Rachel Solomon

Coming up on Speakers Forum, January 24 at 8:00 p.m.

Finland’s public education system consistently ranks among the top in the world in terms of achievement and efficiency. Professor Pasi Sahlberg’s presentation talks about what the United States can learn from Finland, where education policies focus more on professional development rather than standardized tests, and pedagogy above technology. Sahlberg spoke at the University of Washington’s Kane Hall on November 14, 2012.

"Psychopath" is a weighted, sometimes terrifying word. But psychologist Kevin Dutton makes the argument that not all psychopaths are violent. In fact, some of their qualities -- fearlessness, confidence, charisma -- set them up for success in today's society. Dutton spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on Oct. 30, 2012.

How can we thrive in an uncertain world? Nassim Nicholas Taleb identifies a category of things that not only depend on disorder -- they thrive on it. For example: human bones get stronger when subjected to stress, and riots intensify when someone tries to suppress them.

The first same-sex weddings took place in early December in Washington state. Marriage equality has come a long way in Gene Robinson’s lifetime. He was the first only gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom — and he wore a bulletproof vest to his 2003 consecration.

Today, he’s one of the world’s leading spokespeople for gay rights and gay marriage, and he has been married to a man for the last four years. Robinson spoke at Seattle’s Town Hall on December 7, 2012.

America's deadline poet Calvin Trillin presents this talk about the 2012 presidential election -- in verse. With wry humor, Trillin discusses politics, campaigns and poetry, including the frustrating difficulty of trying to rhyme words with presidential candidate names. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on December 10, 2012.

Clay Jenkinson assumes both sides in a debate between two of the country's greatest presidents: Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. Jenkinson is a historian who commonly lectures as different historical figures. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on December 1, 2012.

Jon Meacham's new biography of Thomas Jefferson paints the founding father as the most successful political leader of early America, and possibly all of US history. "Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power" discusses Jefferson's passion for his nation in the country's fledgling years and reviews the man's genius and his faults.

Meacham spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on November 28, 2012.

Medical mistakes are now the third highest cause of death in the United States, writes Dr. Marty Makary. As a surgeon, Makary has witnessed the power of medicine firsthand. But he's also been shocked by the errors that can have tragic circumstances: wrong limbs amputated, children getting the wrong doses of medicine because of bad handwriting, surgical sponges left inside patients.

Makary advocates for a culture that holds hospitals and doctors accountable for these mistakes in order to bring about positive change in this system. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on November 15, 2012.