Summer Spotlights (Series 2): "Inside the Issues"

A three-week series on single presentations probing some critical questions in American life and culture. First we'll examine the current political controversy over identity politics. Why have "wokeness" and "cancel culture" become angry rallying cries for the right wing? Is this issue a poison pill for Democrats or a golden opportunity? Next, we'll turn to a related issue — the rise of focused "Anti-Racism." Along with its two destructive opposites, segregationism and assimilationism, it's the focus of the furor over the teaching of  "Critical Race Theory" in our schools. Finally, we will ask a familiar question that has suddenly grabbed our attention again: "are we alone in the universe?" We'll see why that's so very unlikely, but also examine why a "close encounter" is so very improbable.