Better Tomorrow Speaker Series

In 2011, social scientists at Harvard launched an ambitious initiative based on a simple, somewhat old-fashioned premise: that evidence and reason should play a greater role in shaping public policy. Since then, the Scholars Strategy Network has added chapters in 38 states and connected hundreds of scholars with local experts, legislators, and eachother. Executive Director Paola Maynard-Moll joins University of Hawaii professor Robert Perkinson to discuss the organization’s efforts to bring facts to power. How can academic research translate into public policy with measurable benefits? And how can the SSN initiative persist in an era of misinformation and devalued truth? 

Paola Maynard-Moll is the executive director of the Scholar's Strategy Network.

Robert Perkinson is an associate professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the founder of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series.

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

A conversation with Jean Su, energy justice program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, on why our energy sector is broken and how fixing it can advance social justice, enhance disaster resilience, and help solve the climate crisis.

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

As the 2024 Presidential election approaches, many liberals fear that American democracy won’t survive another four years of Trump. But political scientist Corey Robin reminds us that American democracy has been flawed since its constitutional founding – it is the structure of American government and elections that pose the greatest threat to democracy, not an individual. But although Trump could not have come into power without these structural advantages, we also have structure to thank for preventing him from accomplishing more of his campaign goals. Overall, Robin remains optimistic that democratic values and social movements will outlast the political figures that challenge them.

In this deep-dive interview on the history and structure of American democracy, Robin reviews the anti-democratic elements built into the Constitution, from the Electoral College to lifelong judicial appointments. He evaluates the effectiveness and dangers of the Trump presidency. And he provides an old-fashioned recipe to save and expand American democracy.

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

What types of creatures are we? Are we cruel and competitive or kind and cooperative? Physician and sociologist Nicholas Christakis, Director of Yale’s Human Nature Lab, joins us to discuss the evolutionary origins of human social behavior, our capacity to harm but also our inclination to nurture, educate, and love. 

Nicholas A. Christakis is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University. He works in the fields of network science, biosocial science, and behavior genetics. He directs the Human Nature Lab and is the Co-Director of the Yale Institute for Network Science. Dr. Christakis has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of more than 200 articles and several books, including Blueprint: Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society. In 2009, TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Robert Perkinson is a professor at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and Director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/  

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/  

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/uh_btss  

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KSF4BLZ4zs8A9hH73qB9Q

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

Hawai‘i’s residents have struggled with housing availability and affordability for decades. Median home prices have climbed beyond middle-class reach, local households pay an unsustainable portion of their income to housing, and the state has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. The pandemic recession has made everything worse. 

Because the problem is so pervasive, every legislative session considers a raft of remedies. But what strategies really work? Based on the experiences of similar markets and quality economic research, what interventions are most effective, most cost-efficient, most scalable, and least likely to produce negative unexpected consequences? What steps do we need to take now to set the stage for a post-covid economy that is more equitable and resilient?

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

What are you willing to sacrifice for the truth? In this conversation, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa explains the repression of free journalism in the Philippines, the rise of misinformation and fake news, the complicity of massive online platforms like Facebook, and the ghastly toll of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.  

Journalist Maria Ressa is co-founder of Rappler.com and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Born in the Philippines, Maria grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Princeton University. She got her start in journalism during the People Power Revolution of 1986 and reported for CNN from 1987 to 2005, serving as bureau chief in Manila and Jakarta. She is the author of two books on terrorism in Southeast Asia and How to Stand up to a Dictator (2022). For her resilience in the face of repression, Maria was named one of Time magazine’s 2018 Person of the Year and one of the Most Influential Women of the Century. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize and the Golden Pen of Freedom Award from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Rappler’s work on truth and democracy is the subject of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary, A Thousand Cuts (2020).

Robert Perkinson (moderator) is the director of the Better Tomorrow Speaker Series and an associate professor of american studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. 

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

Focused on intersections of technology, business, and culture, Kevin Roose writes about online extremism, social media disinformation, artificial intelligence and algorithms, and emerging technologies. Before joining The Times, he was a columnist for New York magazine and co-host of the Real Future TV documentary series. He is the author of three bestselling books.

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

Tina Eonemto Stege is the Climate Envoy for the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Born in Saipan, raised on Kwajalein and Majuro, and educated in Honolulu, she brings a Pacific focus to her community-based work on a range of issues, from the impacts of nuclear testing to sustainable development and climate adaptation. Stege received her BA from Princeton University and her M.A. in Anthropology from the Université d’Aix-en-Provence.”

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The project is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uh_btss
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KSF4BLZ4zs8A9hH73qB9Q

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

"Part of the reason we underestimate the loneliness of people is that it's often hidden." Vivek Murthy, who has served as Surgeon General under three presidents, talks about one of the great health crises of our time: loneliness. In conversation with Maya Soetoro. 

Vivek Murthy is Surgeon General of the United States. In service to three presidents, he has launched national initiatives to address the opioid crisis, to respond to Covid-19, and to alleviate chronic stress and isolation. A specialist in internal medicine, he received MD and MBA degrees from Yale and conducted research on vaccine development and clinical trials. He is the co-founder of three organizations: VISIONS, an HIV education program; Swasthya, a community health partnership for women in rural India; and TrialNetworks, which enhances the efficiency of clinical trials. His book, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, is a New York Times bestseller.

Maya Soetoro is a Consultant on the International Team at the Obama Foundation and a Faculty Specialist at the University of Hawaiʻi. Previously, she was the Director of the Matsunaga Institute for Peace at the University of Hawaiʻi where, in addition to leading outreach and development initiatives, she taught Leadership for Social Change, Peace Movements, Peace Education, and Conflict Management. For many years, she worked at the University of Hawaiʻi College of Education where she taught Multicultural Education, Social Studies Methods, and Peace Education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Maya is the Co-Founder of Ceeds of Peace, the Peace Studio, and the Institute for Climate and Peace.

Audio Engineer: Alex Ruiz

A full-length video version of this episode, featuring special guests Josh Green and Kealoha Fox, can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/_hNpr0zNMUk

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The project is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools.
BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uh_btss
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KSF4BLZ4zs8A9hH73qB9Q

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss

Oxford economist and best-selling author Kate Raworth, in conversation with UH professor Kamanamaikalani Beamer, discuss how the cult of endless growth in traditional economics has led us astray, undermining human welfare and outstripping planetary limits. In its place, they propose a circular framework for economic thinking, one based on indigenous knowledge and a broader set metrics for sustainability, justice, and human well-being. They look to establish a new economics for the 21st century that would allow all of us to thrive, and that would protect future generations as well. 

More resources available here: https://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The project is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools.
BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uh_btss
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6KSF4BLZ4zs8A9hH73qB9Q

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The series is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Learning Coalition, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation. It is administered by the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters and in cooperation with the UH Foundation.

BTSS website: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/speakers/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uhbtss

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/uh_btss/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UHBTSS/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/uh_btss