Events

UPCOMING in Winter 2026

JANUARY & FEBRUARY
New MHSM Historical Book Group
10 Governors Avenue
This book group focusing on history readings will be launched in January with a goal of creating new opportunities to gather at the headquarters at MHSM. Learn about people and events that shaped the world we live in, and share stories (both historic and personal) at the local level. The inaugural book will be The Killer Angels, a novel by Michael Shaara that won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The book draws heavily from primary source materials to bring to life many key participants and events in a complicated American Civil War battle that occurred at a time when the fate of our nation hung in the balance as violence replaced discourse. Along with discussions that add depth to this captivating story, readers will have opportunities to hold and examine pieces of this history from the MHSM collections. Group members will read the book in four sections and meet weekly to discuss these at MHSM from 7PM to 9PM, on Thursdays, January 15, 22, 29 and February 5, 2026. The book is widely available in paperback, hardback, e-book and audiobook formats. Register here. Space is limited.

JANUARY
Hidden Illness in the White House: Patient Confidentiality vs. the Public Good

Speaker: B. Dale Magee, M.D.

Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library, 111 High Street.

The presidency of the United States is a demanding job that requires intellectual, emotional and physical strength. As time has passed the size and the power of the Executive Branch have increased with more and more responsibility residing on that one person. All presidents have support staffs that they rely on to help make decisions. When the president is ill whose interests take precedence? The president who may have other issues or may be in denial? His staff who may be sacrificing their power? The citizens and the rest of the world who depend on a stable executive running the United States government? We shall explore three presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight David Eisenhower to look at the specifics, the uncertainties and the deceptions that not only occurred during their presidencies but also preceded their candidacies.

Thanks to the Medford Arts Council for supporting MHSM

“These programs are supported in part by a grant from the Medford Arts Council, a local commission that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the City of Medford.”

The Power of Truth: Early Diversity in Medford, February 2024
Murder at the Harvard Medical School, April 2023
Black Heritage Trail Virtual Tour, February 2022