We have two major goals. First, the platform will encourage a synthesis of existing work and identification of key unanswered questions in a public setting. Next, the lecture series aims to provide high-quality lectures to PhD students who either have few faculty in the focus research areas or are geographically separated from major in-person events. Similarly, faculty already in the area or those interested in writing papers in the area will gain access to cutting-edge research. After the first run of the lecture series, a large syllabus with videos and slides decks will naturally emerge and be publicly-available. These can be used by others to make their own PhD course, or for students to self-study.