Upcoming First Wednesdays Talks

Some people, assigned female at birth, transcended gender and lived as men in the 18th and 19th centuries, despite tremendous risk of violence. Amherst history professor Jen Manion provides examples of such people and the women they married. (Registration required.) Read More »

Champlain College professor David Mills explores how opposing theories of human nature have shaped and reshaped cities in the last century, from modern to postmodern and beyond. (Registration required). Read More »

Author and advocate Susan Clark explains the Slow Democracy movement in which ordinary people mobilize to find local solutions to local problems. In the process some find they can bridge the “us-them” divide so prevalent in our national politics. (Registration required.) Read More »

Contrary to his reputation as a mechanical figure, Andy Warhol was a biocentric artist with a deep interest in non-human life. Author Anthony Grudin examines this contradiction, which has been overlooked by most of the artist’s commentators. (Registration required.) Read More »

In this online Farmers Night program, father and son storytellers and musicians Joseph and Jesse Bruchac of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation will use drum, flute, rattle, and vocals to address the continued presence and vibrant cultural heritage of the Wabanaki Nations of Ndakinna. (Registration required.) Read More »

In today’s political and cultural atmosphere, it is vital the public stays informed and the press does its job. Journalists Cindy Skrzycki and Pulitzer Prize winner David Shribman examine the current media landscape, distinguishing between fake and real news, amateur and professional, slanted and objective. (Registration required.) Read More »

Meteorologist Mark Breen explains how people have gazed into the heavens since the dawn of human civilization, trying to find meaning and connection to their lives. (Registration required.) Read More »

The works of Shakespeare are full of salty metaphors that reveal a profound familiarity with the ocean and its creatures. Middlebury professor Daniel Brayton discusses the role of the sea in Renaissance literary culture in general and in Shakespeare’s plays in particular. (Registration required.) Read More »

"The Epic of American Civilization" is a 24-panel mural painted by Jose Clemente Orozco at Dartmouth College between 1932 and 1934. Mary Coffey, Dartmouth professor and the author of "Orozco's American Epic: Myth, History, and the Melancholy of Race," explores one of the Mexican muralist’s greatest works. (Registration required.) Read More »

UVM Pharmacology professor Dr. Karen Lounsbury reviews the history of cannabis and the medicinal products derived from it, as well as the benefits, risks, and the therapeutic potential of medical cannabis. She’ll include time for questions and open discussion after this interactive session. Read More »