We have all seen autonomous vehicles in the news quite a bit lately. Do they make you nervous? Or are you counting the days until they are deployed? Either way, the effect they will have on our cities and streets will be huge. On one hand, autonomous vehicles may bring new opportunities as a more efficient form of transportation and […]
Do you have a creative solution to one of Philadelphia’s challenges? Do you have a challenge in need of a solution? Civic Series is partnering with the Philadelphia Citizen to give you the mic for 3 minutes to pitch your idea to our community of doers, disruptors, and members. Last month, we heard ideas around litter, food recovery, minority access and […]
In the past year, conversations about sexual harassment in the workplace have come to the forefront. Empowered by the #MeToo movement, more and more people are discussing sexual assault, consent, and how to have a safe work environment. Join Civic Series and Maggie Campbell, Title IX Deputy and Education Coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin, who will guide […]
There are digital eyes and ears trying to track the physical world the way we track the digital one. Cameras, microphones, lasers, and antennas are claimed to make our lives better and more efficient. These sensors are getting smaller, cheaper, ever-more powerful, and are making it possible to track things we could never track before at unprecedented scales. Did you know that… Facial recognition […]
Russia is a major world power that the U.S. government tries to cooperate with, but lately the relationship has gotten, well, complicated. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration invaded Crimea (a penninsula in neighboring Ukraine) in 2014, meddled in the 2016 U.S. elections by spreading fake news through social media, and currently supplies weapons to Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, whom the […]
American citizens are granted a number of rights in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, including free speech and the ability to “petition the government for redress of grievances” -- this is lobbying. Advocating for a specific idea, topic, or cause--whether to a local or federal elected official--is something most of us will do at some point in our lives. And […]
North Korea is confusing. It's a communist country that pretty much keeps its windows shut to the rest of the world. Citizens don't have basic rights like freedom of speech (earning it one of the top spots on Human Rights Watch's list of most repressive countries). Their eccentric leader, Kim Jong Un, has a funny haircut and loves Dennis Rodman. Oh, and they occasionally threaten war on the […]
Canadian privacy, protected since the 70s... right? Real-time electronic surveillance in Canada is, since laws passed in the 1970s, supposed to be subject to strict accountability standards. Today, government agencies use a range of technologies to conduct mass surveillance that just a few decades ago would seem like science fiction: phones can be invisibly tracked in real-time; our location histories are […]
You are on your way to work when the train comes to a screeching halt. Or maybe your train has been replaced by shuttle service once again. Perhaps, the board says your train is one minute away and ten minutes later you're still standing on the platform. Public transportation can drive us crazy while also being a significantly better option […]
Advances in technology have revolutionized the way we shop. Instead of prowling the mall, hailing cabs, and perusing produce sections, from the comfort of our home we push a button and goods appear. Yet the changes in the retail landscape are far from linear. Just when we thought the future was online, Amazon launched brick-and-mortar stores. Data security issues at […]
The minimum for a job used to be a high school education. Today, the expectations of a job seeker likely start with a bachelors degree and might require additional advanced degrees and certifications. Additionally, the pressure, the prep, and the planning to even be admitted to college and university can be a job in of itself. Upon being accepted, it […]
***THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO SNOW*** The field of genetics has advanced so rapidly that it’s no longer necessary to go to the doctor for a basic mapping of your DNA. With less than $100 and a simple swab you can be tested for specific diseases, learn your genetic makeup, and see your family tree. We’re all curious […]
Think about the last time you tried to talk with someone about politics or social issues who didn’t already agree with you. How well did it go? It’s getting harder and harder for us to have productive conversations about social issues that matter the most to us, which is widening the gap between Americans and ruining Thanksgiving dinners. (Unfortunately, Adele can’t fix everything.) Civic Series is […]
The President of the United States declared himself a nationalist and joined an increasing number of far-right leaders in Russia, Germany, Brazil, and Turkey. For the last two decades, the focus of cooperation and globalization has helped grow economies and bring prosperity to most, but clearly not all. As countries start to build diplomatic barriers against each other, decades-old global […]
Every up and coming city hears the same refrain - gentrification is spreading. New York saw it transform neighborhood after neighborhood, from SoHo to the East Village to Brooklyn. For the past decade, we've seen a similar movement in Austin. Recent reports suggest about 150 people move to Austin every day. This, in turn, leads to more food trucks, coffee […]
In 2016, Massachusetts voted to legalize recreational marijuana. We wanted laws that empower disenfranchised communities and grow a healthy stream of taxes. But not all of our dreams came true. Now that stores are opening, many of us are wondering about weed… What are cannabinoids and terpenes? Why are stores taking so long to open? Is it really legal? Why […]
Turn on the news and you'll likely see a headline warning about the consequences of a trade war. But what exactly is a trade war and how does it get fought? Who wins? Who loses? And who the heck are we fighting? If you have similar questions, Professor Alexandra Guisinger has your answers. Literally, she wrote the book on it, […]
A quick glance at headlines is enough to tell us that America's relationship with guns is different from the rest of the world. Although gun laws and lobbyists are only pieces of a much larger puzzle, when assembled, it's clear we have a problem with reconciling the 2nd Amendment and gun violence. What are we overlooking? Let's take a closer […]
Is the Machine Dead? The Future of Chicago Politics In 2019, Chicagoans were given many choices for their next mayor. That contest resulted in the landslide election of one of the most unlikely mayors the city has ever seen. Lori Lightfoot was distinguished among her fellow candidates not just because of the historic nature of her candidacy as a black, […]
For over 100 years, the world has come together to celebrate athletic competition in the modern Olympic Games. The best competitors on the planet face each other in a variety of disciplines, in a mostly peaceful clash of nations. At the same time, the dynamics within and between countries have often been reflected in the Games over the decades. Did […]
The United States has seen a recession before. You may have experienced it yourself in 2008 when homes were foreclosed, banks declared bankruptcy, and people lost their jobs. In light of Covid-19, an economic recession seems certain. That opens a lot of questions, like: What exactly is a recession, and how will it impact people and our economy? Who makes decisions about […]
We all use oil in some shape or form: in our cars and trucks, in trains and airplanes, for electricity, to heat our homes, in the form of plastics and other chemical products. The power dynamics between countries who produce oil and those who consume it has been a source of tension for decades. Recently, the oil price war between […]
Join our introduction to Hong Kong and China, where our guest expert will give a jargon-free background and answer your questions. Hong Kong is considered to be part of China, but has a distinctly different form of government. Tensions between the democratizing city and its authoritarian country peaked in 2019 when protesters took to the streets demanding democratic reform after […]
Districting, gerrymandering, electoral college -- find out where (and if) your vote really matters + ask your questions of our guest expert. With this year’s presidential election approaching, voices across the political spectrum are competing and fighting for our votes. But with all kinds of state and local districting, the electoral college, claims of gerrymandering, and a focus on swing […]
Understand the fundamental disagreements that drive the U.S. healthcare debate & get your questions answered by our guest expert. When it comes to discussing healthcare policy in the United States, things heat up real fast. It can seem that the left and the right have almost completely different views on how the U.S. should structure our healthcare system: many Democrats […]
Ask an MIT professor your questions about climate change science, policy, and technology. We know you get it: climate change is happening and is impacting Americans now. But we also know you have questions -- and want a straight-forward answer, without the technical details, rhetoric, or hype. Join us for a jargon-free explainer on climate change science with our guest […]
Ask MA's Director of Remote Learning about PreK-12 remote education and issues of equity during COVID. Register About this Event Remote learning has initiated difficult and important conversations about access, opportunity and existing inequities within the Massachusetts education system. And you probably have questions about how the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is rising to the challenge […]
Ask our MIT expert your questions about where electricity comes from, what we've learned from the Texas outage + how U.S.energy is changing.Are you kinda curious about the electric grid? If so, this introductory event is for you. In two hours, you’ll get all your questions answered about where our electricity comes from, what we learned from the Texas power […]
Ask our expert your basic questions about the psychology behind our political opinions -- and why it matters in today's democracy. How did you become liberal/conservative? What primarily influences what you think about social issues? How can we think critically and be well-informed as voters -- or do we really need to be? What shortcuts do we take (or should […]
Join our 101-level explainer about the metaverse. What is it? How might it change our lives? And what can we expect in the future?Have you heard of the Metaverse, and asked yourself, “What is this?” If so, this is your opportunity to get your questions answered about what the Metaverse is, what it includes, and what to look out for […]