(Undergraduates Only) Following this past summer’s SCOTUS decision banning affirmative action in college admissions, universities across the country are left to engage challenging questions and navigate complex ethical tensions concerning diversity. What, for example, do we mean by diversity? What is its relation to other concepts, such as equity, merit, or belonging? How might diversity serve UNC values? And, ultimately, what is our responsibility to diversity today? In the interest of facilitating public discussion around these and other important questions, the Program for Public Discourse Agora Fellows invite undergraduate students across the university to share their thoughts, voice their concerns, and deliberate policy proposals together in a supportive environment. Space is limited to 49 registrants and satisfies one CLE credit. Please register here: https://forms.gle/yK1m9UDhnLEeQQmM9

Date: November 17, 2023

Times: 01:30 pm – 03:30 pm

Audience: By Invitation Only

Venue: Black Box, Swain Hall, 101 E Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Navin Bapat and Jeff Spinner-Halev will explain the origins of the current conflict, assess the strategic aims of key political actors in the conflict, and assess the ethics of the combatants' tactics using the laws of war. This event is co-sponsored by the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies, the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, and the Program for Public Discourse.

Jeff Spinner-Halev teaches political theory in the department of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is the Kenan Eminent Professor of Political Ethics. He has a B.A. and PhD from the University of Michigan, both in political science. He regularly teaches the course at Carolina on the Ethics of Peace, War and Defense. His research focuses on the tensions that arise within contemporary liberal and democratic theory, and between theory and practice. His most recent book (co-authored with Elizabeth Theiss-Morse) is Respect and Loathing in American Democracy: Polarization, Moralization, and the Undermining of Equality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, forthcoming).

Navin Bapat is the Dowd Professor of Peace and War in political science and the chair of the curriculum of peace, war, and defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan in 1998 and pursued graduate studies at Rice University, where he received an M.A. and a PhD in political science. Professor Bapat’s research interests include examining conflicts involving violent non-state actors, such as insurgencies and terrorist campaigns, using formal and empirical methods. He is also involved an ongoing project examining the use and the effectiveness of economic sanctions. His book, Monsters to Destroy: Understanding the War on Terror, was published with Oxford University Press.

Date: November 6, 2023

Times: 04:00 pm – 05:00 pm

Audience: Students, Faculty, Staff

Venue: Fetzer Hall, Room 109

On November 1st at 5:30 pm in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union Auditorium, the Program for Public Discourse will host a debate on nuclear energy for the culmination of UNC's Research Week. This event is co-sponsored with The Steamboat Institute.

Steven Koonin was confirmed by the Senate in May 2009 as undersecretary for science at the U.S. Department of Energy, serving in that position until November 2011. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he was BP's chief scientist, where he was a strong advocate for research into renewable energies and alternate fuel sources. He now teaches at New York University Stern.

Roger Pielke, Jr. has been on the faculty of the University of Colorado since 2001, where he teaches and writes on a diverse range of policy and governance issues related to science, innovation, and sports. Roger holds degrees in mathematics, public policy and political science, all from the University of Colorado. In 2006, Roger received the Eduard Brückner Prize in Munich, Germany in 2006 for outstanding achievement in interdisciplinary climate research.

J. Christoper Clemens is provost and chief academic Officer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the Jaroslav Folda Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

Date: November 1, 2023

Times: 05:30 p.m. – 07:00 p.m.

Audience: Public Event

Venue: Frank Porter Graham Student Union, The Auditorium

On November 1st at 5:30 pm in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union Auditorium, the Program for Public Discourse will host a debate on nuclear energy for the culmination of UNC's Research Week. This event is co-sponsored with The Steamboat Institute.
Registration link: https://web.cvent.com/event/0d7e624a-b6c0-4ffb-9b1e-4592f114b21c/summary

Steven Koonin was confirmed by the Senate in May 2009 as undersecretary for science at the U.S. Department of Energy, serving in that position until November 2011. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he was BP's chief scientist, where he was a strong advocate for research into renewable energies and alternate fuel sources. He now teaches at New York University Stern School of Business.

Roger Pielke, Jr. has been on the faculty of the University of Colorado since 2001, where he teaches and writes on a diverse range of policy and governance issues related to science, innovation, and sports. Roger holds degrees in mathematics, public policy and political science, all from the University of Colorado. In 2006, Roger received the Eduard Brückner Prize in Munich, Germany in 2006 for outstanding achievement in interdisciplinary climate research.

J. Christoper Clemens is provost and chief academic Officer of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the Jaroslav Folda Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

Date: November 1, 2023

Times: 05:30 p.m. – 07:00 p.m.

Audience: Public Event

Venue: Frank Porter Graham Student Union, The Auditorium

On October 4 at 5:30 pm in celebration of UNC's First Amendment Day, the Program for Public Discourse in conjunction with the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy will co-host an Abbey Speaker Series event on “Regulating Big Tech and the First Amendment.” Professor Mary-Rose Papandrea of the UNC School of Law will moderate a discussion between Professor Eugene Volokh from the UCLA School of Law, and Carrie Goldberg, founder of the victims’ rights law firm C.A. Goldberg, PLCC. This event is open to the public and does not require registration. Pizza will be served after the event and students can earn CLE credit.

Carrie Goldberg, Esq. is the founder of Victims’ Rights law firm C. A. Goldberg, PLLC, which does groundbreaking work nationally fighting for survivors of stalking and sexual violence and representing victims of catastrophic injuries caused by tech products. Her work on landmark cases includes Herrick v. Grindr, which introduced the novel legal approach of applying product liability law to dangerous tech products that enable stalking and abuse, plus A.M. v. Omegle and Ruth Scott v. Amazon, lawsuits that seek to hold tech companies accountable for enabling child sexual exploitation and death. Among the firm’s better-known clients are Weinstein accusers, Hollywood stars, and a member of Congress. But some of Carrie’s proudest successes are the ones that stay out of the headlines – recoveries for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and restraining orders for victims of stalking. Goldberg is the author of Nobody’s Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs & Trolls.

Eugene Volokh. is the Gary T. Schwartz Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law, where he specializes in First Amendment law and in law and technology. He is the author of the textbooks The First Amendment and Related Statutes (7th ed. 2020) and Academic Legal Writing (5th ed. 2016), as well as over 100 law review articles. He is a member of The American Law Institute, and the founder and coauthor of The Volokh Conspiracy, a Weblog (independent 2002-2014, hosted at the Washington Post 2014-2017, hosted at Reason from 2017).

Mary-Rose Papandrea is the Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. After graduating from Yale College and the University of Chicago Law School, Papandrea clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter as well as Hon. Douglas Ginsburg of the D.C. Circuit and Hon. John G. Koeltl of the Southern District of New York. She then practiced law for several years at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC, where she specialized in First Amendment and media law litigation. She teaches a range of courses, including First Amendment and media law, and she serves as the Faculty Symposium Advisor for the First Amendment Law Review. She has written numerous law review articles and book chapters about various First Amendment and media law topics. From 2021-22, she led the University of North Carolina’s strategic initiative to promote democracy.

Date: October 4, 2023

Times: 05:30pm – 07:00pm

Audience: Public

Venue: Frank Porter Graham Student Union, The Auditorium

On September 20 at 5:30 pm, the Program for Public Discourse’s Abbey Speaker Series returns with a conversation in which Leah Cox interviews Irshad Manji. Manji is the author of Don’t Label Me and has criticized many conventional DEI training programs. Leah Cox is the Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and the Chief Diversity Officer at UNC. This event is open to the public and does not require any registration. Pizza will be provided in the lobby after the event.

Irshad Manji is the founder of Moral Courage College, which teaches people to turn contentious issues into constructive conversations and healthy teamwork, as well as the author of Don't Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times. A prize-winning leadership professor at New York University for many years, Irshad now teaches with Oxford University's Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights.

Dr. Leah Cox currently serves as the Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. In this capacity, she provides the leadership and vision for creating a more inclusive campus for students, faculty, and staff and works collaboratively with all members of the campus and surrounding community. Before joining Carolina, she served as the inaugural Vice President for Inclusion and Institutional Equity at Towson University. She also served as the Special Assistant to the President and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia and spent many years working at Gallaudet University leading the university’s first minority student affairs office.

Date: September 20, 2023

Times: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Audience: Public

Venue: Carolina Union Auditorium

The Program for Public Discourse has partnered with the Kidzu Children's Museum for a new event series. “Let’s Talk About It” is a series of sessions designed to explore difficult topics and provide tools to families and children in grades 2-5 to practice and promote civil discourse in the next generation. This program is free to the public, but registration is required.

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Hard conversations about difficult topics can lead to hard and difficult feelings. Kidzu is teaming up with Breaking Taboo to arm your family with the tools needed to work through challenging emotions, and to ‘smooth out’ situations where a conversation has already digressed into troubling territory. Get hands-on and proactive as we work though tricky topics around feelings and mental health. Breaking Taboo is a non-profit with a mission of bolstering education and eradicating taboos around mental health and suicide prevention.

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Participants have free access to play at Kidzu during the program.

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Participants will receive a free return visit to Kidzu and coupons for Alfredo’s Pizza Villa. Those who attend all five sessions will receive a badge and special gift!

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Register Here

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Presented in coordination with the East Chapel Hill High School Civil Discourse project and made possible with support from NC Humanities.

Date: May 3, 2023

Times: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Audience: Public

Venue: Kidzu's Children Museum

The Debate Balloon is an engaging role-playing group activity where participants assume the persona of historical figures from the distant past to recent times. The premise of the story is that the world below has ended and the players find themselves on a balloon ascending to a new world. However, the balloon starts going down instead of up. The main solution open to the participants is to decide who gets to stay on the balloon. Each player introduces their character and gives a case for why they should stay. At the end of each round, one person leaves the balloon while still being able to vote in subsequent rounds. The game continues until the final individual has been determined!

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This event is hosted by PPD's Agora Fellows.

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This is a CLE event and includes free food!

Date: April 3, 2023

Times: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Audience: Students

Venue: Room 2518 A in the Carolina Union

The Agora Fellows present “Political Speed Dating” an event to discuss big ideas, meet new people, and engage in discourse surrounding the issues of the day. This will be your chance to fire off an uninterrupted hot take to your fellow UNC students! Come meet your political soulmate on Friday March 31st at 5 PM in Room 3411 in the Carolina Union. The event will consist of rotating 90 second pairings where one person has the opportunity to give any opinion on any issue. This is your opportunity to meet people who share your viewpoints or have the chance to be persuaded on an issue you may disagree with! Agree or disagree, this event will be a fun way to engage with contemporary issues outside of online echo chambers! We hope to see you there!

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This is a CLE event and includes free food!

Date: March 31, 2023

Times: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Audience: Students

Venue: Room 3411 in the Carolina Union

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On March 22nd at 5:30 p.m., the UNC Program for Public Discourse hosts a hybrid Abbey Speaker Series event on the relationship between abortion and faith.

Maharat Ruth Friedman is a member of the inaugural class of Yeshivat Maharat, which is the first institution to ordain Orthodox women as spiritual leaders and halakhic (legal) authorities. She serves as Maharat (clergy) at Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue in Washington, DC, where she performs all traditional rabbinic functions. She is also a proud member of the Washington Boards of Rabbis and sits on the Executive Committee of the board of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, of which she is also a member. Maharat Friedman is also a founding member of the Beltway VAAD. She and her husband Yoni are the proud parents of Ezra, Jobe and Evie, and their four-legged princess, Cocoa.

Lauren W. Reliford, MSW is a passionate and mission-oriented public and population health professional focused on bridging the gap between social theory, spirituality, research, and practice and bringing them to the forefront of our major policy decisions. She currently serves as Political Director for Sojourners, an ecumenical Christian organization that seeks to discover the intersection of faith, politics, and culture through their magazine and putting that faith into action for social justice through our mobilizing work.

Leah Libresco Sargeant is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. She is a convert from atheism to Catholicism who has worked as a policy analyst, a data journalist, and a curriculum developer at an organization teaching “defensive driving for your brain.” Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Plough, Comment, First Things, America, and other outlets. She runs Other Feminisms, a substack community focused on the dignity of dependence.

Mara Buchbinder is a professor and vice chair of the department of social medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. She is also an adjunct professor of anthropology. She is a medical anthropologist whose work focuses on how patients, families, and healthcare providers navigate social and ethical challenges resulting from changes in medical technology, law, and health policy. Dr. Buchbinder is the author of Scripting Death: Stories of Assisted Dying in America and All in Your Head: Making Sense of Pediatric Pain, as well as the co-author of Saving Babies? The Consequences of Newborn Genetic Screening. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

Date: March 22, 2023

Times: 05:30pm – 07:00pm

Audience: Public

Venue: