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Did you know that people who engage in spiritual practices tend to live longer, happier lives?  What’s more you don’t have to be “religious” to avail yourself of the multiple benefits – many of these rituals work on the mind regardless of belief. Psychologist David DeSteno discusses some fascinating findings from his latest book How … Continue reading HOW GOD WORKS: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE BENEFITS OF RELIGION →

Bob Moses,   a veteran of the civil rights struggle,  draws an analogy between the early voter registration drives in Mississippi during the 1960's  and an innovative school curriculum called The Algebra Project.  The vote gave poor people access to political power;  quantitative reasoning, Moses argues,  enables students to have access to today's economic arrangements

Filmmaker and co-executive producer of the PBS television series, I'll Make Me A World: A Century of African-American Arts, Sam Pollard talks about his dedication to chronicling the Black experience in America.

Historian Cassandra Pybus traces the lives and adventures of the runaway slaves who absorbed the dreams of liberty from their masters during the American Revolution and fled to the British to find freedom. Where did these hopeful and courageous idealists go? And what kind of lives did they make for themselves?

A'Lelia Bundles, Emmy-winning NBC news producer and journalist shares stories from her best-selling book about her great-great grandmother, Madame C.J. Walker, one of the first black women entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

As the latest Covid variants continue to reveal themselves, COVID-19 has proved to be the biggest global public health and economic challenge in history. Although it has posed the same threat across the globe, countries have responded very differently and some are faring better than others.

Afro-American scholar and philosopher K. Anthony Appiah considers the idea of a community founded on the principles of inclusion, hope, and mutual respect, a community that transcends the polarizing rhetoric of racism.

The pandemic was a lethal litmus test for relationships of all kinds. A motley assortment of people found themselves locked down together. Some saw the deaths of family or friends. Others were deprived of seeing neighbors, co-workers, school friends or they lost the support of community groups like choirs. As we emerge from the Covid … Continue reading Relationship Rollercoaster →

Many of the problems we face in the world today – the global pandemic, the economic crisis, political violence of the kind that rocked the US Capitol in January – are the result of our severe information disorder. How do we create a universe of truthful and verifiable information, available to everyone? We are swimming … Continue reading Severe Information Disorder: Can we restore a healthier information economy? →

The Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown created a slew of emotional challenges for everyone, from toddlers to seniors. Now that our social skills have atrophied, how will be retrain ourselves to interact with each other again?   MIT Professor Sherry Turkle helps us understand how we might rejuvenate our senses and flex our empathy muscles … Continue reading Coming to Our Senses – Empathy →