Monthly Archives: October 2014

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle -US-Financial-Crisis-was-a-Political-Crisis- Oct. 26th, 2014

We look at how the financial crisis, like those that came before it, was a political crisis. We spend the hour analyzing the failures of democracy that allowed it to happen, and what reforms are necessary to prevent it from happening again. We are joined by the authors of Political Bubbles: Financial Crisis and the Failure of American Democracy. [ dur: 57 mins. ]

  • Nolan McCarty is the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and Chair of the Department of Politics at Princeton University, respectively.
  • Keith T. Poole is the Philip H. Alston, Jr. Distinguished Chair and Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Georgia and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California San Diego.
  • Howard Rosenthal is Professor of Politics at New York University and Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences and of Politics at Princeton University.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle -The-Gingrich-Senators-/-Politics-Of-Humor-Oct. 19th, 2014

First, is the former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich responsible for damaging the culture and productivity of the US Senate? An interview with Sean Theriault author of,
The Gingrich Senators: The Roots of Partisan Warfare in Congress. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Sean Theriault is a Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of, The Power of the People: Congressional Competition, Public Attention, and Voter Retribution, Party Polarization in Congress, and The Gingrich Senators: The Roots of Partisan Warfare in Congress.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we look at the origins, philosophy and politics of humor. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Amber Day, is a Professor of Performance studies in English and Culture Studies Department at Bryant University; Author of Satire and Dissent: Interventions in Contemporary Political Debate
  • John Morreall, is a Professor of Philosophy Department Chair at Religious Studies at William and Mary College. Author of Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor
  • Peter McGraw, is a Professor of Marketing and Psychology at University of Colorado, Boulder. Author of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle -American Dream and Reality -/- Reaction-to-Terrorist Threat-/-Fundamentalism -Oct. 12th, 2014

First, we look at the gap between the American Dream and reality, with Miles Corak, professor of economics with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. [ dur: 13mins. ]

  • Miles Corak is professor of economics with the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottowa. He is the author of, Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe

Then, are the high alerts, embassy closures, and the national surveillance state reasonable reactions to the threat of terrorist acts? Our next guests suggest that the government may be overreacting. We are joined by John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart, authors of, “Terror, Security, and Money: Balancing the Risks, Benefits, and Costs of Homeland Security.” [ dur: 17mins. ]

  • John Mueller is a research scientist and professor of political science at Ohio State University and author of Retreat from Doomsday and War, Presidents and Public Opinion.
  • Mark Stewart is a professor of civil engineering and director of the Center for Infrastructure , Performance and Reliability at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, in many parts of the world fundamentalism is on the rise oppressing human rights, sometimes using bodily harm and even death. Simultaneously, the international community has been ineffective in helping the scholars, journalists, human rights advocates and artists who are struggling against the oppression. How bad is the situation and what can be done? [ dur: 28mins. ]

  • Karima Benoune, Professor of Law  at UC Davis, School of Law; Author of  Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism
  • Ousseina Alidou, Professor at Center African Studies, Rutgers University; Author of Engaging Modernity: Muslim Women and the Politics of Agency in Post-colonial Niger (Women in Africa and the Diaspora) and Muslim Women in Postcolonial Kenya: Leadership, Representation, and Social Change
  • Sadia Abbas; Professor of English at Rutgers University; At Freedom’s Limit: Islam and the Postcolonial Predicament

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Daniel Patrick Moynihan-Letters-/-Why-Some-Misdeeds-become-scandals -Oct. 5th, 2014

First, we speak with Steven Weisman author of, Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary, a book of Senator Moynahan’s correspondence. [ dur. 17 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, why some misdeeds become scandals and others don’t? Why is it that the same type of transgressions are treated differently at different times, and might this differential treatment affect our politics, policies and society? [ dur: 41 mins. ]

  • Robert Entman is a professor at George Washington University and the author of Scandal & Silence: Media Responses to Presidential Misconduct.
  • Brendan Nyhan is professor at Dartmouth College and coauthor of All the President’s Spin: George W. Bush, the Media, and the Truth.
  • Sigurd Allern is a professor at Volda University and project leader for the Nordic Research Network in Journalism Studies. Author of Scandalous!: The Mediated Construction of Political Scandals in Four Nordic Countries

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