What a great time I had with my last lecture series Pilgrims and Puritans: A Theocracy in Colonial New England. And it seems the participants really liked the experience. As one of them emailed me:
Thank you for another WONDER-FULL presentation. Of course, YOU would go above and beyond what the title implied. Pilgrims and Puritans ain't all turkey when Dincher is the one talkin'!
I am doing something a little different in early 2026. I'll be delivering two single-session presentations through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Cal State East Bay.
Beyond Economics: Healthcare Justice
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Medicine’s classical duty to “do no harm” has collided with a modern, market-driven healthcare system. In today’s America, health care is no longer a simple exchange between doctor and patient. It’s a sprawling, high-stakes system involving providers, hospitals, clinics, labs, pharmaceuticals, cutting-edge technologies—and the ever-present insurance industry. The cost of accessing this system was the central flashpoint in the 43-day U.S. government shutdown of 2025. But beyond economics lies a deeper concern: justice. When access to life-saving care depends on a person’s ability to pay, the problem becomes not only economic but ethical—a question of justice about who counts, who pays, and how a just society cares for the sick. Beyond Economics: Healthcare Justice explores how values in medicine have evolved from Hippocrates’ timeless call to “do no harm” to today’s urgent debate over fairness and equity—and the intersections with theories of justice.
Erasing History—or Caring for our
National Soul?
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Confederate statues topple from their pedestals. Military bases shed names that once honored rebellion. Government websites are scrubbed clean, museum exhibits closed, and school curricula rewritten. Across the political divide, accusations fly—each side charging the other with “erasing history.” Yet beneath the noise lies a deeper question: when does such action distort the past, and when does it nurture the spirit of our nation? Erasing History—or Caring for the National Soul offers one perspective on the difference.
