After the moving Casual Conversation with Shalom Lamm, head of Operation Benjamin, who was responsible for the replacement by the United States of a Latin Cross with a Star of David as the headstone of classmate Bruce Alpert’s wife’s uncle at his grave in Europe as a GI who died during WWII, we move into the Fall with a series of Casual Conversation notable for the variety of participants and their subject matter knowledge:
 
On September 18, classmate Ted Baehr will discuss his career as an advocate for Christian-based, family movie fare.  His website, where he discusses and rates films, garnered some 37 million subscribers last year.  His father appeared in the original Show Boat on Broadway and had a long career as an actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
 
Next up is quantum physicist Nicole Yunger Halpern on September 20.  Dr. Yunger Halpern is a Dartmouth Valedictorian (and Victorian), author as she is of Quantum Steampunk about the intersection among classical thermodynamics, information theory, and quantum physics.
 
On September 29, Karina Urbach will speak with us about her family’s journeys across the globe to escape Hitler’s murderous grasp.  Author of Alice’s Book: How the Nazis Stole My Grandmother’s Cookbook, Dr. Urbach will speaking with us from the UK where she lives and works, and where she has been covering the events surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II for German television.
 
On October 2, Dartmouth Professors Bendan Nyhan and John Carey will discuss with us their work on the sociology of misinformation, the impact of social media on politics, and on the conduct of elections.  They are widely published in both professional and popular journals.
 
On October 9, Brown Professor David Kertzer will be our guest where we will discuss his Pulitzer Prize winning book on Pius XI, The Pope and Mussolini.  To attend, you must have read that book.  Many have also read his newest work, The Pope [Pius XII] at War.
 
Our classmate John Leavitt will speak with us on October 19 about Eastern deciduous forests.
 
On November 6, Alice Mathias, daughter of classmate and former Class President John Mathias, will discuss her very busy career in film and television.  She directed Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part II, among many other projects, including being Executive Producer of Portlandia.
 
Classmate Bill Coulson will discuss trains and mass transit on November 20.
 
Yet to be scheduled are John Bainbridge. Jr., author of Gun Barons: The Weapons that Transformed America and the Men Who Invented Them, for all you history enthusiasts, including Civil War buffs and  students of the old American West; and classmate Randy Wallick who will share with us his photography taken by him across the world.
 
If you want to find out about past and future Casual Conversations, you have only to look on the Class website where announcements are (and remain) posted in the public area, for which no password or registration are required to enter.  If you have ideas for future participants, please let me (Arthur Fergenson) know.
 
Note that Ted Baehr’s and Dr. Yunger Halpern’s sessions have engendered interest from classmates beyond the usual suspects.  Let’s have more and different people sharing their knowledge and passions with us.
 
Arthur

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