Past Events › Communications Forum

Kristin Cashore and Kenneth Kidd on why dystopias, devastating apocalyptic visions, and tales of personal trauma are such a staple of young adult literature.

Jeff VanderMeer will discuss his role as one of the leading practitioners of “weird fiction,” the environmental and ecological concerns that inform his work, and his massive crossover success.

Is the de facto segregation that exists in many Northern cities a result of the lack of forced integration of the type that took place in the South?

Authors Charles C. Mann and Annalee Newitz will talk about how ancient civilizations shed light on current problems with urbanization, food security, and environmental change.

Women are chronically underrepresented in U.S. politics. Yet TV shows, fictions, and films have leapt ahead of the electoral curve. Political consultant Mary Anne Marsh and children/teens book author Ellen Emerson White look at the connections (if any) we can draw between representation and reality.

The leadership and reporting team of STAT -- a new publication that focuses on health, medicine and scientific discovery -- will discuss the publication’s progress and how the field of science journalism is changing.

What separates a good teacher from a great one? Former poet laureate Robert Pinsky, Weisskopf Professor of Physics Alan Guth and MIT biology professor Hazel Sive--all honored teachers--will explore these issues with Literature professor and Communications Forum director emeritus David Thorburn.

Cambridge City Councilman Nadeem Mazen and Wise Systems co-founder Layla Shaikley--both MIT alumni--join engineering student Abubakar Abid to explore how hateful, discriminatory rhetoric influences public opinion, discuss its impact on the lives of Muslim-Americans, and examine strategies to combat it.

Slate's Jamelle Bouie on how race and ethnicity framed the election and how journalists and content creators can improve coverage of these issues moving forward.

Azeen Ghorayshi, MIT astronomer Sarah Ballard, and Harvard history of science professor Evelynn M. Hammonds discuss barriers to gender equality in the sciences and steps to over come them.

Aparna Nancherla heads to MIT this spring for a moderated discussion on her career and her honesty about her struggles with depression.