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Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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GBH Forum Network

The Forum Network is a public media service of the GBH Educational Foundation that offers thousands of video lectures by the world's foremost scholars, authors, artists, scientists, policymakers, and community leaders, made available to the public for free.

Lectures hosted on The Forum Network are presented by community organizations and educational institutions from the Boston area and beyond.

From science to the humanities, from local to global topics, The Forum Network is committed to providing outstanding educational content for lifelong learners, and to encouraging deeper understanding and civic engagement around the vital issues of our time.

Explore lectures by Topics, Series, Partners, and Speakers. To provide viewers with more information, lectures are further augmented with speaker biographies, related lectures and books, captions and transcripts, and downloadable audio.

In the past, GBH has collaborated with other public media partners—WETA in Washington, DC; Public Broadcasting Atlanta; and WNET New York—to record public speaking events. While the structure of the Forum Network changed in 2014 to focus specifically on the Boston region, previously recorded lectures remain archived in this website.

Major support for the GBH Forum Network comes from the Lowell Institute, an organization created to carry out the 1836 bequest of John Lowell Jr., to make free public lectures available to the citizens of Boston

Stay in touch with Forum Network. » Facebook Find us on Facebook and Twitter. Become a partner by joining our network as a local community content contributor. Email forumnetwork@wgbh.org with the subject line "New Partner".

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About GBH Educational Foundation

GBH enriches people's lives through programs and services that educate, inspire, and entertain, fostering citizenship and culture, the joy of learning, and the power of diverse perspectives. GBH serves New England, the nation, and the world with programs that inform, inspire, and entertain. GBH is PBS's single largest producer of content for television (prime-time and children's programs) and the Web. Some of your favorite series and websites -- Nova, Masterpiece, Frontline, Antiques Roadshow, Curious George, Arthur, and The Victory Garden, to name a few -- are produced here in our Boston studios. GBH also is a major supplier of programs heard nationally on public radio, including The World. And we're a pioneer in educational multimedia and in media access technologies for people with hearing or vision loss. Our community ties run deep. We're a local public broadcaster serving southern New England, with 11 public television services and three public radio services -- and productions (from Greater Boston to Jazz with Eric in the Evening) that reflect the issues and cultural riches of our region. We're a member station of PBS and an affiliate of both NPR and PRI. In today's fast-changing media landscape, we're making sure you can find our content when and where you choose -- on TV, radio, the Web, podcasts, vodcasts, streaming audio and video, iPhone applications, groundbreaking teaching tools, and more. Our reach and impact keep growing. GBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors -- Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards -- even two Academy Awards. In 2002, a special institutional Peabody Award cited GBH's 50 years of service to the "community, the nation, and the world with outstanding productions and collaborations."

GBH is devoted to bringing you new experiences, taking you to new worlds, and giving you the very best in educational content. We're here for you -- and it all happens thanks to your interest and generous support!

https://forum-network.org/

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    Putting a Price Tag on Life / How to Measure Pleasure

    Sun, Sep 20, 2009
    Lecture Three: "Putting a Price Tag on Life" Jeremy Bentham's late 18th century Utilitarian theory -- summed up as "the greatest good for the greatest number" -- is often used today under the name of "cost-benefit analysis." Sandel presents some contemporary examples where corporations used this theory -- which required assigning a dollar value on human lives -- to make important business decisions. This leads to a discussion about the objections to Utilitarianism: is it fair to give more weight to the values of a majority, even when the values of the majority may be ignoble or inhumane? Lecture Four: "How to Measure Pleasure" Sandel introduces J.S. Mill, another Utilitarian philosopher, who argues that all human experience can be quantifiable, and that some kinds of pleasures are more desirable and more valuable than others. Mill argues that if society values the higher pleasures, and values justice, then society as a whole will be better off in the long run. Sandel tests this theory by showing the class three video clips -- from *The Simpsons*, the reality show *Fear Factor* and Shakespeare's *Hamlet* -- then asks students to debate which of the three experiences qualifies as the "highest" pleasure.
    Forum Network
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Henry Butler: Inclusive By Design Concert (Part 1)

    Tue, May 26, 2009
    Henry Butler, a New Orleans piano legend who has been blind since birth, along with visual artist, Nancy Ostrovsky, demonstrate principles of Universal Design in the performing arts. The creative team includes deaf and hearing ASL interpreters, live captioning, audio description, and Nancy Ostrovsky, painting a mural live on stage. John Hockenberry serves as Master of Ceremonies, and VSA Massachusetts, in collaboration with WGBH, hosts this live, all-inclusive performance.
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Mark Doty Reads "Brian, Age 7"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet and writer Mark Doty reads his poem "Brian, Age 7".
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Robert Hass Reads "Selected Haiku" by Issa

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Hass reads "Selected Haiku" by Kobayashi Issa from his book of translations *The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa*. Issa, who was born in 1763 to a farming family in rural Japan, is considered one of four great masters of Haiku. This 17 syllable poetic form is known for its ability to squeeze astonishing beauty and depth of feeling out of plain language and direct observation. Issa's poems are remarkable for their "pathos and humor," especially in light of the string of tragedies that marked each stage of his life.
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Edward Hirsch Reads "A Partial History of My Stupidity"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Hirsch often finds inspiration in the work of other writers and artists, as is the case with this poem, "A Partial History of My Stupidity." In response to a poem by Polish writer Czeslaw Milosz, in which the author wrote that the history of his stupidity would fill many volumes, Hirsch said he thought, "I could relate to that. But it seemed impossible to write all of [it]. I wrote like volume three, chapter five."
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Yusef Komunyakaa Reads "Facing It"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Yusef Komunyakaa reads his poem "Facing It" about seeing the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. through his eyes as a war veteran and contemporary poet.
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Ted Kooser Reads "Daddy Long Legs"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet Ted Kooser reads his poem, "Daddy Long Legs".
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Jane Hirshfield Reads "For What Binds Us"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet Jane Hirshfield reads her poem, "For What Binds Us".
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  • Linda Pastan Reads "Why Are Your Poems So Dark?"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Linda Pastan reads her poem, "Why Are Your Poems So Dark?".
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    GBH Forum Network

  • Lucille Clifton Reads "won't you celebrate with me"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Contemporary poet Lucille Clifton explores themes of identity, race, and gender as she reads her poem, “won’t you celebrate with me.”
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    GBH Forum Network
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