
An Extraordinary Year
It’s the Jubilee Year of Mercy – what exactly does that mean?

Racial tension, explosion of nativism: The 2015 Pell Center National Story of the Year
Newport, R.I. – The resurgence of racial tension across the United States and the explosion of nativism in American politics have been named the Pell Center National Story of the Year. These often-intertwined narratives dominated headlines and the public discourse during much of 2015, a year that saw the country still grappling with issues of identity, race and religion that predate the founding of the republic. From the police shooting … Read More

Picks of the Week: Protect Yourself from a Digital Grinch During the Holiday Season!
Don’t Get Grinched by Cybercrime During the Holiday Season | The New York Times Retailers Scrambling Against Latest Credit Card-Stealing Malware | Fortune Avoid Scams This Holiday Season | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement With exactly two weeks left in the holiday season, online sales—which, according to comScore, surpassed $3 billion on Cyber Monday, making it the largest online spending day in history—are expected to bring in at least $1 billion … Read More

Senior Fellow contributes to international publication on countries’ Cyber Readiness
Pell Center Senior Fellow Francesca Spidalieri provided extensive research and analysis for a new international publication on countries’ cyber readiness levels and the practical steps national leaders can take to protect their increasingly interconnected society and digital economy. Newport, R.I. – The “Cyber Readiness Index 2.0, A Plan for Cyber Readiness: A Baseline and an Index,” published by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies (PIPS), examines 125 countries and evaluates … Read More

The Legacy: What’s Next for U.S. Policy in the Middle East?
On December 2, 2015, the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy hosted its final lecture of the fall semester titled “The Legacy: What’s Next for U.S. Policy in the Middle East”. The lecture featured two experts from the U.S. Naval War College, Hayat Alvi and Timothy Hoyt and attracted one of the year’s largest crowds despite rainy weather outside. Moderated by Pell Center Executive Director Jim Ludes, the … Read More

Pell Center Names Pawsox as 2015 Rhode Island Story of the Year
NEWPORT, R.I. – The sale of the Pawtucket Red Sox and the team’s possible move from that city, potentially to another state, has been selected as the Pell Center’s Rhode Island Story of the Year. The Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Pawsox have been a Rhode Island sports and cultural institution for decades. So it was fitting that the February announcement of the sale of the team … Read More

Podcast: G. Wayne Miller
Executive Director Jim Ludes and Visiting Fellow G. Wayne Miller discuss “Car Crazy: The Battle for Supremacy between Ford and Olds and the Dawn of the Automobile Age”, Miller’s most recent published work. Miller is the Director of the “Story in the Public Square,” a year-round initiative to study and celebrate public storytelling. Play below:

Picks of the Week: 354 Mass Shootings in 336 Days
Rate of Mass Shootings Has Tripled Since 2011, Harvard Research Shows | Mother Jones How Often Do Mass Shootings Occur? On Average, Every Day, Records Show | New York Times “Thoughts and Prayers” Backlash After San Bernardino Shooting | NBC News At the time of this writing, we still don’t know the motive of the murderers in San Bernardino, California. But we do know their means. As in 353 other instances in the … Read More

Peace With Justice – Bishop Mark J Hurley, the Black Power Movement, & Radical Justice in the Sixties
“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”(Pope Paul VI) Dr. William Issel is not only a teacher in Salve Regina University’s History department, but also a witness of the Civil Rights Movement himself. At the November 18th Pell Center lecture Peace with Justice —Bishop Mark J Hurley, the Black Power Movement, and Radical Justice … Read More

Picks of the Week: How Paris Attacks Will Change Cybersecurity
What the Paris Attacks Means for the Future of Cybersecurity | Fortune Poisoning the Internet won’t Stop more Paris Attacks | The Christian Science Monitor After Paris, Encryption will be a Key Issue in the 2016 Race | Wired The recent terrorist attacks in France, Egypt, and Lebanon have rapidly reopened the global debate on the appropriate balance between national security and our privacy online. While many of us believe … Read More