It’s rumored the Roman philosopher Seneca once said, “Stand back a little further and laugh.” This advice might also apply to our present economic situation. In this year’s Franke Lecture, economist Robert Reich, currently a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, will offer insights into what levity can be found in these tough times.

Robert Reich has served in three national administrations, most recently as President Clinton’s Secretary of Labor. He is also the author of 11 books, including The Work of Nations, The Future of Success, Locked in the Cabinet, and Supercapitalism, and his articles have appeared in the The New Yorker, the Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Reich is a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, and his weekly commentaries on public radio’s Marketplace are heard by nearly five million people.

This annual lecture recognizes the significant contributions to the Chicago Humanities Festival made by its founder and chairman emeritus Richard J. Franke.

Recorded Friday, November 06, 2009 at Northwestern University School of Law-Thorne Auditorium.