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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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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/

  • 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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  • Putting Massachusetts Students and Schools to the Test

    Wed, Apr 10, 2002
    James Peyser, chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education, and Ted Sizer, founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools, discuss the controversial Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test. Heated debate has surrounded the MCAS test since 1993, when it was first introduced to identify and help students and schools that were failing. Advocates call the MCAS test the foundation for a bold plan to reform education in the state while critics insist this standardized text is too narrow in its assessment of students' abilities.
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  • At the Heart of Marriage: Same-Sex Couples

    Tue, Oct 8, 2002
    Attorney and civil rights activist Mary Bonauto, moderates this first public discussion with three of the plaintiff couples in the pending same-sex marriage case in Massachusetts. In 1999, she and two Vermont co-counsel won a ruling that same-sex couples are entitled to all of the benefits and protections of civil marriage in the case of Baker v. State of Vermont. This ruling prompted the Vermont legislature to enact the nation's first "civil union" law for same-sex couples.
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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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  • Medical Errors and Patient Safety

    Tue, May 11, 2004
    A panel of professionals weigh in on the shocking 1999 The Institute of Medicine report on medical safety. Panelists include Lucian Leape, Connie Crowley Ganser, and Linda Kelly. The event is moderated by John A. Fromson. The Institute of Medicine reported in 1999 that health care in the United States is not as safe as it should be, and that as many as 98,000 patients may die each year from preventable medical errors. How far have we progressed in five years? How do doctors, nurses, and other health care workers approach patient safety? What is the responsibility of the patient for patient safety? How can we make medical care better? .
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  • Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

    Thu, Jan 13, 2005
    Peter Roby, director of the Center for Sport and Society at Northeastern University, moderates a panel after the film screening of *Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.* Panelists include: Robin Chandler, recently named chair of Women's Studies at Northeastern, professor Bob Hall of the African-American Studies Department, and *Boston Globe* sportswriter and boxing journalist, Ron Borges. Jack Johnson, born in Galveston, Texas on March 31, 1878, became the first black American boxer to win the heavyweight title. During his 30 years of boxing, he fought 113 bouts, winning 78 and losing 35 of them. He had 44 knockouts, 34 of which were won by decision. For more than 13 years, Jack Johnson was considered the most famous and most infamous African American on earth. He battled his way from obscurity to the top of the heavyweight ranks and won the greatest prize in American sports, a prize that had always been the private preserve of white combatants.
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    Disease Du Jour: What Might Be Next?

    Tue, Nov 16, 2004
    A panel of public health experts examines the topic of infectious disease and offers some insights into this ever-changing aspect of medicine and our environment. Hepatitis A. West Nile Virus. Bird Flu. SARS. Monkeypox. Infectious diseases are all around us, and a new one seems to emerge every year. In some cases, transmission may be just a plane ride away. What is causing these new diseases and strains to originate? Is an epidemic on hand? What can we do to protect ourselves and our families? This lecture is presented in collaboration with the Massachusetts Medical Society.
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  • Founding Mothers: Women Who Raised Our Nation

    Mon, Nov 29, 2004
    Cokie Roberts delivers an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families (and their country) proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it. While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. Presented in collaboration with the WAND Education Fund and the Old South Meeting House as part of the Partners in Public Dialogue Series.
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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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