Policy School Open Classroom (Fall 2023)

The Media Landscape

Where is the country headed as we approach the 2024 election—one of the most crucial in the nation’s history?

Is Trump poised to become the Republican nominee despite federal and state indictments? Will Biden’s age and swirling family issues derail his re-election effort?

What will be the impact of younger voters?

Join us for a probing look at the political and media landscape with:

—John Harwood, former White House correspondent for CNN and columnist for the New York Times

  —Erika Allen, Washington Post,  Head of Audience Strategy and Growth

—John Ellis, former head of the election unit at Fox News

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

The Political Landscape

Where is the country headed as we approach the 2024 election—one of the most crucial in the nation’s history?

Can Democrats mobilize their supporters?  Will Trump be hurt by his indictments?  What are the crucial voting groups, and the crucial swing states, to watch?  What will be the impact of younger voters?

 Join us for a probing look at the political  landscape with:

•             Seth Harris, former top aide to President Biden and acting Secretary of Labor in the Obama administration.  Harris is currently a fellow at the Burnes Center

•             Prof. Maria Elena Villar, chair of the Communications Studies department and an expert on Latino voters

 The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs 

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

The Politics of Abortion

Join us for a probing look at the politics of abortion with:

• Emily Ramshaw, editor of The 19th
• Sophia Downs, Harvard Students for Life

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

No public lecture is scheduled for Oct 4.

*Please note that this session will take place in 105 Shillman Hall (115 Forsyth St.)

International Hotspots

Special Session on the crisis in Israel and Gaza

Guest panelists:

Eve M. Troutt Powell is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She teaches the history of the modern Middle East and the history of slavery in the Nile Valley and the Ottoman Empire. In 2003 she was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow She is currently working on a book about the visual culture of slavery in the Middle East which will explore the painting and photography about African and Circassian slavery in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is also a professor in the department of Africana Studies.

Bob Davis, is a former senior editor at The Wall Street Journal covering economic issues out of the Washington bureau, especially relations between the U.S. and China. In 2020, he co-authored “Superpower Showdown,” with The Wall Street Journal’s Lingling Wei, which chronicles the economic and trade battles between the two nations. He was posted in China from 2011 to 2014.

Dan Lothian is the Executive Producer for The World, NPR’s international news show. He spent more than a decade as a correspondent at CNN, the last five years at the network as a White House Correspondent. He covered the 2004, 2008 and 2012 presidential races traveling with more than a half dozen candidates. He is a Visiting Scholar at the Northeastern University School of Journalism.

Lori Lefkovitz is the Ruderman Professor of Jewish Studies,  the Director of the Jewish Studies Program, and a Professor of English at Northeastern University.

Rimah Farah is a Visiting Lecturer in the Jewish Studies Program at Northeastern University, specializing in political and cultural histories of modern Israel and the contemporary Middle East.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

*Please note that this session will take place in 105 Shillman Hall (115 Forsyth St.)

Global Warming and the Fight for the Future

Guest panelists:

Nathaniel Stinnett, head of the Environmental Voting Project, which he founded in 2015 after over a decade of experience as a senior advisor, consultant, and trainer for political campaigns and issue-advocacy nonprofits. Mr. Stinnett is a frequent expert speaker on cutting-edge campaign techniques and the behavioral science behind getting people to vote. He has held a variety of senior leadership and campaign manager positions on U.S. Senate, Congressional, state, and mayoral campaigns.

Prof. Daniel Faber, Director of the Northeastern Environmental Justice Research Collaborative. Prof. Faber is a Professor of Sociology at Northeastern and an affiliated faculty member in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, as well as Environmental Studies. His research focuses on political economy and crisis theory, environmental sociology and policy, social movements, classical and contemporary social theory, environmental justice, philanthropy, Central America and underdevelopment, climate justice, and globalization.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

The Challenge of China

Guest panelists:

Dennis Kwok is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning lawyer, recognized for his contribution to the rule of law. He was a pro-democratic lawmaker in Hong Kong for 8 years, elected as the sole representative of legal profession in the Hong Kong legislature first in 2012, and then in 2016 with 69% majority of the votes.

Bob Davis, is a former senior editor at The Wall Street Journal covering economic issues out of the Washington bureau, especially relations between the U.S. and China. In 2020, he co-authored “Superpower Showdown,” with The Wall Street Journal’s Lingling Wei, which chronicles the economic and trade battles between the two nations. He was posted in China from 2011 to 2014.

Prof. Philip Thai is the Director of Global Asian Studies at Northeastern University. He is a historian of Modern China and East Asia with research and teaching interests that include legal history, economic history, and diplomatic history.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

LGBTQ  and Trans Issues in the 2024 Election and Beyond 

Guest panelists:

Evan Wolfson founded and led Freedom to Marry, the campaign that won gay marriage in the United States, and is widely considered the architect of the movement that led to nationwide victory in 2015. During the 1990s he served as co-counsel in the historic Hawaii marriage case that launched the ongoing global movement for the freedom to marry, and has participated in numerous gay rights and HIV/AIDS cases.

Laura Meckler, a national reporter for the Washington Post, will discuss where voters stand on trans and LGBTQ issues, how much traction are Republicans getting, and if Democrats are being out-organized on the local level on issues like book bans.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

Planning Our Cities – Outreach and Media

Guest panelist:

Diana Fernandez Bibeau, Deputy Chief for Urban Design, Boston Planning and Development Agency, who seeks to elevate the importance of urban design, and champion the transformative power of sustainable and walkable communities for all ages and abilities. She also partners on the Mayor’s Green New Deal agenda with a range of City departments.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

AI, Technology, and Politics

Guest panelists:

Joanna Weiss is executive director of the AI Literacy Lab at Northeastern University, a project to connect journalists and technologists. She is a contributing writer at POLITICO Magazine and a former columnist, television critic, and political reporter at the Boston Globe.

Prof. John Wihbey is an associate professor of media innovation and technology in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University and a faculty researcher at Northeastern’s Ethics Institute. He directs the graduate programs in Media Innovation and Data Communication, Journalism, and Media Advocacy.

Prof. Vance Ricks is an associate teaching professor at Northeastern University, holding joint appointments with the College of Social Sciences and Humanities and Khoury College of Computer Sciences.  His teaching and research focus on moral philosophy, ranging from the ethics of digital technologies to the works of John Stuart Mill.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

Dark Money, The Supreme Court, and the 2024 Election

Guest panelist:

Jane Mayer has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1995. The magazine’s chief Washington correspondent, she covers politics, culture, and national security. Previously, she worked at the Wall Street Journal, where she covered the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, the Gulf War, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1984, she became the paper’s first female White House correspondent. She is the author of four best-selling books, including Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, which the New York Times named as one of the ten best books of 2016. She is a co-author, with Jill Abramson, of Strange Justice, a finalist for the National Book Award, and, with Doyle McManus, of Landslide: The Unmaking of the President, 1984-1988. For her reporting at The New Yorker, Mayer has been awarded the John Chancellor Award, the George Polk Award, the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, and the I. F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence presented by the Nieman Foundation at Harvard.

The conversation will be led by Prof. Jill Abramson, former editor of the New York Times, Prof. Jonathan Kaufman, director of the School of Journalism, and Prof. Ted Landsmark of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs

Sponsored by the Open Classroom and the Policy School with the School of Journalism and Media Innovation and the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University

No public lecture is scheduled for Dec 6.