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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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    Arguing Affirmative Action / What’s the Purpose?

    Sun, Nov 8, 2009
    Lecture Seventeen: "Arguing Affirmative Action" Students discuss the issue of affirmative action and college admissions. Is it "just" for schools to consider race and ethnicity as a factor in admissions? Does it violate individual rights? Or is it as equal, and as arbitrary, as favoring a star athlete? Is the argument in favor of promoting diversity a valid one? How does it size up against the argument that a student's efforts and achievements should carry more weight? Lecture Eighteen: "What's the Purpose?" Sandel introduces Aristotle's theory of justice, which, simply put, is giving people what they are due, what they deserve. Aristotle argues that when considering issues of distribution, one must consider the goal, the end, the purpose of what is being distributed. For him, it's a matter of fitting a person's virtues with their appropriate roles.
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  • This Land is My Land / Consenting Adults

    Sun, Oct 4, 2009
    Lecture Seven: "This Land is My Land" John Locke is both a supporter and detractor from the theory of Libertarianism. Locke argues that in the "state of nature," before any political structure has been established, every human has certain natural rights to life, liberty -- and property. However, once we agree to enter into society, we are consenting to being governed by a system of laws. And so, Locke argues, even though government is charged with looking after one's individual rights, it is the majority that defines those rights. Lecture Eight: "Consenting Adults" John Locke on the issue of taxation and consent. How does John Locke square away the conflict between 1) his belief that individuals have an unalienable right to life, liberty, and property and 2) that government -- through majority rule -- can tax individuals without their consent? Doesn't that amount to taking an individual's property without his/her consent? Locke's answer to that is that we are giving our "implied consent" to taxation laws, by living in society, therefore taxation is legitimate. And, as long as government doesn't target a particular group for taxation -- if it isn't arbitrary -- then taxation isn't a violation of the fundamental rights of individuals.
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  • Mind Your Motive / The Supreme Principle of Morality

    Sun, Oct 18, 2009
    Lecture Eleven: "Mind Your Motive" Professor Sandel introduces Immanuel Kant -- one of the most challenging and difficult thinkers in his course. Kant believes we, as individuals, are sacred and the bearer of rights, but not because we own ourselves. Rather, it is our capacity to reason and choose freely that makes us unique, that sets us apart from mere animals. And when we act out of duty (doing something because it is right) only then do our actions have moral worth. Sandel uses the example of a shopkeeper who passes up the chance to shortchange a customer only because he worries it would hurt his business. That wouldn't be considered a moral action, according to Kant, because he wasn't doing the right thing ... for the right reason. Lecture Twelve: "The Supreme Principle of Morality" Immanuel Kant says that in so far as our actions have moral worth, what confers moral worth is precisely our capacity to rise above self-interest and inclination and to act out of duty. Sandel tells the true story of a 13-year-old boy who won a spelling bee contest, but then admitted to the judges that he had, in fact, misspelled the final word. Using this story and others, Sandel explains Kant's test for determining whether an action is morally right: when making a decision, imagine if the moral principle behind your actions became a universal law that everyone had to live by. Would that principle, as a universal law, benefit everyone?
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  • 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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  • Coleman Barks Reads Rumi in Translation

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet Coleman Barks reads from the work of Jalal Al-Din Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet, theologian, and philosopher.
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  • Billy Collins Reads "The Lanyard"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Billy Collins reads his poem "The Lanyard", which explores how contrasting images can create meaning as, he remembers a gift he made for his mother.
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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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