside.

The Morningside expands on her short story published by New York Times Magazine for a COVID-19-related anthology. The novel follows 11-year-old Silvia and her mother as they flee their war-torn home and arrive in Island City, a near-future city ravaged by coastal flooding. With her past shrouded in mystery, Silvia embarks on an adventure to find out more about herself, the interesting characters in her new apartment building, and the magical, yet impoverished city around her.

Cambridge Forum takes a look at three French female visionaries who led a revolution against women’s garments, that had previously limited and restricted their bodies.  By releasing women from their physical “prisons” they were able to accelerate the political liberation of their minds.

Anne Higonnet, author of Liberty Equality Fashion, is professor of art history at Barnard College and teaches an incredibly popular course on the history of clothing.
This new book grew out of Higonnet's class and archival research she did at the Morgan Library in Manhattan, where she discovered a complete set of Journal des dames et des modes fashion plates - the rarest fashion plates in the world - from the French revolutionary era, providing the ultimate evidence for what was generally fashionable, week by week, during the years dominated by Joséphine Bonaparte, future Empress of France, Térézia Tallien, the most beautiful woman in Europe, and Juliette Récamier, muse of intellectuals.

The discovery of these plates upended the dominant understanding of the era.
From one year to the next, these fashion revolutionaries led a rebellion against corsets, petticoats, and enormous skirts. Their flowing garments not only embodied freedom for modern women, but also marked the emergence of global capitalism, shopping culture, and the rise of powerful style influencers. In their starred reviews, Publishers Weekly says the book is “as rigorous as it is fun” while Kirkus commends Higonnet’s “meticulous research [and] energetic prose.” 

Join Cambridge Forum and Anne Higonnet in examining how politics, economics, and identity merged during the French Revolution and heralded a new feminism that is the antecedent to current, popular modes of self-expression and self-empowerment.


 

Vitamin D is important for bone and muscle strength, but the belief that it significantly reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer and numerous other conditions is questionable. Although Vitamin D supplements are still widely used, well designed studies have established that the supplements are not needed by most people. Moderate sunshine and normal diets provide adequate vitamin D for most people.
Dr. JoAnn Manson led one of the largest and most cited randomized trials that contradicted the belief that vitamin D supplements are a cure-all. In this discussion she explains why there has been confusion about vitamin D. She also addresses the importance of the structure of scientific studies in determining the effects of medications and supplements.

Join us for a panel discussion with journalist, author, and star of the film “Have You Heard About Greg”, Greg O’Brien, along with experts from the film and the world of Alzheimer’s research: best-selling authors Lisa Genova (“Still Alice”) and David Shenk (“The Forgetting”), Meg Smith, CEO of Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, dedicated solely to the purpose of funding the most promising research leading to the cure of Alzheimer’s, and Dr. Rudy Tanzi, Director of the McCance Center for Brain Health at Mass General Hospital, best-selling author and co-discoverer of the first three genes identified as the cause of a rare, familial “early-onset” form of Alzheimer’s. The panel will share a thoughtful, intimate discussion about what it’s like to live with Alzheimer’s, the current state of the fight to stop it, and steps everyone can take to protect and preserve their brain health. You’ll also receive three insightful, informative books: On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s by Greg O’Brien, Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer’s, and The Healing Self, both authored by Dr. Rudy Tanzi.

Attending tonight and can't find your Zoom link? Please see below.
LINK: https://wgbh.zoom.us/j/92963038513?pwd=ZVhtREo4VUVkUGhjcGhpcFIyTkVZdz09
Passcode: 820856


With a gift of $20 a month, you’ll receive virtual access to the discussion plus three books with more information and ideas on how to fight Alzheimer’s and keep your brain healthy.

Suffolk University’s Ford Hall Forum; Communication, Journalism & Media, English, and the History, Language & Global Culture Departments, and Women’s & Gender Studies Program; present:

An evening with award-winning author Nancy A. Nichols, upon the publication of her new book Women Behind the Wheel: An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car. She will be joined in conversation by Amy Monticello, MFA, associate professor and chair, English Department, Suffolk University.

About Women Behind the Wheel

The invention of the automobile a little more than a century ago created a new and movable arena in which women’s struggle for power and autonomy would play out in myriad and often unexpected ways. Cars shaped the way women live, the way women work and date and dress, the way they care for their families, and the way they approach the elusive dream of work-life balance.

Yet despite its dramatic impact on the lives of women, few have stopped the speeding automobile in its tracks to document the impact this technology has had on women. The car may have been “born in a masculine manger,” but beyond this persistent men-and-machine myth lies a different story: women, too, have always loved their cars and the exhilarating freedom of the open road.

Blending cultural analysis, biography, literary criticism, and memoir, Women Behind the Wheel reclaims a neglected history and reveals how the car—and all that surrounds it—has become our most gendered technology.

Praise for Women Behind the Wheel
“Fascinating, funny, enraging and often very moving. For all its hard-edged machinery, gender warring and auto-business shenanigans, the emotional engine of this book is Nichols’s own poignant story.”—The New York Times

Join Revolutionary Spaces Associate Director of Collections Lori Erickson Fidler and acclaimed podcaster and New York Times best-selling author Mike Duncan (Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution) as they explore an iconic artifact from the Revolutionary Spaces collection, a sword brought to America by Lafayette.

The program will examine Lafayette’s lifelong quest to defend the principles of liberty and equality on both sides of the Atlantic, the deep interconnections between the American and French Revolutions, and the impact of his legacy on our world today. A wealthy French aristocrat, the Marquis de Lafayette played a decisive role in the American Revolution while fighting alongside George Washington, eventually becoming a globally revered statesman, fierce advocate for liberty, and a passionate abolitionist. The program will conclude with an audience Q&A.

Riders want to know: Can we trust the T?

Trains and buses run late or never show. A crumbling infrastructure has led to equipment failures that threaten riders' safety. Many riders have simply given up and joined the snarl of car traffic. After one year on the job, Phillip Eng is working on multiple fronts to get the trust restored. But is he on track?

GBH News Transportation reporter Bob Seay welcomes MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng, State Secretary of Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt, and Jarred Johnson of Transit Matters, on stage to ask what it will take to bring reliable transit service back—and if the state can afford the needed changes.

Bring your transit questions and join the discussion during our Q&A session and after the talk for a community gathering with local transit-focused organizations.

Boston, April 5, 1976. As the city simmered with racial tension over forced school busing, newsman Forman photographed a white protester outside City Hall assaulting the Black attorney Landsmark with the American flag. The photograph shocked Boston and made front pages across the U.S. and the world and won a Pulitzer Prize. Masur has done extensive research, including personal interviews with those involved, to reveal the unknown story of what really happened that day and afterward. This evocative "biography of a photograph" unpacks this arresting image to trace the lives of the men who intersected at that moment, to examine the power of photography and the meaning of the flag, and to reveal how a single picture helped change race relations in Boston and America. The Soiling of Old Glory, like the photograph itself, offers a dramatic window into the turbulence of the 1970s and race relations in America.

Embark on a captivating journey as we beckon you into the unknown. Join us for a night of stories about wild adventures, exploring uncharted territory, nature, camping, finding ourselves in the great outdoors and so much more.

At Stories from the Stage, produced by GBH WORLD, ordinary people share extraordinary experiences that you will not soon forget. You’ll hear stories of love and loss, amazing adventures, incredible surprises and unexpected triumphs. In each taping, we get up-close and personal with storytellers about what inspires them and the craft of storytelling. Join us!

6:30pm Doors open to GBH's Atrium where snacks and drinks are available for purchase
7:00pm Doors open to GBH's Calderwood Studio for seating

Note all onsite purchases will be credit card only.

Event registration is required. Seating is general admission.
The maximum capacity of this event is 120.


Stellar Story Company identifies and coaches storytellers for Stories from the Stage.

Photo credit: Stories from the Stage

Learn the simple and positive way to embrace your agency, lead change, and fly free—in the business of life and the life of business with acclaimed CEO, TED Speaker, and Entrepreneurship Professor James Rhee as he shares the inspirational true story of finding success through kindness (plus a little math).

In kindergarten, Rhee received a toy red helicopter in gratitude for a simple act of kindness—sharing his lunch. The toy was lost to time, but decades later as an unlikely, first-time CEO, the lesson from that memory helped him salvage and transform Ashley Stewart, a company on the edge of liquidation.

During those years, Rhee experienced great loss—the death of his parents—and great joy as his team at Ashley Stewart, an iconic company predominantly employing and serving Black women, became some of his dearest friends. In the process, he composed a simple, but powerful operational and financial model for life and leadership that inspired leaders around the world.

In, red helicopter, Rhee shares a story of personal and professional success and presents a comforting, yet bold solution to the dissatisfaction and worry we all feel in a chaotic and sometimes terrifying world.

James Rhee, will be in conversation with Cliff Hakim, author of the book and pioneer of the concept by the same name We Are All Self-Employed (Berrett-Koehler, 2003, 2nd edition). Cliff has guided executives, managers, specialists, and entrepreneurs using this concept through transition: to know themselves better, to explore their options, and to honor their passion by reaching for new meaningful goals.

James Rhee is an acclaimed impact investor, founder, CEO, goodwill strategist, thought leader, and educator, who empowers people, brands, and organizations by marrying capital with purpose. He bridges the emotional with the mathematical, and gives permission for us to be human.