Ambassador Robert Gosende served as a diplomat in the US Foreign Service from the early 1960s to the end of the 1990s.From his childhood in Massachusetts to the highest levels of diplomacy, his life story is filled with adventures and challenges - and historic moments. His career intersected with some of the most important places, people and events in the second half of the twentieth century, including Libya just before Qaddafi, Poland during the Cold War, Somalia during Blackhawk Down, South Africa during Apartheid, and Russia during Yeltsin's rule, plus positions in Washington and terms as diplomat-in-residence at Harvard and Georgetown.To mark the 100th anniversary of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Gosende is in conversation in several episodes on The Roundtable with Jim Ketterer, regular Roundtable Panelist and Senior Fellow at the Bard Center for Civic Engagement.

This summer the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Garrison, New York is presenting three new plays written by three acclaimed theatre artists in rotating rep through Labor Day weekend. The plays are ““The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” adapted from Agatha Christie by Heidi Armbruster, “Medea: Re-versed” adapted from Euripides by Luis Quintero, and “By the Queen” inspired by Shakespeare’s use of Queen Margaret by Whitney White. Sarah LaDuke speaks with each playwright about their inspiration and output.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Siena College Professor of Comparative Politics Vera Eccarius-Kelly, Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany Robert Griffin, and Albany Law School professor and Director of the Justice Center Sarah Rogerson.

Ambassador Robert Gosende served as a diplomat in the US Foreign Service from the early 1960s to the end of the 1990s.From his childhood in Massachusetts to the highest levels of diplomacy, his life story is filled with adventures and challenges - and historic moments. His career intersected with some of the most important places, people and events in the second half of the twentieth century, including Libya just before Qaddafi, Poland during the Cold War, Somalia during Blackhawk Down, South Africa during Apartheid, and Russia during Yeltsin's rule, plus positions in Washington and terms as diplomat-in-residence at Harvard and Georgetown.To mark the 100th anniversary of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Gosende is in conversation in several episodes on The Roundtable with Jim Ketterer, regular Roundtable Panelist and Senior Fellow at the Bard Center for Civic Engagement.

This week's Book Picks come from Suzanna Hermans from Oblong Books in Rhinebeck and Millerton, NY and Phil Lewis from Bennington Bookshop in Bennington, VT.

The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond. Today's panelists are Preceptor in Public Speaking for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University Terry Gipson, Vice President for Editorial Development at the New York Press Association Judy Patrick, and Wall Street Investment Banker Mark Wittman.

The new book and audio presentation, "This Was Toscanini," is an intimate, firsthand, behind-the-scenes musical portrait of the Maestro, told from the unique perspective of first violinist Samuel Antek, who was fortunate to play under Toscanini's baton for seventeen years in the famed NBC Symphony Orchestra. In this expanded second edition of "This Was Toscanini: The Maestro, My Father, and Me," Samuel Antek's reflections on playing with the Maestro gain new facets of insight from his daughter, Lucy Antek Johnson, as she shares recollections about her father and his most memorable musical partnership.

On August 15th at 5:30 in South Egremont, Greenagers will present: "Dinner, Democracy, and Dancing: A Summer Gala for Greenagers." Keynote and conversation on why civic engagement matters will feature Governor Deval Patrick, Representative Smitty Pignatelli, and Greenagers youth.

Ambassador Robert Gosende served as a diplomat in the US Foreign Service from the early 1960s to the end of the 1990s.From his childhood in Massachusetts to the highest levels of diplomacy, his life story is filled with adventures and challenges - and historic moments. His career intersected with some of the most important places, people and events in the second half of the twentieth century, including Libya just before Qaddafi, Poland during the Cold War, Somalia during Blackhawk Down, South Africa during Apartheid, and Russia during Yeltsin's rule, plus positions in Washington and terms as diplomat-in-residence at Harvard and Georgetown.To mark the 100th anniversary of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Gosende is in conversation in several episodes on The Roundtable with Jim Ketterer, regular Roundtable Panelist and Senior Fellow at the Bard Center for Civic Engagement.

David Daley’s new book “Antidemocratic: Inside the Far Right’s 50-Year Plot to Control American Elections” is a deep dive into what Daley calls the “50-year republican plot to highjack voting rights in America." David Daley regularly discusses democracy and voting rights on CNN, NPR, MSNBC, and other outlets.