RECORDED 3/19/2020
John Hainze, an entomologist, ethicist and former pesticide-developer calls for greater respect and moral consideration for humans and their natural world.
Are creepy crawlers and unwanted plants deserving of empathy as partners dwelling with us on earth?
Fruit flies, dandelions, and crabgrass are the bane of many people and the target of numerous eradication efforts. In his compelling reassessment of the relationship between humans and the natural world, Hainze considers the fascinating and bizarre history of how these so-called invasive or unwanted pests and weeds have coevolved with humanity and highlights the benefits of a greater respect and moral consideration toward these organisms.
Joining the conversation will be James Barilla, author of MY BACKYARD JUNGLE: The Adventures of an Urban Wildlife Lover who turned his Yard into Habitat and Learned to live with It which considers the habitat of a typical urban back yard as a microcosm of burgeoning cities like Rio de Janeiro. He teaches creative non-fiction and environmental literature at the University of South Carolina.
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Migrating to Prison
For much of America’s history, we simply did not lock people up for migrating here. Yet over the last thirty years, the federal and state governments have increasingly tapped their powers to incarcerate people accused of violating immigration laws. As a result, roughly 400,000 people a year now spend some time locked up pending civil or criminal immigration proceedings.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández‘s new book takes a hard look at the immigration prison system’s origins, how it currently operates, and why. It tackles the outsized presence of private prisons and how those on the political right continue, disingenuously, to link immigration imprisonment with national security risks and threats to the rule of law.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández is a professor of law at the University of Denver and an immigration lawyer. He runs the blog Crimmigration.com.
Recorded for broadcast 2.19.2020
Support our mission to provide free and open discussions about the pertinent issues and ideas confronting us, in the world today.
Join the conversation. Become a member of the Friends of Cambridge Forum to support our ongoing public events and radio series. Contribute $100 or more and receive our newsletter and invitations to special Cambridge Forum events.
To join, call the Forum office at 617 495-2727 or make a contribution now online via Paypal.
The Age Of Illusions
Andrew Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at the Boston University discusses his new book about the post-Cold war follies and delusions that culminated in the age of Donald Trump in conversation with journalist Christopher Lydon, host of Open Source radio.
THE AGE OF ILLUSIONS
How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory
How, within a quarter of a century, did the United States end up with gaping inequality, permanent war, moral confusion, and an increasingly angry and alienated population, as well, of course, the strangest president in American history?
Recorded 1/14/2020
Support our mission to provide free and open discussions about the pertinent issues and ideas confronting us, in the world today.
Join the conversation. Become a member of the Friends of Cambridge Forum to support our ongoing public events and radio series. Contribute $100 or more and receive our newsletter and invitations to special Cambridge Forum events.
To join, call the Forum office at 617 495-2727 or make a contribution now online via Paypal.
How To Start A Revolution
Writers Lauren Duca and Martin Lukacs, author of The Trudeau Formula, discuss collective action and non-violent protest with members of the climate action group, Extinction Rebellion.
Read up:
Recorded 12/4/19 WGBH Forum Network VIDEO
Support Cambridge Forum’s mission to provide free and open discussions about the pertinent issues and ideas confronting us, in the world today.
On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal
Naomi Klein, internationally bestselling author and journalist, describes her latest book, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal explaining how bold climate action can be a blueprint for a just and thriving society.
Recorded October 10, 2019
She was joined by JULIET B. SCHOR, Professor of Sociology at Boston College. This event is co-sponsored by Harvard Book Store, 350 Mass, The Intercept, The Leap, and Sunrise.
With reports spanning from the ghostly Great Barrier Reef, to the annual smoke-choked skies of the Pacific Northwest, to post-hurricane Puerto Rico, to a Vatican attempting an unprecedented “ecological conversion,” Naomi Klein makes the case that we will rise to the existential challenge of climate change only if we are willing to transform the systems that produced this crisis.
An expansive, far-ranging exploration that sees the battle for a greener world as indistinguishable from the fight for our lives, On Fire captures the burning urgency of the climate crisis, as well as the fiery energy of a rising political movement demanding a catalytic Green New Deal.
Fake news vs facts: living in a post-truth world
Are we living in a post-truth world where “alternative facts” replace actual facts and feelings have more weight than evidence? How did we get here?
Lee McIntrye from the Center for Philosophy and History of Science, at Boston University discusses our modern dilemma: FAKE NEWS vs FACTS: Living in a Post-Truth World.
Recorded June 12, 2019
McIntyre traces the development of the post-truth phenomenon from science denial through the rise of “fake news,” from our psychological blind spots to the public’s retreat into “information silos.”
Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School.
How to be happy
RECORDED 3/5/19
Happiness is a choice you make.
So says author John Leland who reflects on the timeless subject in his new book Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons From a Year Among the Oldest Old. It’s based on his interviews with some of New York City’s oldest residents in order to understand the experience of aging during the twilight years . Read an excerpt here.
LISTEN!
Can we really just choose to be happy? ?
Watch this forum on WGBH Forum Network
John Leland is a reporter for The New York Times. Since joining The Times in 2000, he has covered topics ranging from the poetry of rock lyrics to the housing crisis.
Leland is the author of two books: Hip: The History (HarperCollins, 2004), a cultural history of hipness, and Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of ‘On the Road’ (They’re Not What You Think) (Viking, 2007).
Recorded 3/5/19
Infiltrating the Terrorist Network
PRIVACY VERSUS SECURITY
After the Paris terrorist attacks, many feel that the world has entered a new and terrible “reign of terror”. We start our new Deep Globalization series by considering the challenge of balancing security concerns with protecting our privacy. Can we track down terrorists who use encryption to communicate & coordinate attacks, while simultaneously safeguarding our own personal data?
Recorded 1/27/2016 WGBH Forum Network video
Greg Nojeim directs the Freedom, Security, and Technology Project at the Center for Democracy & Technology. The project is dedicated to keeping the Internet free and open and protecting privacy in the digital age against surveillance and government intrusion.
Daniel ‘DJ’ Rosenthal recently left the White House where he served as Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council. While at the NSC, he advised President Obama and senior Administration officials on a wide range of matters including emerging cyber threats and the expanded use of new encryption technologies. Rosenthal also teaches “National Security Dilemmas” at the University of Maryland.
Radio broadcast schedule
CAMFORUM 180720 DREAM MACHINE 1
Fri Jul 20, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180727 DREAM MACHINE 2
Fri Jul 27, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180803 NEW COLD WAR 1
Fri Aug 03, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180810 NEW COLD WAR 2
Fri Aug 10, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180817 RECLAIMING CONVERSATION 1
Fri Aug 17, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180824 RECLAIMING CONVERSATION 2
Fri Aug 24, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180831 SLOWNESS
Fri Aug 31, 2018 13:00:00
CAMFORUM 180907 STORYTELLING 1
Fri Sep 07, 2018 13:00:00 E
CAMFORUM 180914 STORYTELLING 2
Fri Sep 14, 2018 13:00:00