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Cities’ identities are made and remade over time by their cultures, but is a city’s cultural identity integral to its survival? When infrastructure is crumbling, public education funding has flagged, and the world of art and culture is accessible on any device with an Internet connection, is there still a specific, irreplaceable value inherent in the cultural identity of a...
Homicide remains an endemic, seemingly unsolvable problem in America. And violent crime afflicts African-American communities to a much greater degree than it does others, as does mass incarceration — and as does police violence. What is the cause of this crisis? What role does racism play? What is the role of culture? Are there any solutions to be had? The mayor of New Or...
Norman Lear is the prolific television writer and producer of stories about diverse American life—among them “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son,” “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” and “Maude”—as well as a lifelong political and social activist. Khizr Khan is a Pakistani American lawyer, speaker at the 2016 Democratic Convention, and parent of US Army Captain Humayun Khan,...
When planning for the future of a city, where does culture fit alongside other prospective infrastructure needs? What cultural elements are required to ensure that a city remains dynamic and appealing? This panel will explore how cities can leverage investing in arts and culture to secure and maintain competitive advantage.
Whether it is #BlackLivesMatter and #OscarsSoWhite today, or whether it was All in the Family and Ms. Magazine in the past, America’s identity crises have always insinuated themselves into every aspect of our daily lives. And as politics grows more fractured and divisive, these difficult conversations have often found a more reasonable and humane airing in popular entertai...
Debating immigration is a perennial favorite in presidential elections, perhaps never more so than in 2016, when border walls and banning Muslims push the boundaries of what proposals are considered acceptable to American voters. The artists on this panel vary in their mediums and perspectives, but they all contend with the immigrant experience. Guided by Eric Liu, we have...
Jordan Peterson, author of the best-selling 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, may be one of the most famous intellectuals in North America today. He also may be among the most misunderstood. His fans say that he’s saved their lives, and detractors say that he’s the gateway drug to the alt-right. Who is this psychologist-philosopher whom so many of us had never heard...
The forces of division have been tearing America's social fabric for decades. But a new coalition of community builders with a new set of beliefs is rising to turn things around. Here's how you can help. Underwritten by Nestlé Waters North America.
When the ranks of a cultural institution or a creative field tend toward high levels of homogeneity in terms of race, class, and/or gender, what are the challenges and opportunities faced by the people who are placed in gatekeeper positions within those institutions or fields who don’t fit that homogenous mold?
What should every American know? This question has long been debated, discussed, and deliberated. Amidst giant demographic and social shifts, it is more important than ever to define some common knowledge — cultural, pop cultural, historical, civic facts, memes, and references that every American should know. Answers need to come from all of us, not just a powerful few. Th...
Any city would be lucky to have an artist in its corner like 2016 Harman-Eisner Artist-in-Residence Theaster Gates, whose work embraces activism, cultural preservation, and community development. Since he began work on his now famed Dorchester Projects in 2009, Gates’s transformation of a once-neglected South Side neighborhood into a thriving cultural hub has yielded an en...
Two Jacksonians — and lifelong friends with very different perspectives — discuss their hopes for the future of their city. Join acclaimed author Kiese Laymon and the youngest mayor in Jackson’s history, Chokwe Lumumba, as they discuss their personal relationships to the city, its deeply rooted inequities, its rich cultural heritage, and the importance of civic and artisti...
Americans of all political leanings and ideological persuasions can agree on at least one thing: In this era of hyperpolarization, we don’t know how to talk about the things on which we most vehemently disagree. Experts in conflict resolution and constructive dialogue share their insights into how things might improve.
Atlantic Senior Editor Derek Thompson's national best-selling book looks at the hidden psychology of why we like what we like and reveals the economics of cultural markets that invisibly shape our lives. Shattering the sentimental myths of hit-making that dominate pop culture and business, Thompson shows that nothing “goes viral,” that quality is insufficient for success,...
Raised by uncompromising survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover survived extreme adversity, from never being allowed to go to school, to suffering serious physical injuries (and a dad that prohibited doctors or hospitals), to being at the mercy of a volatile and often abusive older brother. How did she not only make it through this childhood, but ultimately...
Born online after the not-guilty verdict in the killing of Trayvon Martin, and translated to the streets after the killing of Michael Brown, #BlackLivesMatter is an organization, a movement, and a rallying cry for racial justice. Even as the historic presidency of Barack Obama comes to an end, systematic racial injustice persists: young black men are 21 times more likely t...
David Skorton became the 13th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on July 1, 2015. A board-certified cardiologist who previously served as president of Cornell University, Skorton entered the institution at a time of transition and renovation, with new museums like the National Museum of African American History and Culture slated to open soon and major overhauls on o...
“The past is never dead,” wrote William Faulkner so famously. “It's not even past.” Indeed, the stories we tell ourselves about the past, always seen through one looking glass or another, are as much about the present and the future as they are about eras long gone. But what happens when those stories get things terribly wrong? What are the most dangerous historical inaccu...
Dick Metcalf has been shooting since kindergarten, a member of the NRA since middle school. He’s been studying, writing, and teaching about firearms for over 40 years. But Metcalf’s long career as a columnist with Guns & Ammo magazine came to an abrupt halt in late 2013 after he penned a column that explored the line between firearm regulation and Second Amendment infring...
It seems that every organization wants to be called “purpose-driven” lately — but not all purposes are equal. The people who lead purpose-driven organizations have different agendas, and it can be hard to tell if that agenda extends beyond the marketing department’s quest for a good ESG score. Truly purposeful leaders are shifting their business models to fight climate cha...