Speakers Forum

As we come to the end of a very long presidential election cycle, what can we do to remedy our legacy of racial injustice and move forward? University of Washington professor Megan Ming Francis searches for answers to that question in her talk “Race and Violence in American Politics.”

If you don’t already love Maria Semple’s Seattle-brewed writing, her new work may pull you in. Just one day in the life of protagonist Eleanor Flood will likely leave you wanting more.

A question arose this election season, as it does periodically: How well do U.S. citizens and candidates for public office understand and value the contents of the Constitution of the United States?

The concept of "parenting" has only been around since the 1960s. Child development researcher Alison Gopnik believes our modern views on child raising do a disservice to children’s ability to thrive. Gopnik is a professor of psychology and philosophy at University of California, Berkeley, where she directs the Gopnik Cognitive Development Lab. Her new book is “The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children.”

Sandbox Radio is back on Speakers Forum! Our presentation of their latest work, "Gold Rush," includes the following performances:

From Romulus and Remus to its infamous fall, the once “small, ordinary” town of Rome came to define empire and change the world forever. British scholar, television host and author Mary Beard has made mining the history of that empire her central work. Beard is a classics professor at Cambridge and the author of “SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome.”

It’s all over the news and social media: A person of color is shot and killed by police, there’s a protest, and an investigation, then another shooting. What does this seemingly endless cycle say about racism in America? This summer, Speakers Forum recorded an event called “Black Lives in America: Healing and Moving Forward.” It was hosted by the crew at HellaBlackHellaSeattle , a podcast focused on creating community for people of color in Seattle.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is known for his record-setting feats in the NBA and as a best-selling author and cultural critic. His new book is “Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality beyond Black and White.” He spoke with journalist Art Thiel on September 8 at Seattle University. Jennie Cecil Moore recorded their talk.

When it comes to the future of good jobs and a contented workforce in the United States, the outlook is tenuous at best. Workers left in the wake of off-shoring, financial crises and game-changing robotic technology developments know that all too well. Journalist Sarah Jaffe says community movements are a key to better outcomes. “For the people taking part in them it is not a question of left or right, but of the powerless against the powerful.” Jaffe is an independent journalist who writes

The 8th Smoke Farm Symposium featured talks by professor Tanya Erzen, writer and filmmaker Charles Mudede, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Ken Williford and historian and MacArthur Fellow Mott Greene. Topics included prison reform by Erzen, global migration and citizenship by Mudede, the search for microscopic life on Mars by Williford and science history by Greene.

In 1972 a young man named Harry Walker was killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. The subsequent wrongful death trial focused on whether the National Park Service had done enough to prevent human interaction with bears. The story puzzled and fascinated former park ranger Jordan Fisher Smith. In it he found myriad questions of what it means to manage nature.

Sharon Ballantine is a life and parenting coach and the author of “The Art of Blissful Parenting.” In it she writes about the ways parents can build rich, lasting, meaningful relationships with their children. But it’s not all about the bliss. One of her suggestions: give yourself, not just your child, a time-out when things get stressful. Her reading and talk offers helpful tools and suggestions for any parent.

In his new memoir, “Falling: A Daughter, A Father, and a Journey Back," author Elisha Cooper recalls how he and his family faced and survived his daughter Zoe’s cancer. The act of reflection, some years after the events, is cathartic for Cooper. The result is the chronicle of a life-changing period, marked by terrifying uncertainty and resilience. He tells the story with humor and a palpable sense of awe.

Dr. Peter Gray is an evolutionary research psychologist. He focuses on our education system and how children learn naturally. And that’s the rub: Gray points to the many ways our schools impede natural learning, with disturbing consequences. His research and writing shed light on how the creativity and skills we establish in free play influence learning.

The first thing to know about Chief Seattle is how he pronounced his name. Skagit elder Vi Hilbert pronounced it for HistoryLink (18 seconds): Chief Seattle, our city’s namesake, is a bit of an enigma. He was born in 1786, after native populations were decimated by small pox and other diseases brought in by white settlers.