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Action Speaks,
a 16 years old live panel discussion and radio show heard in over 300 markets in the last two years, looks at contemporary issues through the lens of history by using under-appreciated dates of the twentieth century that have changed America.
Join host/Creative Director Marc Levitt and guest panelists for some old-fashioned community exchange in the heart of downtown Providence’s arts and cultural district and listen to our shows on one of our many stations or here on our archive.
Conflict and Amusement in America;
Fall 2011 Action Speaks Schedule
October 5: President Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex Speech
October 12: The Birth of Pong and Video Games
October 19: The American Family; Our First Reality TV Show
October 26: President Reagan Fires Air Traffic Controllers
Conflict and Amusement in America;
Fall 2011 Action Speaks Schedule
October 5: President Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex Speech
October 12: The Birth of Pong and Video Games
October 19: The American Family; Our First Reality TV Show
October 26: President Reagan Fires Air Traffic Controllers
May 9, 2012 5:02 PM
The first four of our eight-week fall 2012 season have been selected. They are: Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, Diamond v. Chakrabarty; Should We Patent Life? FDR's Second Bill of Rights Speech and the Body Scanner and Surveillance in America.
October 22, 2011 12:39 AM
click here for mp3 file Live recording held at the café at AS220 at 5:30 p.m on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Click here to see the images from the live recording in AS220 1981 President Reagan Fires Air Traffic...
October 14, 2011 11:49 AM
click here for mp3 file Live recording held at the café at AS220 at 5:30 p.m on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Click here to see the images from the live recording in AS220 1971 An American Family; Our First...
October 3, 2011 2:02 AM
click here for mp3 file Pong introduced America to video games and now there seems to be no turning back. Is This Why We Don't Leave Our Houses Anymore? As more and more people around the world use video...
May 14, 2012 9:48 AM
Natalie Jablonski has agreed to become our new producer, taking over from Kaitlynne Ward who did a wonderful job last season and will thankfully still be involved with Action Speaks as an advisor. Here's a little intro to Natalie: Natalie...
May 14, 2012 9:22 AM
From Action Speaks alumna Deidre Consolati, one of our panelists from our 2005 show on Dasani bottled water: I have continued my work in Lee throughout the years and my two co-activists have created a website called Wise Choices for...
May 9, 2012 4:10 PM
We were very pleased to be awarded an NEH Development grant from its Media Makers category.
November 21, 2011 11:46 AM
If you attended our October 12 panel on the birth of Pong and video games, you may remember our panelists recommending some games. Here are more suggestions from Mary Flanagan and Randall Nichols...
Natalie Jablonski has agreed to become our new producer, taking over from Kaitlynne Ward who did a wonderful job last season and will thankfully still be involved with Action Speaks as an advisor. Here's a little intro to Natalie: Natalie...
From Action Speaks alumna Deidre Consolati, one of our panelists from our 2005 show on Dasani bottled water: I have continued my work in Lee throughout the years and my two co-activists have created a website called Wise Choices for...
The first four of our eight-week fall 2012 season have been selected. They are: Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, Diamond v. Chakrabarty; Should We Patent Life? FDR's Second Bill of Rights Speech and the Body Scanner and Surveillance in America.
We were very pleased to be awarded an NEH Development grant from its Media Makers category.
If you attended our October 12 panel on the birth of Pong and video games, you may remember our panelists recommending some games. Here are more suggestions from Mary Flanagan and Randall Nichols...
click here for mp3 file Live recording held at the café at AS220 at 5:30 p.m on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Click here to see the images from the live recording in AS220 1981 President Reagan Fires Air Traffic...
click here for mp3 file Live recording held at the café at AS220 at 5:30 p.m on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. Click here to see the images from the live recording in AS220 1971 An American Family; Our First...
click here for mp3 file Pong introduced America to video games and now there seems to be no turning back. Is This Why We Don't Leave Our Houses Anymore? As more and more people around the world use video...
Marc Joel Levitt continues to QB Action Speaks 10/02/2011 01:00 AM EDT By Rick Massimo For the 16th year, the Action Speaks discussion series, which begins on Wednesday and runs weekly through October at AS220, will bring expert commentary and...
click here for mp3 file Action Speaks looks at contemporary issues through the lens of history by using underappreciated dates of twentieth-century that have changed America. Join host Marc Levitt and guest panelists for some old-fashioned community exchange in...
Our media partner, Rhode Island Public TV (Channel 36) is again showing films on Sunday night at 9 in October to stimulate your interest in our live AS220 forum. Here is the list of films. Live forum on October...
October 5: 1961 President Eisenhower's Military Industrial Complex Speech. Did a Fox Guarding the Hen House Get it Right and If So, How? President Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War 2 warned us,...
I am thrilled to announce the launch of my new blog/website, www.Bollier.org. It will be the primary showcase for my latest discoveries, adventures and reflections about the commons as I step off in some new directions. I invite you to...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 27th, 2010 click here for mp3 file 1987 The Roaming Mobro "Gar-barge"; Garbage, Garbage Everywhere and No Direction Home! In 1987, due to a shortage of landfill space, a barge filled with over...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 20th, 2010 click here for mp3 file 1973 The First US Mobile Phone Call; Always within reach! Start any conversation with, "What do you think about the cell phone?" and you'll get everything...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 13th, 2010 click here for mp3 file Eat Locally, Think Globally! Chez Panisse and the fresh, local and slooow Food Revolution! Farmer's Market's, community gardens, localvores, and California cuisine are in many ways...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 6th, 2010 click here for mp3 file 1926 Father Coughlin 'On the Air' and the rise of right wing radio With the popularity of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hanitty and now Glenn Beck, we...
John Dower, a former panelist speaking about the American occupation of Japan has just written a new book. It's called 'Culture's of War', published by W.W. Norton and according to reviews looks at the nature of modern warfare and how...
October 6: 1926 Father Coughlin 'On the Air' and the rise of right wing radio With the popularity of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hanitty and now Glenn Beck, we felt it was time to look at the 'original' nationally known...
Still digesting last night's incredible Action Speaks with Lawrence Lessig, Shepard Fairey, Bert Crenca and Brandon Edens. I'd like to say that the standing room crowd that spilled out onto the street to watch the proceedings on TV, set up...
Check out the images from Friday, August 13th 2010: Artist Shepard Fairey, Political Activist & Author Lawrence Lessig, Computer Scientist & Engineer Brandon Edens and AS220 Artistic Director Umberto Crenca in a discussion of the 1998 The Sonny Bono...
Recorded at WGBH on June 30th 2010 Marc Levitt interviews Chez Panisse's founder and chef, Alice Waters on June 30th, 2010. In the interview, Ms. Waters discusses how and why she started this award wining, Berkeley, California restaurant, her...
click here for mp3 file Friday, August 13th 2010 1998 The Sonny Bono Act (Copyright Term Extension Act): Protecting Mickey Mouse or Helping the 'Beat Go On' in the Realm of Innovation? Join Artist Shepard Fairey, Political Activist &...
Bert Crenca and I traveled up to WGBH on June 30th to use their studios to interview Alice Waters, the founder of Chez Panisse for the web site. I had heard how charismatic she was supposed to be, but my...
Action Speaks is pleased to announce that Dr. Michael Siegel will be our new Producer taking over from the wonderful stewardship of Cheryl Kaminsky. Those of you who worked with Cheryl can attest to her competence, diligence and dedication. She...
Previous Panelist and the Artistic Director of AS 220, Umberto Crenca received a Pell Award from Providence's Trinity Repertory Theater. On the choice for this year's local award recipient, Curt Columbus, Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory states, "Rhode Island Pell...
This fall's Action Speaks series, "What's Eating Us?" will feature the following panels: October 6: 1926 Father Coughlin 'On the Air' and the rise of right wing radio October 13: 1971 Alice Waters Opens Chez Panisse; Local Food and the...
We live in anxious times. Perhaps that's why we decided to name this fall's Action Speaks 'What's Eating Us'? Our topics for this fall are the following: October 6: 1926 Father Coughlin 'On the Air' and the rise of right...
The Fall 2009 Action Speaks Panels on Flickr: ....
Dennis Brutus was a guest of our series in its tenth anniversary year, 2005. He contributed his profound depth of insight and experience to the fourth Action Speaks panel of the season with the leaping off point: Seattle's anti-globalization march...
From London.... I've been spending some time with my wife's family in the 14th C. walled small city of Trnava in Slovakia, thirty miles outside of Bratislava. Coincidentally, it is the 20th anniversary of the 'Velvet Revolution', when forty years...
Another year of Action Speaks is over, but our topics live on. Health care reform is still beating, bless its heart, even as the House seemed to throw 'the women' overboard in the rough seas of negotiation. Suburban commuting seems...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 28th 2009 1951 - The Rise of Levittown Can the suburbs be fixed? What does sustainability look like in a land of three car garages, shopping malls, single use zoning and houses on...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 21st 2009 at AS220 1972 - Nixon visits People's Republic of China What began as a Ping Pong match is now a game of 'Chicken'...the US and China; partners or enablers? The relationship...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 14th 2009 at AS220 1932 -The Highlander Center opens its doors First door-to-door, now e-mail-to-email, will community organizing have the same power in a virtual community? How will we organize for change in...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 7th 2009 1993 - The creation of Hillary Clinton's Taskforce on Healthcare Is the patient stable, improving, or failing? What are the chances of survival for a nation divided on health reform? As...
Please become a fan of the new Facebook page for Action Speaks -- another great way to stay updated!...
I'm having trouble deciding how to 'look' at the Highlander Center. This community-based adult education center in the Appalachians was also influential in the Civil Rights movement of the 40's 50's and 60's. I know that I want to connect...
I'm at a stage in my preparations for Action Speaks that I return to every year; too many ideas about where to take each discussion. Each topic stares at me like a Maurice Sendak monster, daring me to pull it...
Our Advisory Board meeting to finalize our fall '09 topics the other night was like a spicy Thai dinner, it burns your tongue, but you want it to continue. We develop our season mostly through consensus. I come up with...
Recorded live at AS220 on May 20th 2009 1961 - JFK Calls for the Moon! President Kennedy called for a Moon Landing. President Obama wants a 'Green' Nation. Are solar panels and wind turbines as exciting as 'One Giant...
Recorded live at AS220 on May 13th 2009 1937 - The Flint, Michigan United Auto Workers Sit-In Banks, Auto and Insurance Companies bailed out, lay-offs abound and yet...Where's the anger of the past? The Auto Industry, unions and the...
Recorded live at AS220 on May 6th 2009 1949 - Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' First Produced What does it mean to 'fail' in America? Have we failed or has the 'American Dream' proven to be hollow? Is...
Recorded live at AS220 on April 29th 2009 1933 - The Creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps Did building dams, planting trees and taking the boys from the city help end a depression or were we then, as now,...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 29th 2008 2000 - U.S. Census allows individuals to identify themselves as mixed-race Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, and their American stories -- how checking multiple boxes on a survey helped redefine race in...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 15th 2008 1920 - Prolific African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux releases Within Our Gates Oscar Micheaux is considered the most prolific Black filmmaker in the history of American cinema, a title he earned by...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 22nd 2008 1957 - Dissent magazine publishes Norman Mailer's "The White Negro: Superficial Reflections on the Hipster" What's Black? What's White? What's Italian? What's Jewish? Are race and ethnicity a dance anyone can...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 1st 2008 1910 - Racist biologist Charles Davenport creates the Eugenic Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory An American prelude to Hitler or to the Human Genome Project...perhaps both? Eugenics was a...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 31st 2007 1979 - Farmer's Tractorcade into Washington D.C. In 1979, the American Agricultural Movement led 6,000 farmers and their tractors into Washington, D.C. to lobby for changes in US farm policies. What...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 24th 2007 1917 - Marcel Duchamp Submits Fountain When the Dada artist, Marcel Duchamp, submitted a signed urinal to the Society of Independent Artists, entitled Fountain, in 1917, the work was accepted after...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 17th 2007 1987 - Prozac Introduced to the Market by Eli Lilly The United States Food and Drug Association approved the prescription anti-depressant medication, Prozac, in 1987, changing the way Americans view the...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 10th 2007 1964 - Cassius Clay changes his name to Muhammad Ali After winning the heavyweight championship in 1964, Cassius Clay publicly changed his name to Muhammad Ali and revealed that he was...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 25th 2006 1968 - Whole Earth Catalog Stewart Brand's watershed publication, the Sears catalog of alternative culture, promised to feed the material needs and the soul of off-the-grid America. It also foreshadowed both...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 18th 2006 1979 - Three Mile Island When Pennsylvania's nuclear power plant melted down, who could have predicted that 27 years later the founder of Greenpeace would herald nuclear energy as our best...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 11th 2006 1933 - Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy President Franklin D. Roosevelt's anti-interventionist shift in Central and South America aimed to ease authoritarian relations with a promise to substitute mutual respect and economic...
Recorded live at AS220 on October 4th 2006 1918 - The Flu Epidemic Twenty-five million people died of the Spanish flu, but few recall the details of the pandemic today. With the advent of avian flu come new fears...
click here for mp3 file Recorded live at AS220 on October 26th 2005 1999: The Seattle Anti-Globalization March At the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, an estimated 100,000 protesters showed up with a force the likes of...
click here for mp3 file Recorded live at AS220 on October 19th 2005 1976: The Fair Use Doctrine Incorporated into Copyright Law "[T]he fair use of a copyrighted work...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching...scholarship, or research,...
click here for mp3 file Recorded live at AS220 on October 11th 2005 1934: Diego Rivera's Rockefeller Center Mural Destroyed Invited by Abby and Nelson Rockefeller to paint a mural in the entrance to Rockefeller Center, Diego Rivera chose...
click here for mp3 file Recorded live at AS220 on October 5th 2005 1999: Coca-Cola Introduces Dasani Bottled Water Bottled water is a $46 billion global industry. While it may be more portable than good-old tap, there's no proof...
click here for mp3 file Live recording held at the café at AS220 at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 1970 Tobacco Ads Banned from TV: Why did the tobacco companies extinguish their own TV ads? On April...
Debates over God and country are a pivotal part of our national discourse and have been since long before the founding of the United States. Are we a Christian nation? Should there be a "wall of separation" between Church and state?