Secretary Margaret Spellings on a Path to Bipartisanship in America
Working together across party lines is anathema to much of political Washington, but Margaret Spellings says doing so is the only way to create solutions that last. A nationally recognized leader in public policy, Spellings serves as President and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. Previously, …
Pete Hammond on This Year’s Best Picture Nominees and Trends at the Oscars
Hollywood’s annual night-of-nights is upon us with the Academy Awards around the corner. Pete Hammond helps us take stock of the film industry and the films singled out for their powerful storytelling this year. Hammond, widely considered the pre-eminent awards analyst for film and television, i…
Kliph Nesteroff on Culture Wars and Why the Problem Isn’t a New One
It's easy to listen to the news and conclude that we have never been more gripped by the so-called “Culture Wars.” But Kliph Nesteroff argues just the opposite: today’s conflict isn’t a fluke, it’s part of a long history of conflict, controversy and recrimination. Canadian comic Kliph Nesteroff …
Analyzing Historical Race Relations and their Contemporary Implications with Françoise N. Hamlin
To some, the civil rights era seems like ancient history, but to others, it’s within living memory. Françoise N. Hamlin helps put the history of the era into a broader context about who we are as a people and what it means to be an American. Hamlin is the Royce Family Associate Professor in hist…
Suzanne Nossell on the Importance of Being Free to Read
Free speech is under assault in educational settings, school committees, university boards and political rallies across the United States. Suzanne Nossell warns the danger isn’t just about our access to books and ideas, but to the fundamental human rights and political freedoms we all hold dear. …
Investigating 20th-Century Connections to Partisan Politics and Modern Conservatism with Richard Aldous
It’s easy to look at American politics, now, and find individuals for whom loyalty to party or an individual leader is the only thing that matters. But Richard Aldous tells us of another time when service to the nation was the highest service in public life. Aldous is the Eugene Meyer Professor o…
Analyzing American Politics Through a Pop-Culture Lens with Joanna Weiss
Most who write about politics focus on the horse-race of elections or the specifics of policies. But Joanna Weiss says we should view American politics—especially current American politics—through a pop-culture lens. Weiss is the executive director of the AI Literacy Lab at Northeastern Universit…
Daniel Golden on Preserving Journalism’s Instrumental Role in our Democracy
There was a time in the United States—not that long ago, actually—when local newspapers played an undisputed positive role in holding people in authority to account. Daniel Golden is a journalist practicing his craft in that great tradition. Golden is a Boston-based senior editor and reporter at …
Naomi Baron on Our Future With AI and Human Creativity
Writing and creative expression have long been among the defining characteristics of humanity as a species. But Naomi Baron chronicles the rise of artificial intelligence and its myriad abilities to write, to compose, to create—and what it means for our humanity. Baron’s research interests includ…
Rainer Lohmann on His Research on Toxic Chemicals in Our Environment and Our Future With Them
Persistent Organic Pollutants: you don’t need a Ph.D. in chemistry to recognize realize they are dangerous. But Dr. Rainer Lohmann has been studying POPs for some time and their danger to the environment and human beings. Lohmann’s research combines marine organic geochemistry and environmental c…