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

Much of the mass media has fixated on whether the film Zero Dark Thirty glorified torture. Academy Award-winning director Katherine Bigelow has been forced by critics to explain her use of graphic, detailed torture scenes in her new film, which dramatizes the hunt and assassination of Osama Bin Laden. But while headlines and talk shows focus on Bigelow and her film, less has been said about two new reports detailing extensive torture, or about the realities of torture.

We are joined by filmmaker Murad Aldin Amayreh discussing his most recent documentary, “The Tortured: Stories of Survival.” And, Hector Aristizabal, one of the interviewees in the film who was tortured in Colombia. Also joining the conversation: Pamela Merchant is Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability. Gerald Gray is a social worker and psychotherapist who works with torture victims and who has initiated numerous institutes to assist them (including the Center for Justice and Accountability). Pamela Merchant is Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability. Stephen Rohde is a constitutional lawyer, founder and Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and a Vice President of Death Penalty Focus, and author of AMERICAN WORDS OF FREEDOM, and FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY. [ dur. 29 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, President Obama has announced that a decade of war is now ending, our panel argues that warring is a relatively new phenomenon in human societies and that human beings are not warlike by nature. [ dur. 27 mins. ]

Douglas P. Fry, Dir of Peace, Mediation & Conflict Research at Abo Akademi Univ. Finland.  Author of Beyond War : The Human Potential for Peace.

Darcia Narvaez, Prof. of Phycology, Univ. of Minnesota. Co-author of Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development: From Research to Practice and Policy.

Brian Ferguson, Prof. of  Anthropology , Rutgers Univ. .  Co-author of  War in the Tribal Zone: Expanding States and Indigenous Warfare.

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The Scholars’ circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 20th, 2013

In this hour, can a breakthrough in DNA snipping lead to curing AIDS and other diseases?

  • Jennifer A. Doudna is Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UC, Berkeley. She is the author of numerous publications including, “RNA-programmed genome editing in human cells”, “A Programmable Dual-RNA-Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity” and “RNA-Guided Human Genome Engineering via Cas9.”

Then, the Postal Service is in dire straits. What is the future of US mail?

  • A. Lee Fritschler is a Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. He is the co-author of numerous publications and books including, “Closed Minds? Politics and Ideology in American Universities” ,  and “Smoking and Politics: Bureaucracy Centered Policy Making, Sixth edition”.

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle, how will the Obama Administrations proposals to address gun violence fare with the congress and the supreme court?

  • David S. Law is Professor of Law and Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, and currently Visiting Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He is author of numerous publications and co-author with Mila Versteeg of, “The Declining Influence of the US Constitution” and “The Evolution and Ideology of Global Constitutionalism”.
  • Sanford Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law and is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of numerous publications and books including, “Wrestling With Diversity” and most recently, “Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It)”.
  • Erwin Chemerinsky is the founding dean and distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in Political Science. He is the author numerous books most  recently, “The Conservative Assault on the Constitution”, “Enhancing Government: Federalism for the 21st Century” and “Interpreting the Constitution”.

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The Scholars’ circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 13th, 2013

First, we look at post-earthquake reconstruction, disaster relief and the role of NGO’s in Haiti. We also take a deeper look at the critical role of the Haitian Diaspora.

  • Jonathan Katz, Journalist and author of The Big Truck That Went By;
  • Manolia Charlotin, executive editor of The Haitian Times;

Then, on the Scholars Circle, we examine the politics of the US Constitution, its effect on political institutions and the political process, and ask whether it should be revised or amended. Also, includes comparative analysis with other constitutions.

  • David S. Law, Prof. Law and Political Science, Washington Univ. in St. Louis;
  • Sanford Levinson, Prof. of Law, Univ. of Texas School of Law; Author: Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance
  • Louis Michael Seidman, Prof. Constitutional Law, Georgetown University; Author: On Constitutional Disobedience ( in alienable Rights )

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The Scholars’ circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 6th, 2013

Last year brought many vital issues out into the open. Storms such as Hurricane Sandy for example heightened awareness of climate change. What might we see develop in 2013?

  • Sarah Von Gelder, Yes Magazine;

Then we spend the rest of the hour discussing a disturbing trend of increasing numbers of school children being conditioned for the criminal justice system, often referred to, as the school to prison-pipeline. What might it mean for society? And how should this situation be addressed?

  • Dr. Kim Socha, Regional Dir., Save the Kids;
  • Jon Vang ,  mentor , community activist.
  • Prof. Anthony Nocella, Dispute resolution, Hamline Univ;
  • Daniel Losen, Dir., of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies, UCLA;
  • Prof. Damien Schnyder, African studies, Scripps College