Gretchen Morgenson, assistant business and financial editor and columnist at The New York Times, presented a public talk at the Wilson School titled, "Three Years After the Meltdown--Where Do We Stand?" Morgenson has covered the world financial markets for the Times since May 1998 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for her “trenchant and incisive” coverage of Wall Street. She is a financial journalist with Wall Street experience, having served as a stockbroker at Dean Witter Reynolds in New York City in the early 1980s. Morgenson is co-author, with Joshua Rosner, of “Reckless Endangerment,” a book about the origins of the 2008 financial crisis. In 2009, Morgenson won a Gerald Loeb Award in the “Beat Writing” category for her coverage of Wall Street. Morgenson's talk was part of the Wilson School's “Economic Recovery: Perils, Politics and Possibilities” thematic lecture series and is co-sponsored with the School’s Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance.

Dr. Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, senior fellow of economic studies; and the Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, presented a public talk at the Woodrow Wilson School on December 7, 2011, titled, "Bending the Health Care Cost Curve: Pathway to Real Reform." A doctor and economist by training, McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and served as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the George W. Bush administration. He also served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for health care policy at the White House. McClellan also served in the Clinton administration as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for economic policy, where he supervised economic analysis and policy development on a range of domestic policy issues. McClellan was visiting the School as part of its “Leadership and Governance Program,” which brings prominent policy makers to Princeton for a one-to-two day visit so that students can meet and learn from exemplary public leaders.

Tom Brokaw, acclaimed broadcast journalist, author and former anchor for NBC Nightly News, visited the Princeton campus on December 6, and presented a public lecture titled, “The Time of Our Lives.” Brokaw, who became one of the most trusted and respected figures in broadcast journalism, is an author and special correspondent for NBC News. Hired by NBC in 1966, he anchored the “TODAY” show and was the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News” for 21 years. Appearing in more than 30 documentaries, Brokaw has reported on subjects ranging from race, AIDS, the war on terror, health care, Los Angeles gangs, Bill Gates, literacy, immigration and the evangelical movement. Brokaw’s talk was part of the Woodrow Wilson School’s “Media and Public Policy" thematic lecture series, and included a book sale and signing of his new book, “The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America; Who We Are, Where We've Been, and Where We Need to Go Now, to Recapture the American Dream” (2011, Random House).

The Role of Documentary in Shaping Public Policy" was the topic of a panel discussion on December 5, 2011, featuring Purcell Carson, documentary filmmaker and editor, and a documentary production specialist at the Woodrow Wilson School; and Emily Holland '01, TV producer, human rights law scholar, and co-author of "And Still Peace Did Not Come." The discussion was part of the Wilson School’s "Media and Public Policy" thematic lecture series.

Don Peck MPA '94, a features editor of The Atlantic and author of "Pinched: How the Great Recession Has Narrowed Our Futures and What We Can Do About It", presented a public talk on November 30, 2011, titled, "Can the Middle Class Be Saved?" Peck's talk was part of the Wilson School’s “Economic Recovery: Perils, Politics, and Possibilities” thematic lecture series. The event was co-sponsored with the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance. In Peck’s book, “Pinched,” the author analyses more than 100 years of economic recessions, depressions and recoveries and details how the lingering effects of our current recession will be felt by those hardest hit for the remainder of their professional lives.

Martin Gruenberg '75, acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board of Directors, presented a public talk on November 28, 2011, titled, "The FDIC's Response to the Financial Crisis," as part of the Wilson School’s “Economic Recovery: Perils, Politics and Possibilities” thematic lecture series. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system by insuring deposits, examining and supervising financial institutions for safety and soundness and consumer protection, and managing receiverships. Alan Blinder '67, the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, moderated the discussion.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the topic of discussion between Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt and the S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School, and Amaney Jamal, an associate professor of politics at Princeton University. The event was co-sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University’s Tigers for Israel, and the Muslim Students Association.

James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic, inaugurated the Wilson School’s new “Media and Public Policy” series on November 17 with a public lecture titled, “Learning to Love the (Shallow, Divisive, Unreliable) New Media.” The series, which was inspired by Fallows’ article about new media in the April issue of The Atlantic, will be examining how the new media influences thinking, knowledge, and analysis in order to understand its impact on policy. Fallows has worked for The Atlantic for nearly 30 years. In addition he spent two years as chief White House speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and two years as editor of US News & World Report. He is the founding chairman of the New America Foundation and is currently the chair in US Media at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, in Australia.

General James E. Cartwright (retired), four-star general and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at the Woodrow Wilson School on November 15 on the topics of cyber warfare and military special operations. The retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general served as the country’s eighth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s second highest ranking military officer, from 2007-2011, and was among the Pentagon’s leading authorities on computer-network warfare and missile defense. He previously served as the commander for U.S. strategic command, from 2004-2007, and as acting commander, U.S. strategic command from July 2004 to September 2004. As vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, he chaired the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, co-chaired the Defense Acquisition Board, and served as a member of the National Security Council Deputies Committee, the Nuclear Weapons Council, and the Missile Defense Executive Board. In addition, he co-chaired the Deputies Advisory Working Group, which provides advice to the deputy secretary of defense on resourcing and other high level departmental business issues.