Emily Hanford is a senior correspondent and producer for APM Reports, the documentary and investigative reporting group at American Public Media. Her most recent project, the podcast Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong, won a 2023 IRE Award and was nominated for a Peabody.
Steve Inskeep is a cohost of NPR’s Morning Edition, the most widely heard radio program in the United States, and of NPR’s Up First, one of the nation’s most popular podcasts. He is coming to the Forum with his new book, Differ We Must, How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America.
Nancy Giles is a comedian, actress, and social commentator. Since 2002 she has been a regular contributor to the Peabody Award-winning program CBS News Sunday Morning. In that time, she has earned five Emmy Awards for her unique blend of common-sense wisdom, laugh-out-loud humor, commentary, and interviews.
Raquel Willis is an award-winning activist, author, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She is the co-founder of The Transgender Week of Visibility and Action. Her first memoir, released in November of 2023, is The Risk it Takes to Bloom; On Life and Liberation.
Spring 2023: What the World Can Teach Us
Ari Shapiro is the award-winning co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered. He has covered wars in Iraq, Ukraine, and Israel, and he has filed stories from dozens of countries. He is out with a new memoir titled The Best Strangers in the World.
Elliot Ackerman is a former Marine and White House Fellow. He served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. His most recent book is The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan.
Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, M.D. is a board-certified physician psychiatrist and a Clinical Assistant Professor at George Washington University. She is a women’s mental health specialist and a New York Times Contributor.
THE ARC TOWARD JUSTICE: 2023
MAY 20, 2023
Cornel West and Ifeoma Ike
Dr. Cornel West, affectionately known to many as Brother West, is the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair at Union Theological Seminary. Dr. West teaches on the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as courses in Philosophy of Religion, African American Critical Thought, and a wide range of subjects—including but by no means limited to, the classics, philosophy, politics, cultural theory, literature, and music.
Ifeoma Ike, Esq. is an award-winning advocate, writer and policy advisor focused on designing solutions to address disparities. A graduate of CUNY Law School, Ike embodies the motto “law in service of human needs,” and has dedicated most of her career to advancing equity in spaces where marginalized lives dare to exist and live fully.
Fall 2022: Healing the House Divided
Healing our divides starts at home. Building community and serving others is a pathway to better understanding and deeper appreciation across our divides. That’s the message of Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International.
Politically, the division between rural and urban parts of the United States looks stark. But the story of rural American politics is not so simple, according to Lisa Pruitt. Metro-centric political leaders, media, and academics must better understand rural communities if we wish to heal this divide.