A.I. companions increasingly replace human romantic, erotic, social, educational, therapeutic, and collegial relationships. Whether interpersonally or society-wide, we are ill-equipped to engage in moral discernment about the ethical implications of this shift. The turn to A.I. companions reveals fractured expectations, systemic pressures, and misaligned desires troubling human-to-human relationships misguided by echoes of religiously inflected sexual and gender-based historical trauma embedded in hierarchies of material embodiments and on-going abuses. Our response to this unveiling must reshape relational ethics. What are the possibilities for creative, morally grounded A.I. companion design and use to promote human and agentic flourishing rather than diminishment? What resources might religious communities offer that remedy historical wrongs and promote moral formation? Is theological education be a place for this work?

The People’s Uprising and the Fall of the Warsaw Ghetto,
April 1942–June 1943 sheds light on the lives, choices, and
experiences of the tens of thousands of Jews who were not
part of the underground armed resistance but nonetheless
supported the famed Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This riveting
and dramatic account focuses on the final year of the
Warsaw ghetto, from the Great Deportation in the summer
of 1942 through the suppression of the uprising in mid-1943
Drawing on powerful contemporary testimonies, diaries, and
documents—many of them previously unexplored—Havi
Ben-Sasson Dreifuss reveals how members of the broader
Jewish population struggled to survive, maintain family and
community life, and make impossible moral decisions in the
face of fear, hunger, and daily violence. Looking beyond the
fighters themselves, the book offers a story of devastation, but
also of resilience and human dignity.

Join this powerful and hopeful conversation at a time when antisemitism is on the rise and fear of the “other” is heightened. We will hear from Arno Michaelis, a former Neo-Nazi and author of "My Life After Hate," and Mubin Shaikh, a former jihadist supporter turned counterterrorism expert, who will share their journeys from radicalization to redemption. They will reflect on their transformations, the beliefs that once fueled their hatred, and the turning points that led them to turn their lives around and be agents of change. Together, they offer an honest and compassionate exploration of how hate develops, how people change, and how meaningful connections can emerge even in painful and traumatic times. The program is moderated by Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern, trauma psychologist and Director of Trauma Training & Services at Parents for Peace.

Harvard Book Store welcomes Caroline Maguire, in-demand expert in social emotional learning and a sought-after key-note speaker with more than 200 speaking engagements, for a discussion of her new book, Friendship Skills for Neurodivergent Adults: A Guide for the Anxious, Uniquely Wired, and Easily Distracted.

Friendship can be hard for many Neurodivergent adults. There is an assumption that good, worthwhile friendships “should” come easy. However, for Neurodivergent adults, there are brain-based reasons why friendship can feel less intuitive. From differences in the parts of the brain that are vital to managing the logistics of a fulfilling social life to difficulty with self-regulation, the way neurodiverse individuals experience social bonding and connection can feel unintuitive.

Friendship Skills For Neurodivergent Adults is a guide to navigate these differences, broken into three parts: How friendship works; How to find your people; How connecting will get you in motion.

Maguire will be joined in conversation by Brendan Mahan, host of the ADHD Essentials Podcast.

Uncover the legacy and impact of Boston’s Black Pullman Porters.

Experience the power of musical storytelling alongside a dynamic panel discussion as we honor the legacy and impact of Boston’s Black Pullman Porters. This event brings history to life, celebrating the voices, contributions, and lasting influence of these trailblazers through meaningful dialogue and shared narratives.

Leading this dialogue are distinguished speakers, including Ingrid Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music at Harvard University; and Angela Tate, Chief Curator and Director of Collections at the Museum of African American History.

Step into this powerful exchange of history and perspective and help carry these stories forward.

MassINC Greg Torres fellow Charlotte Golar Richie will convene her fellowship cohort as their two-year terms come to completion. Each Torres Fellow is a civic leader with a distinct project and a vision for the future they hope we’ll see in Massachusetts 30 years from now.

Harvard Book Store welcomes Chris Wrenn—founder of indie record label Bridge Nine and the clothing label Sully's—for a discussion of his book, Fenway Punk: How a Boston Indie Label Scored Big on Baseball’s Greatest Rivalry.
Author Chris Wrenn, a member of the Boston hardcore punk scene, had a dream of his own—to start his own record label. Embracing the do-it-yourself ethos of the scene, Chris set out to make it happen, networking and forging relationships with local bands. But such an endeavor required money he didn't have ... until he and his friends heard a familiar phrase echo out of Fenway Park, the home field of the Red Sox. A rousing story of entrepreneurship and ingenuity that also reveals fresh insight into one of the most epic rivalries in sports history, Fenway Punk is a gripping read for both fans of punk music and readers of Ben Mezrich, Lizzy Goodman, and Chuck Klosterman.

What was once a marketplace for personal information has evolved into a permanent, powerful infrastructure: one that federal agencies, law enforcement, and even the Department of Defense increasingly rely on to monitor, classify, and track people in ways the public rarely sees. At the center of this shift is the data-broker economy, a vast, lightly regulated industry that buys and sells the intimate details of our lives. These datasets now feed into AI systems used for policing, immigration enforcement, and risk assessment. More recently, they have also begun informing the Pentagon’s exploration of autonomous technologies capable of identifying and targeting individuals without direct human oversight.

Join Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Kade Crockford, Director of Technology and Justice Programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts, for a timely investigation into how these systems work, who they empower, and what they mean for the future of democratic participation.

Harvard Book Store, the Harvard University Division of Science, the Harvard Library, and Long Now Boston welcome Andrew H. Knoll—Fisher Research Professor of Natural History and Earth and Planetary Sciences, Emeritus, at Harvard University, and author of A Brief History of Earth and Life on a Young Planet—for a discussion of his new book Earth and Life: A Four Billion Year Conversation. He will be joined in conversation by Robin Wordsworth—Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Co-Director of Graduate Studies at Harvard University

Hear from renowned legal scholar, civil rights advocate, and former judge Margaret A. Burnham, the founder of Northeastern University School of Law’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) and author of By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners. Through CRRJ, Burnham has led teams of law students in investigating acts of racial violence in the Jim Crow era, including hundreds of unsolved murders of Black people among other historical failures of the criminal justice system.