- Joan Sullivan
- Founder, Bronx Academy of Letters
- Posted: 06/05/10 | Recorded at Gel 2009
Joan Sullivan founded the Bronx Academy of Letters - a public, not charter, school - in the poorest congressional district in America. A few years later it was ranked as one of the top high schools in New York City. Joan tells her story and invites two alumni on-stage as well.
A few months after Gel 2009, Joan was appointed Deputy Mayor of Education in Los Angeles (source).
See also:
• Followup interview with Joan Sullivan, shortly after Gel 2009, asking the question, "How did you do it?"
- Joan Sullivan (followup)
- Founder, Bronx Academy of Letters
- Posted: 06/05/10 | Recorded at Gel 2009
After Joan Sullivan and two alumni spoke at Gel 2009 about the success of Bronx Academy of Letters, many Gel attendees asked the same question: how did she do it? In a followup interview a few weeks after the conference, Gel founder Mark Hurst went to the principal's office to find out.
See also: Joan Sullivan's Gel 2009 talk
- Risa Morimoto
- Producer and director of the documentary "Wings of Defeat"
- Posted: 03/15/10 | Recorded at Gel 2009
The documentary film "Wings of Defeat," produced and directed by Risa Morimoto, shatters many myths of Japanese kamikaze pilots by drawing on personal recollections of survivors from both sides of the conflict. Risa also shows how the story took a new turn when American and Japanese veterans met in person.
- Barry Schwartz
- Professor, Swarthmore College and author, "The Paradox of Choice"
- Posted: 03/15/10 | Recorded at Gel 2009
A fiasco like the Wall Street meltdown could have been mitigated or avoided if more people had acted on principles of practical wisdom, Barry Schwartz argues. Here he gives diagnosis and prescription for a society that has, in part, lost touch with wisdom.
See also: The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, by Barry Schwartz
- Jamy Ian Swiss
- Sleight-of-hand magician
- Posted: 02/05/10 | Recorded at Gel 2009
There is one key ingredient in all good magic tricks, and Jamy Ian Swiss reveals it before taking the audience through a magic trick as shown from the magician's perspective. This is one of the most thought-provoking and talked-about presentations from Gel 2009 and should be required viewing for anyone in the business of creating good experiences. (Hint: the key ingredient is also the essence of good listening.)
See also:
• Pomegranates and empathy (and another reference in Deception considered helpful)
- Fred Kent
- Founder and President, Project for Public Spaces
- Posted: 02/03/10 | Recorded at Gel 2009
Rem Koolhaas and Frank Gehry take some licks from Fred Kent in this Gel talk, as he describes what "placemaking" means in creating a better urban experience. Good architecture, Kent says, serves the needs of the community.
See also: Project for Public Spaces
- Bruce Molsky
- Musician
- Posted: 12/28/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 1 comment
Well-known for performing traditional Appalachian music, Bruce Molsky also blends folk music styles from across the world.
- Scott Heiferman
- Co-founder, Meetup.com
- Posted: 12/28/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
The "silver lining of economic collapse" is visibly apparent when considering the thousands of communities enabled by Meetup.com, the company that Scott Heiferman co-founded and organizes.
- Gel 2009 montage
- Featuring speakers and attendees
- Posted: 12/07/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
Here's a brief look at some moments from the Gel 2009 conference. The next Gel event is Gel 2010 - hope you'll sign up!
See also: Videos of Gel 2009 speakers
- Steven Heller
- Author, "Iron Fists"
- Posted: 11/05/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 2 comments
Building a strong visual brand is not always good for the world. Exploring the themes in his book Iron Fists, graphic design legend Steven Heller shows how totalitarian regimes of the 20th century consolidated their power through strong visual imagery.
- Zina Saunders
- Artist
- Posted: 11/05/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 2 comments
Great art can come out of frustration, as Zina Saunders shows. Her portraits of overlooked New Yorkers, and American political figures, reflect Zina's passionate view of the world.
See also:
• Zina's recent work on Drawger
• Overlooked New York: Impassioned New Yorkers from an Artist's Perspective
- Marion Nestle
- NYU professor and author of "Food Politics"
- Posted: 08/18/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 3 comments
What you should eat, and what companies want you to eat, are not necessarily the same thing. Food expert Marion Nestle explains how we got to this point, and what you can do to choose the healthiest food.
See also:
• Marion's quote in The Atlantic
• List of cute organic brands quietly owned by much larger companies
• Nestle's books - Food Politics and What to Eat
• Video of Marion Nestle on the Colbert Report (Aug. 19, 2009)
- Noah Scalin
- Creator, Skull-A-Day
- Posted: 08/12/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 4 comments
To design a different skull every day for a year, it turns out, you need a little help from your friends - and some strangers, too. Noah Scalin talks about one of the boldest creative challenges you'll ever hear about.
- Bill Gurstelle
- Senior Producer, Make:television; author, "Backyard Ballistics"
- Posted: 08/12/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 1 comment
Taking risks is vital to your health, argues Bill Gurstelle. Not a constant stream of life-threatening activities, but just enough to keep you from eating your own brain. (You'll learn what that means when you watch the video.)
- Robin Nagle
- Anthropologist of New York City's sanitation workers
- Posted: 08/04/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 1 comment
Listening to New York City sanitation workers - and working side-by-side with them - NYU professor Robin Nagle uncovered a wealth of knowledge about the job and the people who keep the city clean.
Nagle also talks about our relationship with trash - and why we might want to respect, maybe even love, what we leave behind. This is an anthropological study well worth learning from.
See also:
• Video featuring Robin Nagle on Fresh Kills landfill
• Chris Jordan at Gel 2007, visualizing the amount of trash generated by modern society
- Barry Scheck and Jerry Miller
- The Innocence Project
- Posted: 08/04/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
- 2 comments
Thousands of innocent Americans are in prison for crimes they didn't commit. The Innocence Project, through the use of DNA evidence and legal reform, helps prove these people innocent - so that justice is served, and so the actual perpetrators can be found and imprisoned.
The Innocence Project's cofounder, Barry Scheck, shares the stage here with Jerry Miller, the 200th exoneree of the organization. Miller served 24 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
- Graham Hill
- Founder, Treehugger
- Posted: 07/23/09 | Recorded at Gel 2009
Three easy steps to reduce your carbon footprint: Graham Hill delivers a simple, straightforward, and, yes, achievable path to cutting our impact in half. He also reveals the number of showers equivalent to a pound of beef.
