International Festival of Arts & Ideas

How did the newly established Islamic Republic regulate music following the 1979 revolution, and what have been the effects of those policies on music in contemporary Iran? Journalist and author, Nahid Siamdoust shares from her book, "Soundtrack of the Revolution: The Politics of Music in Iran", an alternative history of post-revolutionary Iran viewed through the field of music.

Executive Editor, New England News Collaborative's John Dankosky leads a lively discussion about the changing demographics of New England and the impact of immigration on our economy. Recorded for broadcast on WNPR, this lecture is part of our close partnership with the New England News Collaborative.

Panelists:

Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, Professor of Economics at Yale

Shannon Dooling, Immigration Reporter, WBUR/New England News Collaborative

Will Kneerim, Director of Employment and Education Services at IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services)

A world oversaturated with noise and light and interruption takes an enormous toll on our sensory systems, impoverishing our experience, attention span and empathy for each other. Itamar Kubovy, executive producer of Pilobolus, and Bruce Mau, chief creative of Massive Change Network and winner of the 2017 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, talk about the new medium of “live” and unmediated five-senses design as a path to impact and engagement.

After more than 30 years touring the country, singer-songwriter Dar Williams has learned a lot about what makes a town great. She talks about her new book What I Found in a Thousand Towns and what small cities like New Haven can do to capitalize on resources and draw people together.

In June, Jock Reynolds ended his 20-year tenure as Henry J. Heinz II Director of the Yale University Art Gallery. In this talk he draws from his lifetime of experience to look forward, exploring what the next 20 years might look like for the artistic and cultural life of New Haven. Participants: Jock Reynolds, Pamela Franks, and Titus Kaphar.

In these uncertain times, what can Americans learn and how can we move forward to protect our most precious values? Timothy Snyder discusses his new book, exploring the lessons learned from the rise of the Russian oligarchy which crushed their burgeoning democracy at the end of the Cold War.

The late American playwright August Wilson, whose Tony and Pulitzer prize-winning play Fences premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre, is legend for his depiction of the African-American experience in the 20th century. This dialogue between Wilson's wife Constanza Romero and Wilson scholar Harry J. Elam, Jr. discusses his life and his art, and his famous ten-play history cycle.

Author Tim Snyder discusses his guide to identifying and understanding the frightening parallels between our current reality and that of 20th century Europeans.

Since the inauguration, we've seen executive orders on immigration, controversies surrounding Russia, and tweets about crowd size and wire tapping. But hold on—wasn't it supposed to be about the economy? In 2016, 84% of voters claimed that was their number one issue. Join John Dankosky, host of NEXT on WNPR, in a lively discussion recorded for broadcast, that looks at the new economic reality under Donald Trump.

GUESTS:

Robert Shiller - Nobel Prize winning Economics Professor at Yale University

Dan Haar - Blogger and Columnist at the Hartford Courant

Paul Freedman, author of Ten Restaurants That Changed America shares a history of American eating preferences and how we got to where we are. From New England’s culinary identity created by the myth-making of Thanksgiving, to New Haven's famous culinary specialty, pizza, the topic leads to passionate debates among people who do not otherwise consider themselves gourmets.