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Cambridge Forum hosts free, public discussions that inform and engage, so that people can better explore the varied issues and ideas that shape our changing world. CF broadcasts its live events via podcasts, weekly NPR shows and online presentations via GBH Forum Network on YouTube.

http://www.cambridgeforum.org

Relationship Rollercoaster

Tue, Jun 8, 2021

The pandemic was a lethal litmus test for relationships of all kinds. A motley assortment of people found themselves locked down together. Some saw the deaths of family or friends. Others were deprived of seeing neighbors, co-workers and school friends. As we are emerging from the Covid cocoon, a significant number of relationships have ended and several million Americans have also acquired pets. What relationships did you acquire or lose; has your emotional life shifted irrevocably? This panel, including animal policy advocate Mark L Cushing, behavioral scientist Richard Slatcher and Boston Children's chorus leader Andrés Holderis discuss the importance of relationships and ways to maintain them. Image: pexels.com

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The End of the Office: How will the pandemic affect your work, life, home?

Tue, May 18, 2021

Perhaps some people can’t wait to get back to the office, but 80 percent said they don’t want to or would prefer a hybrid schedule, according to a recent Harvard survey. Many more workers have no such attractive options. Together all of us must consider the future of work and where it happens. Will we return to pre-pandemic conditions, or are pandemic work/life changes here to stay? Some people miss having a separate workspace and live interaction with colleagues. What do you think? Join our discussion and tell us about your experiences over the past year – for better or worse. Nick Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford University specializing in management practices and uncertainty, and Dr. Brad Harrington, Executive Director of the Boston College Center for Work & Family (BCCWF) discuss their research and the new balance between work, life and home.

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Coming to our Senses: Sherry Turkle on Empathy

Mon, Apr 5, 2021

Pandemic lockdowns created a slew of emotional challenges for everyone, from toddlers to seniors. Now that our social skills have atrophied, how can be retrain ourselves to interact with each other again? MIT Professor Sherry Turkle aims to help us understand how we might rejuvenate our senses and flex our empathy muscles once again. In her new memoir, "The Empathy Diaries," Turkle unpacks how her family, upbringing, and intellectual development shaped her life’s work. Turkle explores a counterintuitive pattern observed across many decades devoted to keeping people connected: that empathy and connection can arrive when we feel the most alone and unfamiliar. Moderating this conversation is psychologist, Todd Essig Ph.D Check out Turkle's book, "The Empathy Diaries" : https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/585731/the-empathy-diaries-by-sherry-turkle/

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Ethics: How to make good choices in a complicated world

Wed, Feb 24, 2021

Today’s ethical challenges are increasingly gray, often without a clear right or wrong solution, causing us to teeter on the edge of effective decision-making. With concentrated power structures, rapid advances in technology, and insufficient regulation to protect citizens and consumers, ethics are harder to understand than ever. How do we find a way forward? In _The Power of Ethics_, strategist Susan Liautaud shows how ethics can be used to create a sea change of positive decisions that can ripple outward to our families, communities, workplaces, and the wider world—offering unprecedented opportunity for good.

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Green Growth: A Guide To Post-Pandemic Economic Sustainability

Tue, Mar 16, 2021

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

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Markers and Reminders: MLK TO BLM

Tue, Jan 19, 2021

Cambridge Forum partners with the Harvard Square Business Association to examine Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and Black Lives Matter’s impact on the history of Cambridge, Boston and beyond. Speakers include Denise Jillson, Executive Director of HSBA and Denise Simmons, Cambridge City Councillor. In addition Imari Paris Jeffries, Executive Director of King Boston discusses the planned three-story “Embrace” memorial to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

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Women and Leadership

Wed, Feb 3, 2021

Hear a powerful call to action for achieving equality in leadership from Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia (2010 – 2013) as she reflects on her new book Women and Leadership. Using current research as a starting point, authors Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (The World Trade Organization has appointed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its new director-general – making her the first woman and first African to hold the role) analyzed their experiences, interviewed women world leaders and published their joint findings in a new book, "Women and Leadership. In it they investigate the questions raised by the lack of women leaders in the national arena. Women make up fewer than ten per cent of national leaders worldwide, and behind this eye-opening statistic lies a pattern of unequal access to power. Through conversations with some of the world’s most powerful and interesting women–including Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christine Lagarde, Michelle Bachelet, and Theresa May – Women and Leadership explores gender bias and asks why there aren’t more women in leadership roles. Image: Book Cover

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How to Think Long-Term in a Short-Term World

Wed, Jan 6, 2021

Author and philosopher, Roman Krznaric, who writes about the power of ideas to change society in his new book, _The Good Ancestor_, shares his view that it's time to trade in shortsightedness for long-term thinking. Krznaric outlines practical ways we can retrain our brains to think of the long view, including what he calls “Deep-Time Humility” (recognizing our lives as a cosmic eyeblink) and “Cathedral Thinking” (starting projects that will take more than one lifetime to complete). He aims to widen our focus, to inspire more “time rebels” like Greta Thunberg—to shift our allegiance from this generation to all humanity—in short, to save our planet, and our future. Image: Book Cover

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Daniel Lieberman on his book "Exercised"

Fri, Dec 18, 2020

If we are born to walk and run, why do most of us take it easy whenever possible? And how do we make sense of all the conflicting, confusing, anxiety-provoking information about rest, physical activity and exercise? Professor Daniel Lieberman, Human Evolutionary Biologist at Harvard University has written a new book entitled _Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding._ Listen to this conversation exploring the role of exercise in our lives. Image: book cover

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Can We Save Journalism In America?

Fri, Dec 4, 2020

Respect for a free press is the cornerstone of democracy. But after all the fake news and tweeted lies, what will it take to restore public confidence and trust in American journalism? Charlie Sennott, founder of The Ground Truth Project, will share his ideas and we will hear from a couple of his young journalists working for "Report for America" who are injecting fresh energy into the field, on assignment around the country. Matt Taibbi, celebrated Rolling Stone correspondent, will talk about challenges facing the press and his recent book, "HATE INC.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another”; and Charlie Sennott, founder of The Ground Truth Project, introduces young journalists from "Report for America" who are injecting fresh energy into the field. Do you agree?

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