Jfk Library Forums

Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation and presidential historian for ABC News, discusses his new book "Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency" with Martin Dobrow, professor of communications at Springfield College.

Jeff Nussbaum, political speechwriter, discusses his new book "Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History," kennedy, library, history, politics, government, jfk, forum which explores the context of undelivered speeches by notable figures including Presidents Kennedy, Eisenhower, and Nixon; John Lewis, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleeza Rice. Mark Arsenault, reporter at The Boston Globe, moderates. 

Simon Coveney TD, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defense, discusses Ireland’s foreign policy, the Irish-US relationship and key global issues with Dr. Robert Mauro, director of the Irish Institute and founding director of the Global Leadership Institute at Boston College. This program is supported in part through the Government of Ireland: Emigrant Support Programme.

Seán Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway’s grandson, honors 2022 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel finalists and winner Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby, at this celebration. Award-winning author and environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams delivers the keynote address.  The Kennedy Library is the major repository of Ernest Hemingway’s personal papers. This program is co-presented with The International Hemingway Foundation and Society.   

Will Hurd, former Congressman, cybersecurity executive, and CIA officer, discusses his forthcoming book “American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done” with Archon Fung, professor of citizenship and self-government at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Fredrik Logevall, Harvard University professor of history and international relations and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and Tom Nichols, US Naval War College professor of National Security Affairs and contributing writer at The Atlantic, explore latest developments in the crisis in Ukraine with Alexandra Vacroux, executive director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University.

Kate Clifford Larson, visiting scholar at the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center, discusses her new book "Walk with Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer" which draws on new interviews and fresh archival material to explore Hamer’s life and impact on the civil rights movement. Karsonya (Kaye) Wise Whitehead, professor of communication and African and African American studies at Loyola University Maryland, moderates. Kennedy Library education and public programs on civil rights and social justice are supported in part by AT&T.

  Baylor Fox-Kemper, professor of earth, environmental, and planetary sciences at Brown University; Courtney Humphries, journalist and author; Paul Kirshen, professor of climate adaptation at the University of Massachusetts Boston; Sanjay Seth, climate resilience program manager for the City of Boston; and the Rev. Vernon K. Walker, senior program manager at Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), explore sea level rise and its implications for coastal areas, including cities like Boston, with Barbara Moran, correspondent on WBUR’s environmental team.

Neal Thompson, journalist and author, discusses his forthcoming book "The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty," which draws on previously unreleased records to explore the lives of Bridget and Patrick Kennedy, with Christine Kinealy, professor of history and director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University. This program is supported in part through the Government of Ireland: Emigrant Support Programme.

The Kennedy Library and GBH partner for an exclusive preview and discussion of the new PBS American Experience documentary The American Diplomat. Ambassador (Ret.) Aurelia Brazeal, Director Leola Calzolai-Stewart and Duke professor of history Adriane Lentz-Smith discuss the film and explore the experience of African American diplomats serving during the Cold War with American Experience executive producer Cameo George. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Representative to the United Nations, and Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, introduce the program.

Congressman Ro Khanna discusses his forthcoming book "Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us," which explores how the digital economy can create opportunities for people across the country, with Arlie Russell Hochschild, professor emerita of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dayna Cunningham, Dean of Tufts’ Tisch College of Civic Life, and Edward Glaeser, Harvard professor of economics and co-author of the forthcoming book "Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation" explore key issues affecting the future of cities with columnist and former Boston Globe editorial page editor Renée Loth.

Mara Hvistendahl, investigative reporter and author of "The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage"; Dana Priest, The Washington Post investigative reporter and chair of public affairs journalism at the University of Maryland; and Tim Weiner, author of "The Folly and the Glory: America, Russia, and Political Warfare 1945-2000," examine key issues in intelligence and espionage with Tim Naftali, NYU professor of history and public service and CNN presidential historian.

Michael Dobbs, author and former longtime reporter for The Washington Post, discusses his new book "King Richard: Nixon and Watergate - An American Tragedy" with award-winning author and journalist Evan Thomas.  

Tom Nichols, US Naval War College professor of National Security Affairs, columnist for USA Today, and contributing writer at The Atlantic, discusses his new book "Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from Within on Modern Democracy" with Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College professor of history. 

Kendra Davenport Cotton, chief operating officer at the New Georgia Project; Robert Griffin, senior research advisor and research director for the Voter Study Group at Democracy Fund; Taeku Lee, University of California, Berkeley professor of political science and of law; Gabriel R. Sanchez, University of New Mexico professor of political science and a David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution; and Tova Wang, Democracy Visiting Fellow at Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance, explore recent demographic trends and their significance for future elections with award-winning journalist and author Larry Tye.

José Andrés, chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, and David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, discuss current actions and responses to hunger and malnutrition with Laura Reiley, reporter for The Washington Post covering the business of food. The Kennedy Library's education and public programs related to civil rights and social justice are sponsored in part by AT&T.

Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy and distinguished professor and chair at Texas Tech University, discusses her book "Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World" with Reyhaneh Maktoufi, host, co-producer, and illustrator of PBS/NOVA’s "Sciencing Out," Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow in Misinformation, and science communication researcher. This program was supported in part by the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation.

Patricia Sullivan, professor of history at the University of South Carolina, discusses her new book "Justice Rising: Robert Kennedy’s America in Black and White," which draws on government files, personal papers, and oral interviews to examine Robert F. Kennedy’s life and legacy. Kenneth Mack, professor of law and history at Harvard University, moderates. Kennedy Library education and public programs on civil rights and social justice are supported in part by AT&T.

Julia Sweig, award-winning author and nonresident senior research fellow at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin, discusses her new book Lady Bird Johnson: Hiding in Plain Sight, which draws on the largely unknown and overlooked audio diaries that Mrs. Johnson kept during her years in the White House. Ellen Fitzpatrick, professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, moderates.