Back Home: Returning Human Rights to Housing

Leilani Farha is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing and Global Director of The Shift. Farha has helped develop global human righ...

Displacement and Reimagining the American Dream

This interactive event will feature local students and young professionals sharing their lived experiences as immigrants and refugees. Each panelist w...

The Urban Landscape and The Future of Cities

Martha Schwartz is a landscape architect, urbanist, and climate activist. Her work and teaching focuses on the urban public realm landscape and its im...

The Craziest Thing We Can Do is Nothing

Tyler Riewer is Creative Director at charity: water, a $100M nonprofit organization that uses data and storytelling to connect donors to their impact...

Putting the Public Back in Public Health: A Global Perspective

Dr. Ali S. Khan is Dean and Tenured Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, and a Retired Ass...

Reckoning and Reconciliation on the Great Plains: Healing Historical Harm Caused by Conquest and Colonialism

Echo-Hawk is President of the Pawnee Nation Business Council. He is an author, attorney, and and well-renowned legal scholar. A Pawnee Indian with a B...

Forum Youth Panel

At this Cooper Conversation, young activists from UNL and Lincoln come together to discuss their activism, what motivates them, and how to move forwar...

A Conversation on Race and the Arts, Moderated by Sändra Washington

Anna Deavere Smith is an actress, playwright, teacher, and author, credited with creating a new form of theater. Smith received the National Endowment...

E.N. Thompson Forum - Facing Immigrant Exclusion: Then and Now

Wadhia is Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar and Clinical Professor of Law at Penn State Law in Univers...

Moments of Reckoning with Margaret D. Jacobs

Listen to Margaret D. Jacobs' moments of reckoning.

UNL Faculty Discussion - Global and Historical Moments of Reckoning with UNL Faculty

This kickoff event will include faculty from the departments of History and English, the Humanities in Medicine Program, and the Center for Great Plai...

Picturing Disaster Panel

Pre-talk discussion for E.N. Thompson forum discussion by Ann Bancroft.

No Horizon is So Far

Bancroft is one of the world’s preeminent polar explorers and an internationally recognized educator who is dedicated to inspiring women and girls aro...

E.N. Thompson Ann Bancroft pre-talk video

Pre-talk video for the Ann Bancroft talk "No Horizon is So Far."

Naming the Beast: Climate Change and our Youth Taking Action

Focused on solutions and action, today’s youth are not afraid to face problems that threaten their future. Join us for a Cooper Conversation featuring...

Forum Youth Panel Pre-Talk

Pre-talk video for the discussion "Naming the Beast: Climate Change and our Youth Taking Action."

Roots of Revolution

Martinez is a powerful voice in the global youth- led environmental movement. From the age of six, Martinez has spoken around the world, from the Rio+...

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Pre-Talk Video

Margaret Huettl, Assistant Professor of History and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, introduces the November E.N. Thompson Forum...

Doris Kearns Goodwin Pre-talk

Pre-talk video by David Forsythe for Doris Kearns Goodwin's E.N. Thompson Forum talk "Leadership in Turbulent Times"

Trauma and Recovery: A New Story of Interconnection and Action...

Pipher, PhD, is the author of 10 books, including #1 New York Times bestseller “Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls” and most rece...

Mary Pipher pre-talk introduction

Introduction to writer Mary Pipher in advance of her E.N. Thompson Forum talk "Trauma and Recovery: A New Story of Interconnection and Action..."

How We Win: Mobilizing Youth in the Fight Against Violent Extremism

Farah Pandith is an author, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. A world-leading expert and pioneer in countering violent extremism, she is...

Mighty Be Our Powers: Building Women, Building Peace

2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker and women’s rights advocate.

She currently...

Yes, You Have a Critical Role in Raising Artificial Intelligence.

Jana Eggers is a math and computer nerd who took the business path for a career. She’s CEO of Nara Logics and active in customer-inspired innovation,...

HATE: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship

Nadine Strossen expertly dissects Constitutional law to share current challenges to our civil liberties today, stimulating thoughtful consideration of...

A Conversation with Misty Copeland

In 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African American female Principal Dancer in American Ballet Theatre’s 75-year history. Hear from this artist,...

Is Regulation of Social Media Necessary to Protect Democracy?

Since 1922, the National Communication Association has sponsored international student exchange tours for the purpose of promoting debate, discussion,...

'Why People Vote for Those Who Work Against Their Best Interests'

Are there a higher set of drivers in the global economy than we commonly pay attention to? Is the election of Donald Trump really just one part of a m...

Pandemic: From Cholera to Ebola and Beyond

Sonia Shah is an investigative science journalist and author of critically acclaimed and prize-winning books on science, human rights, and internation...

It's Better Than It Looks: Election 2016

New York Times Op-Ed columnist David Brooks has a unique gift for bringing audiences face to face with the spirit of our times, and he does so with hu...

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

The first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize, Sheryl WuDunn has journeyed through several industries, from banking to journalism and book...

The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

Wes Moore knows that being a leader—both in your personal life and in the business world—comes down to one thing: personal responsibility. Drawing on...

The Climate Fight at Its Peak

Bill McKibben is an author and environmentalist who in 2014 was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, which is frequently referred to as the ‘alternativ...

Define American: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant

In 2011, journalist Jose Antonio Vargas “outed” himself as an undocumented immigrant in an essay published in The New York Times Magazine. The article...

Cutting Carbon Emissions: Better Environment, Worse Economy?

This Wilson Dialogue will explore the global environmental and financial effect of carbon emissions and proposed regulation. Experts Lewis and Metcalf...

"Creativity, Curiosity, and Learning" - Milton Chen

Milton Chen is senior fellow and executive director emeritus at the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit operating foundation in the San F...

"Are Social Media a Threat to Human Creativity" - British National Debate Team vs. UNL Speech & Debate Team

More at the E.N. Thompson Forum website.

"How To Make (almost) Anything" - Neil Gershenfeld

Analog telephone calls degraded with distance; digitizing communications led to the Internet. Analog computations degraded with time; digitizing compu...

Humanities Nebraska Governor’s Lecture in the Humanities - Chris Abani

“Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization” - Yong Zhao

Lecture Summary

Zhao’s book of the same title, “Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization,” addres...