cambridgeforum

Historian Nathaniel Philbrick, famed American author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower, discusses his latest book THE RUSH, where he turns his storytelling lens West to follow the history of the gold rush, as it moves from riverbed to counting house to the halls of power.

His book reveals how the pursuit of gold shaped the development of America from the Wild West to debates over slavery in the Western territories, to the resulting chaos caused in Washington. The scramble for wealth reshaped our ideas of freedom, labor and belonging and by enabling the rise of California, pushed a fractured nation toward Civil War.

Ilyon Woo, the New York Times best-selling author of “Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom” moderates the conversation.

Cambridge Forum recorded Harvard Book Store’s event with  Senator Chris Murphy—lawyer, author, and politician serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Connecticut. Senator Murphy discusses his new book, Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.with Heather Cox Richardson—professor of history at Boston College and bestselling author of Democracy Awakening.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, we are called upon to consider a profound and often overlooked truth: this nation was built on the backs of many and perhaps the greatest cost was borne by Native peoples. Sadly, today’s indigenous communities represent just 1% of the population, but their names, images and traditions are woven into the fabric of American culture — from place names and sports mascots to art and spiritual wisdom. How is it that the Native presence is so ubiquitous yet “unseen”, and its collective voice so marginalized?

Cambridge Forum will unravel the contradictions at the heart of American identity. We will examine how Indigenous knowledge and ways of life have been borrowed and celebrated by mainstream culture, even as Native peoples have faced dispossession, exclusion and erasure. We will also highlight how, despite all efforts to eradicate them over the centuries, Indigenous communities have continued to survive and exercise their sovereignty and sacred cultural ways.

Our distinguished panelists bring their unique knowledge and first-hand experiences to this conversation:

Rhonda Anderson, Western Massachusetts Commissioner on Indian Affairs, an advocate for Indigenous visibility and representation in regional and state policy.

Lawrence Baca, retired lawyer from the U.S. Justice Department, whose career has focused on advancing Native rights within the legal system.

Brad Lopes, Education Manager for the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribal Education Department, who works to preserve and share Wampanoag history and culture.

We hope to provide an opportunity to confront our past and envision a more honest and comprehensive rendering of the cost of securing our American identity.

Our guest moderator is former GBH journalist, Phillip Martin.
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Back in the 1950s, NASA set lofty and noble ambitions for humanity: to “explore the unknown in air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity, and to inspire the world through discovery.” And for the past 75 years, it is true that NASA has made the seemingly impossible, possible. However, the agency’s agenda has shifted dramatically over the ensuing years with the advent of Star Wars and the creation of commercial enterprises that carried research payloads into space on board the shuttle, for profit.

This Forum will provide a reality check on our current role in space, to consider what is really motivating our actions, driving our expensive excursions to Mars, and shaping our international satellite placement industry. Have we really considered our role, responsibility, and stewardship in space alongside the potential profits to be made? We are joined by two astrophysicists: Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute and author of The Secret Life of the Universe; and Erika Nesvold, former researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and author of Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space.

Cambridge Forum is excited to announce guest moderator Curt Jaimungal, a Toronto-based scientist who hosts Theories of Everything, one of the most popular science podcasts which explores physics, consciousness, and AI. The show attracts 500,000 subscribers and its guests have included Noam Chomsky and Roger Penrose. Jaimungal prides himself on making complex ideas accessible without dumbing them down – a skill recognized by O’Shaughnessy Ventures, which awarded him a 2024 Fellowship for “creators who bridge depth and reach”. A University of Toronto graduate, Curt balances his days parsing quantum mechanics with channeling Kurt Cobain in his free time. He believes that the best conversations happen when wonder meets rigor.

Join the conversation.