A conversation with...
Access all of our programs in conversation with authors, policy-makers, scientists, and more
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ON DECK: EXPLORING 'ERIE BASEBALL & SOFTBALL 360 ... VOLUME ONE'
Alan Swigonski
February 18, 2021
Author Alan Swigonski shines a spotlight on Erie's storied baseball and softball histories in what aspires to be a series of book volumes on Erie sports. Swigonski, in conversation with the Jefferson's Ben Speggen and Pat Cuneo, will discuss the stars as well as Erie's sports environs and the many men and women behind the success of our amateur and professional teams.
To watch this program on YouTube click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR PRESTON LOVE JR.: A CLEAR VISION: LOOKING AT DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Preston Love, Jr.
July 28, 2020
Acclaimed author, professor, and long-term activist Preston Love, Jr. discusses Clear Vision, the follow-up book to his groundbreaking Economic Cataracts: A Chronicle of Efforts to Remove the Obstacles of Urban Community Engagement and Economic, Inclusion. Explore his unique approach to building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the nonprofit he founded, the Institute for Urban Development (4urban.org), including a look at community engagement, economic and leadership growth, and his other organization, Black Votes Matter. The manager for Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign, Love also reflects on his recently published Jackson Papers, his children's book Your Bridge to History, and his annual Black History Tour, all in conversation with Jefferson Educational Society Vice President Ben Speggen.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH ANDRE PERRY, AUTHOR OF KNOW YOUR PRICE, ON HIS LATEST BOOK, RACISM IN AMERICA, AND THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT
Andre Perry, Ph.D.
July 16, 2020
Dr. Perry is a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, a scholar-in-residence at American University, a columnist for the Hechinger Report, and is the author of the recently published book Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities.
A nationally known and respected commentator on race, structural inequality, and education, Perry's research has included: documenting the underlying causes for the outsized number of coronavirus-related deaths in Black communities; illuminating how certain forms of social distancing historically accelerated economic and social disparities between Black people and the rest of the country; mapping racial inequities in housing, income, and health to underscore how policy discrimination makes Black Americans more vulnerable to COVID-19; and spotlighting the struggles of Black businesses as they await federal relief from COVID-19’s economic impact. These topics and more are explored in conversation with Jefferson Vice President, Ben Speggen.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH STEVE SCULLY: A LOOK AT 2020, FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Steve Scully, C-SPAN Senior Executive
July 9, 2020
In this program, the interviewer becomes the interviewee. The renowned host of the Washington Journal and C-SPAN Senior Executive Producer and Political Editor Steve Scully joins Jefferson Vice President Ben Speggen to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, the 2020 Presidential Election, and the role Mr. Scully’s hometown of Erie will likely play in the election outcome.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH REV JEFFREY BROWN: The “Boston Miracle,” Race in America, and Today’s Black Lives Matter Movement
Rev. Jeffrey Brown
June 30, 2020
Heralded as "the architect of the Boston Miracle," Rev. Jeffrey Brown led the way to curb youth-involved violent crime in Boston by 79 percent over a decade. Working with faith groups, cities, government, and police to stop gang violence, Rev. Brown serves as president of RECAP (Rebuilding Every Community Around Peace) and co-founder of My City at Peace.
To discuss race in America, today's Black Lives Matter Movement, and more, Rev. Brown, who presented in Erie at Global Summit VIII, joins Jefferson Vice President Ben Speggen in conversation to review our country's history, unpack its present, and explore its future.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH KRISTEN ZEIBER: PEDESTRIAN, BIKE LINKS TO BAYFRONT NEEDED MORE THAN EVER
Kristen Zeiber, M.S.
June 17, 2020
The master plan for the Bayfront Parkway Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was released in April 2020, highlighting more consideration for bike and pedestrian connections along the Bayfront.
Kristen Zeiber, Project Manager for the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, responded to the PennDOT plan in the report recently released by the Jefferson Educational Society headlined, “Pedestrian, Bicycle Links to Bayfront ‘Needed More Than Ever.’”
In a program, Zeiber discusses her new report as well as the PennDOT plan, including the challenges and opportunities of rethinking the parkway, the context of the parkway project in this age of the coronavirus, its special challenges, and the desire of bicyclists and pedestrians to better use of bayfront amenities.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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JEFFERSON CONVERSATION WITH YVONNE CAPUTO, AUTHOR OF FLYING WITH DAD
Yvonne Caputo
June 16, 2020
Caputos debut book is both a memoir and a WWII history. The book is the result of two years of long-distance phone calls with Caputo's father. His stories of being a B-24 navigator in World War II became the bridge between father and daughter. They deepened their relationship in a way Caputo never dreamed possible, and they were responsible for their no regrets final goodbye.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH CAMILLE BUSETTE, DIRECTOR OF THE RACE, PROSPERITY, AND INCLUSION INITIATIVE AND SENIOR FELLOW AT BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
Camille Busette, Ph.D.
May 14, 2020
The Federal Reserve took the unprecedented step of establishing a Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF), providing up to $500 billion in lending to states, cities, and counties, but the "MLF's proposed eligibility criteria unintentionally deepen what are becoming disturbing and obviously racial disparities of COVID-19," writes Camille Busette with Brookings colleague Aaron Klein in their report "Improving the Equity Impact of the Fed's Municipal Lending Facility.
To discuss that report and more, Busette, speaker at Global Summit X, joins Jefferson Vice President Ben Speggen in conversation for the Jefferson's Digital Programming.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH AVI LOEB:SCIENTISTS SHINING A LIGHT IN A TIME OF CRISIS
Dr. Avi Loeb and Ben Speggen
April 21, 2020
Dr. Avi Loeb is the chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University; founding director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative; director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies and the advisory board for the Breakthrough Starshot project; and author of the forthcoming Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.
Avi Loeb and Ben Speggen discuss the role of scientists in the time of COVID-19, Avi Loeb's recent appointment to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and more.
No stranger to Erie, Pennsylvania, Loeb presented “Extraterrestrial Life: Are We Alone?” at the Jefferson’s Global Summit in November 2019 in front of sold-out crowd at Penn State Behrend.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
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A CONVERSATION WITH JAMES AND DEBORAH FALLOWS
James & Deborah Fallows and Ben Speggen
April 21, 2020
James and Deborah Fallows, the husband-wife co-author duo of the critically acclaimed bestselling book "Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America" discuss the towns and cities they visited throughout their multi-year journey (including Erie, Pennsylvania) and to learn about their travels and reporting since.
No strangers to Erie, the Fallows presented at Global Summit X, and were honored with the Thomas B. Hagen Dignitas Award and received keys to the city from Erie Mayor Joe Schember. The Fallows discuss how they're observing local responses in the wake of COVID-19 to examine how regions can learn from each other.
To watch this program on YouTube, click HERE!
