What matters to you.
Watch Live
Play Live Radio
0:00
0:00
NEXT UP:
 
Top

Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
GBH_LOGO.png

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".

---------------------------------

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/

  • Betsy Ross and the Making of America

    Thu, Jan 20, 2011
    National folk hero Betsy Ross, often described as a simple seamstress who rose to fame by creating our most recognizable national symbol, has long captivated the American imagination. But behind the legend is the compelling true story of an accomplished colonial artisan, a furniture upholsterer woven into a thriving colonial economy. Marla Miller, Associate Professor and Director of the Public History Program at UMass Amherst, and acclaimed author of *Betsy Ross and the Making of America*, stitches together the incredible story of this accomplished woman and explores why we as a nation cannot reconcile her true role in our historical imagination
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Coleman Barks Reads Rumi in Translation

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet Coleman Barks reads from the work of Jalal Al-Din Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet, theologian, and philosopher.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Jane Hirshfield Reads "For What Binds Us"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet Jane Hirshfield reads her poem, "For What Binds Us".
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Naomi Shihab Nye Reads "One Boy Told Me"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Naomi Shihab Nye reads her poem, "One Boy Told Me".
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Stanley Kunitz Reads "Touch Me"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    American poet Stanley Kunitz reads "Touch Me".
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Linda Pastan Reads "Why Are Your Poems So Dark?"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Linda Pastan reads her poem, "Why Are Your Poems So Dark?".
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Kevin Young Reads "Aunties"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Kevin Young's poetry often examines his extensive Deep South roots. *Dear Darkness,* Young's sixth collection of poems, in which "Aunties" appears, was particularly inspired by the joy, sorrow, and food he came to associate with Louisiana.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Henry Butler: Inclusive By Design Concert (Part 1)

    Tue, May 26, 2009
    Henry Butler, a New Orleans piano legend who has been blind since birth, along with visual artist, Nancy Ostrovsky, demonstrate principles of Universal Design in the performing arts. The creative team includes deaf and hearing ASL interpreters, live captioning, audio description, and Nancy Ostrovsky, painting a mural live on stage. John Hockenberry serves as Master of Ceremonies, and VSA Massachusetts, in collaboration with WGBH, hosts this live, all-inclusive performance.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Lucille Clifton Reads "won't you celebrate with me"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Contemporary poet Lucille Clifton explores themes of identity, race, and gender as she reads her poem, “won’t you celebrate with me.”
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network

  • Billy Collins Reads "The Lanyard"

    Wed, Apr 1, 2009
    Billy Collins reads his poem "The Lanyard", which explores how contrasting images can create meaning as, he remembers a gift he made for his mother.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network
Load More