Lectures

Illegal Imprisonment in the Tower of London, 1321

Wednesday, February 25, 2026
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
HyFlex Lecture (in-person and Zoom)
$10 per Osher at Dartmouth member
$15 per non-member

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Are you intrigued by the challenges an author of historical fiction might encounter?

In her novel, Right of Answer, Hilary Llewellyn-Thomas, 19th great-granddaughter of Margaret de Badlesmere, tells this 700-year-old story.

King Edward II illegally sentences Margaret de Badlesmere and her five young children to imprisonment in the Tower of London. The first known woman imprisoned in the Tower, Margaret fights to protect her children from cold, hunger, and sickness as she plans their escape. Can she overcome the odds to save her children and regain her liberty?

Hilary Llewellyn-Thomas received her BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees from the University of Toronto. In 2000, Hilary was recruited from the University of Toronto to assume a Professorship in the Department of Community and Family Medicine in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.

For over 35 years, at the University of Toronto and Dartmouth College, Hilary worked in the decision sciences in health care. That work led her to publish widely in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Since retiring in 2011, she has been a Professor Emeritus at Dartmouth College’s Department of Community and Family Medicine. Right of Answer, her first novel, is published using her pen name, Hilary Llewellyn. 

Loving Animals: Conversations With an Animal Communicator

Tuesday, March 3, 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Zoom lecture
$10 per Osher at Dartmouth member
$15 per non-member

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Do you ever wonder what your animal is thinking and feeling? Are there behavior issues you’re trying to solve? Are there several animals in your household, and would you like to understand their dynamics? Are you struggling with end-of-life decisions for your pets? Jeannie Lindheim, author of Loving Animals: Conversations with an Animal Communicator, will discuss how animal communication works and the techniques she uses. She will tell some touching stories and share a technique that you can use with your animals. There will also be time for Q and A.

Jeannie Lindheim studied with animal communication pioneer Penelope Smith. She has been a professional animal communicator since 2007. Jeannie consults with pet lovers from all over the U.S. who are trying to understand how their animals feel and what they want. She has communicated with dogs, cats, horses, ferrets, hedgehogs, pigs, alpacas, bearded dragon lizards, rabbits, many types of birds, a steer, insects, and many other species. 100% of the sales of her book are donated to animal rescue organizations. Her website is https://www.youranimalspeaks.com/.

Life and Death on the Nile: DNA & the Royal Mummies

Wednesday, March 25, 2026
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
In-Person Lecture
$10 per Osher at Dartmouth member
$15 per non-member

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Through an extraordinary fluke of history, we have several mummies of the 18th Dynasty still existing in Egypt. By using the most advanced techniques of DNA research available today, we now know with some certainty the familial connections between these mummies. Tutankhamen, Amenophis IV, Nefertiti, and Queen Tiye can still tell us so much about themselves through this genetic study. They were powerful. They were wealthy. They were a close family whose art shows a delightful intimacy. This lecture will look at the current history surrounding King Tut and his family in Egypt during the New Kingdom. Please join us for "Life and Death on the Nile: DNA and the Royal Mummies." 

David Sandberg is from Dedham, Massachusetts. He has a BA in European History from Framingham State University. He minored in Shakespearean Studies. David writes, "I love the existential force of Shakespeare. We connect with him even now because we share our humanity with him." David has worked at the Biomedical Libraries at Dartmouth College off and on since November of 1992. "I am always just mesmerized by the human body and its power to heal. It's both incredibly complex in so many ways and extraordinarily resilient. Working in a medical library is such a gift." David lives in Sunapee, New Hampshire on the Sugar River and spends his time outside of work at the Abbott Library on the weekends. "I love helping folks find the book they want. It's a joy to be able to do that."