We’re back!! Join us for our first in person event since February 2020.
Thursday, June 10, 2021
7:00-9:00pm
Gramps Bar, 176 NW 24th St, Miami, FL 33127
This month’s speakers and topics:
1) The Ascent of Poverty and Prosperity in the Modern World
by Jorge Velasco
This presentation will explore the institutional and political factors that propelled certain countries to prosperity and condemned other to the endless cycles of strife and destitution. My quest in this project was to answer one simple question….Why did my family leave Colombia? What did the United States have that Colombia didn’t? I found myself looking into the organization of labor in the Colonial era, the reaction of European Elites to the Industrial Revolution, and perpetual violence that stop countries like mine and ours from reaching it’s untapped potential. We will also be discussing Rick Ross because I somehow tied him into all of this.
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2) The Lost City of Atlantis: Fable or Foreshadowing?
by Alycia Ciresi
Miamians already know that flooding due to sea level rise is not a future concern, but a present threat. From wading through our backyards to cephalopods making headlines landing in parking garages, we have all observed the oddities, inconveniences, and even danger posed by encroaching waters. What does the future of flooding in South Florida look like? In this presentation, we explore the geographic realities of who is most at risk, who can invest in their future (and how to do it), and present case studies of other at-risk cities and their engineered flood management strategies.
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3) Fear & Loathing in Biscayne National Park: The Dark History of a Maritime Paradise
by Gary Bremen
The largest marine park in the National Park System sits at Miami’s front door and offers amazing opportunities to watch wildlife, recreate and learn about some fascinating history, but there is also a lot of history that gets swept under the rug. Nerd Nite veteran Gary Bremen introduces us to some of the park’s lesser-known stories of racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and scandal.