SwatTalks Recordings
SwatTalk sessions are recorded as permitted by the presenters.
2022–23 SwatTalks: Watch the full series on YouTube
Watch: "The Oscars and the Future of Film"
with Ben Fritz '99
Watch: "The Role of Juries in Social Change"
with Sonali Chakravarti '00
Watch: "Avatar: The Way of Water" A Conversation About Acting, Filmmaking, and Criticism
with Stephen Lang '73
Watch: "The 2022 Midterms and the State of American Democracy"
with Arlie Hochschild '62, H'93
Watch: "Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts"
with Rebecca Hall '85
Watch: "Seven Months of War in Ukraine: Reflecting on Race, Gender, and Sexuality" SwatTalk
with Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon '12 and Professor of Russian Sibelan Forrester
2021–22 SwatTalks
Watch: "Climate Outrage & Climate Optimism: Swarthmore and the World" SwatTalk
with Christiana Figueres '79
Watch: "A Conversation with Two Guggenheim Fellows" SwatTalk
"Laments, Loss, the Black West, and Reimagining a Father's Photographs"
with Professor Steven Hopkins and Associate Professor Ron Tarver
Watch: "Filmmaking and 'The Young Wife'" SwatTalk
with Tayarisha Poe '12
Watch: "The Natural Mother of the Child" SwatTalk
with Krys Malcolm Belc '09
Request: "Crossroads with Jonathan Franzen '81"
The recording for this event is only available to members of the Swarthmore community. Contact Amanda Whitbred at awhitbr1@swarthmore.edu to request a link to this recording. Upon receipt, please do not post the video online, share on any listservs or online groups, or share the link with individuals outside the Swarthmore community.
Watch: "Storming Democracy: Two Journeys on Jan. 6" SwatTalk
featuring Alex Friedfeld '12 with Jamie Stiehm '82
Watch: "Two Poets and the Extended Elegy" SwatTalk
with Octavio González '97 and Julia Bouwsma '02
Watch: “Making a Home While Invisible: A Conversation about an Undocumented Childhood” SwatTalk
with Qian Julie Wang ’09, author of “Beautiful Country”
Watch: “A Human Affair: James Baldwin’s Philosophy of Optimism and Active Love” SwatTalk
with Paul Cato ’14, doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago
Watch: “From the Big Bang to 30 Trillion Networked Computers (That's You!!!)" SwatTalk
with John Mather ’68, H'94, NASA's senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope
2020-21 SwatTalks
Watch: “Pride Month: The 25-Year Battle Over Same-Sex Marriage” SwatTalk
with Sasha Issenberg ’02, journalist, author, and professor of political science
Watch: “Impact Investing for Social Change” SwatTalk
with Morgan Simon ’04, founding partner of Candide Group
Watch: “The Nation and Reflections on the Politics of U.S. Foreign Intervention” SwatTalk
with Roane Carey ’82, former managing editor of The Nation
Watch: “Will America See Another 'Upswing'?” SwatTalk
with Robert Putnam ’63, Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University
Watch: “Religion in America's Story of Racial Justice”
with Shreena Gandhi ’01, professor of religious studies at Michigan State University, and Cheryl Sanders ’74, professor of Christian ethics at Howard University and senior pastor of the Third Street Church of God in Washington, D.C. This SwatTalk is part of the Racial Justice Series.
Watch: “Health Policy, Ethics, and Equity”
with Carolyn Rouse '87, professor and chair of the department of anthropology at Princeton University, and Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young '04, assistant professor of public health at the University of California, Merced. This SwatTalk is part of the Racial Justice Series.
Watch: “Unlearning our Learning: Challenges, Change, & Future Directions for Equity and Justice in Education”
with Chris Edley ’73, president of The Opportunity Institute, and Jonathan Glater ’93, professor of law at UCLA School of Law. This SwatTalk is part of the Racial Justice Series.
Watch: “Interrupting the Impact of Racism on Health”
with Miriam Zoila Pérez ’06, writer, speaker, and activist. This SwatTalk is part of the Racial Justice Series.
Watch: "The Power Behind the Count: The Census & Representation"
with reporter Hansi Lo Wang ’09. This SwatTalk is part of the Racial Justice Series.
Watch: "Remembering RBG: Her Life & Legacy" SwatTalk
with Jed Rakoff ’64, Andrea Young ’76, and Phil Weiser ’90
Watch: "Racial Justice: Activism & Art" SwatTalk
with Audrey Chan ’04. This SwatTalk is part of the Racial Justice Series.
Watch: "Motherhood, Caregiving, and Storytelling" SwatTalk
with author Maya Shanbhag Lang '00
Watch: “The Arc of Suffrage: from Lucretia Mott to Alice Paul” SwatTalk
with Jamie Stiehm ’82, columnist
Watch: “Mass Incarceration and the Pandemic: A Perfect Storm” SwatTalk
with Judge Jed Rakoff ’64, H'03
Watch: "Documenting a Champion of Social Justice" SwatTalk
with Dawn Porter '88, filmmaker and producer
Watch: "Being a Black Police Officer" SwatTalk
with Sanjay Richards '04, New York police officer
Watch: "Louis Armstrong Made America Great...But We Still Can't Breathe" SwatTalk
with John Alston H'15, executive and artistic director of the Chester Children's Chorus
2019–20 SwatTalks
Watch "Learning with Pride: Cultivating a Culture of Equity and Success in Schools" SwatTalk
with Sable Mensah '11, Founder and CEO of Equitable Outcomes, LLC
Watch "Recruiting the Class of 2024 in the Time of COVID and the Future of Admissions" SwatTalk
with Jim Bock '90, Vice President and Dean of Admissions
Watch "US Politics in 2020" SwatTalk
with Michael Dukakis '55, Carl Levin '56, and Chris Van Hollen '83. Moderated by Richter Professor of Political Science Carol Nackenoff.
Watch "The Gut Microbiome: How the Host and Microbial Communities Influence Each Other"
with Amy Vollmer, Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professor of Biology
Watch "The Response to COVID-19: A Global Health Perspective"
with David Kaufman ’94, head of Translational Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute
Watch "Disaster Economics — Getting Through the Coronavirus Pandemic"
with Dean Baker '81, senior economist for Center for Economic and Policy Research
Watch "Biomedical Research and the NIH in the Age of COVID-19"
with Jon Lorsch '90, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Watch "Economic Espionage: A New National Security Threat?"
with Mara Hvistendahl '02, writer
Watch "Crisis Management 101"
with Davia Temin '74, president & CEO of Temin & Company, Inc.
Watch "Housing Is Healthcare, Homeless Solutions"
with Josh Green ’92, Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
Watch "The Importance of a Learning Mindset"
with Phil Weiser '90, Colorado Attorney General
Watch "Budget Essentials"
with Greg Brown, Vice President for Finance and Administration
2018–19 SwatTalks
"Getting Green Done: President's Sustainability Research Fellowship Program"
with Professor of Sociology Joy Charlton and Director of Sustainability Aurora Winslade. A video recording and transcript of this SwatTalk is not available, but you may view the presentation slides here.
Watch "Environmental Justice and Education" SwatTalk
with Assistant Professor of Educational Studies Edwin Mayorga and Sustainability Program Manager Melissa Tier ’14
Watch "Energy, Decarbonization, and the Carbon Charge" SwatTalk
with Professor of English Literature Betsy Bolton and Climate Action Senior Fellow Nathan Graf ’16
Watch "Denying Refuge: Refugee and Asylum Policies Under the Trump Administration"
with Alex Aleinikoff '74
Watch "On Nonviolent Civil Resistance"
with Associate Professor of Sociology Lee Smithey and Thomas McGovern ’17