Past Events

_TYRANTS ON TWITTER_, a new book by national security expert David Sloss, details how by investing heavily in global media and information technology systems, Russia and China are undermining democracy. Sloss provides a careful analysis of how Chinese and Russian agents weaponize Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media platforms for the sole purpose of subverting the liberal international order, both in America and Europe. In this forum, we’ll examine questions about the 2016 US election and also explore Russia’s use of foreign infiltration to meddle with Western democratic elections. What can be done to mitigate the damage? David L. Sloss is an educator, author, and national security expert. His latest book, Tyrants on Twitter: Protecting Democracies from Information Warfare focuses on Russian and Chinese information warfare. Sloss is currently Professor of Law at Santa Clara University. Before entering academia, in 2008, he spent nine years in the federal government, working on U.S.-Soviet arms control negotiations and nuclear proliferation issues. Sloss will be joined in the discussion by John Feffer, director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. ### Resources [Article : As autocrats ascend, gloomy data on democracies' decline](https://www.dw.com/en/as-autocrats-ascend-gloomy-data-on-democracies-decline/a-62674756) [Tyrants on Twitter ](https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=33642) [A short op-ed piece related to the book](https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/the-us-should-ban-chinas-state-media-from-social-platforms/) [John Feffer on Russia's invasion of Ukraine](https://fpif.org/putins-cold-cold-strategy/) [John Feffer on Ukraine, Russia and Food Politics](https://fpif.org/the-weaponization-of-food/)

Although America’s healthcare system is the most expensive among the top world economies, it ranks at the bottom for quality. We have excellent medical research, medical facilities, and medical professionals. But the healthcare “system” is, for many people, inaccessible because of expense and other factors. Dr. Garrido explains what good healthcare systems look like, the problems with American healthcare, and the potential solution to our healthcare system.

Markus Klute’s research team played a major role in the 2012 identification of the Higgs boson and its unique properties. In this discussion, he explains how understanding the origins of our universe depends on the discovery and analysis of sub-atomic particles. The LHC collides particles at the highest possible speed in an attempt to resemble the force of the Big Bang that produced the earliest particles. This investigation is advanced by the much-anticipated 3rd Run of the LHC, which will collide particles at the highest speed yet. Run 3 will attempt to reveal unknown particles, possibly even dark matter particles, and will help to explain the nature of mass and numerous other mysteries about the origin of matter.

**Wednesday, August 17 - 6pm EST.** Tony Rinaudo is an Australian agronomist, who is widely known as the “forest maker.” Having lived and worked in African countries for many decades, he has discovered and put in practice a solution to the extreme deforestation and desertification of the Sahel region. Using an elegantly simple set of management practices, farmers can grow new trees quickly by utilizing the root systems beneath existing tree stumps. He will describe the path to this solution to land degradation and the history, development and impact of the global movement called Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration. The work he began in Niger in 1983 has now been linked to the regrowth of 200 million trees on five million hectares of degraded farmland in Niger alone. More than an effective, low cost, rapid and scalable method of land and environmental restoration, FMNR is restoring livelihoods and food security across tens of thousands of communities and in the process, restoring hope. Environmental journalist Judith D. Schwartz will be moderator for the event and will join Tony in conversation. ### Resources Videos on YT about the FMNR [Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltyAaebpyTg&t=142s) [Volker’s FMNR learning video 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7aOkCs1PuE) [FMNR - Everything is connected](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-terQL6RO0) [FMNR - Tony Rinaudo: "The Niger I came to"](https://youtu.be/afjVaehQRxg) [E. Timor FMNR](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDjCKkdIBRM) [Senegal FMNR, WV France, video made by Laureline Savoye](https://www.lemonde.fr/videos/article/2020/03/02/plan-b-reboiser-sans-planter-d-arbres-c-est-possible_6031523_1669088.html) [Reports, blogs, Projects, Resources (including an FMNR Manual) can be found here](https://fmnrhub.com.au/) [Information on where to obtain “The Forest Underground”](https://iscast.org/TFU/)

Daniel Nocera, famous for the invention of the first viable “artificial leaf,” explains how this silicon-based catalytic device separates hydrogen and oxygen from water to create clean energy and fuel. The system can be distributed for localized use --each household could have its own power supply. Goodbye grid. The bionic leaf uses sunlight, ordinary water and readily available materials for the device. Dr. Nocera describes the numerous updates of the bionic leaf, the particular challenge of hydrogen, and the present status of this promising innovation –including a process for creating a nitrogen fertilizer that delivers directly to crops -no waste.

Drought warnings in Massachusetts are a stark reminder that we are part of a global climate system where warming trends are accelerating. Is there something we can learn from adding a global lens to our local and regional mitigation efforts? Danielle Dolan, Deputy Director of the Mass Rivers Alliance, and Beth Lambert, Director of the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, will join Slovakian hydrologist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Michal Kravcik in conversations about our connection to the global water crisis. Dr. Kravcik will introduce the new water paradigm, which explains the role of small water cycles and the importance of restoring them in urban, agricultural and forest settings to prevent drought and floods, and to cool the planet. **Resources** [United Nations Environment Program: Foresight Brief](https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/36619/FB025.pdf?mibextid=onnTyB&fs=e&s=cl&fbclid=IwAR1Fba0-vIPYTWyP_pwMI9NhSeAgf-MmI3z6JQI0TJg2d2LJlG5rzCFGO6Q) [Explore your rivers](https://www.massriversalliance.org/explore-your-rivers) [Drought Fact Sheet](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xb2SC4TeUGPFGsc_9hbUQcYYr9x4GjZB/view)

Even in an era of extravagance – wealth, glamour, and greed – some women stand out by virtue of their family, their treasure, or their talent. Join us for a presentation by two authors whose celebrated works reveal the lives of women in the Gilded Age. It was the era in which many wealthy Americans were married off to foreign aristocrats: the beautiful heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt joined in a loveless marriage to become the savior and head of Blenheim Palace, outside London. Mrs. Frank Leslie, head of lucrative publishing empire, was as impactful in her time as the Rockefellers and Carnegies, yet her story of success and scandal has been forgotten--until now. Don’t miss hearing from authors Laura Thompson and Betsy Prioleau and moderator Esther Crain about the women who glittered most brightly in Gilded Age--their experiences as daughters, wives, trend-setters, and entrepreneurs.

For almost 30 years, Dr. Philip Landrigan and other distinguished scientists appealed to the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos and widely used pesticides known to impair brain development. The link between chlorpyrifos and brain disorders such as autism and ADHD was well known for years, but the manufacturers of this toxin were able to block efforts to ban chlorpyrifos. Dr. Landrigan explains the effects of this toxin, and also scientists’ decades-long effort to protect pregnant women, children, and farm workers and communities. This struggle has raised the question: Who does the Environmental Protection Agency protect: industry or the public?

Fungi are perhaps the most underappreciated kingdom of the natural world. As billion year-old organisms they are masters of survival and integral to the development of life on Earth. Fungi are also remarkable chemists producing molecules that humans still can’t make in a lab, and scientists are only scratching the surface since there are an estimated 5,000,000 species of fungi, and we’ve only discovered about one per cent of them. One species that is attracting great attention is psilocybin mushrooms, which have been part of religious rituals for thousands of years. The Aztecs referred to these mushrooms as “God’s flesh” in homage to their believed sacred power. In 1957, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working for the pharmaceutical company Sandoz, isolated psilocybin from a mushroom and unleashed all sorts of interesting discoveries. During the 60s, Sandoz sold psilocybin and LSD for research in medical trials, but the substances were soon outlawed after they became associated with Timothy Leary and the 60’s counterculture. Well Psilocybin has been making a steady comeback within the medical community who have conducted clinical trials showing remarkable success in treating patients with severe depression, anxiety and PTSD. Many individuals speak of life-changing experiences during a single session and emerge with new-found awareness including author Michael Pollan, author of “How to Change your Mind”. ---------- Bibliography: The Future Is Fungi: How Fungi Feed Us, Heal Us, and Save Our World By Michael Shu Lim and Yun Shue Thames and Hudson Fantastic Fungi: Expanding Consciousness, Alternative Healing, Environmental Impact // Official Book of Smash Hit Documentary Hardcover – Illustrated, August 27, 2019 Introduction by Paul Stamets Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World By Paul Stamets Ten Speed Press (2005) Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures By Merlin Sheldrake Random House (2021) Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest By Suzanne Simard Allen Lane (2021)

Pandemic-weary and frustrated by the lack of equitable representation in government, women are challenging the status quo in Massachusetts politics. In this a bold conversation about political culture and public policy, leaders of a diverse group of women’s organizations gather to chart a new course. GBH News reporter Saraya Wintersmith leads a discussion with panelists, asking, What do we need our state’s government to do differently? How do we create a more equitable Commonwealth? Our featured guests include: * Sasha Goodfriend, Executive Director of MassNOW * Diana Hwang, Founder and Executive Director of the Asian American Women’s Political Initiative * Dr. Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, Director of the UMass-Boston Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy * Dawne Shand, President of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus * Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, President and Executive Director of Amplify Latinx * Saraya Wintersmith, moderator.