One would think that current anxieties about immigration in the US have never been more intense, but history teaches us otherwise. Dartmouth professor Richard Wright examines the present-day contradictions of US immigration policy and places them in historical perspective. Read More »

Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and the graphic memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomedy, discusses what makes comics such a powerful medium for addressing and upending oppression. Read More »

Although historians have illuminated much of the mystery of the Underground Railroad, Middlebury professor Will Nash explores how contemporary artists and commentators use romanticized versions of the story to map new “Underground Railroads” and reflect cultural moments. Read More »

Using as inspiration Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1967 speech “The Other America,” author Mitchell S. Jackson reflects on his childhood in a poor, black community in Portland, Oregon—where he witnessed drug use, gang violence, and sexual exploitation—and reveals how he transformed despair into hope. Read More »

In this interactive workshop, educator and author Peter Gould helps participants access their own powerful voice by reading, reciting, and performing Shakespeare. Learn how to bring new life to immortal characters! No previous theater training necessary; observers also welcome. Read More »

Erica Heilman’s podcast Rumble Strip covers a range of Vermont-related topics, from mental health, hunger, and homelessness to deer hunting, cheerleading, and donut shops. In this talk, Heilman discusses the interview process and shares stories from her podcast, which she describes as “extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. Or that’s the goal.” Read More »

Mark Breen, Senior Meteorologist at the Fairbanks Museum and host of VPR’s Eye on the Sky forecast, looks at Vermont’s ever-changing climate, using past events to put today’s changes into perspective, and discusses what these changes suggest for the future. Read More »

Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo explores issues of criminal justice, health, and safety in the Queen City, and how citizens and police can work together innovatively to create safer and healthier communities. Read More »

Our production and consumption of food relies on a series of border crossings that we often take for granted. Dartmouth professor Matt Garcia highlights how food and the boundaries it crosses lead to new thinking about what it means to be an American and a Vermonter. Read More »