Scholars’ Circle-US-Senate-/-US-Consitution-Mar. 29th, 2015

Is the U.S. Senate simply too weak to govern? Our next guest suggests it is. Peter Hanson joins us, he is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Denver. His book is Too Weak to Govern: Majority Party Power and Appropriations in the U.S. Senate. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Peter Hanson is a Professor i​n the ​Political Science Department at the University of Denver. He is the author of Too Weak to Govern: Majority Party Power and Appropriations in the U.S. Senate.

Later on the scholars’ panel we examine the politics of the U.S. Constitution. For decades the U.S. Constitution has been treated as a sacred document that should not be criticized, but some scholars say that many of the provisions within the constitution are at the root of the problems in the U.S.: in governance, in policy making and in political discourse. What are the problematic provisions and how can they be addressed? ​ [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Sanford Levinson is a Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It) and Constitutional Faith.
  • Louis Michael Seidman is a Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law School. He is the author of Silence and Freedom, On Constitutional Disobedience and Our Unsettled Constitution: A New Defense of Constitutionalism and Judicial Review.
  • David S. Law is a Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis and the Martin & Kathleen Crane Fellow in Law and Public Affairs at Princeton University. He is the co-author of The Declining Influence of the United States Constitution New York University Law Review.

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Scholars’ Circle-Danny Schechter-/-Children-of-Uganda-/-Bullies-Victims-Trauma-Mar. 22nd, 2015

First, the world has lost another strong voice for ethical journalism. Last week Danny Schechter, often called “the News Dissector,” lost his battle to pancreatic cancer.

Danny Schechter is an award winning investigative journalist, documentarian, author and activist. He has produced a long list of important works with wide ranging topics, from Apartheid to economic scandals. In honor of Danny Schechter’s life we are re-airing an interview that we did with him, here on the Scholars’ Circle in 2010. We discussed the state of the media, media culture and its role, response and impact on the financial crisis, war and WikiLeaks. Danny Schechter’s kind heart, dedication and commitment to human rights and dignity can be heard in his voice, truly an honor to air this segment. Our hearts go out to Danny Schechter’s Family, Loved Ones and Friends.

  • Danny Schechter is an award winning investigative journalist, documentarian, author and activist. He is the author of When South Africa Called, We Answered: How the Media and International Solidarity Helped Topple Apartheid, Madiba A to Z: The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela, and The Crime Of Our Time: Why Wall Street is Not Too Big To Jail.

Later, what becomes of the children who are abducted and forced into sex slavery and child soldiering? Our guest Jane Ekayu, a child trauma therapist, is helping children heal and rebuild their lives.

  • Jane Ekayu is a child trauma therapist and Founder and Executive Director of Children of Peace Uganda

Finally, on the scholars’ panel we take a close look at bullying. Bullies and victims of bullies are much more likely to develop psychological disorders such as agoraphobia, panic disorder, suicidal thoughts and aggressive behavior, as adults. In both adult and adolescent settings bullying cultures can emerge when bystanders and others disengage and allow the behavior to continue, ultimately creating abusive organizations. What is the long term effect on individuals and by extension on societies at large, resulting from bulling behaviors?

  • Joyce T. Heames is Chair and Professor of Management and Industrial Relations in the College of Business & Economics at West Virginia University. She is the author of A bully as an archetypal destructive leader.: An article from: Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies [HTML] [Digital], Bullying: From the Playground to the Boardroom.
  • Catherine Bradshaw is a Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and has a joint appointment in the Johns Hopkins School of Education. She is the Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence and the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Prevention and Early Intervention. Catherine Bradshaw is the co-author of Bullies, gangs, drugs, and school: Understanding the overlap and the role of ethnicity and urbanity.
  • Jaana Juvonen is Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. She co-authored Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized and Focus on the wonder years: Challenges facing the American middle school.

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Scholars’ Circle-Trans-Pacific-Trade-Partnership-Status-Mar. 15th, 2015

We spend the hour exploring what could become the world’s largest trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). What could it mean for the countries that are considering signing onto it? Can it be democratic, humanitarian and transparent?

  • Raj Bhala is the Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law and Rice Distinguished Professor at The University of Kansas School of Law. He is the author of International Trade Law: Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice Documents Supplement and Trade, Development, and Social Justice.
  • Meredith Kolsky Lewis is a Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and at Victoria University of Wellington Law School. She is the co-editor of Trade Agreements At The Crossroads and co-author of International Business Law.

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Scholars’ Circle-Children-caught-in-Justice-System-/-XY-chromosones-/-21st-century-revolutions-/–Mar. 8th, 2015

First, we discuss a disturbing trend of increasing numbers of school children being conditioned for the criminal justice system. We look at what one organization is dong to address this situation. [ dur: 8 mins. ]

Then, scientific discoveries about x and y chromosomes are challenging what we know about what makes us male or female. [ dur: 16 mins. ]

  • Jeremy Nathans is professor of molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience and ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His discoveries have changed our understanding of how humans see the world.
  • Melissa Wilson Sayres is professor in the School of Life Sciences and The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Her research interests are in sex chromosome evolution, sex-biased processes, population genetics, and comparative genomics.

Finally, revolutions are not what they used to be. How have they changed? We’ll explore revolutions in the 20th and 21st Century. [ dur: 35 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Leandro Vergara-Camus is professor at the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Land and Freedom, The MST, the Zapatistas and Peasant Alternatives to Neoliberalism.
  • John Foran is professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of, Revolution in the Making of the Modern World: Social Identities, Globalization and Modernity, The Future of Revolutions: Re-thinking Radical Change in an Age of Globalization, and Taking Power: On the Origins of Revolutions in the Third World.
  • Jack A. Goldstone is professor of public policy at George Mason University. He is the author of Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World, REVOLUTIONS: A Very Short Introduction, and the co-editor of POLITICAL DEMOGRAPHY: How Population Changes are Reshaping International Security and National Politics. Editor of blog on the global economy and world politics at http://newpopulationbomb.com

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