Quotes to Think By: Octavia Butler’s Rules for Predicting the Future

by Shellee O'Brien | Quotes, Thinking Together

Quotes to Think By: Octavia Butler’s Rules for Predicting the Future History, perspective and our ability to solve new problems Hidden in a discussion about the future, an award-winning science-fiction author offered a guide for using history to guide our...

Repeat the Question: What Happens After the Pandemic

by Shellee O'Brien | Thinking Together

Repeat the Question: What Do We Want After the Pandemic? Claiming this moment of lost certainties for new possibilities A history professor at Indiana University took to The Ideas pages of  The Atlantic to consider a question that’s occupying minds across the...

Questions of Civic Proportions: Why does it matter if we find the right words for this?

by Shellee O'Brien | Newsletter

Questions of Civic Proportions Newsletter April 19, 2020 My Fellow Citizens, We’re all asking one another, “how are you holding up?” The standard response usually starts with a deep breath and includes some bad joke.  We’re looking for a new approach to our standard...

Questions of Civic Proportions: Are We All Going to Get This?

by Shellee O'Brien | Newsletter

Questions of Civic Proportions Newsletter March 22, 2020 My Fellow Citizens, This is a moment when we need everyone to get it. Dr. Sanjay Gupta told late-night host Stephen Colbert that he thought we were. People are starting to get this, Gupta said, “I have an...

Questions of Civic Proportions: What will be the fight of your life?

by Shellee O'Brien | Newsletter

Questions of Civic Proportions Newsletter March 8, 2020 My Fellow Citizens, Big announcements of Democratic candidates dropping out of the 2020 presidential race have shaped the news this week. While the media has talked for some time about a contest that quickly...