Past Events

Improbable Patriot: The Secret History of Monsieur de Beaumarchais, the French playwright Who Saved the American Revolution, a conversation with Suffolk University historian Robert Alison and Iris De Rode.

In 1776, the playwright and inventor Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799) conceived an audacious plan to send aid to the American rebels. What’s more, he convinced King Louis XVI to bankroll the project and single-handedly carried it out. By war’s end, he had supplied Washington’s army with most of its weapons and powder, though he was never paid or acknowledged by the United States. To some, he was a dashing hero, a towering intellect who saved the American Revolution. To others, he was a pure rogue, a double-dealing adventurer who stopped at nothing to advance his fame and fortune. In fact, he was both, and more: an advisor to kings, an arms dealer, and an author of some of the most enduring works of the stage, including The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville. Now in paperback, Improbable Patriot introduces readers to an unrecognized power player in the Revolutionary War.

Each year, GBH honors the cultural achievements of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. Journalist Ann Curry participated this year's program designed to amplify and redefine AANHPI identity and culture.

Paris Alston, host of the GBH show Rooted, moderates a discussion about loneliness, technology, and what it means to truly connect in the age of artificial intelligence, with Dr. Jen Hartstein, psychologist, and Oluwaseun Sanwoolu, PhD Candidate in Philosophy at the University of Kansas.

Revenue from the Fair Share Amendment, passed in 2022, is dedicated to spending on transportation and education in the Commonwealth, but three years after the bill's passing, where do things stand? GBH New transportation correspondent Jeremy Siegel moderates a discussion.

The GBH BPL studio will host Outspoken Saturdays, a spoken word poetry event for emerging artists. Every first Saturday of the month, the series will be created in collaboration with spoken word artist Amanda Shea.

If you are interested in performing, feel free to submit your work for review hereJoin us!

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen comes a story about DNA and our passion for biological truths. In the novel More Than Enough, a woman confronts the surprising results of an ancestry test, a challenge conversationalist Bill Griffeth knows first-hand. 

In this conversation, pairing fiction and fact, we go deep into a novel that should be read by anyone using DNA testing in pursuit of their family’s history. When high school English teacher Polly Goodman is given an ancestry test kit as a joke, she tests without thinking too much about it. When Polly learns the results match her with a stranger, she is certain there’s been a mistake. Yet she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers.

With her trademark warmth, humor, and insight into the power of love and hope, author Anna Quindlen explores how we find ourselves again and again through the relationships that define us. This is an illuminating conversation with author and TV anchor Bill Griffeth, whose own DNA journey mirrors Polly’s. During an extended audience Q+A session, Ms. Quindlen and Mr. Griffeth are joined by science journalist Libby Copeland, who shares insights on this growing area of exploration: the latest statistics, trends, and findings on DNA testing which are greatly impacting individuals and families.

This Thursday, May 7, on GBH Amplifies, we’re getting real about what it takes to build, survive, and lead, when the system wasn’t designed for you to win, government entities are cutting funding, while the needs increase.

Guests:

Conan Harris — founder of Conan Harris & Associates, a Boston-based strategist working at the intersection of workforce development, public safety, and economic opportunity.

Jamaal Wornum — community leader focused on creating access, equity, and grassroots impact across Boston.

Joseph Bennett — Boston native who spent over two decades incarcerated, now founder of YardTime Inc., advocating for returning citizens and breaking cycles tied to incarceration.

GBH Amplifies is a community conversation series focused on expanding the reach of local voices from Greater Boston and beyond. The series features community leaders hosting public conversations in the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, providing a platform for inclusive perspectives on the issues that matter most to New England communities. GBH Amplifies happens weekly on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm at the GBH BPL Studio. This event is free and open to the public.

GBH Amplifies is also being supported by the Barr Foundation.

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.

A Ford Hall Forum screening of Living in Pryde in Boston's theater district at The Modern Theater on Washington St. Filmmakers and residents featured in the film will convene after the screening for a discussion with the audience.

Living in Pryde is a powerful short documentary following residents of The Pryde—New England’s first LGBTQ+ welcoming, affordable senior housing community. As LGBTQ+ rights face renewed challenges, the film highlights a generation that came of age without basic legal protections. Residents draw on a lifetime of resilience, reflecting on surviving the AIDS crisis, fighting for same-sex marriage, and coming out as transgender. Located in a former public school in Boston’s Hyde Park, The Pryde is both a refuge and a target—a place where community becomes a powerful force in the ongoing fight for civil rights and equality.

GBH Music and Jazz Boston welcome cuatrista Fabiola Méndez and her quartet to Calderwood Studio for a celebration of International Jazz Day. Méndez is an Emmy-nominated composer and musician known for her unique blend of genres, including folk, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean influences. Notably, Méndez was the first musician to graduate from Berklee with the Puerto Rican cuatro, the island’s national instrument, as her primary instrument. Following her viral GBH Jazz Instagram reel about the cuatro in 2025 and her well-received performance during the 2024 GBH Music Holiday Spectacular, Méndez returns to GBH in April for the first time as a headliner. Drawing inspiration from the mountains of Puerto Rico to the African rhythms of the Caribbean, Méndez and her quartet will present a collection of original works — taking the listener on a journey of storytelling through Latin folk and jazz. The concert takes place at 8 pm in Calderwood Studio with a pre-concert reception at 7:15pm. Paris Alston, of GBH News Rooted, will host the performance, which will be filmed for broadcast on GBH2. This event is made possible by the Goldstein Family Fund.

7:15-7:50pm Pre-event reception
7:50pm Guest are seated in Calderwood Studio (general admission)
8:00-9:00pm Live performance in Calderwood Studio

To know the name Judy Blume is to know and love literature. Her influential novels are classics, from "Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret" to "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing." Blume touched the lives of tens of millions of readers. Mark Oppenheimer shares his new biography of the iconic author.