Past Events

American Ancestors/NEHGS is joined by The Boston Public Library in this American Inspiration author talk featuring bestselling author Linda Hirshman and moderator L’Merchie Frazier. In her latest work about social movements, the legal scholar, social historian, and best-selling author Linda Hirshman chronicles abolition – the social spirit, people, and political alliances that changed American history. The overturning of slavery was an astonishing historical achievement, a crucial landmark in moral progress. Chronicling its origins in the Second Great Awakening, Linda Hirshman shows how the movement was fraught with tensions from within. Yet it moved forward, driven by a powerful activist triumvirate: printer William Lloyd Garrison, who was a core creator of the movement; Frederick Douglass, the charismatic former slave whose eloquence roused the nation; and the lesser-known Maria Weston Chapman, a Boston socialite whose copious and largely unexplored correspondence Hirshman fully examines. Don’t miss learning more about these key players, their New England story, and the political movement that fueled the Republican Party and, ultimately, the Civil War.

Many people know at least one person suffering from Lyme’s disease, a quietly expanding tick-borne epidemic that has now spread throughout the United States into Canada. It is more than 40 years since the disease was first identified yet there is still no human vaccine available, despite the multiple vaccine options that you can purchase for your dog. So what happened to the vaccine that was developed in 1990s, and why was it so abruptly withdrawn from the market? Brian Owens, an award-winning science journalist for Nature, New Scientist and The Lancet, was commissioned to investigate the causes, treatments, and controversy surrounding this insidious but often overlooked disease and recently published his book, “Lyme Disease in Canada”. In it, Owens cites hope in a new French vaccine that is being developed in partnership with Pfizer for use in 2024. Joining him in this important discussion is Kris Newby, Stanford-educated science writer and senior producer of the Lyme disease documentary “Under the Skin”, whose book “Bitten” has won three international book awards. Find out what you should know about Lyme’s disease in advance of being bitten! The two authors are joined by Nevena Zubcevik, Chief Medical Officer at Invisible International.

Is there an alert system to notify us about the health of our democracy? In this episode we will examine the impact of partisan rancor not seen since the Civil War, declining trust in institutions, doubts about our election process, and the insurrection on January 6, 2021. There is emerging consensus that democracy in the United States is threatened. What can we do about it? Our panel will consider the health of our democracy and discuss solutions for restoring faith in our institutions and our democratic systems for everyone. This series builds upon Suffolk University’s historic mission of access, opportunity, and engagement with our alumni and the communities to which we belong. It’s sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies in collaboration with the Ford Hall Forum, The Washington Center and GBH’s Forum Network.

In today’s globalized world which operates 24/7, it is hard to imagine life without the ubiquitous smartphone. But it wasn’t always so. The first iPhone was introduced in 2007, so even though there are 6 billion cell phone users today, millions of people were raised without cellphones or indeed any phone at all! This possibility is, of course, inconceivable to a Generation Z-er. There are undeniable benefits to owning a smart phone – navigating, contacting loved ones, organizing business, taking photos and recording music. A myriad of convenient functions all contained within one small digital rectangle! The smartphone did change the 20th Century, but it came at a cost. It brought with it, unique and perhaps unintended consequences into every sphere of our lives. Paul Greenberg quit his iPhone three years ago to research Goodbye Phone, Hello World after he realized that he had wasted one whole year of his life on the phone that could have been spent with his teenage son. Greenberg will talk about what he learned. Do you love or hate your phone? Could you live without it?

William Detrich’s pioneering research on the Antarctic icefish was among the first efforts to reveal how certain DNA features enable some creatures to adapt to extreme environmental conditions. As climate change accelerates extinctions, that genetic advantage of certain species is of great interest. Relatively few creatures have that endowment. Dr. Detrich explains what the genetic advantage is, how it works, and what species seem to be predisposed to successful adaptation in extreme conditions. In recognition of his outstanding discoveries, an Antarctic island near Palmer Station has been named Detrich Island in his honor.

On May 26, 2020, Philonise O’Neil Floyd learned that four police officers in Minneapolis murdered his older brother after accusations from a store clerk George had passed a counterfeit $20 bill. The entire world saw now-convicted officer Derek Chauvin kneel on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. George Floyd’s death sparked a worldwide outpour of protests against police brutality, especially toward Black people.  Philonise Floyd’s life was changed forever. On June 10, 2020, the day after laying his brother to rest, he testified before United States Congress. He urged them to “do the right thing” by passing the [Justice in Police Act of 2020](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7120) baring choke holds, creating a registry to track officers with serious misconduct records, and lifting certain legal protections that make it difficult to prosecute officers for using excessive force. He vowed that his brother’s death would not be in vain or become another hashtag on a t-shirt and begun advocating to change systematic racism and the racist terror that has for over 400 years led to the harassment and killing of African Americans.

Does it seem as though the weather gods have gone crazy lately? It is not your imagination. The question on everyone's minds is why, and is it related to climate change? Dr. Jennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist studying Arctic weather and climate, will explain how increasing extreme weather events are connected with the rapidly warming and melting Arctic during recent decades. Dr. Francis is joined in conversation by Dr. Heather Goldstone, journalist and scientist overseeing Woodwell Climate Research Center's communications. The two will discuss the evidence that suggests how Arctic warming is causing weather patterns to become more persistent, which can lead to extremes such as prolonged droughts, cold spells, heat waves, snowy winters, and flooding events. This talk is part of the Life Saves the Planet lecture series. More info: https://bio4climate.org/

One year into the Biden Administration how can we assess its performance? Which of the priority agenda items have seen progress? What have been the successes, failures and the reasons for these in the world he inherited? How has that landscape changed? Which areas are most meaningful for the health of our democracy, the health of the world that future generations will inherit? Join us as we attempt to unpack these questions and “score” Biden’s performance heading into midterms that are widely predicted to bring him a similar “shellacking” that President Obama acknowledged in his first midterm cycle.

From book banning to teaching of critical race theory, educators and parents across the county are clashing over what can and can’t be taught in the classroom. Teachers are caught in the middle of some of the biggest flash points in this country’s culture wars. We examine the role of school boards and some state laws that are fueling the latest culture wars. Tom Edsall, Professor of Political Journalism at Columbia University and New York Times Opinion Writer, moderates a discussion with Adam Harris, Staff Writer at the Atlantic, Nicholas Tampio, Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, and Rebecca Jacobsen, Professor of Education Policy at Michigan State University.

Two Pulitzer Prize winning authors meet for an illustrated presentation and discussion of the latest work from historian Debby Applegate, “Madam: The Biography of Polly, Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age.” It's the story of a notorious madam who played hostess to gangsters, politicians, writers, sports stars and Cafe Society swells. As much as any single figure at that time, Pearl "Polly" Adler helped make the twenties roar. Debby Applegate is a historian and biographer based in New Haven, CT. Her first book, “The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher,” won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for biography and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for biography. Joining Applegate is John Matteson, a Distinguished Professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of “A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation”; “The Lives of Margaret Fuller,” and “Eden’s Outcasts,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in biography.