Reflecting on 250 Years of U.S. Foreign Policy
A conversation with John J. Mearsheimer and Jennifer A. Lind on the history and founding ideas that shape U.S. relations beyond its borders.
The Longevity Equation: How Healthspan and Wealthspan Intersect
In this conversation with Dawn M. Carpenter, distinguished ethicist, financial advisor, and author of The Longevity Equation, we explored how healthspan and wealthspan are deeply intertwined across the life course. Carpenter introduced her framework for understanding longevity as an outcome shaped not only by medical care, but by financial security, institutional design, and the responsible…...
Camus, Sisyphus, and the Defiance of Nihilism
This lecture examines Albert Camus’s philosophy of absurdism and suggests that, in works such as The Myth of Sisyphus, he defends a life of courage and solidarity as a defiance of nihilism.
Capturing Kahanamoku: A Conversation with Michael Rossi
In this conversation with Michael Rossi, associate professor of the history of medicine and author of his recent book about Duke Kahanamoku Capturing Kahanamoku: How a Surfing Legend and a Scientific Obsession Redefined Race and Culture, we explored how a surfing legend became the subject of a eugenics campaign in 1920s America, and how he…...
Reading in the Age of AI
Naomi Baron on how AI is reshaping reading, learning, and critical thinking.
Re-Educated on Midlife Transition: A Conversation with Lucy Kellaway
In this conversation, journalist, author, and educator Lucy Kellaway discussed midlife transition, lifelong learning, and her book Re-Educated. Kellaway reflected on her decision to leave a 30-year career at the Financial Times to retrain as a secondary school teacher and cofound NowTeach, a charity supporting older professionals entering the classroom. The conversation explored what it…...
Reading Great Books Against Apocalypse
This lecture examines how reading Great Books can help us think clearly amid crisis.
Classic Texts, Contemporary World: What is Intelligence? A Conversation with Lin Atnip
In this conversation with Lin Atnip, tutor at St. John’s College and incoming Basic Program instructor at the Graham School, we explored one of today’s most pressing questions: what is intelligence in the age of AI? We examined the fundamental differences between human and machine thinking, focusing on concepts like embodiment, desire, and tacit knowledge…...
How Do We Disagree? A Conversation with Pamela Narins
In this conversation with Pamela Narins, social scientist, former Bader Rutter executive, and instructor of the upcoming course, How Do We Disagree? Antigone and Twelve Angry Men, we explored why disagreement feels especially difficult today, amid rising polarization, the loss of shared experience, and the tendency to view disagreement as a social ill rather than a…...
Thriving After a Career Break: A Conversation with Julianne Miles
In this conversation with Julianne Miles, co-founder of Career Returners, chartered psychologist, and author of Return Journey: How to Get Back to Work and Thrive After a Career Break, we explored what it really looks like to navigate the “return journey” after time away from paid work. We also examined why career breaks are still stigmatized…...
Class Preview: Moby-Dick
A journey into Melville’s American epic and its enduring power.
The Backsliders: A Conversation with Susan C. Stokes
Susan C. Stokes joined us for an engaging discussion about her new book 'The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies.'