Is Punishment the Only Response to Violence and Poverty?

02/10/16 • 31 min

HKS Professor Bruce Western, Chair of the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, explains how the prison population in the United States has quintupled since the 1970s and advocates for changes to the penal code to better deal with deep-rooted social problems.

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1,000 Hits to the Head: Is Football a Public Health Issue?

Chris Nowinski of the Concussion Legacy Foundation makes the case that head trauma in contact sports, and football in particular, is a serious public health issue that requires action by policymakers and parents alike.

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Is Art a Call to Action, or a Distraction?

Eve Ensler, the Tony Award-winning author of the Vagina Monologues and a veteran activist, explains how she believes art is always political, and it’s incumbent on everyone to recognize this and stand for causes they support. She discusses her efforts to create and rally the V-Day and One Billion Rising movements, which seek to improve the lives of women around the world. Ensler was on campus for the 2015 Gleitsman International Activist Award ceremony, put on by the Center for Public Leadership.