Past Events

Under the leadership of Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch grew its staff to over 500 and was able to conduct investigations in 100 countries to uncover abuses and pressure offending governments to desist. Roth has grappled with the worst of humanity, taken on its biggest offenders and persuaded leaders from around the globe to stand up to their repressive counterparts.

Roth was the son of a Jewish butcher, who escaped Nazi Germany just before the war began. Roth grew up knowing full well how inhumane governments could be. His work took him all over the world to confront cruelty and injustice on its home turf. Roth arrived in Rwanda shortly after the Genocide; he scrutinized the impact of Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait and investigated and condemned Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians. He directed efforts to curtail the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims, to bring Myanmar’s officials to justice after the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, to halt Russian war crimes in Ukraine, even to reign in the U.S. government. Roth’s strategies included the deployment of an ancient but powerful tool – “shaming” – and illustrates its surprising effectiveness.

His book is a chronicle of the ongoing global battle to redress injustice and tilt the scales toward good.

The Berklee Alumni Pass the Mic Podcast will interview Director of Industry Relations Latoya Lee, Dean of Musical Theater Krisha Marcano, and Berklee student Su Yavuz (including a live performance) for a live show at the GBH Boston Public Library Studio. The show will be 75 minutes and discuss topics around career paths, insights into success, and what it's like to work in the entertainment industry.


Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.

Since 1985, John McNeill has taught history at Georgetown University. He has received two Fulbright awards, a Guggenheim fellowship, a MacArthur grant, and a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Center. He has had visiting appointments at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and Universities of Oslo, Bologna, Canterbury, Otago, and was a Guest Professor at Peking University. Since 2011, he has served as a member of the Anthropocene Working Group. He has served as President of the American Society for Environmental History and the American Historical Association.

He has authored or co-authored eight books including The Mountains of the Mediterranean World: An Environmental History and Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-century World, which was the co-winner of book prizes from the World History Association and the Forest History Society and runner-up for the BP Natural World Book Prize. It was listed by The Times among the best science books ever written and translated into nine languages. His book Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the Greater Caribbean, 1620–1914 won the Beveridge Prize from the American Historical Association. His most recent books are The Great Acceleration: An Environmental History of the Anthropocene, 1945–2015, The Webs of Humankind, and Sea & Land: An Environmental History of the Caribbean. He has edited or co-edited 17 other books. He is co-editor of the Cambridge book series Studies in Environment and History.

Cosponsored by the Boston College History Department and the University Core Curriculum.

With a 50+ year career working for every major TV news network and interviewing countless notable global figures of her time, Connie Chung reached the pinnacle of journalism as the first AANHPI woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News. Hear about her amazing rise despite the many hurdles and her thoughts about the attacks on journalism today.

GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg moderates this journalist-on-journalist interview. General Manager of GBH & WORLD Liz Cheng hosts the evening.

This event is made possible by the GBH AANHPI Heritage Event Committee who helped to curate this important conversation.

Photo credit: Connie Armaki/Coco Foto

Special thanks to our sponsor Bernadine Tsung-Megason of Compass Real Estate.

Over the past thirty years, we’ve collectively seen a push for greater accessibility options in the arts such as (but not limited to) ASL interpreters, open captioning, audio descriptions, autism and sensory friendly performances, and veterans’ theater going programs.

Likewise, artists breaking the mold are getting their overdue spotlight. Not only have companies like Deaf West taken mainstream theater by storm and become household names, but last year’s Broadway shows showcased a more inclusive slate of talent: The Cost of Living starred Katy Sullivan, Paralympic athlete and amputee, and Gregg Mozgala, who is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy; Camelot featured Anthony Michael Lopez, who wears a prosthetic leg and Marilee Talkington who is legally blind; In A Doll's House, Michael Patrick Thornton, a wheelchair user, played Dr. Rank.

How do we continue to move the needle to ensure that everyone can access the show and that the material we enjoy reflects humanity as whole - with a wide variety of abilities and differences? In this conversation, we’ll explore both the content and function of representation and accessibility. What does inclusive performance look like, and how do we get there?

Director of Artistic Programming Ronee Penoi discusses with noted bassist and host of the podcast, “Blind? So What?” Ciara Moser, audio describer, performer, and leader in the Spina Bifida community Cori Couture, groundbreaking founder and Executive Director of Abilities Dance Ellice Patterson, and managing director of Open Door Arts, Nicole Agois Hurel.

Join "Under the Radar" host Callie Crossley for a conversation with poet Tiana Clark, author of "Scorched Earth," as a special in-person edition of Bookmarked: the "Under the Radar Book Club" honoring poetry in celebration of National Poetry Month. This segment will be recorded for air.

SOLD OUT

Did you know the scratch ticket was pioneered right here in Massachusetts? Did you know our lottery brings in more dollars per capita than any other state in the country? Join Ian Coss and the creative team behind “Scratch & Win” – plus surprise guests from the podcast – for an inside look at what makes MA the lottery capital of America.

“Scratch & Win” from GBH News is the true story of how the government got into the gambling business. It begins in 1970s Boston, with state bureaucrats going toe to toe with mafia bookmakers, but reaches all the way to the present moment, when legal gambling is more ubiquitous than ever. This event will feature behind the scenes insights from the team, stories from the cutting room floor, and a discussion of how state lotteries shaped the gambling industry of today.

Hear from:
Dawn Hayes, Former broadcaster for MA state lottery
David O’Reilly, Former Finance Director of MA state lottery
Paul Regan, Former Creative Director for Hill Holiday

“Scratch & Win” is made by the Peabody Award-winning team behind “The Big Dig,” and distributed by PRX. You can find the 8-part series wherever you get your podcasts.

Event registration is required. Seating is general admission.
The maximum capacity of this event is 200.

SOLD OUT

Bonnie Bennett, owner of Kakawa Chocolate House and an expert chocolatier, will guide participants through this one hour virtual class. Learn how to taste and pair different chocolates from around the globe. During the class, guests will have an opportunity to explore the distinctive looks, aromas, textures, and flavors that define different varietals and terroirs of chocolate-growing regions. In addition, Bonnie will share some of her extensive knowledge of the history of chocolate and expand upon some of the unique properties and unusual facts about cacao.


Each $75 ticket includes a chocolate kit that will be shipped directly to the postal address entered when you register. One interactive kit contains enough chocolate to serve two people, a sensory tasting wheel, and a note sheet to record your observations. Purchase multiple kits for an amazing Chocolate celebration with family and friends!


Space is limited for this tantalizing virtual adventure. Registration for this event ends on Friday, March 7, 2025 at 5pm EST, to provide ample time to ship the chocolate kits to your preferred shipping address.

Join the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation for a captivating Mill Talk on the history of Levi Strauss, the man behind one of the most enduring names in American fashion, and the brand he built. Tracey Panek, Historian and Director of Archives at Levi Strauss & Co., will explore how a Bavarian immigrant in the 19th century built a brand that revolutionized workwear and became a global icon in fashion, culture, and everyday utilitarian clothing.

This talk is especially fitting at the Charles River Museum, the site of Francis Cabot Lowell’s first cotton textile mill, where America’s industrial revolution transformed fabric production and laid the foundation for the mass manufacturing of textiles—including the denim that would later become synonymous with Levi’s. Discover how industrial ingenuity, from early denim to Strauss’s patented riveted jeans, shaped the way we produce and wear clothing today – and how it continues to shape fashion worldwide.

Anger and fear are anchoring our political and religious life. This anger fear has warped our sense of how to be national and religious community that is moral community. Political discourse is uncivil; religious discourse is confrontational. Whether members of Congress are holding their party’s line or members of denominations are holding a doctrinal line, there is partisan polarization. At the heart of this polarization is absolutist morality. Womanist moral imagination helps us to answer this question: How do we generate and facilitate authentic moral community?