Archived Coffee Hours
06/09/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, June 4, 2026
On June 4th, classmate and polymath Fred Starr discussed his memoir, Blue Skies: My Life in Many Worlds, and indeed, many have his worlds been! This far-ranging conversation, moderated by Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman, provides fascinating insights to a life bridging many places, pursuits and projects. Please enjoy this amazing talk!
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05/11/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, May 7, 2026
On May 7th, Alan Boles ’29 Professor of History Joanne Freeman led us on a far-reaching and thoroughly enjoyable romp through the trying times of the founding of our Republic. Her topic: “The American Founding: Past and Present.” Please enjoy this terrific talk.
In addition, Joanne made some great recommendations to us. One was an invitation to read the Founders’ words for free at the Founders Online database at the National Archives. Here’s the link: Founders Online.
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04/09/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, April 7, 2026
On April 7th, Sterling Professor of History David Blight joined us to discuss how our history informs our current life in the US. His topic: “The Declaration of Independence and America Teetering on a Brink.” Please enjoy this timely discussion.
Comments? Please add them here.
03/09/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, March 5, 2026
On March 5th, Sandy Mack (YC ’64, PhD ’69), son of Yale’s legendary professor Maynard Mack and a superb professor and scholar in his own right, spoke to us on the topic “Words or Swords: Shakespeare’s Languages of Insight, Blindness, and Rapture.” Please enjoy our recording of this sumptuous deep dive into the Bard’s use of language.
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02/09/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, February 5, 2026
On February 5th, we spoke with Dr. Doris Iarovici about the ongoing challenge of student mental health in the collegiate setting. Please enjoy the recording of this highly important topic.
Comments? Please add them here.
01/19/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, January 14, 2026
On January 14th, we continued our discussion of domestic and world politics, aided by five classmates: veteran newsman Al Chambers, Venezuelan-born Rody Salas, Washington beltway insider Kent Hughes, former politician and police commissioner Charlie Valier, and moderator Lee Bolman. Please enjoy this fascinating recording.
Comments? Please add them here.
12/08/25
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, December 4, 2025: Life Worth Living
On the first Thursday of December, we welcomed Matt Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, who are the co-authors, along with Miroslav Volf, of the New York Times bestselling book, Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most. This project all started with a Yale class, which has grown to several enormously popular Yale classes. Please enjoy this wonderful session.
In addition, members of our audience expressed interest in seeing the syllabus for one of the Life Worth Living classes. A representative syllabus may be found here.
Comments? Please add them here.
11/21/25
Our Voices Matter: Reflections on Politics, Power and Polarization
On Tuesday, November 18, we convened a special Coffee Hour to talk about what’s happening politically in the country and in the world. Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman was joined by Al Chambers, Kent Hughes and Ken Merkey to start the discussion, and the audience classmates offered a wide variety of perspectives to keep the conversation rolling. We intend to continue our discussion at the second “Our Voices Matter” special Coffee Hour after the holidays, in January. Please enjoy this recording.
Comments? Please add them here.
11/10/25
Yale ’62 November ’25 Coffee Hour with Dr. Jennifer Frederick
On Thursday, November 6, we welcomed Dr. Jennifer Frederick, Executive Director of the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale. We specifically focused on the use of AI, and how teachers and students are adjusting, benefiting and working with it toward their advantage, as it becomes more ubiquitous in our lives.
Any comments? Please make them here.
10/14/25
Yale ’62 October ’25 Coffee Hour with Finkle & Weeden: “These are the Good Old Days”
“Dare to be Mediocre” and another favorite line was Bill’s “Nothing falls in your lap if you don’t sit down!” What a wonderful peek into the wacky, creative minds of classmates David Finkle and Bill Weeden! We got a heads-up on an upcoming movie starring Bill (“Our Man Funk”) and a bit farther out, time-wise: “Gonzo Geezer Gore Fest!” In addition, “Special Needs Revolt” is now streaming (and here is a link to a YouTube interview about the movie). Any comments? Please make them here.
09/22/25
Yale ’62 Special Event Coffee Hour on Ukraine: Marci Shore & Tetiana Kotelnykova
* Please Note: At the request of the speakers, this talk is behind password protection. If you wish to see this talk, please email our webmaster for the password and the link to the talk. Thank you. On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, we hosted Prof. Marci Shore and Master’s degree candidate and teaching fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale Tetiana “Tanya” Kotelnykova, who spoke to us about what’s happening in Ukraine at present and what resources the Ukrainian youth and population in general can pursue, in their long battle toward a peaceful, free future for themselves and their country.
Links relevant to the presentation:
- The Ukrainian Youth Global Initiative
- Brave Generation
- The ENGin Program – English Speaking Practice & Cultural Exchange for Ukrainians. Flexible Online Volunteering for English Speakers
- The Reckoning Project
- Truth Hounds
- Looking at Women Looking at War
- Tanya’s latest article in The Atlantic
- Tom Friedman on Ukraine (NYT)
Comments? Please make them here.
09/09/25
Yale ’62 Sept ’25 Coffee Hour: Yale’s Planetary Solutions
On Thursday, September 4, 2025, we hosted Prof. Julie Zimmerman and Sara Smiley-Smith, PhD, who spoke to us about Yale’s Planetary Solutions project. Please enjoy this important discussion about how Yale is doing its part for an energy sustainable future.
Links relevant to the presentation:
- Yale Science Strategy (2018)
- Yale Planetary Solutions website
- Climate Haven
- Science Hill Geothermal
- Bekenstein Climate Leaders Internships (undergraduate)
- Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture
- Fossil Fuel Investment Principles
- YPS Steering Committee Report
- Planetary Solutions Prize
- Impact! Awards
- YPS 2025 Grant Awards
- Planetary Solutions Impact Accelerator
- Yale Engineering researchers have been awarded a $9 million Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI) grant from the Office of Naval Research to explore how complex, high-dimensional interventions can control or design coherent physical systems
- School of Environment’s E360
- Climate Week
- Sci x SciFi
- Contribute your YPS Strategic Vision 2050 Ideas here
- Nordhaus on the Social Cost of Carbon (2017)
- Yale Carbon Charge
- Yale Urban
- Course on Mars
- Kramer Soft Robotics Lab
- Blue Carbon
- Mary Louise Timmermans
- Climate Haven & Planetary Solutions event with focus on water tech
- New Haven Environmental History Teaching Tools
- P2 Science
- Climate Haven Water Innovation Hub
- Stockholm Declaration Article
- Yale Center for Green Chemistry & Engineering
- Cornell Deep Geothermal website
Comments? Please make them here.
08/11/25
Yale ’62 August ’25 Coffee Hour: Lab Dog, with Brad Bolman
On Thursday, August 7, 2025, we hosted Brad Bolman, PhD, author of Lab Dog, and son of our Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman. Please enjoy this fascinating talk about the role the American Beagle has played in science and research.
Comments? Please make them here.
07/14/25
Yale ’62 July ’25 Coffee Hour. Somewhere Toward Freedom, with Bennett Parten
On Thursday, July 10, 2025, we hosted Bennett Parten, PhD, author of Somewhere Toward Freedom, a nonfiction account of Sherman’s March to the Sea. Please enjoy this in-depth, enlightening talk.
Comments? Please make them here.
4/09/24
Our April ’24 Coffee Hour: Lifelong Learning
On April 4, we were joined by psychologist Jesse Geller, who spoke about the importance of learning throughout our lives, and also by Lauren Summers from YACOL (Yale Alumni College), who spoke about the program and the many opportunities it affords Yale alumni to never stop learning. Please enjoy the informative recording.
Comments? Please make them here.
3/11/24
Our March ’24 Coffee Hour on Artificial Intelligence
On March 7, Professor Brian Scassellati joined us to let us know what’s happening with AI on campus. Enjoy this wonderful recording!
Comments? Please make them here.
2/05/24
Our February ’24 Coffee Hour: Jimmy Hatch
On February 1, a day before Punxatawney Phil issued his decree for the year, we sat down with an undergraduate who will become an alumnus with the Class of ’24, James “Jimmy” Hatch. We listened as he told us about his life, and how he rose from challenging beginnings to joining the Navy, where he earned the right to become a SEAL, then finally, through a series of remarkable events, landing in New Haven as an Eli Whitney scholar at Yale. Retired SEAL, wounded veteran, author and scholar; his is an amazing story; please enjoy the recording above.
Comments? Please make them here.
1/15/24
Our January ’24 Coffee Hour: Israel and Hamas
On January 11, we welcomed several speakers to help us discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza. Classmate Howard Kaufman spoke to us, and he was followed by members of our late classmate Steve Buck’s family: Steve’s widow, Hala Buck, their daughter Leila Buck, and their son-in-law Adam Abel. Please view this earnest, information-packed recording to see what we learned from our presenters, and please comment here.
Leila also provided us with links to sites with additional information on the topic:
• Breaking the Silence
• Jewish Voice for Peace
• Standing Together
12/11/23
Our December Coffee Hour: Finding Faith in a Perilous World
On December 7, 2023, our Coffee Hour focused on the spiritual aspect of our lives, and featured three classmate speakers with different takes on the topic: Rod Quainton, Bill McGlashan and Paul Wortman. We experienced some minor technical difficulty, so we didn’t show Paul’s slides, but they are available for everyone to see here. Moderated by our well-spoken, always thoughtful Lee Bolman, this Coffee Hour is well worth viewing and worthy of our contemplation. Please enjoy the recording of this meaningful, profound event.
Comments? Please make them here.
11/14/23
Our November Coffee Hour: China
On November 9, we were treated to an insightful Coffee Hour centered on China and its contours of current internal power. Our own inestimable Kent Hughes once again lent his vast knowledge of China to the talk, as did Dan Mattingly, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale, our expert guest who studies authoritarian politics and historical political economy with a focus on China. We were joined in the hour by classmate Sherm Cochran, retired Professor of Chinese History at Cornell, who added his own well-considered comments and questions to our time. Please enjoy the recording of the most remarkable event.
Comments? Please make them here.
10/10/23
Our October Coffee Hour
Additionally, Professor Shore shared with us several resources which can be helpful in understanding the current state of events in Ukraine. Please visit the Coffee Hour comments page for her list, and to leave your comments, as well.
9/11/23
Our Sept. 7, 2023 Coffee Hour: Politics
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8/7/23
Our August 3, 2023 Coffee Hour: Climate Change
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7/11/23
Our July 6, 2023 Coffee Hour: “Singing at Yale”
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6/06/23
Our June Coffee Hour: Yale Admissions, with Jeremiah Quinlan
Dean Quinlan’s slides are here. Comments? Please make them here.
5/09/23
Our May Coffee Hour: Venezuela to Yale and Beyond
On Thursday, May 9, we learned about a remarkable Venezuelan family which sent not one, not two, but four brothers to Yale in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Two brothers, Rodolpho “Rody” Salas and Jacobo “Jack” Salas, were our classmates. In the first half of the Coffee Hour (shown above), Rody and Jack, joined by brothers Henrique “Henry” ’61 and Gustavo ’64, spoke to us about life in their home country, about coming to Yale, and where their lives have taken them since those days.
Related to this Coffee Hour, we offer a link to a recording of Gustavo Salas being interviewed by an international journalist in Stockholm after receiving the Right Livelihood award.
In the second part of the Coffee Hour, Rody and Jack spoke about how life has changed in Venezuela since their boyhoods.
Comments? Please make them here.
4/17/23
Our April Coffee Hour: “The Pursuit of Happiness in Later Life”
On Thursday, April 13, we held a rousing Coffee Hour with guest expert Dr. Leo Cooney, Prof. Emeritus, Yale Medical School and developer and first head of its Geriatric Section, along with classmate speakers who gave reports of choices they’ve made in their current lifestyles. Dr. Cooney also gave us his slides he presented during his talk. Please view them and/or download them, as you prefer.
Comments? Please make them here.
3/08/23
Our March Coffee Hour
On March 2, our Coffee Hour participants convened to talk about what it was like for several of us to have had “multi-vocational experiences” over the course of our working lifetimes. Several classmates started us off on the topic by sharing their own experiences, and then we moved into a full-group discussion of it. We hope you enjoy the recording!
Please be sure to share your own thoughts on the topic here.
2/06/23
Our February 2 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
Let’s keep the discussion going! Add your comments here.
1/09/23
Our New Year ’23 Y62 Coffee Hour!
Our first ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour of 2023 featured a quick review of the midterm elections, to see how we mgith have done on our predictions made in last September, and to discuss where the country may roll on from here. It was an energetic talk filled with agreements and disagreements, but unfailingly cordial ones. Enjoy the recording!
Comments? Please make them here. Please make them here. Thanks.
11/07/22
Our November ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
Our November 3rd Coffee Hour focused on Yale Admissions and how a well-designed class might be selected. Communications Team member Lee Bolman created a powerful presentation that classmates then used as a springboard for their own discussions in small “breakout” rooms (not recorded). Then we all reconvened the one large group at the end to share our discussion outcomes. Lee’s slides are available here.
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10/13/22
“The Legacy of Thornton Wilder” – Our October Coffee Hour
At our regularly scheduled ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour for October, we sat down with classmate Tappy Wilder, who has worked as his late Uncle Thornton’s Literary Executor since 1995. He tells us the story of how all of that transpired, and, joined by Thornton Wilder Estate Program Manager Rosey Strub, he lets us in on what’s happening with the ongoing interest in Thornton’s many timeless works. (Watch the recording to the end to find out the truth about the “real” Grover’s Corners!)
In addition, we have a link to the new mini-documentary out on Thornton (“Thornton Wilder: It’s Time”), shown in part at our Coffee Hour. Here is the complete documentary at this link. Are you looking for more about the Wilder family in Maine? Rosey supplied this link to us. Finally, how would you like to produce your very own Thornton Wilder three-minute play? You can! Tappy has provided us all with a copy of “Flamingo Red” right here! Enjoy, everyone!
Comments? Please make them here.
9/06/22
Our Sept. ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour. “Midterm Elections: Fateful for Democracy?”
On Thursday, September 1, we had a lively discussion about a few of the upcoming midterm political races, starting off with updates by classmate residents of Arizona (Bob Breault), Georgia (Rod Hunter, Roscoe Sandlin) and Pennsylvania (Jack Merrick). Ably moderated by Communications Team member Lee Bolman and brought into sharp focus by our newsman classmate Al Chambers, the 90-minute meeting was enlightening, engaging and fun. Enjoy the recording, and be sure to leave your own comments on the comments page.
8/09/22
Y62: Our August ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour on “Surviving Yale”
On August 4, we held our “First Thursday’ Coffee Hour. Small group chat is not shown in the recording (not possible in the software we use), but everything from the large group is here. Enjoy the recording!
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE COFFEE HOUR
7/12/22
Our Y62 Coffee Hour: July 7, 2022. Taking Apart The News
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6/06/22
Our Y62 Coffee Hour, June 1, 2022
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5/09/22
Our May 5th Coffee Hour
For those of you who would like to see what happened at our May 5th Coffee Hour, the event’s recording is posted above. If you have any comments you’d like to make on it, please make them here. Thanks!
4/11/22
Peace Corps: How We Served, How It Impacted Our Lives
Our April ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour was devoted to the experiences of some of our RPCVs (returned Peace Corps volunteers). It was a fascinating 90 minutes as we heard from 6 classmates who traveled to distant parts of the world, as volunteers in the program. We finished up with a quick update about our 60th reunion, coming right up June 9-12. Please enjoy the recording.
Comments? Please make them here.
3/04/22
Y62 Coffee Hour: Focus on Ukraine
On Thursday, March 3, we met to discuss the current crisis in Ukraine. The recording of our event is above.
Comments? Please make them here.
Please note: during this span of time, we didn’t always record the Coffee Hours, so you will find that not every month is represented in the recordings.
11/09/21
Y62 Coffee Hour: The Environment
Editor’s Note: Part I. We had what many thought was one our stronger Coffee Hour sessions November 4 on Climate Change and the Glasgow COP26. For those of you who attended and stayed with the Zoom, we say thank you. We are truly pleased that we were able to fix the technical glitches and that the first portion, including our moderator and three classmate presentations, as well as our poll, can be seen below in the order that was intended. There now are none of the larger video or audio disruptions encountered during Bill Reilly’s fine pre-recorded interview with Gary Richardson. Running time 49:56.
Comments? Please make them here.
Editor’s Note: Part II. The second recording from the November Coffee Hour runs 38:10 and includes lively opinions and proposals on the Climate Change challenge from classmates and our panel.
Former President Barack Obama gave a carefully crafted and well-delivered speech yesterday in Glasgow, which was praised by many but criticized by others for not demanding more action from the wealthier nations. The meeting winds up on November 12. We expect to post additional material early next week.
Comments? Please make them here.
10/12/21
Y62 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
If you’d like to comment on this excerpt, or read the comments of fellow classmates… CLICK THIS LINK
9/07/21
Y62 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour:
Our Retired MDs Talk About Aging
On Thursday, September 2, half of our Coffee Hour was devoted to three of our classmate retired physicians talking about some of the realities of aging. In order of appearance in this excerpt of the meeting, they are Jim Kelly, neurologist, John Wickenden, orthopedic surgeon, and Bob Lefevre, pioneering hospice and palliative care physician.
Comments on this brief excerpt? Please make them here.
8/10/21
Our ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour: August 5, 2021
On Thursday, August 5th, we held our regular “First Thursday” Coffee Hour. Our topic was a challenging one with many facets to it: “Income Inequality.” We invite you to review the meeting via the video we’ve posted above.
Comments? Please make them here.
7/09/21
Our July Coffee Hour
For our ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour this month, we featured a discussion about treatments for COVID – specifically, vaccines or eschewing vaccines. Moderated by Lee Bolman and Tim Hall, Dr. David Johnson and Earl Staelin spoke from their perspectives. The first 30 minutes are the presentations; the remaining 25 minutes contain the Q&A period.
Comments? Please make them here.
5/10/21
The May Coffee Hour Surprise
At the Y62 Coffee Hour on May 6, the conversation about our experiences with the pandemic triggered a debate about health and the Covid vaccines. Earl Staelin argued for a holistic view of health, emphasizing nutrition and lifestyle, and expressed significant doubts about the short- and long-term effects of the Covid vaccines. David Johnson, who led an earlier Coffee Hour focused on Covid, spoke from his experience as an endocrinologist and argued that the evidence for the safety and efficacy of the vaccines is very strong. Part of their dialogue is in the video above. Several Coffee Hour participants expressed interest in continuing this conversation in a future event.
Do you have comments you’d like to make about the clip we’ve shown above? Please make them here.
3/05/21
COVID: A Y62 Coffee Hour Presentation and Discussion
Classmate Dr. David Johnson provided an expert, fascinating brief on what we know of the novel coronavirus that’s eclipsed our lives for the past year, and patiently answered our many questions with factual, extremely helpful information. Thank you, David! Here’s the full recording:
Comments? You can make them here.
11/06/20
Coffee Hour: Our Post-Election Discussion
Ed. Note: On Thursday, November 5, following our national election, Y62 classmates gathered to discuss their thoughts on the results, yet to be finalized as of this writing. Classmate Kent Hughes once more skillfully moderated the discussion. A few of the highlights of the 90-minute session are shown in the video above. We continue to experience a few glitches but we’re gaining some ground in that arena, and are grateful for your patience. Speakers in order of their first appearance: Kent Hughes (moderator), Roman Weil, Bob Breault, Bob Barnes, John Hatch, Tom Noonan, Jerry Griffin, Earl Staelin, Peter Cohen and Bob Oliver.
To comment on this, our second “highlights reel,” click here.
10/24/20
We Weigh In On The Elections
Ed. Note: On Friday, October 23, following the final Presidential debate for this year, Y62 convened a special post-debate, pre-election virtual Coffee Hour online, moderated by our own Kent Hughes. We’ve put together just a few of the highlights of the 90-minute session. You will see that we are using more technology but that it’s learning process. We had a few glitches but hope you will bear with us. Speakers in order of their first appearance: Kent Hughes (moderator), Chris Cory, Fred Appell, John Stewart, Rodger Gabrielson, Bob Breault, Lee Bolman, Tony Carbone. We think we know how to make modifications before our next Coffee Hour November 5, just two days after the election, when we will again produce a highlight video.
To comment on this “highlights reel,” click here.