The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 29th, 2013

In this hour, the conflict in South Sudan has claimed 1000 lives, according to a United Nations humanitarian official. Leaders in Africa are working to negotiate a peace agreement between South Sudan’s government and the rebels. But South Sudan, as the world’s newest country, faces many more crises. We speak with a nurse from the organization Doctors Without Borders, or Medicin sans Frontiere, who has recently returned from South Sudan. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Mariam Czech , Nurse MSF.

Then, what is the relationship between minerals, such as oil, diamonds, gold, and conflict, authoritarianism and poverty? This week’s scholars have spent years studying how these so-called extractive industries—mining and drilling—impact people’s lives, their governance, and the environment, throughout the world. How can countries so rich in mineral wealth remain mired in so much poverty?

  • Jeffery Mantz, Professor of Anthropology, George Mason University;
  • Michael Ross, Professor of Political Science, UCLA; Author of The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations
  • Suzana Sawyer, Professor of Anthropology, UC Davis. Author of Crude Chronicles: Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 22nd, 2013

In this hour, why did soldiers on the front line of one of the deadliest wars lay down their arms and play soccer with the very men they were supposed to kill? We’ll revisit the so-called Christmas truce of 1914. [ dur 25 mins. ]

  • Stanley Weintraub, Professor Emeritus historian, Penn State University; Author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.

Then, religion, politics and the so-called God gap. We’ll explore how religion unites and divides us. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • David Campbell, Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame; co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
  • Robert Putnam, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University; co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

Finally, in the midst of so much bad news, what in the world is getting better? We’ll explore the widespread improvements in the world. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Charles Kenney, Sr fellow Center for Global Development. Author of Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding–And How We Can Improve the World Even More

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 15th, 2013

Scholars’ Circle special. We spend the hour assessing how far we’ve come in protecting human rights and what else can be done. What are some of ICC’s strengths and weaknesses? [ dur: 58 mins. ]

Samuel Moyne, Professor of history, Univ. of Columbia. Author of Origins of the Other: Emmanuel Levinas between Revelation and Ethics;

Mark Drumbl, Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University and Director of Transnational Law Institute. Author of Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law

Chris Mahony, Professor of law, University of Auckland. Author of The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa

Elizabeth Borgwardt, Professor of law, Washington University. Author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 8th, 2013

In this hour, we reflect on Nelson Mandela s life, legacy and the struggle for multiracial democracy in South Africa with Mandela s friend and partner in the struggle, Albie Sachs.

  • Albie Sachs, South African Human rights lawyer and co-authored new constitution of South Africa. He has authored among others, The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law.

Then, scholars note that the world is waging fewer wars but that the wars that are waged are more brutal and intractable. How far have we come in the science of making peace?

  • George Lopez  Vice President and Director of international conflict management  at US Institute of Peace and Author of Sanctions and the Search for Security: Challenges to UN Action
  • Ervin Staub, Prof. of Psychology University of Massettuces Amherst.  Author of The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others
  • Norrin Ripsman, Professor of  Political Science at Concordia University. Author of Globalization and the National Security State

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 1st, 2013

First, Will Allen talks about the Good Food Revolution, a movement dedicated to equitable and sustainable food, and creating just world, one food secure community at a time. [ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Will Allen, author, founder of Growing Power; Author of The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, the economic crisis are pushing more people into homelessness, an already pervasive epidemic in America. Why are so many people without homes? And what can be done about it? [ dur: 32 mins. ]

  • Prof. Sam Tsemberis, Professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, Founder & Exec. Dir. of Pathway to Housing; Author of Housing First Manual: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction
  • Prof. James Baumohl, Professor at Bryn Mawr College, Graduate school of social work and social research; Author of Homelessness In America
  • Prof. Kim Hopper, Professor of Medical Anthropology & research scientist at Nathan S. Kline institute of Psychiatric Research of Colombia University; Author of Private Lives/Public Spaces: Homeless Adults on the Streets of New York City and Reckoning with Homelessness

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 24th, 2013

First, we continue to trace the birth of free speech in the US, a country that for decades prosecuted dissenters. What caused the radical turn around by the Supreme Court to support free speech?  With Thomas Healy.  [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Thomas Healy is professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. He is the author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind — and Changed the History of Free Speech in America. And the law review publications, Brandenburg in a Time of Terror, and The Rise of Unnecessary Constitutional Rulings.

Then, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, we revisit a discussion with Kennedy’s special counsel, closest adviser and speech writer. President Kennedy referred to him as his intellectual blood bank. We spoke with Sorensen in 2008. He passed away in 2010. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Ted Sorensen has authored nine books including, Counselor: Life at the Edge of History. He co-authored Kennedy’s Pulizer Prize winning book, Profiles in Courage.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 17th, 2013

First, after years of allowing censorship and criminal prosecution of dissent, what caused the radical turnaround by the Supreme Court to then support free speech and dissent? Part one of a two part discussion with Thomas Healy author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind ” and Changed the History. [ dur:  27 mins. ]

  • Thomas Healy is professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. He is the author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind — and Changed the History of Free Speech in America. And the law review publications, Brandenburg in a Time of Terror, and The Rise of Unnecessary Constitutional Rulings

Then, we know that the wealthy have more influence than other americans, but just how unrepresentative is the American Congress and the state legislatures? [ dur: 31 mins. ]

  • Thomas Hayes is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Connecticut. His publications include, Responsiveness in an Era of Inequality: The Case of the U.S. Senate, and Do Citizens Link Attitudes with Preferences? Economic Inequality and Government Spending in the New Gilded Age
  • Martin Gilens is Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America, and Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy.
  • Patrick Flavin is professor of political science at Baylor University. His publications include, Income Inequality and Policy Representation in the American States, Does Higher Voter Turnout Among the Poor Lead to More Equal Policy Representation? and How Citizens and Legislators Prioritize Spheres of Representation.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 10th, 2013

First, thousands of migrants leave their countries in search of safety or a better life, but many are abducted, enslaved or disappeared never to be seen again. We ll talk w/ an award-winning journalist who documented the lives of Central American migrants and the life-threatening dangers they faced.  [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Oscar Martinez, author, journalist. Author of The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging the Narcos on the Migrant Trail.

 

We then dig deeper into the world of migration, and the systems and policies that perpetuate many of the inhumane conditions. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Kevin Johnson is Dean and  Professor of Public Interest Law at UC Davis School of Law. He has co-authored., Opening the Floodgates: Why America Needs to Rethink Its Borders and Immigration Laws, and authored Immigration Law and the US-Mexico Border.
  • David Shirk is Associate  Professor of Political Science and International, and Director of the Justice in Mexico Project, at University of San Diego. He has co-authored, Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2013, Armed with Impunity: Curbing Military Human Rights Abuses in Mexico, and Contemporary Mexican Politics.
  • David Kyle is professor of Sociology at University of California, Davis. His publications include, Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives, and Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 3rd, 2013

Frist, we look at when and how war began.

  • Robert Kelly, Professor and Director of Anthropology, Univ. of Wyoming;  Author of The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers: The Foraging Spectrum
  • Douglas Fry,  Professor of Peace Mediation Research and Anthropology,  Abo Akademi Univ, Finland; Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, how war and violent conflict might be resolved.

  • Douglas Fry, Professor of Peace Mediation Research and Anthropology, Abo Akademi University, Finland; Author of The Human Potential for Peace: An Anthropological Challenge to Assumptions about War and Violence
  • Mari Fitzduff, Professor of International program of coexistence and conflict,  Brandeis University; Author of The Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts: From War to Peace
  • Douglas Noll, lawyer, mediator peacemaking. Author of Peacemaking: Practicing at the Intersection of Law and Human Conflict

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Oct. 27th, 2013

First, what do dictators, CEOs, and political leaders have in common? We’ll explore some of their strategies for getting and keeping power with Alastair Smith, coauthor of, The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics..

  • Alastair Smith, Professor of Politics, NYU.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at deception and lying. Some scholars say that deception is ubiquitous and normal in all human interactions, that lying is useful and possibly even biological. Others suggest that there is a cost to lying even for white lies. What is the truth about lying?

  • Sr. Fellow Sissela Bok, Harvard University. Former Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University. Author of Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life
  • David Livingstone Smith,  Professor of Philosophy, University of New England.  Author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind
  • Charles V. Ford,  Professor of Psychiatry at School of Medicine, University of Alabama. Author of Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit

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