Spring 2023, Volume 37 Number 2

Spring 2023 Centerpiece cover with image of people praying below a bunch of white umbrellas

The spring 2023 issue of Centerpiece highlights recent activities at the Weatherhead Center. Acting Center Director Erez Manela shares important Center updates in the Message from the Director column. This spring semester crackled with energy, and we at the Center were thrilled to host two of our major lectureships in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Epidemiologist, author, and philanthropist Dr. Larry Brilliant joined us to deliver the Jodidi Lecture in conversation with Acting Director Erez Manela, and we have included snippets of his talk in our feature, "Insight from Larry Brilliant." Just a few weeks later, former White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy delivered the Manshel Lecture in conversation with Jim Stock, vice provost of climate and sustainability at Harvard. Our second feature includes McCarthy's opening remarks, where she highlights much of the progress made on climate during the Biden Administration. In our third feature we discussed with two chairs of the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Business and Government their new research cluster—how it started, their goals, and more. And of course we provide updates on several other programs and clusters, such as student programs, a Q&A with the director of our undergraduate program, and the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Comparative Inequality and Inclusion. 

Download: Spring 2023, Volume 37 Number 2 [ PDF: 1.2 MB ]

Message from the Director
by Erez Manela

This spring has been an exciting semester, full of “we are back!” activities. The new Weatherhead research clusters are crackling with energy, and we also held our first in-person Jodidi and Manshel endowed lectures since before the pandemic. Our International Book Blitz returned in person, highlighting books published recently by Weatherhead Center Faculty Associates. Last but not least, congratulations to all our graduating students! Quite an accomplishment, especially after more than two years of pandemic restrictions on their studies...

Insight from Larry Brilliant
Edited by Lauren McLaughlin

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023, Dr. Larry Brilliant delivered the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture at Harvard’s Memorial Church. Titled “Helping Bend the Arc at the Hinges of History: A Conversation with Larry Brilliant,” the event included opening remarks from Brilliant—a noted epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and author—and a conversation with Weatherhead Center Acting Director Erez Manela, before opening it up to questions from the audience...

The Future of Climate Action: A Conversation with Gina McCarthy
Edited by Lauren McLaughlin

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Gina McCarthy delivered the Warren and Anita Manshel Lecture in American Foreign Policy at the Smith Campus Center at Harvard University titled "The Future of Climate Action: A Conversation with Gina McCarthy.” McCarthy, the first-ever White House national climate advisor and former US EPA administrator, spoke with Jim Stock, the vice provost for climate and sustainability at Harvard University, before opening it up to questions from the audience. ...

In Conversation with Alisha Holland and Gautam Nair
Interview by Michelle Nicholasen

When business is not part of the solution, it is frequently part of the problem. The chairs of the new Weatherhead Research Cluster on Business and Government hope to provide new insights into how business influence can be a positive force for democracy and development. Launched in the 2022–2023 academic year and spearheaded by Faculty Associates Alisha Holland and Gautam Nair (along with Jeffry Frieden and Dani Rodrik), the cluster aims to better understand the political economy of business-government relations in the contemporary world...

At the Center

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