Forum Network

American Inspiration, our in-person author series launched in Fall 2019. See below our past presenters and their books exploring themes of personal identity, families and immigration, and social and cultural history.Most in-person events take place in our historic rotunda at 99-101 Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay.

In 1949, Mental Health America and its affiliates established May as Mental Health Month across the nation. Advocates and sufferers of mental illness spread awareness through the media and local events, reaching out to millions of people to show them that they are not alone and that mental health is something everyone should care about. The lectures in this series speak to mental illness and recovery, as well as the broader issue of mental health in America and worldwide.

GBH news and the Forum Network come together to create a news-focused speaker series that takes a close look at important matters of the day. In a series of four events, audience members can connect to GBH News reporters and the experts known to our Forum Network partners. Together they will help audience members develop a deeper understanding of the issues and draw inspiration on how to become actively involved.News Forums in 2020 focus on navigating a heavy year of political coverage in the lead-up to November elections. We will discuss how to spot fake news in an age of disinformation, learn more about how COVID-19 might impact the election season, talk about the polarization of voters, and unpack the Massachusetts ballot questions with GBH News reporters.The News Forums are moderated by GBH News Senior Digital Managing Editor, Laura Colarusso.GBH News Forums are part of GBH's Insider Series. Recordings of these discussions will be posted online for free to the public. To learn more about attending these events, see [GBH's Membership Options](https://www.wgbh.org/support/insider).

American democracy needs the passion and energy young people bring to the table today more than ever. Youth turnout in 2020 hit an all time high. The question is how do we keep this momentum going? This series will examine why we all - especially younger citizens - can and should lead rich civic lives and actively engage in public life.While political discourse has become toxic and political sectarianism has increased, democracy is about citizens having input in the crafting of public policy decisions. At its best, democracy includes many voices. With more than eight million 18 and 19 year olds joining the eligible voting pool in 2022, younger voters have even more power to make change.The question is how are they using it. Join us as we examine these issues with the input of young citizens, political actors, activists, and academics, to understand how young people are flexing their civic muscles and what we all can do to save our democracy.

The Republican Party has a razor thin majority in the House and shows few signs of being able to unite. Democrats retain control of the Senate. In an age when the American public is awash in misinformation and mistrust, how can a divided, dysfunctional Washington do anything to tackle the huge issues that impact our lives every day?The Washington Center, GBH Forum Network, Ford Hall Forum and Suffolk University’s Political Science & Legal Studies Department invite you to join our virtual spring semester course for everyone. We will hear from some of Washington’s prominent actors and experts in the field. In three panel discussions we will examine the paralysis in Congress, take your questions, and offer insights on how to demand results from lawmakers.

The pandemic had many effects on transportation and travel. Besides emptying streets and trains and buses, it prompted the federal government to provide billions of dollars to keep transit running and gave transit planners a chance to see what was working and what could be improved. Coupled with the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is now an unprecedented opportunity to make major changes to improve transportation. What will those changes look like ?Join Transportation for Massachusetts, GBH News and GBH Forum Network as we partner to host a series of four on-line episodes to reflect on the state of public transit in Massachusetts and discuss what the future could look like.

The Mill Talks series features lectures and panel discussions on topics related to the Industrial Revolution, innovation across disciplines, and the mission of the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, which is to encourage and inspire future innovation in America.Funded by the Lowell Institute.

This series explores the many ways that living systems create and regulate environmental conditions on our planet. Without a living system, Earth would be a dry barren rock, like Venus or Mars.Life has created the planet as we know it, a place where all species, including humans, co-evolved. The symbiotic relationships that created this Eden are badly damaged. The Life Saves the Planet Series, presented by Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, will introduce you to people (and other species) doing amazing work all over the planet to regenerate systems, repair crucial relationships, and make this a healthy place once again. Without this work being done at scale, we will not have a habitable home for very long.

Great Decisions is a series organized by WorldBoston

Lectures curated around the issues and challenges of global health, and that examine the diseases that kill more people each year than conflict alone. break - One billion people lack access to health care systems. - Around 11 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and mostly preventable diseases, each year. - In 2002, almost 11 million people died of infectious diseases alone, far more than the number killed in the natural or man-made catastrophes that make headlines. - UNAIDS estimates for 2007 that there are roughly 32.8 million living with HIV, 2.5 million new infections of HIV, 2 million deaths from AIDS. - There are 8.8 million new cases of Tuberculosis (TB) and 1.75 million deaths from TB, each year. - 1.6 million people still die from pneumococcal diseases every year, making it the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death worldwide. More than half of the victims are children. - Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least 1 million deaths, annually. - More than half a million people, mostly children, died from measles in 2003 even though effective immunization costs just 0.30 US dollars per person, and has been available for over 40 years.