Please join the Institute of Politics for a moderated discussion with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.

Please click here to RSVP for an in-person seat.

Attacks on journalists online and in real life are becoming increasingly common. Why? Who are the main offenders and how have tropes that dehumanize people for reporting the news crept into our discourse even in the U.S., the home of the First Amendment? What is the impact these attacks are having on the quality and efficacy of journalism today?

RSVP here by 10:00 AM by March 21st. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

Why the Red Wave of 2022 was more of a Red Puddle, defying mainstream expectations and historical midterm precedent AND why Democrats trailed Biden in the 2020 election, nearly losing the House when conventional wisdom expected Trump backlash to strengthen their majority.  What the numbers tell us about the electorate and where we are headed. 

Guests: David Wasserman of the "Cook Political Report with Amy Walter"

RSVP here by 10:00 AM by March 21st. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

Due to unforeseen changes in President Zourabichvili’s schedule, our International Women’s Day Forum has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule President Zourabichvili to join us in the JFK Jr. Forum at a later date.

Who decides what it means to be “Republican” or “Democrat”, or what positions members of each respective party should take? In this session, we will look at the process by which national party committees adopt resolutions and other messaging, and how those messages often create tension with elected officials and candidates.

Guest: Kevin McLaughlin, President of the Common Sense Leadership Fund and partner at Apex Strategies

Kevin McLaughlin has advised elected officials at the highest levels of government during some of the most high-profile political and legislative fights of the past two decades. Regarded as one of the “sharpest operatives” in the party, McLaughlin spent nearly a decade in multiple roles at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), most recently as executive director for the 2019-2020 election cycle. He worked in the United States Senate for John Cornyn, on John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, in communications at the RNC and for multiple lobbying and public affairs firms. Kevin currently serves as the president the Common Sense Leadership Fund (CSLF), a non-profit organization that promotes conservative policies of individual freedom, lower taxes, and less regulation. 

He has appeared on FOX News Channel, MSNBC and CNN and commented in print publications like The Washington Post, The New York Times, and POLITICO, among others. 

A proud Minnesota native, Kevin worked in broadcast journalism before entering the world of politics, co-hosting a morning radio show in Minneapolis.

RSVP here by 10:00 AM by March 8th. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

How has Congress’ use of media platforms to present investigative information evolved over time? Kristin Amerling and James Goldston, former ABC News President and advisor to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol, will discuss the approaches used by the Committee and whether its extensive use of audiovisual materials and other practices set new expectations regarding how Congress communicates with the public about investigative findings.

Guest: James Goldston, former ABC News President and advisor to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol

RSVP here by 10:00 AM by Wednesday March 8th. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

In The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney grapples with America’s inequality crisis. The story begins in 2018, after Abigail encounters workers at the company that bears her name struggling to put food on the table. Could she, the granddaughter of Walt Disney's brother and company co-founder, Roy, with no role in the multinational conglomerate, use her famous last name to help pressure Disney and other American corporations to treat low-wage workers more humanely?

Please join the Institute of Politics, the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School, the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, and the Women and Public Policy Program in the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum for an examination of corporate power, modern American capitalism, and what a fairer future for everyone would look like. Immediately following the discussion, the JFK Jr. Forum will hold a screening of this feature-length, personal essay documentary with complimentary refreshments and snacks from 7:00 to 8:30 PM ET.

Panelists include:

Abigail Disney, Director, Producer, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales
Kathleen Hughes, Director, Producer, The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales
Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University (featured in The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales)
Artemis Bell, Former Disney cast member (featured in The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales)
Sharon Block (Moderator), Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School

Please click here to RSVP for an in-person seat.

How has the U.S. contributed to Iran’s fate in modern times? What is American’s policy towards Iran if such a thing exists? And what are the throughlines that connect one administration’s approach to the next?

RSVP here by 10:00 AM on March 7th. Registration does not open for sessions until 1 week ahead of study group date. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

As concerns about environmental challenges grow – from climate change, to species protection, and ocean plastic – it is increasingly clear that government solutions aren’t up to the challenge. With more than two decades of experience in environmental policy and at government agencies, Todd Myers will explain why it is time to stop outsourcing sustainability to politicians and democratize environmentalism. Fortunately, a wave of environmental innovation is empowering people to address these problems. From a ballerina who became a worldwide expert in using artificial intelligence to protect threatened species, to the single California text that reduced energy use by 2,000 megawatts and prevented blackouts, innovation is allowing people to tackle environmental problems that have eluded political solutions. At a time when politics are so divisive, innovation brings people together and allow virtually anyone to create truly sustainable environmental solutions.

RSVP here by 10:00 AM by March 7th. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.
 

In our current political climate, bipartisanship and accountability are staples in public discourse and oftentimes difficult to obtain. Yet, journalist and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) has had a storied career achieving both. She learned along the way, though, Congress isn’t what it seems. Join us for our first Study Group with IOP Spring 2023 Visiting Fellow Representative Cheri Bustos to discuss her background, spanning investigative journalism, healthcare and politics.

RSVP here by 10:00 AM on March 7th. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

Debates about U.S. economic policy often take place in a vacuum without a clear picture of the strategic and national security implications. Over the years our economic decision making, and trade policies have vacillated. What is an alliance of economies, or what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called “friend-shoring” when talking about U.S. trade policies? How does this differ with America First? How does the U.S. economic policy and diplomacy experts use our economic sticks and carrots to assuage foreign policy decisions?

Guest: (confirmed - virtual) Chandana Ravindranath, Former Director for Anti-Corruption at the National Security Council and currently the Chief of Staff to Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence  

RSVP via this link here. You must register through this form and a limited number of seats will be allocated for in-person participation. We will notify you at noon the day of the study group via your Harvard email whether you will be joining in-person or via Zoom.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.

From Freedom Summer to Standing Rock, community organizers have been behind the major milestones in America’s civil rights and social justice history. What is it about grassroots organizing that makes it such an effective tool in the fight for a more just, equitable and democratic future? What kinds of challenges do this generation of organizers face and what lessons can they learn from those who came before? What does it mean, exactly, to be an organizer? Join NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, former Congressman and Groundwork Project founder Joe Kennedy III, and grassroots organizer and political strategist Tracey Lewis as they discuss their own experiences organizing and their joint effort to build The Organizing Accelerator, a fellowship program for emerging organizers in historically under-resourced and disenfranchised communities. Boston Globe journalist Marcela García will moderate the discussion.

Please click here to RSVP for an in-person seat.