Past Events

Since 2013, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges has been teaching classes in drama, literature, philosophy and history in the college-degree program offered by Rutgers University to inmates in the New Jersey prison system. He joins us to discuss his new book, “OUR CLASS: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison," in which he chronicles his students' grief and suffering, as well as their personal transformation. Stephon Whitley, a former student and a successful graduate of Rutgers, was locked up in multiple New Jersey prisons and is now engaged in criminal justice reform work. Stephan will take part in the live discussion. Cambridge Forum provides free and open discussions about the pertinent issues and ideas confronting us, in the world today. RESOURCES Read this article by Stephon Whitley: ["The stink, the mice, the yelling. My time in solitary was the 'most savage moment of my life,’ Rutgers grad recalls."](https://www.nj.com/opinion/2019/07/the-stink-the-mice-the-yelling-it-was-the-most-savage-moment-of-my-life-rutgers-grad-recalls.html)

Committed environmentalist Fred Tutman brings his front line experience on conservation issues to this discussion of the existential threats to our planet from multiple sources. As more people join movements aimed at greening the planet, what notions must they learn to discard about the environment that are founded upon capitalism, racism and classism? This will be a frank talk with case studies showing us how to build truly equitable, compelling and inclusive conservation movements by first unpacking and ground-truthing the inherent values behind the slogans, fundraising appeals and strategic aims of “insider” Green movements. (Photos: Fred Tutman) This talk is part of the Life Saves the Planet lecture series. More info: https://bio4climate.org/ ## Resources **The Powell Memorandum:** [A Call-to-Arms for Corporations ](https://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations/ ) **Pollution Trading/ Bad Credit**: [Food and Water Watch](https://foodandwaterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Bad%20Credit%20Report%20April%202012.pdf) (pdf) Chesapeake Bay Blues (book) [Chesapeake Bay Blues: Science, Politics, and the Struggle to Save the Bay](https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780742523517/Chesapeake-Bay-Blues-Science-Politics-and-the-Struggle-to-Save-the-Bay) (rowman.com) [The Revolution Will Not Be Funded](https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-revolution-will-not-be-funded) (book, Duke University Press) [Environmental Grant makers Association](https://ega.org/) **Taking Off the Blinders:** [Why Green is not the new Black or Brown](http://paxriverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Why-Green-is-not-the-new-black-or-brown-Jan-2012.pdf) (paxriverkeeper.org pdf) [17 Environmental Justice Principles](https://www.ejnet.org/ej/principles.pdf) (ejnet.org pdf) [Environmental Justice Disparities in Maryland’s Watershed Restoration Programs](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901114001634#!) (Academic Paper) by Matthew A. Dernoga, Dr., Sacoby Wilson, Chengsheng Jiang, Frederick Tutman - ScienceDirect

The sophistication of modern telescopes and advances in data collection combine to make planetary systems one of the most exciting areas of astronomy. Dr. Najita explains how astronomers today investigate the formation and structure of planetary systems, and especially the great diversity of these systems. She also describes the role of citizen science in this ongoing discovery.

Does the future plight of the planet keep you up at night? Are you filled with a sense of doom regarding your future or the uncertain future of your children? You’re not alone. Young people are particularly susceptible to this mental anguish and Greta Thunberg was one of the first of her generation to speak publicly of her eco-depression. Following the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, this discussion tackles both the pessimism and hope attached to its outcomes. Canadian journalist Arno Kopecky, author of The Environmentalist's Dilemma, asks if hope is naïve or indispensable. Professor Theresa Marteau, Director of the Behavior and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, examines what is necessary in terms of our individual and collective behavior that will make change possible. Cambridge Forum provides free and open discussions about the pertinent issues and ideas confronting us, in the world today.

GBH News Arts & Culture reporter James Bennett, II welcomes two up-and-coming Black authors for a discussion on the importance of writing to uplift and inform the Black community. Simeon Marsalis and Tatiana Johnson-Boria will read passages from their work, and the three will share why they create work for a Black audience, as well as how they draw inspiration. Simeon Marsalis is a writer who published his first novel, As Lie Is to Grin, with Catapult in 2017. He is the co-founder of Lampblack, a new literary magazine and a collective of Black writers with a mission to serve the Black literary community. Tatiana Johnson-Boria is a writer and artist exploring identity, inherited trauma, and what it means to heal. She is recipient of both the 2021 MacDowell Fellowship for artists and the 2021 Brother Thomas fellowship, celebrating a diverse group of Greater Boston artists working at a high level of excellence.

Journalist and author J.B. MacKinnon imagines what would happen—to our economies, our products, our planet, our selves—if we committed to consuming far fewer of the Earth’s resources. Cambridge Forum provides free and open discussions about the pertinent issues and ideas confronting us, in the world today.

American Ancestors/NEHGS and Boston Public Library in partnership with the Boston Book Festival present author and Columbia University Professor Mae Ngai and her latest work. “The Chinese Question” looks at how the Chinese diaspora, particularly migration to the world’s goldfields, reshaped the nineteenth-century world. In roughly five decades, between 1848 and 1899, more gold was removed from the earth than had been mined in the 3,000 preceding years, bringing untold wealth to individuals and nations. But friction between Chinese and white settlers on the goldfields of California, Australia, and South Africa catalyzed a global battle over “the Chinese Question”: would the United States and the British Empire outlaw Chinese immigration? Join us for a discussion of these definitive cultural and political movements which impact us to this day, featuring two remarkable authors and experts on the topics of Chinese-American history and immigration. Mae Ngai is Lung Family Professor Asian American Studies and a professor of history at Columbia University. Professor Ngai will be joined by Jia Lynn Yang, author of One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965, and national editor at The New York Times. She was previously deputy national security editor at The Washington Post, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team.

Sheldon Krimsky, distinguished professor, popular author and public advocate, discusses the environmental and health issues of agrochemicals, especially glyphosate (Roundup). He also explains the related issues of GMOs.

President Biden’s aggressive plan to boost vaccination levels in this country comes as millions of Americans refuse to protect themselves against the deadly virus. Those opposing vaccines and masks mandates fall along partisan lines, making the issue more about politics than public health. Mask wearing and vaccines have emerged as a new front in America’s culture wars. David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic, leads a discussion examining how these public health measures have become a hot button political calling card. Joining him are Art Caplan, Professor of Bioethics at NYU Langone Medical Center; Lawrence Gostin, Professor in Global Health Law at Georgetown; and Carmel Shachar, Executive Director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics at Harvard Law School.

Learn how Boston social reformer Pauline Agassiz Shaw (1841-1917) used her wealth to pay for a vast number of philanthropic efforts including: financing the first public kindergartens in America, lobbying for both prison reform and world peace, participating in the woman suffrage movement and founding day nurseries and neighborhood houses (including the North Bennet Street School). The 2021 Lowell Lecture Series presented by the Paul Revere Memorial Association will be a biographical series based on influential individuals with North End connections. By highlighting moments in the lives of Thomas Hutchinson, Prince Hall, and Pauline Agassiz Shaw, this lecture series examines their impact on the North End and beyond. This series covers distinct centuries of change in the North End to provide a more inclusive and comprehensive historical narrative.