Ellen Goodman

Ellen Goodman: Program Outlines

Her lecture topics include:

A Civil Tongue
Welcome to the era of polarized politics, food fight cable shows and ballistic blogging. Longtime journalist, Ellen traces how civility was shattered, who is winning and who is losing in the media mud wrestling. She shows how incivility is tearing us apart and how to call a truce.

Supermom to Mama Grizzly
Where Are Women Headed? A generation after the women’s movement shattered the world of Mad Men, women have kicked the doors open but left the glass ceiling in place. We still have conflicts between work and family, but Sarah Palin claims to be a feminist. What's next for the next wave?

Friendship in the Era of Facebook
Ellen and Patricia O'Brien, are authors of the New York Times best-seller, I Know Just What you Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives. They lead a lively discussion of what friendship means in the era when we count Facebook friends by the dozens. How do we sustain each other, how do we sustain friendship in a busy life? As a duet, they show as well as describe this connection.

The Personal is (Too) Political
Ellen takes us from a time when the press shielded the private lives of an FDR and a JFK to the time when private life has become public with a vengeance. What do we make of cable TV knockouts and scandals of the day? Ellen argues for a truly ‘new’ media.

The Third Act
The boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day. We are in the midst of a longevity revolution. How will these new seniors find meaning in their Third Act? Will the senior boomers be the problem or the problem solvers? How does this generation rewrite the script on senior citizenship for themselves and the country?

Sex & Sanity?
Ellen speaks with wit and wisdom about the sexual revolution and counter revolution, sex education and miseducation. How do we make sense of sex and fight the media messages that damage our children? How do we keep from slipping back to a time when abortion was illegal? Ellen engages a new generation in an ongoing struggle.