Past events in the 2026 Season
Exploring the Hope and Peril in American Medicine
April 30, 6:30 p.m.
Taliesin Hillside Theater
This event will feature a conversation between Dr. Ricardo Nuila, practicing physician at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston and the author of The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine, and Dr. Aaron Dunn, medical director of Community Connections Free Clinic in Dodgeville and practicing family physician with SSM Health Dean Medical Group in Mineral Point.
Dr. Nuila and Dr. Dunn share a passion for caring for those who cannot afford or access medical services in their communities. Their conversation will explore the challenges of our current system, how we got here, and where there is hope.
Book discussion: The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine
May 19, 7:00 p.m.
Spring Green Community Library
Whether or not you come to the April 30th event (and we hope you will!), we encourage you to read The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine by Dr. Nuilaand attend this book discussion at the Spring Green Community Library (230 E. Monroe St, Spring Green). The book is filled with stories and information that you will want to discuss after you read it. It’s available at Arcadia Books and will be available at the library by April 27th.
What we know about poverty: Trends, solutions, and local experiences
June 22, 6:30 p.m.
The Octagon Barn
J. Michael Collins, Associate Director for Training and Research at the UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty, will share information on poverty-related trends and potential solutions identified through the Institute’s and others’ research.
Loren Glasbrenner, River Valley School District Superintendent, and Joan Zahalka, a volunteer with St. Vincent de Paul, will share their real-world experiences of poverty trends in our community.
Counted Out
July 27, 6:30 p.m.
The Gard Theater
Counted Out investigates the biggest crises of our time—political polarization, racial and economic inequity, global pandemic and climate change–through an unexpected lens: math. In our current information economy, math is everywhere. The people we date, the news we see, the influence of our votes, the candidates who win elections, the education we have access to, the jobs we get—all of it is underwritten by an invisible layer of math that few of us understand, or even notice. But whether we know it or not, our numeric literacy—whether we can speak the language of math, and how well—is a critical determinant of social and economic power. Through a mosaic of personal stories, expert interviews, and scenes of math transformation in action, Counted Out shows what’s at risk if we keep the status quo. Do we want an America in which most of us don’t consider ourselves “math people”? Where math proficiency goes down as students grow up? Or do we want a country where anyone can understand the math that undergirds our society—and can help shape it? The film is dedicated to Bob Moses, the civil rights leader and MacArthur genius who saw math access as the civil rights issue of our time, and whose work we follow in some of the last filmed interviews of his life.
Building strategic alliances in our food supply chains to support farmers, communities, and the land.
August 24, 6:30 p.m.
The Octagon Barn
Sarah Lloyd, with support from Jules Reynolds, will provide a brief overview of opportunities and challenges in the ag and food sector today. This will be followed by a panel discussion with local stories of people working to make change for the benefit of farmers, communities, and eaters.