July 2021

The Sounds of Sondheim

Sit back, relax, and bring some excellent music into your home. Pieces by composer Stephen Sondheim will be explained, accompanied by a biographical sketch, and performed live.

June 2021

A Conversation with Dr. Freeman Hrabowski

Take part in a conversation with the President of UMBC. Ask him questions and learn about his life of creating opportunities for others, from his marches with Dr. King, to his years of university leadership.

May 2021

Punishment's Fine Print

We saw how the exorbitant fines, fees, interest, and debt collection mechanisms of the criminal justice system quietly hurt millions of Americans, and explored ways to fix this national problem.

April 2021

Magnificent Musical Mind

We sat back, relaxed, and brought an hour of excellent music into our homes, with pieces by Leonard Bernstein explained and performed by Daniel Weiser, founder of AmiciMusic. Click here

to learn about his upcoming concerts and classes.

April 2021

Tracking the Global Pandemic

Ensheng Dong, the creator of the world-famous Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Dashboard, revealed its origins, explained how it achieves the historic feat of tracking the pandemic in real-time, and showed the impact that it has had on public health and policy.

March 2021

Conservation Mission Impossible?

Terry Drayman-Weisser, Conservator Emerita of the Walters Art Museum, recounted efforts to preserve Iraq's heritage after the 2003 looting of the National Museum in Baghdad, and after more recent destruction of pre-Islamic sites and artifacts by ISIS.

February 2021

Lynchings in Maryland

Will Schwarz, an Emmy award-winning non-fiction filmmaker, unveiled the sordid history of racial terror lynching in Maryland, and taught us about the truth & reconciliation efforts made since then by groups like the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project.

January 2021

Healthcare & Hypersegregation

Graham Mooney, of Johns Hopkins' Department of the History of Medicine, helped us unearth the differential impact of acute and chronic disease on communities of color, with a focus on COVID-19 disparities in Baltimore City.

December 2020

Pirates of the Chesapeake

The U.S. Center of Military History's Dr. Jamie Goodall took us through the fascinating history of intrigue and plunder perpetrated by the scoundrels who thrived during the golden age of piracy in our very own Chesapeake.

November 2020

A Tale of Two Baltimores

University of Maryland Prof. Howell Baum, and Antero Pietila of Baltimore Sun fame, gave us a nuanced, detailed look at the history as well as the legacy of Baltimore City's redlining and school desegregation policies.

October 2020

Women's Suffrage & Equality

Denise Koch, one of Baltimore's most respected news anchors, celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification with a presentation and Q&A on the historic struggle for women's equality.

September 2020

The Whirlwind Before Us

Franklin & Marshall Prof. Stephen Medvic, and Goucher Prof. Daniel Marcus, brought us an analysis of the 2020 presidential election, with a focus on the effects of incumbency and the political worldviews of key voting blocs.