Third Age Learning Lakehead Presents:

A Time for Change:
Evolving Our Civilization

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Date: Wednesdays, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 21, Oct. 28, Nov. 4
Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Place:  In-person or Live-streamed at St. Paul’s Centre in Orillia
Price:  $80 +HST for the whole 5 lecture series; $20 +HST for a single talk.

Join Third Age Learning Lakehead (TALL) this fall for a thought-provoking exploration of our changing world. A Time for Change: Evolving Our Civilization brings together leading content experts to examine the realities of the “New Disorder” and the profound societal changes shaping our future.

Offered in person or via live stream, the series will explore politics, world affairs, social justice and critical thinking while looking both backward to understand where we have come from and forward to consider where we are going. Together, we will confront the challenges of societal change while imagining new ways of being, living and navigating an evolving civilization.

Please bring your own mug to enjoy a hot beverage during the intermission. Alternatively, TALL branded travel mugs will be available for purchase for $5 (cash only).

If you are unable to attend the lectures in person, a link will be sent to all registered participants for viewing from the comfort of your own places and spaces (live or recorded)! Be sure to invite folks in your network, near and far!

Speakers include:

Akhil Puri
How to Build a Self-Correcting Life—and Civilization.

Akhil is a writer, builder and seeker. A decade ago, he founded a climate-tech startup, where he built crowdfunding platforms and developed rooftop solar projects. That work led him to see climate change not as an isolated problem, but as a symptom of deeper civilizational dynamics.

He now runs Earth 47, an initiative exploring how humanity might navigate its present evolutionary threshold.

Dr. Davut Akca
“Just Words”? How Hate Speech Harms, and How Communities Heal

Davut is an Associate Professor of Criminology at Lakehead University’s Orillia campus, where he also serves as Criminology Program Coordinator. He holds a master’s degree in criminology and a PhD in forensic psychology.

In 2025 he organized the International Hate and Polarization Conference at the University of Ottawa. He also serves as a policy analyst with the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, and lives in Barrie.

Larry Black
Watching Trump from Afar – Elbows Up, World.

Larry was born in New Brunswick and has been married to an American from Alabama for over six decades.  He studied for three years in Boston, has a dual-citizen son living in the USA, and has American nephews and nieces.  An emeritus professor with three degrees in history and international affairs, as well as a Phys-ed certificate, Black was redesignated a Distinguished Research Professor by Carleton University in 2023.

He is author, co-author, or editor of more than 50 books on Russia, the USSR, the Canadian-Russian relationship, and local Canadian history.  Black and his wife, Janice, live in Barrie.

Adam Chapnick
Managing Canada-US Relations in a Time of Change.

Adam is a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC).  He is located in Toronto, where he teaches courses in Canadian foreign policy and strategic decision-making at the Canadian Forces College.

He is also a regular commentator in the public realm. He has appeared as a foreign policy expert on Global News, CTV News, CBC News, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, and CBC radio, and has testified as an expert witness before The Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

Rob Goodman
Canada After American Democracy.

Rob is associate professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he teaches and writes on topics including populism, rhetoric, and the history of political thought. He previously worked as a speechwriter for U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senator Chris Dodd. He is an award-winning author and coauthor of several books, including Not Here: Why American Democracy Is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself and Words on Fire: Eloquence and Its Conditions.

Buy tickets now through this Third Age Learning Lakehead ticket link.