All upcoming Daytime programs

Expectations have always been high when it comes to the British line of succession, says historian Siobhan Clarke, and the birth of a royal baby could shape an empire. She explores the historical significance of these important infants from the 15th century to today, examining how the fertility, pregnancies, and childbirths of queens have shaped politics—and why the nation’s history has often hung on a tiny heartbeat.

Archaeologist Mike Pitts, author of Island at the Edge of the World, challenges the myth of ecological collapse on Easter Island (Rapa Nui). Drawing on early records and recent archaeology, he reveals the Islanders’ resilience and reinterprets the iconic statues, surveying a unified culture shaped by powerful beliefs, rituals, and creativity. He refutes the long-held narrative of self-destruction and offers a deeper understanding of the island’s spiritual and cultural legacy that is rooted in Polynesian mythology and Pacific traditions.

For 600 years, the city-state of Carthage dominated the western Mediterranean, growing into the region’s largest and wealthiest empire. After Carthage ultimately fell to Rome and was destroyed in 146 B.C.E., its story was largely erased—leaving its conquerors to write the history books. Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries and groundbreaking research, ancient historian Eve MacDonald restores Carthage’s story, revealing a cosmopolitan city of wealth and brave warriors as well as amazing beauty and technological sophistication.

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Inspired by paintings of the visionary Belorussian-born French artist Marc Chagall and by poetry across time, participants slow down, look closely, and reflect to explore love as an animating force in their lives.

Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Amedeo Modigliani and Chaim Soutine.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, one of the most important and multifaceted Baroque painters, revolutionized European painting with his stark naturalism and dramatic use of light and shadow. Notorious for his violent temper, culminating in exile after a fatal brawl, he was both criticized and admired. Art historian Joseph Paul Cassar examines Caravaggio’s life and the stylistic innovations and thematic complexity that made his paintings celebrated and controversial. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Few books are so often quoted as Democracy in America, French writer Alexis de Tocqueville’s seminal assessment of both the American experiment and the implications of burgeoning conditions of social equality for the future of democracy. Georgetown University professor Joseph Hartman examines Tocqueville’s impressions of 19th-century America and considers what he means for us today.

Ancient Greek echoes through our culture in unexpected ways—sometimes with humor, sometimes with beauty. The word for actor, “hupokrites”, gave us “hypocrite,” while “astronaut” translates poetically to “sailor of the skies.” With humor and fascinating etymology, classical scholar John Davie of Trinity College, Oxford, leads an insightful and entertaining journey through the world of the ancient Greeks, their extraordinary language, and how it still shapes modern minds.

Drawing on one of the greatest Post-Impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a five-part series of online tours that examine the paintings of artists who helped shape a revolutionary period in the history of art. High-definition Deep Zoom technology provides close-up views of their canvases. This session highlights Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Georges Seurat.

The Declaration of Independence paints King George III as a notorious villain and justifies the Revolution as necessary to sever ties with him. In reality, says historian Patrick Allitt, he was a sober, conscientious man, serious about his limited role in Britain’s constitutional monarchy—and eager to prevent the colonial rebellion, then to defeat it when it began. Allitt revisits the story of why he failed.