From Global Solutions on AIDS to ensuring Just Societies with the Census 2020 count ,our Picks share powerful knowledge about our health, our city, and our world. And then, for the holidays, there’s the Carnival of the Animals!

December 4
1:30 – 3 p.m.
Mailman | ICAP
Knowledge is Power: World AIDS Day at 30
Presentations, a panel discussion, and a video premiere around the theme of Know your Status — the official theme for World AIDS Day 2018. Speakers include Wafaa El-Sadr, global director of ICAP (moderating); Bisrat Abraham, director of clinical operations and technical assistance for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at NYC DOHMH; Jessica Justman, senior technical director of ICAP; and Isaac Beckford, community advocate. Reception to follow.  RSVP here.  722 West 168th St., Allan Rosenfield Building, Hess Commons. (Global Solutions)

REMINDERS

November 28: Suzan-Lori Parks: On Social Justice, Race, and Health
November 29: A Conversation About The Library Book
November 30: Smart, Secure, and Sustainable… Repowering – The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be AND Growing up in Science: Rui Costa’s Unofficial Story AND 2018 Social Enterprise Conference: Capital for Good

PICKS

November 29
12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Institute for the Study of Human Rights
Urban Technologies and Refugee “Integration” in The City: Reinforcing Inequality?
As part of the Human Rights and Technology Speaker Series, a talk by Matt Mahmoudi, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge and visiting scholar. International Affairs Building, Room 1302. (Data and Society, Just Societies)

December 3
6:15 p.m.
The Heyman Center
Staging War: Theatrical Ventures, Quandaries, and Prospects
A roundtable with playwrights whose work stimulates  “war plays.” Features Judith Thompson (Palace of the End), George Brant (Grounded), and Maurice Decaul (Dijla Wal Furat, Between the Tigris and the Euphrates). They will explore the enduring power of live dramatic performance for thinking through contemporary culture’s relationship to war, and consider what new forms and strategies are needed to face war’s new realities. The Heyman Center, Second Floor Common Room. (Arts and Ideas, Global Solutions)

December 3
6  – 8 p.m.
See sponsors here
The Census and the City: Why Threats to the Census Could Hurt Immigrants and Cause Millions of Dollars Lost to the City and its Services
Discussion features Kenneth Prewitt, former director of the US Census Bureau (keynote); Yvette Stacey Cumberbatch, former Census coordinator for the City; Alex William Finkelstein, New York Attorney General’s Office; John Flateau, professor at CUNY and former Census coordinator for the State; Quinn Rhi, senior associate at the MinKwon Center for Community Action; and Mazin Sidahmed, co-founding editor and senior reporter at Documented. RSVP here. International Affairs Building, Room 1512. (Data and Society, Just Societies)

December 5
5 – 7 p.m.
School of Professional Studies
Narrative Medicine Rounds: Border Lines—How Journalists Sorted Out Fact vs. Fiction in Issues about Children and Immigration
With Michael Grabell, an investigative reporter for ProPublica, covering economic issues, labor, immigration and trade. Grabell will speak about the process reporters and journalists go through to delve into the truth of a breaking news story, specifically discussing how a reporting team at ProPublica approached the news about the treatment of children at the border. ICUMC, Alumni Auditorium. (Just Societies)

December 8
1 – 4 p.m.
Zuckerman Institute
Saturday Science: Let’s Move It
Students, families, and community groups explore the workings of the brain through hands-on activities and demonstrations with scientists. RSVP here. 605 West 129th Street, Greene Science Center, Education Lab. (Future of Neuroscience)

December 17
2 p.m.
Miller Theatre
Carnival of the Animals
Miller Theatre’s annual holiday tradition – a playful production that brings to life the 19th century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ musical The Carnival of the Animals with poetry by the late Ogden Nash. With Lake Simons, designer and director, and music by Camille Saint-Saëns. Purchase tickets here. Miller Theatre.

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events. View on the Picks blog here.

Seasonal bounty, as we hear Rui Costa’s informal story, Suzan-Lori Parks’ take on race and health, and a whole range of deep and broad views, from K-pop to the roles of libraries. How do we make the world better? From the role of capital to how to power a sustainable future to protecting civilians in wartime, it’s Columbia for good!

Nov 28
6 – 8 p.m.
Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons | Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics
Suzan-Lori Parks: On Social Justice, Race, and Health
The inaugural event of the Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics with a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks. Parks is a a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient and was the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, which was awarded for her Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog. Followed by a dramatization of scenes from her recent work and a talkback with the audience. P&S, Alumni Auditorium. (Just Societies)

REMINDERS

November 27: Palaces for the People AND Reporting the World: Lindsey Hilsum in Conversation with Dean Steve Coll AND Leonid Volkov, Russian politician of the Russia’s Future Party
November 28: Du Bois Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America

PICKS

November 26
2:30 – 6:30 p.m.
SIPA | Mailman
License to Kill?: Can Civilians Targeted in Conflict be Protected?
Today, civilians are the targets of vicious campaigns combining murder, sexual violence, starvation, and forced displacement. What can be done? A panel featuring Elazar Barkan, director of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy Concentration at SIPA; Richard Dicker, director of International Justice Program at the Human Rights Watch; Dirk Salomons, director of the SIPA Human Rights and Humanitarian Policy Concentration; Fabien Dubuet, representative to the UN; and others. International Affairs Building, Room 1512. (Global Solutions, Just Societies)

6 – 8 p.m.
SPS
From Motown to K-Pop: Decoding the Cultural Secrets of Pop Music with Data
Can the music industry help answer compelling cultural questions? Zach Pentel, Global Director of Brand Strategy at Spotify, will show how one can use data to dissect the connection between pop music and the world around it. Reception to follow. RSVP here. Faculty House, Presidential Ballroom. (Arts and Ideas, Data and Society)

November 29
6 – 9 p.m.
Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library
A Conversation About The Library Book
New Yorker staff writer and author Susan Orlean’s latest work, The Library Book, is both an investigation of the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire and a meditation on the role of libraries in American public life. Orlean will be in conversation with Jim Neal, former president of the American Library Association and Columbia University librarian emeritus. RSVP required here. Butler Library, Room 203. (Arts and Ideas)

November 30
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
The Earth Institute | Engineering
Smart, Secure, and Sustainable… Repowering – The Future Ain’t What it Used to Be
This seminar features Terry Boston, former CEO and President of PJM, an electric utility serving nearly one-fifth of the US population. Boston’s presentation will compare predictions about the year 2000 to what has occurred, and will highlight some of the cyber and physical threats we face today. RSVP here. Schapiro CEPSR, Davis Auditorium, Room 412. (Climate Response)
        
4 p.m.
The Zuckerman Institute
Growing up in Science: Rui Costa’s Unofficial Story
Rui Costa, associate director and chief executive officer of the Zuckerman Institute, is an expert in movement and behavior in health and in disease. Costa will give a talk as part of the Growing Up in Science seminar series where speakers discuss the human side of becoming and being a scientist and share their successes, struggles, weaknesses, detours, and failures. Jerome L. Greene Science Center, L7-119. (Future of Neuroscience)

8 a.m. –  5:30 p.m.
Columbia Business School
2018 Social Enterprise Conference: Capital for Good
The business community once questioned whether it could afford to prioritize social impact. Today, the consensus is clear—how can it afford not to? This conference brings together industry leaders, professionals, academics, students, and alumni to share best practices and engender new ideas surrounding the intersection of business and society. See program here and purchase tickets here. 490 Riverside Drive, Riverside Church. (Just Societies)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events. 

Discover war’s hidden casualties and untold reporting challenges. Explore the future of energy, public spaces, and Russian society.  Learn of W.E. B. Du Bois’s visualizations of African American life, and scan the public health’s horizon – in other words, pick your Pick!

November 27
5:30 p.m.
See sponsors here
Palaces for the People
In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, churches, synagogues, and parks where crucial, sometimes life-saving, connections are formed. A talk by Klinenberg and Bruce Robbins, Old Dominion Foundation Professor in the Humanities; Shamus Khan, professor of Sociology; and Kate Orff, associate professor and director of the Urban Design Program. The Heyman Center, Second Floor, Common Room. (Just Societies)

SNEAK PEAK

November 30
8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Columbia Business School
2018 Social Enterprise Conference: Capital for Good
The business community once questioned whether it could afford to prioritize social impact. Today, the consensus is clear—how can it afford not to? The conference brings together industry leaders, professionals, academics, students, and alumni to share best practices and engender new ideas surrounding the intersection of business and society. See program here and purchase tickets here. 490 Riverside Drive, Riverside Church. (Just Societies)

REMINDERS

November 13: Tim Wu: The Curse of Bigness
November 14: How Cities Spur Entrepreneurship and Innovation
November 15: The New York Times Magazine’s Nikole Hannah-Jones in Conversation with NBC’s Lester Holt AND  A talk by Carrie Mae Weems

PICKS

November 14
4 – 7 p.m.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center | Mailman School of Public Health
2018 Calderone Prize in Public Health Lecture
This year’s prize will be awarded to Julio Frenk, president of the University of Miami and former Minister of Health of Mexico, who will also give a lecture on his work. RSVP here. The event will be live-streamed here. CUIMC, Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, Auditorium. (Just Societies)

November 15
10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
American Geographical Society | Earth Institute’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network
Powering Our Future Planet
Energy will be one of the most important factors influencing geopolitics, environmental quality, transportation routes, military conflicts, standards of living, world economies, food production, technical innovation, and the mass movement of people. A discussion with Oscar Ankunda, energy specialist at USAID-Uganda; John Hofmeister, founder and CEO of Citizens for Affordable Energy; and others. Moderated by Robert Chen, director of the Center for International Earth Science Information Network. RSVP here. Lerner Hall, Broadway Room. (Climate Response)      

6 – 7:30 p.m.
Interdisciplinary Center for Innovative Theory and Empirics
The Uncounted: Inside America’s War Against ISIS
Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and sociologist Anand Gopal, will present on the moral and legal implications of the war on terror. A discussion between Gopal and investigative reporter Azmat Khan, facilitated by sociologist and INCITE director Peter Bearman, will follow.
Registration is required here. Journalism School, Pulitzer Hall, World Room. (Just Societies)

November 27
6 – 7 p.m.
Columbia Journalism School Global |  Thought Leader Series
Reporting the World: Lindsey Hilsum in Conversation with Dean Steve Coll
Lindsey Hilsum, international editor for UK’s Channel 4 News and the first CJS Global Visiting Fellow, will give a talk on war correspondence with Dean Steve Coll. Hilsum has reported from hot spots around the globe such as Syria, Ukraine, Mali, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Rwanda and more. Pulitzer Hall, Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, 3rd Floor. (Just Societies, Global Solutions)

6 p.m.
The Harriman Institute
Leonid Volkov, Russian politician of the Russia’s Future Party
A conversation with Leonid Volkov, Russian politician, member of the Russia’s Future Party,  and co-founder of the Internet Protection Society, an NGO focused on internet freedom and digital rights in Russia. Moderated by Timothy Frye, Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy and chair of the department of political science. International Affairs Building, Marshall D. Shulman Seminar Room, 1219. (Data and Society, Global Solutions, Just Societies)

November 28
6 – 8 p.m.
Institute for Research in African-American Studies
Du Bois Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America
The colorful charts, graphs, and maps presented at the 1900 Paris Exposition’s American Negro Exhibit by famed sociologist and black rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois offered a view into the lives of black Americans, conveying a literal and figurative representation of “the color line.” Du Bois Data Graphics: Visualizing Black America co-editors Britt Rusert and Whitney Battle-Baptiste and contributor Mabel O. Wilson (GSAPP) will be in conversation with Saidiya Hartman (English and comparative literature) and Robert Gooding-Williams (Philosophy). Graduate School of Journalism, Jamail Green Lecture hall, 3rd floor. (Data and Society)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events. 

From the midterm aftermath to food justice, innovative cities to our big tech Gilded Age, the Picks look deep into the past and far into the future.

November 19
6 – 7:30 p.m.
The Lipman Forum | Columbia Journalism
A Discussion with the Inaugural Lipman Fellows on Criminalization of Black Girls and Voter Disfranchisement
Jelani Cobb, Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism, presents the Lipman Inaugural Fellows in Journalism and Civil and Human Rights and will moderate. Featuring Monica Rhor, senior fellow, narrative writer, and national writer at USA Today, and Kira Lerner, junior fellow and political reporter for ThinkProgress. Pulitzer Hall, World Room. (Just Societies)

SNEAK PEAK

November 27
6 – 7:30 p.m.
Mailman | Food Justice + Public Health
Farming While Black
To connect the dots between the food system, public health, and health policy, Mark Bittman, former New York Times columnist and lecturer, hosts a weekly lecture series on the food justice movement. Featuring Leah Penniman, co-director of Soul Fire Farm. 104 Haven Avenue, Vagelos Education Center, Room 201. (Just Societies)

REMINDERS

November 7 – 16:  Blackness In French And Francophone Film Series  
November 9: Community as Treatment: The Opioid Epidemic and the Therapeutic Community (TC) Model
November 14: Free Expression in an Age of Surveillance: Measuring the “Chilling Effect”

PICKS

November 8
6 – 7:30 p.m.
The Holder Initiative
American Voter Project: Midterms Debrief – What Happened And What’s Next?
As the final installment of the American Voter Project, a panel discussion examining the 2018 midterm elections, particularly as we look ahead to 2020. Panelists include Eric H. Holder Jr. ’73CC ’76LAW, 82nd attorney general of the United States; Karine Jean-Pierre ’03SIPA, senior advisor and national spokesperson for MoveOn.org; and Nate Silver, founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight. RSVP required here. Casa Italiana. (Just Societies)

November 12
6:30 – 8 p.m.
The Sakıp Sabancı Center for Turkish Studies
Imagining and Narrating Plague in the Ottoman World
Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk and award-winning plague historian Nükhet Varlık will have a conversation with historian A. Tunç Şen about how a novelist and a historian can imagine and recount past plagues. RSVP here. School of Journalism, Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, Pulitzer Hall. (Arts and Ideas, Global Solutions)

November 13
12:10 – 1 p.m.
Columbia Law School | Columbia Global Reports
Tim Wu: The Curse of Bigness
Tim Wu, Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology, discusses his new book The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age. Followed by a Q&A and book signing. Lunch will be provided. RSVP here. Columbia Law School, Room JG 104. (Data and Society)

November 14
12 – 2 p.m.
SIPA Entrepreneurship & Policy Initiative
How Cities Spur Entrepreneurship and Innovation
John Dearie, founder of the Center for American Entrepreneurship and Euan Robertson, director of planning and special projects at Columbia Technology Ventures, will discuss the role of city government in cultivating and sustaining an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Moderated by Hollie Russon, Gilman Postdoctoral Research Scholar at SIPA. Lunch will be provided. RSVP here. SIPA, Room 1512. (Data and Society)

November 15
12:30 – 2:15 p.m.
Journalism School
The New York Times Magazine’s Nikole Hannah-Jones in Conversation with NBC’s Lester Holt
Nikole Hannah-Jones and Lester Holt
NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC anchor Lester Holt talks to Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times Magazine staff writer, about her career reporting on civil rights and racial injustice especially around education. RSVP here. Pulitzer Hall, Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, 3rd Floor. (Just Societies)

6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
School of the Arts
A talk by Carrie Mae Weems, considered one of the most influential contemporary American artists. Weems has investigated family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems, and the consequences of power. RSVP here. Lenfest Center for the Arts, The Katharina Otto-Bernstein Screening Room. (Arts and Ideas, Just Societies)

November 16
9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
GSAPP
The Current State of Housing in North America
A day-long conference assesses the current state of housing in North America through a combination of case-studies and expanded thematic discussions among architects, academics, and advocates. See speakers here. RSVP here. GSAPP, Avery Hall. (Just Societies)

For RSVP, ticket availability, and other details, follow the links. We always appreciate hearing from you about future events. View on the Picks blog here.