Past Events

U.S. President Donald Trump left many scratching their heads when it was rumored that he was looking to purchase the large island nation of Greenland from Denmark. While any potential deal seems highly unlikely, the event shows the changing opinion within the U.S. government toward engagement with the Arctic region. Because of climate change, large sheets of arctic ice are melting, exposing vast stores of natural gas and oil. With Russia and China already miles ahead with their Arctic strategies, can the U.S. catch up? Image: Jean-Christophe André, Pexels

See Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Matteson with his latest work, “A Worse Place Than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation.” Matteson is joined by guest moderator author Debby Applegate, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. December 1862: As Abraham Lincoln’s government threatened to fracture, five extraordinary individuals were tested – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., army chaplain Arthur Fuller, poet Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, and John Pelham, a West Point cadet on the other side of the national schism. The months ahead had repercussions in the country’s law, literature, politics, and popular mythology. Hear about the lives of these individuals and John Matteson’s new work, an interweaving of the personal and the historic. Our featured author is joined on screen by guest moderator author Debby Applegate, also winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History. Image: American Ancestors

Dr. Kelly explains a challenging project underway: the design and testing of a brainwave recording (EEG) device that targets neural circuits with great accuracy. This device will help in the development of precise therapeutic diagnoses and treatments of brain damage and disorders. Image: Belmont Media Center

As we inch closer to the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and passage of “The American Rescue Plan,” President’s Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief package and first big legislative win, where does the economy stand? Which groups and sectors have been most affected by the Covid economy and what will be the impact of this newest Congressional measure? How long will “recovery” take, and what will a post-pandemic economy and the future of work look like? Join us as we dive deeper into these questions, the answers to which impact all of us but in very different ways. This event continues a new spring series, Examining the First 100 Days of the Biden Administration, focusing on the most important developments in the early days of the Biden Administration. Guest speakers over the semester examine the ability of the 46th President and his team to affect change in some of the most vital policy areas that impact all of us. _Presented by the Suffolk University Department of Political Science & Legal Studies, in collaboration with the Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University and hosted by GBH’s Forum Network._ ### Resources Read Eduardo’s “How the American Unemployment System Failed,” [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/business/economy/unemployment-insurance.html?searchResultPosition=2). Review Kathryn’s article, “[Unemployment Insurance and the Failure to Reform.](https://www.rand.org/blog/2021/01/unemployment-insurance-and-the-failure-to-reform.html)” More from Jed in his article, “[The Jobs the Pandemic May Devastate.](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/upshot/jobs-future-pandemic-.html)” Learn about how the pandemic economy could wipe out a generation of Black-owned businesses, [here](https://www.propublica.org/article/the-pandemics-existential-threat-to-black-owned-businesses).

How can we achieve healthy growth, the kind that is more regenerative than wasteful, more equitable than unjust? Per Espen Stoknes and L. Hunter Lovins believe they have the answers. Both are experts in the field, having written books that offer blueprints for an inspiring regenerative economy that avoids collapse and works for people and the planet. If you want to learn more about the Doughnut-Theory of Economics, which will be discussed in the program, here are links to two excellent articles: "Three Cities Switching To Life-Affirming Economies" https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/ecological-civilization/2021/02/16/cities-life-affirming-economies/ "Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?" https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/ This talk is part of the Cambridge Forum's series, _Transformations_. Image: Pexels.com

When we say that poems and stories move us, we usually mean that they make us feel more deeply, or that they open us up to new knowledge or new ways of thinking. Acclaimed writer and human rights activist Alicia Partnoy, in conversation with pioneer women’s studies scholar Amy Kaminsky, shows us that poetry and storytelling are not just solitary practices. They are critical elements in the struggle for human rights, for survival, and for justice. They call on readers to become participants, to raise their own voices in solidarity. This is part of an ongoing series by Ford Hall Forum titled, Beyond Borders: Women's Stories and the Art of Bearing Witness. Hear captivating storytellers share their work and bear witness to struggles about human rights, memory, belonging, and love. Image: Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels **RESOURCES**: Learn more about [Alicia Partnoy](https://www.aliciapartnoy.com/blank-page) The song based on Alicia Partnoy’s poem is performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock. [Hear their performance](https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-carnegie-hall-mw0000652837) at Carnegie Hall. Check out Amy Kaminsky’s book, [The Other/Argentina: Jews, Gender, and Sexuality in the Making of a Modern Nation](http://www.sunypress.edu/p-7058-the-otherargentina.aspx) [Here](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43150851?seq=1) is a journal article, "Play in Memories of State Terror in Argentina: "The Little School" by Alicia Partnoy"

One year ago the pandemic forced us apart. It drove us out of the classroom and office; it shut down theaters and bars. Streets were empty and emergency rooms were overwhelmed by people falling ill. It also revealed existing inequities. Those already struggling battled isolation, a lack of resources, profound levels of stress and deep personal loss. As most of us had no choice but to remain at home, photojournalists were often the first and only eyes on the ground, witnessing the impact of the coronavirus on nearly every aspect of our lives. Callie Crossley, host of Under the Radar, Basic Black and GBH News commentator, brings four members of the Boston Press Photographers Association — independent photojournalist Angela Rowlings, Reuters Senior Photographer Brian Snyder, Boston Globe Photographer Jessica Rinaldi and GBH’s Director of Photography, Meredith Nierman — to a roundtable discussion to examine the pandemic through their photos, stories and reflections. *** _This event is part of an entire day of reflection and storytelling conducted by GBH News. On March 10, 2021 we mark one year from the day when Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency. See the entire day of [special programming](https://www.wgbh.org/news/a-year-apart) and use the hashtag #AYearApart to follow our stories on social media_

Dr. Esther Choo discusses racism's challenges to health equity in the 21st century with BPL President David Leonard. Racism is embedded in nearly every aspect of the health and well-being of our population, affecting everything from risk for disease, disease prevalence, access to healthcare, and health outcomes of all kinds. Using her expertise in public health, emergency care, substance use disorders, and women's health, Dr. Choo highlights the challenges we face to healthcare equity. The [**Repairing America Initiative**](https://forum-network.org/series/boston-public-library-repairing-america/) is the Boston Public Library's pledge to focus its 2021 programming and services on bridging the gaps that divide America. By prioritizing economic recovery, civic engagement, COVID-19 recovery, racial equity, workforce development, and youth engagement, the BPL is working to help Americans rise above the challenges they face.

The detection in 2017 of gravitational waves created by the collision of two neutron stars was a major breakthrough for astronomers. In this talk Dr. Berger discusses the confirmation of Einstein’s predicted gravitational waves; new insights about the structure of neutron stars; and the means to determine the accuracy of Hubble’s Constant. Image: Sam Willis, Pexels.com

Catherine Filloux is an award-winning playwright who has been writing plays about human rights and social justice for over twenty-five years. This talk includes Filloux’s work both in the U.S. and in Cambodia. She discusses her web play “Turning Your Body Into a Compass,” about children and deportation in the U.S., performed live as a 360° online experience. She also shares her work addressing issues of memory and complicity in relation to the experiences of Cambodians who suffered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. She is joined by Mu Sochua, a Cambodian politician and rights activist. The moderator is Alexa Jordan, a playwright and actress who served as associate producer and outreach coordinator on “Turning Your Body Into a Compass."