Videos

In 1793, President George Washington selected architect William Thornton’s design for the U.S. Capitol. In this program, historian Michael Brown argued that events from the French and Scottish…

Steven Pinker discussed his book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.

The Atlantic media company held its Ideas Festival in Washington, D.C., featuring Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), former Secretary of State John Kerry, and Federal…

McGill University Professor Jacob Levy talked about how the concept of liberty in Western civilization changed during the 18th and 19th centuries. This session is part of a symposium on…

Author and philosopher A.C. Grayling spoke about the influences on war and democracy. He discussed contemporary threats to democracies relating to populism and authoritarianism, including…

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg talked about her life and career during the annual “Rathbun Lecture on a Meaningful Life.” After her speech, she was interviewed by Dean Shaw and…

Professor Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen talked about her book, American Nietzsche: A History of an Icon and His Ideas. This interview, recorded on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, is part…

Science, business, and technology pioneers gathered at the Washington Post Transformers Summit to discuss advances that were driving dramatic change in fields such as artificial…

Former Senator Mathias defined the importance of liberalism in America. He argued that liberalism allows for freedom of opinion and democracy. He also stated that liberalism is an important…

Scientists, authors, and journalists examined the phenomenon known as “science denialism.” Topics included the religious and corporate roots of those beliefs. They talked about how to get “science…

Gary Saul Morson talked about his book, The Fablous Future?, in which he compiles various predictions about the state of the world in 25 years. Professor Morson co-edited the book with Morton…

Lewis Gordon, co-author of What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction to His Life and Thought, talked about the life and philosophy of Frantz Fanon, author of The Wretched of the Earth…

Steven J. Dick talked about the social impact of discovering life in the universe and what history teaches us about this possibility. This interview was part of a series of five interviews…

David Brooks discussed his book BOBOs in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, published by Simon and Schuster. The book examines what the author terms as the dominant class in today’s…

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso participated in a conference on how free enterprise, ethical leadership, human happiness, and a greater understanding of the mind can help make for a better life. He said that individual…

The author discussed her book Unplanned Parenthood: The Confessions of a Seventysomething Surrogate Mother, published by Random House. The book focuses on Ms. Carpenter’s experiences…

Jason Brennan talked about his book, Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know. He suggested that his goal for the book was to make libertarianism seem reasonable to people who were not inclined to…

Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen talked about the history of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s impact on both the right and left in the United States and on multitudinous aspects of American thought…

Iraq War veteran Paul Chappell lays out a plan to create a more peaceful world. He responded to questions from members of the audience in the University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel. This…

Carlin Romano, author of “America the Philosophical,” in conversation with Chicago Tribune cultural critic Julia Keller. He responded to questions from members of the audience. This was an event…