Our Republic is on the Ballot
The most important player in a republic—including ours—is the citizen. From our consent, leaders derive the authority to govern: to raise taxes, to declare war, to enforce laws and treaties, and to do all the things we expect of government. From the ranks of citizens, our government draws its judges, its soldiers, its officials at every level—including our representatives in the House and Senate as well as the White House. … Read More
Telling the Stories of War with Mark Jacobson
Air Dates: February 10-16, 2020 War stories—whether the stuff of memoir or fictional portrayals of people at war—are mainstays of literature across human history, and today, that extends to film. Mark Jacobson is both a historian and a veteran who seizes on the power of modern storytelling in film to educate the next generation about the realities of war. Dr. Jacobson is the John J. McCloy ’16 Professor of American … Read More
Our North Star
In May of 1952, John Foster Dulles, the man who would become Secretary of State to President Dwight Eisenhower, published an article in Life magazine titled “A Policy of Boldness.” It was both a critique of the Truman administration’s conduct of foreign policy and a description of the establishment views of the Republican party as it sought to regain the White House for the first time in two decades. I … Read More
What it Means to Be an American with Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen
Air Dates: February 3-9, 2020 History, as a subject of study, is more than a linear progression of events—it’s ideas, currents of thought, institutions of learning, social movements, moral awakenings and more. In a brief, new book, Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen traces the history of ideas that shaped the United States from its beginnings. Ratner-Rosenhagen is the Merle Curti Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). She specializes in … Read More
Life’s Brevity, Uncertainty, and Legacy
On Monday, the Senate Chaplain Rear Admiral Barry Black, USN (Ret.) opened the Senate impeachment trial with a moment of remembrance for Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and the other souls lost in the helicopter crash last weekend in Los Angeles. He said, “As millions mourn the deaths of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and those who died with them, we think about life’s brevity, uncertainty, and legacy. Remind us that we … Read More
Bridging the Gap with Linda Tropp
Air Dates: January 27-February 2, 2020 Many people today can mock appeals for understanding between partisans with the phrase, “can’t we all just get along?” For Dr. Linda Tropp however, understanding the dynamics of inter-group conflict and facilitating positive dialogue has become her life’s work. Tropp is a professor of social psychology at the University of Massachusetts and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Experimental Social … Read More
Spring 2020 Event Series Announced
The Pell Center has announced its event series for Spring 2020. Tickets to these events are free and will become available approximately two weeks prior to the event date. Please RSVP for each event on the Pell Center’s Eventbrite page and call 401-341-2927 or email [email protected] with any questions. Scroll to the bottom of this page to join our email list and stay informed about when tickets become available. Please note, all events will … Read More
We’re All on Trial
At some point in my misspent youth, I discovered the magic of films from Hollywood’s golden era. Somewhere between Academy Award winners like “Casablanca” and “The Best Years of our Lives,” I found a wartime musical with a thin story about a young soldier who met starlet Joan Leslie at the famed Hollywood Canteen. For people who might not know it, the Hollywood Canteen was an actual nightclub for service … Read More
The Death of Expertise with Tom Nichols
Air Dates: January 20-26, 2020 In a meeting on Capitol Hill 15 years ago, a respected foreign policy analyst said that most national security assessments out of Washington ignored the elephant in the room: the United States and the impact of our domestic politics on the state of the world. While Tom Nichols wasn’t in the room that day, he brings a rigorous analytical mind steeped in national security to … Read More
It’s Up to Us
The most important player in a republic like ours isn’t the president, it isn’t the speaker of the House, and it isn’t the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. It’s the citizen. The citizen. Whether she lives in a rural, farming community, or if he’s riding the subway to work in a skyscraper, each of us possesses a spark of sovereignty that collectively determines the direction of the … Read More