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Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
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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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    WGBH News Forums: How To Spot Fake News

    Mon, Jan 13, 2020
    WGBH News and the Forum Network begin 2020 with an original, news-focused speaker series that will provide a closer look at the presidential election season. In these quarterly events, audience members can connect to WGBH News reporters and experts who will help navigate a heavy year of political coverage. This first event focuses on how to spot “fake news” in an age of disinformation, with a panel of scholars who study media manipulation, digital resources, and the spread of misinformation. The discussion is moderated by WGBH News Senior Digital Managing Editor, Laura Colarusso. Photo: Ryan Arel/Forum Network
    Forum Network
    GBH News Forums
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    Black Lives, Native Lands, White Worlds: A History of Slavery in New England

    Thu, Oct 17, 2019
    Historian Jared Ross Hardesty focuses on 17th century New England, when enslaved people—both indigenous peoples and kidnapped Africans—comprised about 4 percent of the population. He shares the individual stories of enslaved people, bringing their experiences to life. He also explores the importance of slavery to the colonization of the region and to agriculture and industry, New England’s deep connections to Caribbean plantation societies, and the significance of emancipation movements in the era of the American Revolution. **About the event site** In the eighteenth century, the [Royall House and Slave Quarters](http://royallhouse.org/) was home to the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts and the enslaved Africans who made their lavish way of life possible. Today, the Royall House and Slave Quarters is a museum whose architecture, household items, archaeological artifacts, and programs bear witness to intertwined stories of wealth and bondage, set against the backdrop of America’s quest for independence.
    Forum Network
    Policing The Black Community: Consequences And Activism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    #WhoDoYouValue? — The Relaunch of #StuckOnReplay

    Wed, Aug 15, 2018
    The activist organization #StuckOnReplay, along with many other local organizations, hosted a recent community event focused on inspiring their Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan neighbors to vote in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections. Since the launch of #StuckOnReplay in July of 2016, the organization has been focused on elevating voice, uplifting communities, and influencing policymakers. It has shifted its focus this year to holding policymakers accountable for the communities they represent. Other collaborating organizations include[ The Center for Teen Empowerment, Inc.](http://teenempowerment.org/ "teen empowerment"), [Violence in Boston, Inc.](https://www.vibsocialimpactteam.com/ "ViB"), [Haley House Bakery Cafe](http://haleyhouse.org/ "Haley House"),[ Sisters Unchained](https://www.facebook.com/sistersunchained/ "SU on Facebook"), [Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice](https://charleshamiltonhouston.org/ "website"), [Emancipation Initiative - Against Life Without Parole](http://emancipationinitiative.org/ "website"). The rally centered around the question that #StuckOnReplay posed to community members and public officials throughout all these local, state, and federal elections happening this year is: "Who Do You Value?"
    Forum Network
    Boston Talks About Racism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    BostonTalks: Green

    Thu, May 17, 2018
    At BostonTalks, networking meets short talks for a smarter happy hour. Speakers share their stories in connection with the theme of “green." Learn about Fenway’s Green Monster, cold hard cash, and the environment! Image: [Pixaby](https://pixabay.com/en/dollar-currency-money-us-dollar-499481/ "Pixaby")
    Forum Network
    BostonTalks Series
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    Karen Abrams:How to Foster Community Engagement

    Wed, May 24, 2017
    As part of the [Boston Office of Resilience and Racial Equity speaker series](https://www.boston.gov/calendar/resilience-and-racial-equity-speaker-series-karen-abrams ""), Pittsburgh urban planner and Harvard Graduate School of Design Loeb fellow Karen Abrams discusses how she built up healthy community participation in Pittsburgh processes. Abrams tackled head-on the biggest obstacle that prevented her colleagues from engaging communities affected by change and development: they never spent time together. Abrams shares success stories and tips for building relationships and changing racial dynamics, encouraging ownership of changes within a neighborhood. Photo Credit: [Sebastiaan ter Burg](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 "community") [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
    Forum Network
    Boston Talks About Racism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    Weapons of Math Destruction

    Tue, Jul 11, 2017
    Microsoft Research's Social Media Collective and Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society welcome author Cathy O'Neil to NERD to discuss big data. O'Neil will read from her award-winning book, "Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy". Photo Credit: Pexel
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    #StuckOnReplay Year Two

    Thu, Jul 13, 2017
    Criminal justice reform is one of the most pressing issues facing lawmakers in Massachusetts. A reform bill is working its way through the statehouse, however, prisoner advocates argue that too often the policy makers do not reflect the communities who are disproportionately impacted. In this anniversary gathering, organizers of the original gathering [#StuckOnReplay](http://forum-network.org/lectures/stuckonreplay-striving-social-justice/ "") attempt to move the conversation out of the State House and back into the community.
    Forum Network
    Civil Rights Movement Series,  Boston Talks About Racism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    Strategy for Discussion: The Welcome Table

    Sat, Nov 19, 2016
    It's not enough to talk about Boston's problems stemming from racism. Mayor Marty Walsh intends to devote 2017 to doing something about it. Wrapping up the November event "Boston Talks About Racism", hosted by the Mayor at the Cutler Majestic Theater, reconciliation specialist Jennifer Henderson explained a technique for talking about racism that was first employed in Louisiana: The Welcome Table. Through storytelling and sharing in a safe space, "We build a bridge strong enough to bear the weight of the truth we have to tell each other," she said.
    Forum Network
    Boston Talks About Racism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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    Ceasar McDowell: I know there's an America that wants to be

    Sat, Nov 19, 2016
    Ceasar McDowell is the President of the Institute for Social Change and a professor of urban planning at MIT. He joined Boston Mayor Marty Walsh at the Cutler Majestic Theater in November 2016 to help kick off a year of talks intended to ask Bostonians to address real and present issues of racism. Follow the ongoing conversation via Twitter with #IAmBoston.
    Forum Network
    Boston Talks About Racism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Jim Rooney: Boston Business Community Will Address Issues of Racism

    Sat, Nov 19, 2016
    Boston Chamber of Commerce CEO James Rooney spoke to a full house at the Cutler Majestic Theater as part of the Mayor's day to begin tackling the pernicious and deep-rooted problems racism has created. Rooney made a pledge: "The Chamber, our board, our members and our staff will be engaged in action-oriented processes...on issues of board diversity, economic mobility, access, education, workforce development and jobs."
    Forum Network
    Boston Talks About Racism
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
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