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Amity Wilczek joins to talk about her ties to Concord as a current resident and as a Concord Academy alum. We do a deep dive into her experience as a Science Professor and Dean at Deep Springs College in Eastern California and the six year long effort to transition the student body to a co-educational institution.
Rob Morrison is a Concord Resident and recently retired teacher from The Fenn School. He joins to talk about his quest to visit the 80+ towns named Concord across the US. From small Southern communities to towns that have been buried under water, to a massive suburb of San Francisco, his travels have given him perspectives on the range of cultures and economic realities in the US.
Concord resident, Biotech executive and immunologist Micah Benson joins to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic from multiple perspectives: as a scientist, community member and parent. Micah takes us through the original spread of the novel coronavirus, as well as the rapid march toward vaccines and therapies using mRNA and protein modification. In between, we dig up memories of masks, social distancing and bubbling, wiping down groceries with Clorox wipes, and a nationwide run on toilet paper.
Local historian Richard Smith joins to read selected passages from the book Men of Concord, an aggregation of Henry David Thoreau's journals, edited by F.H. Allen and illustrated by N.C. Wyeth. What were people doing and what did they find interesting in the mid 1800s? What was their version of a Starbucks run? Why were so many people indifferent to or strongly against bathing? And find out the type of people Thoreau liked to gossip and talk smack about. Warning: Some light 19th century explicit-ish content is included toward the end. Viewer discretion is advised.
Concord resident Charlotte Whitmore is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Boston College Innocence Program. Named a 2023 Lawyer of the Year by "Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly", Charlotte discusses new scientific methods in the legal defense community, biases that can occur with how our legal system is set up, and cases she has worked on to free those who have been wrongfully incarcerated.
Concord resident and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek joins to discuss growing up in New York City during the Cold War and a Golden Era for science, and his journey into and career in theoretical physics. We wrap up discussing the NBA Playoffs and what life may be like 50 years from now.
Author, editor and former Board Member of the Thoreau Society Brianne Keith joins us to discuss ghost stories at some of Concord's most prominent landmarks, as well as ley lines - paths of historical and spiritual significance - and their ties back to Concord. We end with discussing Thoreau and Emerson's interest in the Vedas, while Brianne gives CJ's Vedic Astrology reading,
Concord Historian Richard Smith discusses the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, from his childhood as the son of a pencil maker and political activist, to his guidance under Ralph Waldo Emerson and the legacy he left that remains relevant today. 3:22 - What was Concord like in Thoreau’s time? How did Concord become a literary hub? 6:42 - Life for Thoreau growing up in Concord and his family’s pencil-making company, and Henry David’s path to Harvard. 10:54 - Thoreau meets Ralph Waldo Emerson, a springboard to his career as an author and lecturer. 14:30 - Lectures are a mainstream form of entertainment in the mid 1800s. Thoreau follows Emerson into lecturing as a way to make money. And he was terrible at it. 19:22 - Influence of Thoreau’s family on his work and posthumous publications and success. 21:12 - Seeking isolation and the origins of Walden. 26:48 - When and how did Thoreau become as well-known as he is now, when he wasn’t so successful during his life? 31:21 - Thoreau’s influence in present day. 35:12 - Thoreau plays it cool when he’s sent to jail for not paying his taxes, but gets talked into writing about civil disobedience.