Amherst College Events Multimedia Podcast

In an Amherst Reads feature, renowned literacy expert Pam Allyn ’84 (left) spoke with children’s book editor Phoebe Yeh ’84 about the power of reading aloud, a balanced diet of reading and their shared conclusion that most kids do judge books by their covers.

With nearly a century of experience teaching English at Amherst between them, David Sofield and Bill Pritchard have plenty to talk about when it comes to poetry, literary criticism, the genius of Milton, the appeal of Frost and the debatable merits of Billy Collins.

History professor Kevin Sweeney is a historian of “material culture” which involves researching archeological sites, estate sale records, wills and census reports to uncover clues about consumption and use of goods ranging from food to furniture to firearms.

Fall means more to Professor Jan Dizard than a return to teaching, grading, advising and other academic tasks. For Dizard, the Charles Hamilton Houston Professor in American Culture, autumn also signifies another hunting season. It means weekends spent in the woods of New England and beyond, accompanied by his birddog, Dee, stalking feathered prey such as ruffed grouse, woodcock, pheasants and wild turkey.

Broadcasting from Long Island City in Queens, NY, classmates Dan Saltzstein and Julie Powell dish on a variety of topics, including: the dos and don'ts of cooking in your dorm, the universal struggle to find a meaningful career after college and the evolution of the "blog"—from an enthusiastic documentation of a personal obsession to an obligatory component of the aspiring writer's portfolio.

Peter Pouncey and Scott Turow '70 discuss Pouncey's book "Rules for Old Men Waiting." The Amherst Reads featured book offers readers an opportunity to engage more actively with books by Amherst authors. Between interviews, online discussions, full reviews and appearances by authors at Amherst Association events, we hope readers come away with a better sense of connection to the College and the wealth and breadth of its intellectual life.

Paul Rieckhoff '98 delivered the 2009 DeMott Lecture to the Class of 2013 on Monday, August 31, 2009 in Johnson Chapel. Rieckhoff is executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a non partisan non profit founded in 2004 with tens of thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states. Rieckhoff himself was a first lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in the Iraq war from 2003 to 2004. He is now a nationally recognized authority on the war in Iraq and issues affecting troops, military families and veterans and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Charlie Rose Show, 60 Minutes, ABC World News Tonight, All Things Considered, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Army Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others. His first book, a critically acclaimed account of his experiences in Iraq and activism afterwards titled Chasing Ghosts, was published by Penguin in May 2006.

David Kessler '73 and John-Paul Baird discuss "The End of Overeating"

Dr. Drew '80 and Rob Simpson '69 discuss "The Mirror Effect."

Harold Varmus '61 and Caroline Goutte discuss "Art & Politics of Science"

Harlan Coben '84, author of Hold Tight, is interviewed by Ken Howard '66, star of stage and screen.

Immaculée Ilibagiza, author and world-renowned survivor of the Rwandan genocide, gave a talk titled “Faith, Hope and Forgiveness: The Story of a Survivor of the Rwanda Genocide” on Wednesday, March 25, at 8 p.m. in Amherst College’s Johnson Chapel. Ilibagiza’s life was transformed dramatically in 1994, when she and seven other Tutsi women hid together for 91 days from roving gangs of violent Hutu extremists in the small bathroom of a pastor’s house near her home in Rwanda. Most of her family was murdered during that time, but she survived to tell of her experiences and of the rediscovery of her faith and her refusal to succumb to anger and resentment in the face of such atrocities. In the years since that horrific ordeal, she immigrated to the United States, took a job at the United Nations and wrote a book about her life, titled Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, which has been translated into 15 languages worldwide and made into the documentary The Diary of Immaculée. She is now regarded as one of the world’s leading speakers on peace, faith and forgiveness, and she shares her universal message with world dignitaries, schoolchildren, multinational corporations and churches and at many conferences. She also raises money for her Left to Tell Charitable Fund, which directly benefits the children orphaned by the genocide.

Charles C. Mann, bestselling author of "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus," speaks on "The Pristine Myth: The Americas Before Columbus."

Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University and director of the Middle East Institute, discussed “Sowing Crisis in the Middle East” on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 8 p.m. in the Friedmann Room of the Keefe Campus Center.

Amherst College trustee Danielle Allen, the UPS Foundation Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, and Thomas Dumm were recorded at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York City discussing Dumm's "Lonliness as a Way of Life" for Amherst Reads.