Arts Science Initiative
Science on Screen
In February 2024, the Bulletin hosted this Chicago-based event with The Gene Siskel Film Center to show screenings of classic films that focus on existential threats such as climate change, nuclear war, and biological threats. Following the screenings, the Bulletin hosted expert-led panels to discuss the movies, the threats, and how we can avoid them.
Godzilla
Celebrating its 70th anniversary, GODZILLA is a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack. This showing was followed by a discussion with Saira Chambers, Japanese Cultural Center director, Yuki Miyamoto, DePaul Humanities Center director, Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune film critic, and Robert K. Elder, president and CEO of the Outrider Foundation.
Don't Look Up
In Adam McKay’s urgent, star-studded satire, two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humankind of a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth, and the response—from influencers to the White House—is decidedly “whatever.” This showing was followed by a discussion with the Bulletin's Science and Security Board chair Daniel Holz and University of Chicago Professor Elizabeth Moyer.
Contagion
As a fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart. This showing was followed by a discussion with Bulletin Science and Security Board member Suzet McKinney, with Ania Labno, Bulletin Governing Board member.
War Games
A high school student unwittingly hacks into a military supercomputer while searching for video games. After starting a game of Global Thermonuclear War, he leads the supercomputer to activate the US nuclear arsenal, and the once- clueless hacker must find a way to stop the onset of World War III. This showing was followed by a discussion with Stephen Schwartz, nonresident senior fellow with the Bulletin.