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Ford Hall Forum

The Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest continuously operating free public lecture series. Its mission is to foster an informed and effective citizenry and to promote freedom of speech through the public presentation of lectures, debates, and discussions. Forum events illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking speakers. These speakers are presented in person, for free, and in settings, which facilitate frank and open debate.

http://www.fordhallforum.org/

Daniel Ziblatt: How Democracies Die

Thu, Oct 11, 2018

Is American democracy at risk? Daniel Ziblatt, Harvard political scientist and coauthor of The New York Times bestseller, “How Democracies Die,” discusses how we can look to a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, to the American South during Jim Crow to show how democracies die—and how ours can be saved. Professor Ziblatt’s talk is followed by a panel of Suffolk scholars –Brian Conley, Greg Fried, and Renee Landers – and is be moderated by Acting Provost Sebastian Royo. [http://www.lowellinstitute.org/](http://www.lowellinstitute.org/event/925/ "The Lowell Institute ")

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An Actor and A Gentleman

Mon, Nov 8, 2010

Lou Gossett, Jr. is one of the most respected African American stage and screen actors, rising to fame with his Emmy-winning role in the television miniseries Roots and Oscar-winning performance in An Officer and a Gentleman. From his early success on the New York stage appearing with Ruby Dee and Sidney Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun and through most of his long career in Hollywood, he has struggled to get leading roles and fair pay as a black actor. Gossett speaks frankly of his problem with drugs and alcohol that took years to overcome and his current work to eradicate racism and violence and give our children a better future. He is joined by his writer, Phyllis Karas, biographer and professor of journalism.

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Yaron Brook on Ayn Rand: 'Apollo and Dionysus' Revisted

Thu, May 8, 2008

In 1969, Ayn Rand's Ford Hall Forum talk, 'Apollo and Dionysus,' addressed the near simultaneous events of Woodstock and the first lunar landing. Employing Greek mythology's god of the sun and god of wine, she compared the awe-inspiring accomplishments of NASA's Apollo space program to the famous three-day concert that has come to exemplify the counterculture of the 1960s and the "hippie era." Almost four decades later, Dr. Yaron Brook, President and Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, reflects on her words and takes a new look at our society's drives toward individualism versus wholeness, light versus darkness, and civilization versus primal nature.

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Modern Islam

Thu, Apr 22, 2010

Zuhdi Jasser, Founding Member and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), an American Muslim organization advocating for the separation of mosque and state, and Bilal Kaleem, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society of Boston, join moderator James Carroll, Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Suffolk University, recipient of the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award, and Boston Globe columnist, to address the questions facing Islam, the West, and democracy in the 21st century.

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Debating Civil Liberties Post 9/11

Tue, Feb 12, 2002

The two basic poles of thought within the civil liberties community regarding US government’s response to the large-scale arrival of terrorism on our shores are represented by Alan Dershowitz, who says that some compromises can and should be made, and Harvey Silverglate, who believes that the Bill of Rights is a timeless document, suitable for all seasons. Listen to a complementary [interview with Alan Dershowitz](http://thoughtcast.org/casts/alan-dershowitz-on-preemption-and-the-hezbollah) on Thoughcast.org, a podcast and public radio interview program on authors, academics and intellectuals.

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Building Bridges: Both Sides of the Abortion Debate

Thu, Oct 24, 2002

Laura Chasin, director of the Public Conversations Project, moderates a panel discussion motivated by the 1994 shootings at two Brookline clinics. After these tragic events, six leaders on both sides of the abortion debate began meeting, not for the purpose of reaching compromise, but to build relationships of mutual respect and understanding that might de-escalate the rhetoric of the abortion controversy and reduce the risk of future attacks on clinics. "In this world of polarizing conflicts", they explain, "we have glimpsed a new possibility: a way in which people can disagree frankly and passionately, become clearer in heart and mind about their activities, and, at the same time, contribute to a more civil and compassionate society."

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Afghanistan and Freedom of the Press

Thu, Nov 7, 2002

Christopher Lydon, former host of The Connection, leads a discussion on the importance of American citizens having a sense of the full picture in order for them to participate in democracy. He is joined by Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould, the first American journalists to enter Afghanistan behind Soviet lines in 1981, and Bob Zelnick, former ABC News Pentagon correspondent and chairman of the Department of Journalism at Boston University. Since September 11, 2001, the press has been criticized for not challenging our government's conduct rigorously enough. In light of security concerns and the Bush administration's alleged attempts at censorship, doubts have been raised about the ability and commitment of reporters to tell all the news.

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Los Trabajadores: The Workers

Tue, Mar 11, 2003

This public discussion, moderated by Joseph Tovares, of WGBH's La Plaza and Giovanna Negretti, of Oste?, Massachusetts' primary Latino political organization, wrestles with questions about immigrant workers in the US, after the screening of *Los Trabajadores/The Workers*. The new documentary film examines the misperceptions and contradictions inherent in America's paradoxical history of both dependence upon, and abuse of, immigrant labor. According to a recent report from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies, immigrant participation in the labor force was critical to our nation's growth during the '90's boom. And while some maintain that the American economy needs immigrants and is more dependent on their labor than ever before, skeptics continue to ask, "Do immigrants rob American workers of jobs?"

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After Apartheid: Symbols of Progress and Challenges

Tue, Jan 28, 2003

A panel discusses the creation of a new Constitutional Court in post-apartheid South Africa. In 1994, the world looked on as South Africa turned its attention to the historic task of writing and implementing a new constitution that continues to be regarded as the most progressive in the world. Almost a decade later, the Constitutional Court is now creating a permanent home and the first major public building of South Africa's new democracy. Developed on the site of a prison in Johannesburg, with expressive artwork incorporated throughout, this new Courthouse will serve as a monument to the post-apartheid spirit of an emerging nation in all its diversity. But how has the new democracy changed the lives of the people of South Africa? Can symbols inspire dreams in South Africa's new democracy?

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Medical Malpractice in Massachusetts

Wed, Jun 4, 2003

Madge Kaplan, senior editor of American Public Media's Marketplace Health Desk moderates a discussion about malpractice law reform with several Massachusetts physicians. Threats of malpractice lawsuits hang over doctor's heads from the day they earn their degrees. Some higher risk specialists, like OB-GYNs, can expect to be sued nearly three times over their careers. Jury awards in all cases have soared, averaging nearly $3.5 million in 1999. In turn, professional liability insurance for physicians is astronomical. As a result, physicians curtail or stop services, move out of state, or retire early. Access is restricted, longer waits occur, and doctors practice costly 'defensive medicine'.

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