Conversations
8 Questions with Tony Kushner
“You want the ideas to be fluid and dialectical, dangerous.”
Bill Baxley Reflects on 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
William J. “Bill” Baxley, the former Attorney General of Alabama, spoke at Kirkland House on his role in prosecuting one of the men involved with the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing—a moment often thought of as a turning point in the civil rights movement.
Scholars at Risk
“Will I be safer?” Birtukan Midekssa echoes. She lets out a laugh, pauses, then shakes her head, but her wide smile doesn’t flicker. “I don’t know,” she says. “Honestly.”
Hey Professor: Mikhail D. Lukin
The chance to channel your inner Obi Wan Kenobi might be closer than you think.
Talking Back: Harvard Reacts to TFA Criticism
Grad school for academics, Goldman for bankers, McKinsey for consultants—all of these post-grad paths are well trod by Harvard alums looking to jump-start high-powered careers right out of college. Another default option is often Teach For America, a selective organization that places 11,000 corps members in teaching positions across the country, promising a chance to explore education, leadership, and public service. But TFA’s methods and results have long generated controversy: Is TFA the panacea for socioeconomic inequality as some say, or are the corps members’ stress and sleep deprivation all for naught?
Locked Away: A Tour of Harvard Yard’s Neglected Gates
The first day of classes this year, I became confused when I tried to exit Canaday through the large semi-circular gates behind the dorm. The gates were locked. How odd.
The Future of Journalism
In this day and age, information abounds, but it is increasingly difficult to discern what information is accurate and reliable. What does this mean for the future of journalism? FM decided to ask the experts. Luckily, 24 of the world’s most accomplished journalists are right here at Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, which celebrated its 75th anniversary this weekend. We asked some of the Nieman Fellows to describe in 100 words what they envision for the journalism of tomorrow.
Jonathan Alter Shares Insight on Obama, Media
Jonathan Alter ’79 entertained a group of Harvard students on Thursday with colorful stories of recent presidential campaigns and the personal life of President Obama, explaining that our president is “fundamentally different in private and public.”
15 Questions with Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood takes her seat behind a desk in a back room of First Parish Church. She has 30 minutes until her sold-out Harvard Book Store reading—and hundreds of books to transform into retail-ready Signed Copies before she can begin. She gets to work.
2+2, 2+3
This year, the junior class is getting a taste of the fun, thanks to a new deferred admission program that offers Harvard students the chance to apply to Harvard Law School during their junior year. Known as the Junior Deferral Pilot, or 2+3, the new initiative was introduced last spring and is modeled along the same lines as Harvard Business School’s 2+2 Program, which began in 2007.
From Expos to the Pulitzer
Ten years ago, Paul Harding was known as a talented, if demanding, Expos preceptor and erstwhile member of a rock band called Cold Water Flat. Back in town this week for a reading upon the release of his second book, “Enon,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning author bore little resemblance to his former self.