Civil Rights
March 2026 • Civil Rights
FREEDOM LOST, FREEDOM WON: American History Through a Black Family’s Story
The American story is often packaged as a linear climb toward a “more perfect union”. But for many Black families, history feels less like a ladder and more like a pendulum—swinging between hard‑won breakthroughs and the inevitable backlashes that follow. Join Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and commentator Eugene Robinson for an exploration of this rhythmic history.
January 1985 • Civil Rights
Rev. Jesse Jackson: “Happy Birthday, Doctor King”
A birthday present to Dr. King, featuring the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was by the side of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during many of the historic civil rights marches which inspired the nation during the 1960’s. Herbert Vetter, Director of Cambridge Forum introduces this broadcast on the occasion of a 1985 memorial service in commemoration of Dr. King, on his birthday, at the Memorial Church, Harvard University.
November 2025 • Civil Rights
Democracy or whatever – can humor help?
CF asks three people from different areas of expertise to discuss the power behind the politics of ridicule. Different formats are used by both the Right and Left, not just to entertain, but to demonize, distract and derail debate. But what does this humor reveal about the state of our democracy – and is laughter our last best defense?
June 2025 • Civil Rights
The Life and Legacy of Malcolm X
One hundred years after his birth and sixty years after his untimely death, Malcolm X still haunts the American consciousness. Mark Whitaker has put together a full and intriguing picture of the man’s life and legacy in The Afterlife of Malcolm X.
April 2025 • Civil Rights
DEMONIZING THE TRUTH
President Trump has spent years demonizing the press, popularizing the concept of “fake news” and branding journalists the “enemy of the people”.
How far are ordinary Americans willing to go to acquiesce or protest these developments? Demonizing the Truth features David Enrich, business investigations editor for NYT and author of a new book, MURDERING THE TRUTH: Fear, the First Amendment, And A Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful.
April 2025 • Civil Rights
RIGHTING WRONGS
Kenneth Roth—former executive director of Human Rights Watch will discuss his new book Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments with Mathias Risse—Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy and Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University.