British History

**This talk has completely sold out in advance and no additional tickets will be available at the door.** [Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Inside the World Cup,”** a scholarly look at preparation for the upcoming soccer tournament and at the likely impact of major global sports events soon to be staged in the United States, with Matt Winkler, founder of American University’s online master’s program in sports analytics and management and former sports executive. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-world-cup](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-world-cup) .] The FIFA World Cup 2026 will soon take place in several cities throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Come to Profs and Pints to get an industry insider’s perspective on it and other global sports events being hosted by American cities, including the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Learn about the preparation for these events, about their projected economic and cultural impact, and about remaining uncertainties surrounding them with Matt Winkler, a scholar and teacher of sports management and business with years of experience working with the World Cup, the Olympics, and various professional sports leagues. He’ll discuss issues related to the FIFA World Cup’s governance, site preparation, security, fan management, and tourist visas, and he’ll weigh how the $13 billion dollars in revenue projected to be generated by the tournament compares to the costs of staging 104 games between 48 countries. He’ll delve into how the tournament symbolizes a pivotal moment in the evolution of soccer in America, with global games broadcast all over American television channels and streaming services. You’ll learn how the 1994 World Cup in the United States significantly boosted soccer’s popularity—leading to increased youth participation and the establishment of Major League Soccer—and how the sport has continued to rapidly gain traction here in recent years. We’ll consider how the World Cup marks the beginning of an unprecedented run of major global sports events in the U.S., including not just summer and winter Olympics but, in 2031, the U.S.-hosted FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2033 men’s and women’s rugby World Cups. Among the questions Winkler will tackle: How will the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran affect the World Cup? How will tickets sell, and at what price? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Soccer being played in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, one of the venues hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The first band at Brookside Gardens summer twilight concert series is the Olney Big Band. The Band specializes in performance of classic swing, dance and jazz music from the Big Band Era of the ‘30s and ‘40s in addition to arrangements from the '50s to present day. Bring a chair.

Join us for another optional writing session! Feel free to bring a project you're already working on or start something new with us. If anything interesting comes up while you're writing, you can share it with the group, but no pressure!

Alexandria Pints & Pawns is now part of the Chess on Tap community! If you have a travel chess set and/or clock, please bring them so we can be sure to accommodate everyone. If not, feel free to come anyway!

**Join us for a little chat chat before we write our hearts out for 90 mins.**

Weekly Bible study currently reading through the Gospel of Luke. We meet at Teaism in Penn Quarter. You can find us in the downstairs seating area!

Let's talk films, too! We will be seeing "Pressure," starring Brendan Fraser, at the Regal Gallery Place, next to Capital One Arena. Afterwards, we will repair to Clyde's, to have a drink and talk about what we saw. Just like with the books, our focus is on good casual conversation. The film starts at 7:05 and run time is 1 hour 40 minutes. Let's meet near the main entrance at 6:45. Attendees will responsible for buying their own tickets; I highly recommend purchasing in advance.

**Location:** Crimson Whiskey Bar (Either the downstairs whiskey bar, or main floor bar, TBD) The purpose of Thinkers and Drinkers is to facilitate casual but meaningful and interesting conversations with other people in a face-to-face setting. The topics cover a wide variety of issues and are different for every meeting. While conversations may get heated at times, we ask that all members be respectful of each other and refrain from personal insults. **Topic: The Gilded Age 2.0** It was estimated by contemporary sources at the time that John D Rockefeller's wealth passed the $1 Billion in 1916, becoming the first [Billionaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billionaire?). This immense wealth was built from his firm, Standard Oil, which he grew from a small operation to one that eventually controlled 90% of the US oil refinery business. This occurred during a period many now refer to as "The Gilded Age". The Gilded Age was a time during the Industrial Revolution boom where unregulated capitalism and non-existent anti-trust laws allowed for the consolidation of immense wealth by individuals like Rockfella in Oil, Carnie in Steel, and JP Morgan in Finance. The age came to an end with progressives like Teddy Roosevelt coming to power, breaking up the big trusts, and instituting reforms to regulate industries and limit the influence corporations and the ultra-wealthy can have on politics. Fast forward to 2026, and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is projected to become a Trillionaire (With a T) after his company SpaceX launches its IPO on June 12th. There are 16 other Americans who can be classified as "Centibillionaires" ($100 Billion), and this number has been increasing every year. Having such extreme wealth in the hands of a few gives credence to the notion that we are now living in the Gilded Age 2.0. **Questions to Consider:** 1\. Is it necessarily bad to have so many billionaires? 2\. Are there lessons we can draw on from the first Gilded Age? 3\. Will we see our own "Progressive" backlash against mega\-corporations and the ultra\-wealthy?

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy,”** on findings, debates and trends in the use of psychedelic substances to treat trauma and other conditions, with Whitney Marris, instructor at the University of Buffalo’s School of Social Work, certified psychedelic-assisted therapy facilitator, and consultant to clinical trials. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-psychedelic-assisted-therapy](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-psychedelic-assisted-therapy) .] Psychedelics are rapidly moving from the margins into the mainstream, and questions abound as the sociocultural and legal landscapes surrounding them shift. President Trump’s recent executive order expanding access to psychedelic drugs for certain conditions and accelerating research on them has both heightened interest and added to confusion. Learn more about the so-called “Psychedelic Renaissance,” and get help separating the hope from the hype surrounding it, with Whitney Marris, a leading trainer and facilitator of psychedelic therapy who has used it to treat trauma survivors, military veterans, and people with cancer. She’ll present foundational information on what we know about how psychedelics work. You’ll learn how psychedelic-assisted therapy differs from “trip sitting” and about what we know about the effects of “microdosing” versus “macrodosing.” We’ll examine what has been demonstrated to be helpful versus harmful before, during, and after a dosing session intended to support significant, sustainable change. Marris also will discuss the historical and cultural context of the use of psychedelic medicines for healing, and she’ll describe the ethical challenges that arise as such practices move from counterculture to clinic. We’ll look at emerging and evolving findings in the field, as well as at the roles being played by various financial interests and ideologies in determining the direction of psychedelic-assisted therapy and research on its outcomes. Attendees will gain an awareness of the need for new professional standards and regulatory guardrails related to such work, and they’ll leave knowing key questions to ask potential providers of psychedelic-assisted therapy. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.

Please arrive early (no later than 7:30) to stretch out and warm up. Wear a black jersey and bring a pair of shin guards.

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Understanding Honor Violence,”** on recognizing and responding to harmful traditional practices that exert control over others, with Sasha K. Taylor, visiting lecturer at Ohio State University’s Global Fellowship Program and advisor and trainer in honor violence prevention. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-honor-violence](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-honor-violence) .] People claiming to enforce traditional honor codes are responsible for a significant share of murders and other violent or abusive acts within immigrant and refugee communities. Honor-based violence and abuse often play a role in human trafficking, forced marriage, child marriage, visa-based coercion, and in the abandonment of families across international borders. Yet too often it is underreported, misunderstood, or overlooked by people and institutions with the power to help its victims. Learn how to spot and deal with honor-based violence with Sasha K. Taylor, a former FBI Intelligence official who provides training to law enforcement, non-profit organizations, and private companies and also is extensively involved with regional organizations that combat human trafficking. She’ll start by discussing how honor codes that have governed community life since the dawn of human civilization gave rise to the use of honor-related abuse, oppression, shame, and violence to exert control and perpetuate inequality. Although boys and men can be victims of honor-based violence, the perpetrators of it are predominantly male and the survivors predominantly female, lending support to the idea that honor violence is a form of gender-based violence. The forms that such violence can take include genital mutilation and honor killings. She’ll discuss state and federal data related to the prevalence of various forms of honor violence and describe how complex forms of abuse are often underreported, misunderstood, or overlooked. You’ll learn about cultural and systemic barriers to disclosure, warning signs and risk factors, the intersection of immigration vulnerabilities and abuse, and the challenges that survivors face when seeking protection and services. We’ll also look at policy responses to honor violence and how gaps within current federal immigration frameworks may unintentionally contribute to vulnerability and exploitation. Her talk will be especially helpful for first responders, victim advocates, educators, healthcare professionals, social workers, and law enforcement personnel who are often the first point of contact during a crisis. She’ll emphasize trauma-informed engagement, emotional intelligence, cultural competency, and empathetic response strategies that treat survivors with dignity and sensitivity. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: The main illustration for “Rasminah The Last Victim,” a series on child marriage on the Indonesian podcast station KBR (Creative Commons).

It's the first Thursday of the month, and that means we will be replaying a game we played recently: **Age of Industry.** However, we only have one copy of Age of Industry, and so as an overflow game, we'll also bring multiple copies of Brass: Birmingham to play. Age of Industry description from BGG: Martin Wallace's streamlined redesign of [Brass: Lancashire](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28720/brass-lancashire). Players are tycoons in the early days of the Industrial Revolution; a time when traditional craftsman were being rapidly replaced with steam-powered machines. Players invest in the production of raw materials, the manufacture of goods, and the transportation networks needed to connect them to their markets. Like Brass, the strategic space is vast, and player decisions are limited by cards. In Age of Industry, however, cards are color-coded to regions rather than specific cities, allowing the players to be more flexible with their plans, while at the same time continuing to limit the decisions available. The color-coded region cards will also support expansion maps. In addition, the original Brass rules were simplified by eliminating the canal period; there is only one period, the railway era. There is also a new, non-specific industry, which will change with each map. According to Wallace, "You can now play something with the depth of Brass, but in half the time. The game will have a double-sided map, with Germany on one side and southern New England on the other."

**Our June novel is: *The Eights* by Joanna Miller** **This month’s novel is set during World War I. It’s a 20th-century historical fiction story about friendship and war, with coming-of-age elements and a slightly haunted tone. The book is 384 pages in print and 10 hours and 9 minutes on audiobook.** Oxford, 1920. For the first time in its one-thousand-year history, Oxford University officially admits female students. Burning with dreams of equality, four young women move into neighboring rooms in Corridor 8. Beatrice, Dora, Marianne, and Otto—collectively known as The Eights—come from all walks of life, each driven by their own motives, each holding tight to their secrets, and are thrown into an unlikely, unshakable friendship. Dora was never meant to go to university, but, after losing both her brother and her fiancé on the battlefield, has arrived in their place. Politically-minded Beatrice, daughter of a famous suffragette, sees Oxford as a chance to make her own way - and some friends her own age. Otto was a nurse during the war but is excited to return to her socialite lifestyle in Oxford where she hopes to find distraction from the memories that haunt her. And finally Marianne, the quiet, clever daughter of a village pastor, who has a shocking secret she must hide from everyone, even her new friends, if she is to succeed. Among the historic spires, and in the long shadow of the Great War, the four women must navigate and support one another in a turbulent world in which misogyny is rife, influenza is still a threat, and the ghosts of the Great War don’t always remain dead.

Rev. Steven Clevenger is an ordained spiritualist minister with over 40 years experience as a Spiritual Healer, Clairvoyant and Spiritual Teacher, educated and trained at the White Lily Chapel. Rev. Siobhan Wolf Shaffer is an ordained spiritualist minister and certified medium and healer with over 20 years experience. She began her development in 1988 in Pennsylvania and continued when she moved to Ohio in 1998 where she studied at Rays of Lights Church with Rev. Steven Clevenger. Our full worship services consist of an inspirational lecture, healing meditation, and messages from the spirit world that serve to demonstrate evidence of eternal life. Please visit our Official Church Website (http://raysoflightchurch.com) for more information.

Let’s meet and share discussion of the James Baldwin short story collection, Going to Meet The Man.

We'll meet at The Capital One Café, 167 Easton Town Center, Space A-103. This is in the main mall where the Microsoft store used to be, on your left if you're standing at the bottom of the AMC Theater escalator. Join us on Saturday for an hour of uninterrupted wordmaking! • What we'll do Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 10AM on Saturday mornings. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 10:00 - SESSION 1: quick intros. 10:10 - timer starts: write for 1 hour. 11:10 - chat / take off / keep writing. OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 11A-11:30ish. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. (I’ll be the person with the Shut Up & Write! sign.) If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! • What to bring Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block noise or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Electrical outlets are limited, so charge your devices before whenever possible. See you at The Café on Saturday!

I have been studying the question of "self" online with Prof. Ellie Anderson and so I thought a prompt on the "self" might be interesting. Full confession: I had Claude create this prompt and I like it, so here goes: Imagine a thought experiment that merges two classic puzzles: > You undergo a procedure, performed neuron by neuron, in which every biological component of your brain is replaced with a functionally identical synthetic substitute. At each step, your behavior, memories, and personality remain unchanged. When the last neuron is swapped, is the consciousness experiencing the world still you? And — more pressingly — was there ever a continuous "you" to begin with? ### Questions to Wrestle With * If consciousness is purely physical, does the *gradual* nature of the replacement matter, or is it equivalent to being destroyed and rebuilt? * Could there be a "self" without continuity of experience — even moment to moment, while you sleep? On a more practical level, consider the simpler case first: **hemispherectomy** patients — people who have had an entire cerebral hemisphere surgically removed — often retain a strong sense of personal identity and continuity. This suggests "you" are not rigidly tied to specific physical material. But does that vindicate the synthetic neuron case, or merely show that identity is more *flexible* than we thought — not that it can survive *complete* substrate replacement? I used Claude so I could get this out today and let everyone have some time to consider it. Hope to see you at the Oracle. Sorry about the location change two weeks ago. That's what I get for trusting local weather predictions!

Hosted by Ohio History Connection Address: Octagon Earthworks 125 N. 33rd St., Newark, OH 43055 UNESCO World Heritage Site Join us on June 18 at the Octagon Earthworks Visitor Center for a special evening celebrating the release of John E. Hancock’s new book, **Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks: Landscape Monuments of the Ancient Ohio Valley.** Event Schedule • Doors open: 6:30 p.m. • Lecture begins: 7 p.m. John Hancock will share the story behind Ohio’s remarkable Hopewell earthworks and how eight of these architectural masterpieces became UNESCO World Heritage Sites. He will also discuss how this new Smithsonian publication presents the latest knowledge about their astonishing scope, subtle beauty, and the brilliant Indigenous designers and builders who created them nearly 2,000 years ago. • Book signing: Immediately following the lecture. Books will be available for purchase. **Admission** • $10 per person or Free with a purchase of a book • Free for OHC members • Free for students with a valid ID **About the Book** Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks presents Ohio’s eight UNESCO-inscribed earthworks in a richly illustrated volume from Smithsonian Books. This expanded and re-edited edition of the sites’ World Heritage nomination dossier was produced in collaboration with the Ohio History Connection and the National Park Service. The book features illustrated descriptions and histories of these Indigenous masterpieces, summaries of archaeological research, insights from American Indian scholars and leaders, and discussions of the earthworks’ design, construction, and cultural significance. **About the Author** John E. Hancock taught architecture, design, and history at the University of Cincinnati for 40 years. He has produced numerous multimedia exhibits and publications about Ohio’s earthworks and served as the principal author and photographer for the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks UNESCO World Heritage nomination. In addition to this Smithsonian publication (April 2026), he has also released Traveler’s Guide to Ancient Ohio (April 2026). Come learn about one of the world’s greatest ancient landscapes and meet the author behind this exciting new publication! More info: [https://www.ohiohistory.org/events/lecture-and-book-signing-with-john-e-hancock/](https://www.ohiohistory.org/events/lecture-and-book-signing-with-john-e-hancock/)