Saint Helena Forum

The Science of Doing Good Is it a source of joy or is it selfishness? Dr. Abigail Marsh in conversation with Journalist David Freed

Professor Matthew Williams in conversation with Journalist David Freed

About Dr. Michelle Fournet : Michelle Fournet is a National Geographic Explorer, a professor of marine biology at the University of New Hampshire, a behavioral ecologist, and the director of the Sound Science Research Collective. As a bio acoustician, Fournet specializes in listening to the world's oceans and the marine animals who live there. Her research focuses on investigating how animals comm...

America’s Immigration Divide: How our country’s current polarization is based upon historic regional lines Historian and Author   Colin Woodard  in conversation with  Journalist and Author  David Freed.   About Colin Woodard: Colin is a  New York Times  bestselling historian and Polk Award-winning journalist – is one of the most respected authorities on North American regionalism, the sociology of...

Dr. Engeln is a professor at Northwestern University where she teaches psychopathology, the psychology of women and gender, social psychology, and the psychology of human beauty. Doctor Engeln  directs the  “The Body and Media Lab”  which conducts research exploring issues surrounding women's body images. She is the author of  "Beauty Sick"  a book about the cultural obsession with a...

Today many U.S. museums are facing a reckoning for their aggressive collecting tactics of the past. The Indiana Jones era is over, and there is tremendous pressure on museums to return any works acquired during the days when collecting could be sometimes better described as looting and plundering. Join the Saint Helena forum for a facinating discussion of this topic between two museum professional...

A Conversation with Astrobiologist Dr. Nathalie Cabrol. With more than 300 million exoplanets in the habitable zone of their stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, and up to 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe - to think we are alone or the only advanced intelligent civilization is pretty close to nonsense. Dr. Nathalie Cabrol  is a French American Astrobiologist specializing in planetary...

Should we mine the oceans for essential minerals to power green technology?  In our final episode of a three-part series, we explore the fascinating world of international regulations that affect the sea floor.  Governing approximately half of the total area of the world's oceans, the International Sea Bed Authority is, “to exercise oversight of activities that might threaten biological divers...

Should we mine the oceans for essential minerals to power green technology?  In our second interview of a three-part series is with Dr. Lisa Levin, a distinguished professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a marine ecologist who studies ecosystems in the deep sea and shallow water. We’ll ask her to tell us what current science is revealing on the sea floor in the CCZ, and what damage ma...

Should we mine the oceans for essential minerals to power green technology?  In our first interview of a three-part series, we explore the pro-mining perspective of  deep-sea mining, with our guest, Gerrard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company. He argues that deep-sea mining could provide a cleaner alternative to traditional mining methods and shares some of his preliminary research conclusions on th...

A conversation about the composition of the universe with Dr. Jason Rhodes and Dr. Alina Kiessling Dr. Rhodes graduated from West Valley high school in Des Moines, Iowa, earned a B.S. in physics from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA and an M.A. and Ph. D. in physics from Princeton University. After stints as a researcher at NASA’s, Goddard, Spaceflight Center in Maryland and at Caltech in Pasa...

Bearing Witness - The Reckoning Project Fighting Impunity from War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity A Conversation with War Correspondent and Human Rights Reporter Janine Di Giovanni. Janine Di Giovanni, is the author of eight books, a war correspondent, and Executive Director of the Reckoning Project. She earned her BA at the University of Maine and her MFA at the University of Iowa. She began...

Join us for a conversation between Mrs. Parks companion and friend, H.H. Leonards  and historian - writer Noah Griffin as they explore the legacy of Rosa Parks. Sixty-eight years ago on December 1, 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks rejected a bus driver's order to leave a row of four seats in the "colored" section and move to the back of the bus. Her defiance and subsequent arrest sparked a succ...

How can a single fertilized egg give rise to a complex organism with varied cells?  The answers may be found in epigenetics, the study of how cells control gene activity by reading, but not changing the DNA sequence.  This episode explores the topic in language the layman can understand with our guest,  Dr. Karissa Sanbonmatsu , a structural biologist working in epigenetics at the Los Alamos Natio...

A conversation with Colin Woodard, Director of the Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. Author of six books including American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

A breakthrough study sponsored by the NIH revealed there are shared genetic markers that underly substance use disorders. These new findings offer a road to more effective prevention and treatment strategies for multiple substance use disorders. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

The Evolution of Laughter. Across many animals, complex social play is well-documented and laughter (scientists use the term play vocalizations), has been reported in sixty-five species. But seriously, why are we all laughing and what is so darn funny?

Recent Milestones, Current Status and Future Prospects for Nuclear Fusion as a Viable Energy Source with Mordy Rosen of the National Ignition Facility. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

The James Webb Space Telescope, Planetary Systems, and the Origins of Life with Dr. Stefanie Milam, Deputy Project Scientist For Planetary Science , James Webb Space Telescope. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

A round table conversation with Bonnie Dow, Bill Persky, Linda Bloodworth-Thomasin and Peter Bergman about the influence of television on the Women’s Movement and American cultural shifts from the 1960’s until today. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

A conversation with Dr. Beth Shapiro about biodiversity, de-extinction, and ethically reinventing nature to save the planet. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

All stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end...like life itself. We are all consumers of story and we always have been.  Join us for a look at this universal human experience with story tellers Margot Leitman, Rena Strober, and Jonathan Adler, PhD. To watch the video of this episode, go to shforum.com

Dive into the cosmos with Avi Loeb, the esteemed Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University and a true luminary in astrophysics. With a distinguished career spanning groundbreaking achievements, Loeb has left an indelible mark on the field. Join Doug Barr, Chair of the Saint Helena Forum, in an engaging conversation that delves into the mind of this remarkable scientist and ex...

Unearth the hidden legacies of ancient Egypt's formidable female leaders in a captivating podcast episode featuring the distinguished Egyptologist, Dr. Kara Cooney. Egyptologist and UCLA Professor Dr. Cooney uncovers the enigmatic stories of iconic figures such as Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra. Hosted by museum professional and Forum board member, Peggy Loar, this thought-provoking conv...

How it’s possible for a dance company founded by a woman born in the 19th century to remain innovative, creative and relevant to an audience born in the 21st?​ Joining the forum was Janet Eilber, former dancer, now Artistic Director of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and from the company we met principal dancer Xin Ying and soloist Charlotte Landreau and we got to see them dance. ​T...