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Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
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John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is dedicated to the memory of our nation's thirty-fifth president and to all those who through the art of politics seek a new and better world. Our purpose is to advance the study and understanding of President Kennedy's life and career and the times in which he lived; and to promote a greater appreciation of America's political and cultural heritage, the process of governing and the importance of public service. We accomplish our mission by: preserving and making accessible the records of President Kennedy and his times; promoting open discourse on critical issues of our own time; and educating and encouraging citizens to contribute, through public and community service, to shaping our nation's future.break

http://www.jfklibrary.org

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    Democracy’s Discontent: Why are we so polarized and what can we do about it?

    Thu, Oct 9, 2025
    GBH hosted its first Ralph Lowell Annual Lecture, honoring the legacy of GBH founder Ralph Lowell, whose life’s work was devoted to educate and inform the public, inspiring in each of us a life of service for the common good.

    Harvard University scholar and political philosopher Michael Sandel delivers the inaugural Ralph Lowell Lecture. Extending his 1996 work "Democracy's Discontent," celebrated by Alan Brinkley when first published as, “...a remarkable fusion of philosophical and historical scholarship,” Sandel will offer a long view of America’s civic struggles, from the 1990s to the present, recalling moments in the American past when the country found ways to hold economic power to democratic account.

    From a 2025 vantage point, he will discuss how Democrats and Republicans alike embraced a version of finance-driven globalization that created a society of winners and losers and fueled the toxic politics of our time—and why the American people must reconfigure the economy and empower our citizens as participants in a shared public life.

    This program is presented in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

    About Ralph Lowell
    For the launch of this lecture series, GBH Archives curated a special exhibit looking back at the 20th century developments spearheaded by Ralph Lowell that established a coalition of support for educational broadcasting in the U.S. and ultimately led to the founding of WGBH in 1951. From support for public lectures, to radio and television programming and digital streaming, the Lowells have continued Ralph’s original mission to support the free dissemination of knowledge as an important foundation for an informed and free democratic citizenry. Visit our Historypage for more.

    About our Event Partner
    The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is the non-profit partner to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, providing financial support, staffing, and creative resources. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Library and the Foundation seek to promote, through educational and community programs, a greater appreciation and understanding of American politics, history, culture, the process of governing and the importance of public service.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    GBH Forum Network John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
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    Politics and the Pope

    Tue, Dec 9, 2014
    Boston Globe writers **James Carroll** and **Neil Swidey**, author **Mary Gordon**, and **Sister Simone Campbell**, organizer of “Nuns on the Bus,” discuss Pope Francis and what the shifts initiated by his papacy might mean for both domestic and world politics. **Margery Eagan**, columnist for The Boston Globe's Catholicism-news website, [Crux](http://www.cruxnow.com "CRUX"), and host of WGBH's midday news show [Boston Public Radio](http://wgbhnews.org/programs/boston-public-radio "Boston Public Radio"), moderates.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • A Conversation with President Jimmy Carter - Part 2

    Thu, Nov 20, 2014
    **President Jimmy Carter** discussed his new book, _A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power_, with Ronan Farrow, who served as special advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and currently is host of _MSNBC's Ronan Farrow Daily_.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • Protecting Jacqueline Kennedy

    Mon, Sep 12, 2011
    Clinton Hill, Jacqueline Kennedy's Secret Service detail, shares memories of the Kennedy White House and his service protecting the first family with Tom Putnam, director of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • A Conversation with Judge Nancy Gertner

    Sun, Jun 5, 2011
    "Judge Nancy Gertner discusses her new book, *In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate*, with Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory. Today Gertner sits on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In 1970s, she was one of few women in the courtroom, where she defended clients in some of the most prominent criminal and civil rights cases of the time. Her career, which focused on criminal and civil cases for women's rights and civil liberties, paved the way for other female lawyers and judges in a male-dominated profession."
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • A Conversation with Boston Globe Pulitzer Prize-winners

    Tue, Jun 14, 2011
    *Boston Globe* Pulitzer Prize-winners Ellen Goodman, Walter Robinson, Charlie Savage and Sebastian Smee reflect on how winning the award changed their careers. Former *Boston Globe* columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Oliphant moderates.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • The Freedom Rides

    Wed, Apr 20, 2011
    PBS and the Kennedy Library hosted a Boston screening of American Experience's 'Freedom Riders.' Following the documentary, Bernard Lafayette and others participated in a panel discussion moderated by 89.7 WGBH radio host, Callie Crossley.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • 50th Anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion

    Sun, Apr 17, 2011
    Historians Timothy Naftali and Peter Kornbluh, and Alfredo Duran, a Cuban exile who participated in the assault, examine the steps leading to the Bay of Pigs and the lessons learned by the Kennedy administration. Adriana Bosch, writer and director of the PBS documentary *Fidel Castro*, moderates.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • A Conversation with Governor Deval Patrick

    Thu, Apr 14, 2011
    Governor Deval Patrick discusses his new memoir, *A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life* with WBUR's *Morning Edition* host Bob Oakes.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

  • David Brooks on What Makes Humans Tick

    Thu, Mar 17, 2011
    *New York Times* columnist and best-selling author, David Brooks, talks about his new book, *The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement*. He explores how emotions, biases, personality, social norms, and other elements that make up our unconscious minds shape the decisions we make every day.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
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