The Public Theater's Public Forum is an exciting new series of lectures, debates and conversations that showcase leading voices in the arts, politics and the media.
The Public Forum will explore issues that are raised by plays in The Public’s season, as well as the political and cultural headlines of the day. In keeping with the best traditions of The Public, the Forum will host a wide diversity of views and bring the theater into contact with the society around it.
Afghanistan After America, America After Afghanistan
hosted by Alec Baldwin
As President Obama reviews U.S. policy towards Afghanistan, soldiers, scholars, journalists, and aid workers will consider what the future holds for both countries: how to rebuild Afghanistan, the way America should deal with the Islamic world, and when, why, and how our military goes to war. The evening will be hosted by Alec Baldwin.
In this special 90-minute event, David Rohde, the two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning New York Times reporter who was held captive by the Taliban, will talk about his experiences in Afghanistan and the challenges that both countries face. Then Eliza Griswold, the reporter and author of the new book The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam, will lead a discussion on how to develop Afghan society with Manizha Naderi, the executive director of Women for Afghan Women, the organization that sheltered Aisha, the young Afghan woman who appeared on a recent cover of Time magazine; George Rupp, the president of the International Rescue Committee; and Dana Burde, a New York University professor and specialist in Afghan education.
The evening will conclude with three young veterans of the war trading views about the future of the U.S. military: Matthew Hoh, a Marine Corps captain who resigned his State Department post to protest our Afghanistan policy; Todd Bowers, the Deputy Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; and Matt Pottinger, a journalist turned U.S. Marine who is now a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The discussion will be moderated by Jeremy McCarter, Newsweek senior writer and director of The Public Forum.
Presented in conjunction with The Public Theater's presentation of The Great Game: Afghanistan.
