The Noor Wodjouatt Ensemble to Provide Authentic Afghan Music at Mortenson Program

Forum-goers will get a special treat on January 9th when the live music for our Greg Mortenson program will be provided by The Noor Wodjouatt Ensemble.

Noor Wodjouatt, a native of Kabul, Afghanistan, is a leading Afghan music artist from Washington, DC. His style of singing is considered light ghazal, an ancient form of music and poetic recitation that dates back to the 10th century. He uses lyrics from Rumi, which date back to the 13th century.

The Ensemble's performance will be accompanied by Kathak dance, a classical Indian dance that is used for the interpretation and storytelling of poetry.

The Noor Wodjouatt Ensemble has performed at the Kennedy Center and for the U.S. Department of State and we look forward to their performance at The Richmond Forum. They will take the stage before the program, beginning at 7:20 p.m., and again during intermission.

Will Big Business Save The Earth?

Dr. Jared Diamond, author of the best-sellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, and a speaker at The Richmond Forum in April 2007, shares examples of the ways he sees big businesses effectively, and profitably, helping to protect the environment in this recent New York Times Op-Ed: Will Big Business Save the Earth?

Listen to Greg Mortenson on Marketplace

Greg Mortenson talked with Kai Ryssdal on Marketplace tonight about building schools, raising money, and how much the U.S. military has learned about working with the Afghan people.

Listen here.

David Plouffe Named One of the Decade's 25 Smartest People

Who are the greatest minds of the last ten years? That's the question The Daily Beast posed to a panel of "moguls, academics, and more than 40 credentialed geniuses."

We're pleased to see that our February 2010 Richmond Forum speaker, David Plouffe, made the list, coming in at number eight.

Why He Was Nominated: The 42-year-old Plouffe—“the unsung hero” of the “best political campaign in the history of the United States of America,” according to President Obama—reinvented politics in 2007 and 2008. Howard Dean tapped into the power of the Internet as a political tool in 2004, but it was Plouffe and Obama who mastered it, raising unprecedented amounts of money—mostly from small donors—and spreading their message in ways never before attempted. In the end, the Obama campaign out-organized and outspent (a first for a Democratic challenger) John McCain, and Plouffe helped deliver the first African American in the White House.

Also on the list was past Richmond Forum speaker, Malcolm Gladwell.