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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Ford Hall Forum

The Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest continuously operating free public lecture series. Its mission is to foster an informed and effective citizenry and to promote freedom of speech through the public presentation of lectures, debates, and discussions. Forum events illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking speakers. These speakers are presented in person, for free, and in settings, which facilitate frank and open debate.

http://www.fordhallforum.org/

  • Momsrising.org: The Motherhood Manifesto

    Thu, Oct 18, 2007
    Joan Blades, well known for co-founding the e-advocacy group MoveOn.org, discusses her new organization, Momsrising.org, and internet advocacy in general. With this new site, she hopes to build an army of citizen activists who will push for strong maternity leave laws, improved health care coverage, and fair wages, among other issues. Do more "family friendly" policies make economic sense for our country? Does an active online community necessarily translate into political influence? Blades screens her documentary film, *The Motherhood Manifesto*, and explores the Internet's ever-changing role in our political process.
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    First Amendment Award: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

    Thu, Mar 18, 2010
    The Ford Hall Forum presents the 2010 Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which is dedicated to defending and sustaining individual rights at America's colleges and universities. Greg Lukianoff, President of FIRE; Steven Pinker, bestselling author and FIRE Advisory Board member; and Harvey Silverglate, Civil liberties lawyer and FIRE Co-Founder, join moderator Judge Nancy Gertner of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts to discuss their organization's work and what freedom of speech means today.
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  • Extreme Dog: What Right Do Our Pets Have to Be Saved?

    Thu, Sep 16, 2010
    Dr. Nick Trout, staff surgeon at Angell Animal Medical Center and author of *Tell Me Where It Hurts*; attorney John Ensminger, dog advocate and creator of the doglawreporter.blog spot.com; and Dr. Joann Lindenmayer, Associate Professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, join moderator Monica Collins, syndicated columnist of *Ask Dog Lady*, to discuss heart wrenching questions relating to our beloved pets. Have we as a society gone too far in treating dogs with extensive medical problems? Is there such a thing as doing too much to save a dog’s life? Should we base our decisions on medical cost, time, or effort for recovery? And who makes these decisions–-the state, the legal system, the doctors, or the owners?
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  • AIDS, Social Justice, and the Politics of Transformation

    Thu, Sep 30, 2010
    Kevin Cranston, Director of the Massachusetts Bureau of Infectious Disease; Dazon Dixon Diallo, President of SisterLove; Julie Davids, Founder and Co-Director of CHAMP (Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project); and Guillermo Chacón, President and CEO of the Latino AIDS Commission converse with moderator Rebecca Haag, President and CEO of AIDS Action Committee about the ongoing problem of HIV transmission. As death from AIDS becomes less common, AIDS service organizations must transform their services and prevention programs to follow a more radical approach. Why are there 56,000 new infections in the U.S. every year when we know what causes HIV, how it’s transmitted, and how to treat it? Join us to discuss how to stop the spread of HIV by addressing the underlying social injustices of racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, substance abuse, and poverty. (Presented in collaboration with Old South Meeting House, a museum and National Historic Landmark dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, as part of the Partners in Public Dialogue series.)
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  • Election 2010 and Communities of Color

    Thu, Nov 4, 2010
    Dr. Maria Idali Torres, director of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy; Dr. Paul Watanabe of the Institute of Asian American Studies at UMass Boston; and Marvin Venay, executive director of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, join State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry to explore how the newly elected and reelected officials are likely to address upcoming legislation affecting Latino, Black, and Asian American populations on education, immigration and language, affordable housing, economic development, and health and safety. Hear what the panel thinks we can do to ensure better representation for our communities.
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    Who Is Winning the Childhood Obesity Battle?

    Thu, Oct 7, 2010
    Panelist discuss gains and losses in the battle against childhood obesity, and address which policies on childhood obesity are effective, as well as whether calorie counting, food labeling, and junk food taxes are fair to those who are not at risk for obesity. At the heart of the discussion lie the questions: what is causing obesity, who is responsible for policing it, and what are the unintended consequences of the methods we’ve tried thus far? Dr. Dong-Chul Seo, Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Heath Science at Indiana University; Dr. Marlene Schwartz of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University; Karen Voci, Executive Director of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation; and Dr. Frank Robinson, Executive Director of Partners for a Healthier Community, join Dr. Chris Economos, the New Balance Chair of Childhood Nutrition at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition for this talk.
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  • Reforming Boston Schools: Race, History, and the Future

    Thu, Apr 15, 2010
    Joseph Cronin, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education; George Greenidge, Executive Director of National Black College Alliance; Claudio Martinez, Executive Director of Hyde Square Task Force; and Jean McGuire, Executive Director of METCO, join moderator Tessil Collins, senior coordinator of the Boston Public Schools, to reflect on Boston Public Schools' challenges of previous decades, as well as the hurdles ahead in developing a stronger education system for our city.
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    Fifth Estate: Can Twitter and YouTube Solve Real Government Problems?

    Thu, May 6, 2010
    Chris Csilkszentmihalti, Director of the MIT Center for Future Civic Media; Nigel Jacob, Senior Advisor for Emerging Technology for the City of Boston's Mayor's Office; and Joseph Porcelli, founder of Neighbors for Neighbors, Inc., join moderator Callie Crossley, host of WGBH's *The Callie Crossley Show*, to address the promise--and challenges--of building more transparent, participatory, and effective institutions through the evolving technological tools at our fingertips.
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  • Lessons from the Financial Crisis: More Government or Less?

    Thu, May 20, 2010
    Yaron Brook, President and Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute, and Peter Kadzis, Editor of the *Boston Phoenix* and former contributor to *Money*, *Forbes*, and the *Boston Business Journal* debate the lessons learned during the financial crisis--from bailouts to reforms to our efforts to prevent another economic disaster.
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  • A Presidency in Peril

    Thu, Jun 3, 2010
    Robert Kuttner, co-founder and co-editor of *The American Prospect*, Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow, and columnist for *The Boston Globe*, joins Wendy Ballinger, founder of Ballinger Consulting, to discuss the dilemmas facing the Obama administration from trade to efficiency to the challenge of regulating global capitalism.
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