The global pandemic is a crisis affecting not only public health but also governments, economies, and societies worldwide. Multiple vulnerabilities existed prior to the pandemic; the current crisis amplifies them. Indeed, the crisis disrupts virtually everything that enables us to work, learn, play, and thrive. The COVID-accelerated stress test brings countries to a dangerous moment but also presents a unique opportunity to confront challenges with needed correctives to political, economic, and social infrastructures. No institutions, behaviors, or beliefs should be exempt from reconsideration.
Launched in May 2020, in a series of themed public discussions CASBS-affiliated scholars and practitioners explain what brought us to this moment and explore how to bring about realistic, durable change in service of a more prosperous, equitable, and human centered society.
The Center gratefully acknowledges the Hewlett Foundation and individual donors for their support toward the production and presentation of this series.
Upcoming Episode
Episode 13: "America's Black-White Divide: Looking Back, Looking Around, Looking Forward"
Lawrence Bobo, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Claude Steele in conversation with Margaret Levi
March 18, 2021, 1pm PST | 4pm EST
Co-sponsors: The Program in African and African American Studies at Stanford University, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University
Details and registration HERE!
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Previous Episodes
Episode 12: "What Institutional Courage Looks Like"
Estelle Freedman, Jennifer Freyd, Jennifer Gómez, and Carolyn Warner
Co-sponsors: Center for Institutional Courage, Gendered Violence Research Network at Arizona State University, Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute at Wayne State University, and Metro Detroit Association of Black Psychologists
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Episode 11: "The Digital Dilemma in the Time of Covid"
John Markoff, Nilam Ram, Byron Reeves, Abby Smith Rumsey, and Maryanne Wolf
Co-sponsors: Bloomberg Beta, the Council on Library and Information Resources, and The Human Screenome Project at Stanford University
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
View Event Flyer
Episode 10: "Reforming Democratic Institutions and Practices"
James Fishkin, Luis Fraga, Martin Gilens, and Jane Mansbridge
Co-sponsors: Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard University, and Center for Deliberative Democracy, Stanford University
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
Episode 9: "The Persistence of Racial Inequality"
Joshua Cohen, Francis Fukuyama, Margaret Levi, Glenn Loury, and Alondra Nelson
Co-sponsors: Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, and the Social Science Research Council
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
View Event Flyer
Episode 8: "Can We Rebuild Social Cohesion in the U.S.?"
Danielle Allen, David Brooks, Shaylyn Romney Garrett, Eric Klinenberg, and Robert Putnam
Co-sponsors: the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
Episode 7: "What Will Become of Work and Workers?"
Tara Behrend, Louis Hyman, John Irons, Margaret Levi, and Phyllis Moen
Co-sponsors: Institute for Work Studies, ILR School, Cornell University; New America; Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, The New School; Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
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Episode 6: "Higher Ed at the Crossroads"
Nina Bandelj, Jonathan Jansen, Debra Satz, and Caitlin Zaloom
Co-sponsors: Public Books and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
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Episode 5: "Reimagining the Corporation"
Paul Brest, Shona Brown, Colin Mayer, & Margaret O'Mara
Co-sponsor: The British Academy
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
Episode 4: "Race and the Movement for Justice in America"
Xavier de Souza Briggs, Clayborne Carson, Douglas McAdam, & Brenda Stevenson
Co-sponsors: National Humanities Center and the Center for Comparative Studies of Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
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Episode 3: "Polarization and Contentious Politics in the Age of Covid"
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Christian Davenport, & Rachel Kleinfeld
Co-sponsors: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Annual Reviews
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
Episode 2: "America As a Developing Country?"
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Margaret Levi, & Barry Weingast
Co-sponsor: Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford Univ.
*Audio version on CASBS's Human Centered podcast!
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Episode 1: "Politics as the Problem and Solution During COVID-19 and Beyond"
Binyamin Appelbaum, Tim Besley, & Margaret Levi
Co-sponsor: Annual Reviews
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CASBS presents this series for free. Please consider a donation to support the production of these webcasts and related outreach activities. A contribution now helps us to continue bringing you these great conversations.
