Webcasts from the Library of Congress II

May 6, 2015. This annual program, funded by the Jonah Solkoff Eskin Memorial Fund brought together the three living Ambassadors for Young Peoples Literature in the Coolidge Auditorium to pay tribute to the fourth Ambassador, Walter Dean Myers, who passed away in 2014. His son, author, illustrator, Christopher Myers, presented a tribute to his father that opened with a clip from an interview from the PBS Newshour by journalist Jeff Brown. Students in the audience came from Brent Elementary, Hyde-Addison Elementary, Washington Latin Public Charter, John Eaton Elementary, and Alice Deal Middle School – all in Washington, DC, and the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7573

Nov. 15, 2016. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera reads a poem he composed for Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Speaker Biography: Juan Felipe Herrera is the 2015-2017 Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress. In 2012, he was named poet laureate of California. Herrera is a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for "Half the World in Light" and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 1990, Herrera was a distinguished teaching fellow at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and he has taught elsewhere, including in prisons. He is the author of more than 25 books of poetry, novels for young adults and collections for children, most recently "Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes," a picture book showcasing inspirational Hispanic and Latino Americans. Herrera's most recent collection of poems is "Senegal Taxi." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7574

Sep. 6, 2016. Beacher Wiggins describes what has been accomplished to date on the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME). Kirk Hess and Paul Frank cover how the BIBFRAME Editor has evolved, including the development of the profiles for metadata input. The session concludes with a briefing from Sally McCallum on what to expect in Phase two of the BIBFRAME Pilot and future training plans detailed by Judith Cannan. Speaker Biography: Beacher Wiggins is director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access at the Library of Congress. Speaker Biography: Sally McCallum is chief of the Network Development and MARC Standards Office at the Library of Congress. Speaker Biography: Kirk Hess is a digital project coordinator in the Network Development and MARC Standards Office at the Library of Congress. Speaker Biography: Paul Frank is a cooperative cataloging programs specialist in the Cooperative and Instructional Programs Division at the Library of Congress. Speaker Biography: Judith Cannan is chief of the Cooperative and Instructional Programs Division at the Library of Congress. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7571

March 16, 2016. The Library commemorated the 265th anniversary of the birth of James Madison with a panel discussion on the fourth president's early life, political and personal partnerships and his pre-eminent role at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7570

Sep. 7, 2016. Board-certified forensic psychiatrist Robert Maman discussed the rights of persons living with mental illness in the United States. Speaker Biography: Robert Maman has held various posts in the areas of mental health and criminal justice. Originally from France, Dr. Maman completed his residency in psychiatry at Temple University in Philadelphia and a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at the Oregon Health Science University in Portland. He is a graduate of the Washington College of Law at American University and is admitted to the District of Columbia and the United States Patent bars. He is member of the American Bar Association and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7541

July 8, 2016. Soumya Chakraverty and Devapriya Nayak talk about their history as musicians and the influence of music in their culture with Yasmeen Rauf Khan. Speaker Biography: Soumya Chakraverty took up playing the sarod when he was 11 under the tutelage of Pt. Samarendranath Sikdar, a senior disciple of the late Pt. Radhika Mohan Maitra of the Shahjahanpur Gharana. Chakraverty played frequently on All India Radio Calcutta between 1990 and 1995. While pursuing his education in Australia, he began to collaborate with other forms of world music, and performed live with a flamenco dancer in a production that combined the Gypsy roots of the dance with Latin American percussion, Middle Eastern vocals, and Indian classical instrumental music. He has been performing throughout the US and neighboring countries. His focus remains on traditional Hindustani instrumental music, and he continues to work with other music genres such classical carnatic (south Indian), compositions of Rabindranath and Nazrul, flamenco, jazz, and Latin American percussion. Speaker Biography: Devapriya Nayak (Debu) was born in West Bengal, India, and began learning tabla at the age of three from his grandfather, Chaudhury Kausalya Nandan, an accomplished tabla player of the Punjab Gharana. Later, Debu became a disciple of Pt. Radhakanta Nandi of the Benares Gharana. In 1981, Debu continued his tabla training in the US from Maestros Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Anindo Chatergee and Pt. Samir Chaterjee. His performance at the Kennedy Center with Gaurav Majumdar earned him wide accolades in Washington music circles. Debu is the director of the DC Chapter of Chhandayan, a tabla school dedicated to the promotion of tabla and Indian classical music. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7562

Sep. 12, 2016. Constantia Constantinou discusses Karamanlidika classical literature with Fulbright scholar Selenay Aytac. Speaker Biography: Constantia Constantinou is dean of university libraries at Stony Brook University. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7554

Aug. 25, 2016. Author and activist Ashton Applewhite discusses her new book, "This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism," in which she talks about her own experiences getting older, while exploding myths about late life. Applewhite's book explains the roots of ageism (both in history and in our own personal denial), examines the crippling effect of ageist myths and stereotypes, looks at ageism in the workplace, critiques how older individuals are often thought of as burdens to society, and examines what an age-friendly world would look like. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7513

June 27, 2016. In recognition of National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project hosted a discussion panel on the causes, effects and alternative treatments for PTSD among military veterans. Panelists include veterans who share their personal experiences with PTSD and experts who work directly with PTSD-diagnosed veterans. In addition, the discussion highlights the importance of folklore in dealing with PTSD and how beneficial the VHP interview process can be for these veterans. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7516

Sep. 29, 2016. Author Valerie Lester discussed her book, the first English-language biography of the printer Giambattista Bodoni (1740-1813). For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7543

July 12, 2016. Photo conservator Paul Messier discusses how to better understand the materials used by photographers so that preservationists can better interpret them and care for them. Texture, gloss, color, and sheet thickness -- the defining characteristics of photographic paper -- meaningfully contribute to the visual impact of a photograph. Each of these dimensions were routinely communicated in marketing materials and, for the working darkroom photographer, marked directly on paper packages. Experienced photographers gained fluency manipulating these dimensions, encoding in their prints meaning and intention. Measured and contextualized, these features form the basis of a new approach to understand and interpret prints. Past and ongoing projects demonstrate how these data, aggregated and shared across collections, can address vital scholarly questions of attribution, working practices, stylistic development and spheres of artistic influence. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7514

Oct. 4, 2016. This lecture describes the IRENE technology, how the method enables the reconstruction of sound from the digital images, and the innovations and challenges relevant to scaling this method for working with thousands of cylinders. The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley is home to nearly 3,000 20th-century ethnographic field recordings that record Native Californians singing and speaking in native languages. These recordings are invaluable to contemporary linguists and community members, but are difficult to access as they were recorded on a fragile, often physically compromised medium: the wax cylinder. A three-year project is underway to use a method collaboratively developed by the Library of Congress and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to recover the audio on these recordings. The method, called IRENE (Image, Reconstruct, Erase Noise, Etc.), captures the audio information non-invasively through high resolution, three dimensional imaging of the grooved cylinder surface. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7555

Sep. 21, 2016. Award-winning illustrator Juana Medina discussed her work and her artistic journey as a Colombian artist living in the United States. Speaker Biography: Juana Medina is an illustrator and author of children's books, as well as a teacher at George Washington University. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7544

Aug. 30, 2016. Ida Meftahi discussed her book, "Gender and Dance in Modern Iran: Biopolitics on Stage." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7540

Oct. 27, 2016. Lisa Scottoline discusses her book "Corrupted." Speaker Biography: Lisa Scottoline's writing career began with her first novel, "Everywhere That Mary Went," in 1994. The novel became a best-seller and was nominated for the Edgar Award, the most prestigious award given in crime fiction, by the Mystery Writers of America. Her second novel, "Final Appeal," received the 1995 Edgar Award. Since then she has written more than 25 books, many of which have appeared on best-seller lists, including those of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Scottoline also co-writes a humor column with her daughter, Francesca Serritella, called "Chick Wit" for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The duo has written several books together, including their latest collection of funny stories and true confessions, "Does This Beach Make Me Look Fat? True Stories and Confessions." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7542

Nov. 2, 2015. Fifty children from the Amidon Bowen Elementary School in Washington, D.C., were introduced to the country of Luxembourg with a one-hour comedic history and cultural lesson about the country from performer Sven Kiefer -- alias Trommel Bommel. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7551

March 15, 2016. Panelists explore the major impact on the deaf of of telecommunication – telephone, teletypewriter (a.k.a. TDD and TTY), email, videolog, cell phone, videophone and smartphone. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7553

Oct. 8, 2014. Rural Education and Development Nepal (READ Nepal) provides access to books by establishing community libraries in villages across Nepal. READ Nepal's Practical Answers Program collects questions on topics such as law, health care, and farming, and creates print materials that answer these questions in an accessible format, offering people an incentive to read. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7539

May 19, 2016. Poet Mary Jo Bang discusses her work with Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post's Book World. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7499

Feb. 17, 2016. Winners of the 2015 Library of Congress Literary Awards were welcomed and honored at an event held at the Library. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7508

July 25, 2016. Approximately 60 middle school students accompanied by their families gathered at the Library of Congress to celebrate as winners of the "Do the Write Thing Challenge." A primary initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence, each year students are asked to write about their personal experiences with violence and make a personal commitment to ending violence in their lives. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7501

May 20, 2016. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), codified in part in 17 U.S.C. §1201, makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works, including copyrighted books, movies, videos, video games and computer programs. This session will explore the necessity, relevance and sufficiency of the permanent exemptions to the prohibition of circumvention, and will consider whether amendments of additional exemption categories may be advisable. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7478

May 25, 2016. Kiran Singh Sirah discusses the power and artistry of storytelling as an ancient art form and as the world's oldest form of communication. He also discusses what he describes as one of the greatest community-building tools that we can use to foster, cultivate and strengthen peace and collaboration in our communities, and will also explore how we might collectively use new storytelling forms in the arenas of peace and community development to help establish a conflict-free world. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7456

Sep. 9, 2016. Spanish playwright Jordi Casanovas discussed Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of "Don Quixote," the first modern novel and one of the most beloved literary figures of all time. (Primarily in Spanish) For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7460

May 18, 2016. The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study to review the role of copyright law with respect to software-enabled consumer products. This session will explore whether current limitations on and exceptions to copyright protection adequately address issues concerning software embedded in everyday products, or whether amendments or clarifications would be useful. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7473

Sep. 21, 2016. Actor and author Jamie Lee Curtis read from her book "This is Me: A Story of Who We Are and Where We Come From," the 11th book in the "This is Me" series for young children. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7457

Sep. 16, 2016. Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, visited the Young Readers Center on her third day on the job. The Librarian read a picture book, "Click, Clack, Surprise" by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin which was featured at the 2016 National Book Festival the following week. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7464

June 14, 2016. Michael Waldman discusses his new book, "The Fight to Vote," where he analyses a crucial American struggle: actions to define and defend government based on the consent of the governed. From the nation's earliest days, as Americans sought the right to vote, others have fought to stop them. Waldman examines the full story from the founders' debates to today's challenges. Speaker Biography: Michael Waldman is president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving the systems of democracy and justice. He was director of speechwriting for President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999. He comments widely in the media on law and policy. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7455

July 20, 2016. Amina Hassan discussed her new book, "Loren Miller: Civil Rights Attorney and Journalist." Loren Miller was one of the nation's most prominent civil-rights attorneys from the 1940s through the early 1960s. He successfully fought discrimination in housing and education. Alongside Thurgood Marshall, Miller argued two landmark civil-rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, leading to decisions that effectively abolished racially restrictive housing covenants. The two men played key roles in Brown v. Board of Education, which ended legal segregation in public schools. Speaker Biography: Amina Hassan is a scholar, researcher and award-winning public radio documentarian with productions ranging from an NPR radio series on how race, class and gender shape American sport, to the coup and on-the-spot recording of the U.S. invasion of Grenada, to a national radio series on the Bill of Rights. Her diverse background has allowed her to live and travel extensively in the Caribbean, the Near and Middle East, North Africa, Central America and Europe. She has been a Corporation for Public Broadcasting consultant and has administered radio projects for the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based research center. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7458

May 19, 2016. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), codified in part in 17 U.S.C. §1201, makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works, including copyrighted books, movies, videos, video games and computer programs. This session will explore the general operation of the triennial rulemaking process under section 1201, including the evidentiary showing required for an exemption, and the procedural aspects of the rulemaking. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7475

June 8, 2016. Marlene Trestman discussed her book "Fair Labor Lawyer: The Remarkable Life of New Deal Attorney and Supreme Court Advocate Bessie Margolin." Speaker Biography: Marlene Trestman is a former special assistant to the Maryland attorney general, where she started her 30-year legal career in 1982. She has taught law at Loyola University of Maryland's Sellinger School of Business & Management, where she earned her MBA. A former trustee of Goucher College, she currently serves on the board of Goucher's Prison Education Partnership. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7459

May 19, 2016. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), codified in part in 17 U.S.C. §1201, makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works, including copyrighted books, movies, videos, video games and computer programs. This session will explore the process of renewal of exemptions granted under a prior rulemaking including consideration of proposals for presumptive renewal when there is no meaningful opposition. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7476

May 24, 2016. This program, "La Città degli Ebrei/The City of the Jews: Segregated Space and the Admission of Strangers in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice," marked the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish Ghetto of Venice in 1516. The event was held in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy and the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Maryland. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7452

May 18, 2016. The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study to review the role of copyright law with respect to software-enabled consumer products. This session will explore the role of copyright law as it relates to software, including whether and how software in "everyday products" can be distinguished from other types of software, the rationale and proper scope of copyright protection for embedded software, and the need for interoperability with software embedded devices. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7470

May 17, 2016. Journalist and historian Joshua Kendall discussed his new book, "First Dads: Parenting and Politics from George Washington to Barack Obama." Speaker Biography: Joshua Kendall is the author of "The Man Who Made Lists," about the creation of Roget's Thesaurus, and "The Forgotten Founding Father," a biography of Noah Webster, the lexicographer responsible for Webster's Dictionary. He is also an award-winning journalist, with articles in The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Psychology Today and BusinessWeek, among other publications. He is an associate fellow of Yale's Trumbull College. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7462

March 17, 2016. The Library sponsored a day-long symposium on literacy and heath, focusing on literacy in all its forms and how literacy affects personal well-being. The event was sponsored in cooperation with Nemours Children's Health System. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7449

May 3, 2016. Mary Sarah Bilder developed her case that James Madison revised the notes much more extensively than previously recognized in her new book, "Madison's Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention." Speaker Biography: Mary Sarah Bilder is a professor of law and the Michael and Helen Lee Distinguished Scholar at Boston College Law School. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7461

May 12, 2016. Ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin surveys his research on the musical life of his hometown, Detroit, Michigan, during "my day," the 1940s-60s. He positions his personal experience in the wider panorama of a musically dynamic city of recent immigrants from Europe and migrants from the American South, and addresses the role of the schools and subcultures in shaping Detroit's complex cultural landscape. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7453

May 19, 2016. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), codified in part in 17 U.S.C. §1201, makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works, including copyrighted books, movies, videos, video games and computer programs. This session will explore the role and effectiveness of section 1201 in protecting copyrighted content and will consider how the statute should accommodate interests that are outside of core copyright concerns. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7474

May 19, 2016. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), codified in part in 17 U.S.C. §1201, makes it illegal to circumvent technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works, including copyrighted books, movies, videos, video games and computer programs. This session will explore the role of Anti-Trafficking provisions of §1201(a)(2) and §1201(b) in deterring copyright infringement and will consider whether any amendments may be advisable. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7477

May 18, 2016. The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study to review the role of copyright law with respect to software-enabled consumer products. This session will explore the state of contract law vis-à-vis software embedded in everyday products, and how contracts such as end user license agreements impact investment in and the dissemination and use of everyday products, including whether any legislative action in this area is needed. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7471

May 18, 2016. The U.S. Copyright Office is undertaking a study to review the role of copyright law with respect to software-enabled consumer products. This session will explore how courts have applied the fair use doctrine to permit uses of software that ensure reverse engineering and/or interoperability of software with new products and devices. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7472

May 24, 2016. Historian Abby Smith Rumsey, in her new book, "When We Are No More: How Digital Memory Is Shaping Our Future," examines the history of memory from caves to computer chips. She also makes the point that each of us has a role to play in ensuring that we are remembered when we are no more. Speaker Biography: Abby Smith Rumsey is a historian who writes about how ideas and information technologies shape perceptions of history, time and personal and cultural identity. A Russian scholar, she spent a decade at the Library of Congress working in the area of digital curation and preservation. She consults for a variety of universities and the National Science Foundation. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7451

July 13, 2016. Writer and historian Warren Bernard discusses his new book, "Cartoons for Victory." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7450

May 31, 2016. Mahnaz Rezaie represented the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP) during a conversation where poetry and visual art was shared. Part of the Persian Book Lecture Series, presented in collaboration with the Roshan Institute for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. Speaker Biography: Mahnaz Rezaie was born in western Afghanistan to a Shia family that placed a high value on education. When she was eight years old, the Taliban came to power, forcing her Shia family to flee the Sunni Taliban threat. Returning to Afghanistan years later, Rezaie won a scholarship to continue her education in the United States in 2009. She is a writer for the Afghan Women Writers Project and now mentors the online Dari workshop for women in Afghanistan who do not speak/write English. She is also a filmmaker who was honored at the recent Women in the World Summit in NYC for her short film that explores how wearing a hijab affected her relationships when she first came to the U.S. Currently, Rezaie is in the Master's program at the Corcoran School of Art and Design at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and is at work on a novel. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7425

April 5, 2016. An all-day discussion and workshop series on how historical events and forces have shaped the ways that deaf people define themselves as a culture today, sponsored by the Library and the National Literary Society for the Deaf. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7447

April 15, 2016. Leonard Marcus presents a wide-ranging illustrated talk on how Lewis Carroll's "Alice" not only turned Victorian literature on its head but also inspired later generations of experimental artists and writers, from André Breton and Max Ernst to René Magritte and Leonora Carrington, to reimagine the world in arrestingly strange and provocative new ways. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7445

June 16, 2016. Stephen Hess discusses his book on political dynasties in the United States. Beginning with John Adams, first U.S. vice president, Hess paints portraits of the men and women who have comprised this country's political elite. He includes the well-known dynasties of the Roosevelts and the Kennedys, as well as the little-known politicians. Speaker Biography: Stephen Hess is senior fellow emeritus in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. His many books include "The Professor and the President: Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the Nixon White House." For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7446

Sep. 8, 2016. Caroline Heller discussed her memoir that traces the lives of her parents, her uncle and their circle of intellectuals and dreamers from Central Europe on the eve of World War II to present-day America. Speaker Biography: Professor Heller is the director of the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in educational studies at Lesley University, where she also teaches in the graduate school of education. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7439

June 2, 2016. Paul Crego spoke about his research on the Orthodox Church in Georgia, including the writings and speeches of Zviad Gamsaxurdia, who was concerned with the spiritual health of the nation and with the state of the Georgian Orthodox Church. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7438