The First Friday Forum speaker series provides lectures of importance and interest to the entire community about this ever-changing world sponsored by Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church. Attend the programs that interest you with no registration, subscription, or entry fee.
Programs are offered at 1:30 p.m. on a Friday January through June and are available simultaneously on the Lafayette campus and via streaming. Arrive at 1 p.m. to enjoy refreshments and conversation in the Oak Room before the talk.
To attend on-line, click the “Watch” button at the top of this page. When available, program recordings will be posted in the Archive below.
February 6 Program
Joe Whitehouse, World Traveler and Photographer, on “Iran: Today and Yesterday.”
Whitehouse’s travel presentations are beautifully done and very popular at the First Friday Forum. He will share photographs from his visit to Iran and his impressions of its culture, history, architecture, well as its political and economic situation.
There is much to learn about Iran’s historical significance as one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations, from the Achaemenid Empire through successive Persian empires, the Islamic conquest, and modern nationhood. He will highlight important Persian innovations including wind towers for cooling and a two-thousand-year-old municipal water system in Yazd. Finally, contrary to Western perception, you will learn that Iranians are very hospitable to visitors.
Joe will cover sites such as Persepolis which was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, which is one of the world’s largest public squares, the Zoroastrian Fire Temple and Towers of Silence in Yazd, public art in Isfahan, a seventeenth century Armenian church, a bath house in Mashhad, several classic Persian gardens, and Iran’s spectacular mosques and shrines.
Remaining 2026 Schedule:
March 6 – Monica Gandhi, Professor of Medicine and physician at UC San Francisco on “Navigating a Post-Pandemic World.” During the COVID 19 pandemic, Gandhi became one of the most prominent public health experts in the country. She will discuss where we have been, where we find ourselves now, and how to manage the virus in the coming years.
April 10 – Daniel Sargent, Professor of American History and Public Policy at UC Berkeley on “One World under God? Faith and International Order.” Sargent is a historian who specializes in U.S. foreign policy and the history of international relations. He will discuss the claim that humanity will be unable to sustain international cooperation grounded in shared values without a belief in a higher order.
May 1 – Martha Olney, Teaching Professor Emerita of Economics at UC Berkeley, on “Inflation!” Olney will provide an accessible overview of the causes, varying impacts, and the limited remedies that the Federal Reserve has to address increases in the cost of living. She will discuss the public policy choices around inflation, employment, and interest rates.
June 5 – Charles Henry, Professor Emeritus of African American Studies at UC Berkeley. “King: His Life and Legacy.” Henry will talk about three stages of King’s life: the young King; King the icon; and King the radical. The conclusion will focus on King’s relevance to non-violent protest today.
To contact the First Friday Forum team or to subscribe to or be removed from the FFF email list, send an email to fff@lopc.org.
Header for top text