In 2020, The Hastings Center produced two Hastings Conversations series, Reopening the Nation, in response to the Covid-19 epidemic, and Securing Health in a Troubled Time, in response to racial injustice in our health care system. We have continued these into 2021. Below are all the events presented to date, with links to recordings.

Securing Health in a Troubled Time

This series examines the social causes of health inequities and identifies policies and practices to achieve healthier lives for all of us. 

“Breakthrough or Breakdown: Should the FDA Have Approved the New Alzheimer’s Drug? Should Patients Take It?” with former FDA advisor Aaron S. Kesselheim and Jason Karlawish, co-director of Penn’s Memory Center.

“Vaccine Mandates and Passports: Are They Legal and Ethical?” with Georgetown University’s University Professor Lawrence O. Gostin, Cato Institute’s Walter Olson, Dean and Professor Amy L. Fairchild, and IBM’s Francesca Rossi. 

“Vaccine Access, Vaccine Hesitancy: Challenges to Herd Immunity“ with pediatrician and public health advocate Rhea Boyd, and Associate Professor of Philosophy Maya Goldenberg. 

 “Public Trust in Science” with Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“New Ethical Questions and 21st Century Genomics“ with Alondra Nelson, President of the Social Science Research Council and Harold F. Linder Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, and Deputy Director for Science and Society for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

“Health Equity, Racism, and This Moment in Time” with Richard Besser, President, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Herminia Palacio, President, The Guttmacher Institute.

This series made possible by the generous support of the Gil Omenn & Martha Darling Initiative for Trusted and Trustworthy Scientific Innovation and the Donaghue Foundation Impact Fund.

Reopening the Nation

This series tackles the ethical issues in re-opening the nation from the Covid-19 crisis.

What Values Should Guide Us? with Zeke Emanuel, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, and Danielle Allen, Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics.

 Privacy, Surveillance, and Digital Tools for Contact Tracing with Ed Felten, Robert E. Kahn Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs at Princeton University and former Deputy United States Chief Technology Officer, and Ryan Calo, Co-Director, Tech Policy Lab, Lane Powell and D. Wayne Gittinger Associate Professor, School of Law at the University of Washington.

Should We Turn to Immunity Testing? featured Françoise Baylis, University Research Professor, Dalhousie University; Dakota Gruener, Executive Director, ID2020 Alliance; and Gigi Gronvall, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.