Researchers are learning more and more about the detrimental effects of too much screentime on our mental health, and especially our children's. At the same time, we are gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of playtime for all animals, including humans.

Join Cambridge Forum as we bat around the most recent research including the upside of boredom for kids: guests are Dr Michael Rich, director of the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders at Boston Children's Hospital and Professor David Toomey from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst who has just written a new book on why animals play.

Cynthia Evans is Research Director of American Ancestors’ 10 Million Names project, a collaborative project dedicated to recovering the names of the estimated 10 million men, women, and children of African descent who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial American. She is a researcher, historian, and genealogist with more than ten years of experience in African American history and research and five years of experience managing a genealogy center in Austin, TX..

Drawn from never-before-published records and letters, this heralded work of history offers an intimate account of the horrors witnessed and endured during the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. Join us to hear more from the award-winning author Matthew Davenport about his research, see rare photographs, and listen to tragic tales of loss and survivors’ experiences on the morning of April 18, 1906. 

More than 118 years ago, San Francisco, the largest city in the Western U.S. shook, crumbled, burned, and was completely devastated in an incomprehensible show of force by nature. In less than a minute, shockwaves shook the city, buckled its streets, shattered water mains, collapsed buildings on slumbering residents, and crushed hundreds. Then came the devastating fires, a second round of destruction that lasted weeks. From archival sources and hundreds of previously unpublished letters, many from private family collections; Matthew J. Davenport weaves a harrowing tale of the fateful day. Meticulously researched and gracefully written, The Longest Minute is both a harrowing chronicle of devastation, and a portrait of a city’s resilience in the burning aftermath of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906.

Matthew J. Davenport is the author of First Over There, a finalist for the 2015 Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History, was acclaimed as “a brilliant work for every library” by Library Journal and was heralded by Pulitzer Prize winning historian James McPherson as “military history at its best.”

Researcher and author Timothy A. Wise explains why industrial agriculture (Big Ag) is more a threat to the planet and humanity than a solution to hunger.
Based on his book Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food, he explains numerous issues associated with corporate agriculture, including the impact of excess fertilizers, pest toxins, and GMOs. He also describes the best farming strategies that will feed the planet and help to restore global environment, economies and health.

Timothy A. Wise is a Senior Advisor at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), where his work focuses on the Future of Food, based on his recent book, Eating Tomorrow: Agribusiness, Family Farmers, and the Battle for the Future of Food (The New Press 2019). Tim has long collaborated with IATP, on issues including agricultural dumping, U.S. agricultural subsidies and policies, responses to the 2007-8 global food crisis, the WTO, and Mexico under NAFTA.

Shaleen is the co-founder and CEO of Women Who Win, and she also works full time in e-commerce technology. She was also appointed to Akshaya Patra USA Young Professionals Leadership Council and Saheli Boston Advisory Board. She was featured in Boston Business Journal 25 under 25 List and honored by the Massachusetts Asian American & Pacific Islander Commission for her unique approach and dedication uplifting the AAPI community.

An experienced podiatrist, Deepa has a passion for causes that help uplift women. She works at Boston Medical Center and serves on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee as well as Beth Israel Lahey Health in Danvers and Lexington. She is the immediate past President of the Indian Medical Association of New England (IMANE) where she has also run the Indian Women Physicians Forum.

Dr Manju Sheth is a physician with passion for media and community leadership. She is president of India New England Multimedia and Women Who Win. She is the creator of the esteemed Chai with Manju celebrity talk show series and the prestigious New England Choice Awards. She is also the Director and host of Woman of the Year Gala. She has received numerous awards for her work including from Leadership in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity from Commonwealth of Massachusetts by Asian and Pacific IslandersCcommission

Join Cambridge Forum for a discussion about ageism considering the many factors that make this a global issue of importance. It is as much about how the elderly see themselves as it is about how society views them, according to Professor Andrew Scott, author of the new book, The Longevity Imperative.

Scott’s research focuses on the economics of longevity and ageing and is published in a wide range of leading academic journals. He has advised through a variety of roles a range of governments, institutions and companies. His award-winning book, The Hundred Year Life is a global bestseller having sold 1 million copies.