Scholars’ Circle-Plastic-Pollution-in-Oceans-/-Refugee-Crisis-September 27th, 2015

First, tons of discarded plastic are choking off the ocean, killing wildlife, and building islands of garbage. How bad has it become and what can be done? [ dur: 19 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Capt. Charles Moore is founder of the ALGALITA Marine Research & Education Institute.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we look at the worse refugee crisis in the history. More than 59 million people have been forcibly displaced mostly from wars and persecution, according the the United Nations Refugee Agency. And the crisis appear to be worsening. What can be done to alleviate the mass suffering? Our guests argue that only a global response will do. [ dur: 39 mins. ]

  • Phil Orchard is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland and Research Director for the Asia-Pacific Center for the Responsibility to Protect. He is the author of “A Right to Flee: Refugees, States and the Construction of International Cooperation“.
  • Jay Marlowe  is Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean at the University of Auckland. He has published widely on the issue of refugees.
  • David Kyle is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of “Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador“, and the co-editor of “Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives“.

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Scholars’ Circle-Generational-Economic-Opportunity-in-US-/-Bee-Colony-Collapse-September 20th, 2015

First, trend for economic equality in US has been changing with less opportunity for people to transcend inter-generational economic status than they have in other countries, like Norway, Finland, Denmark and Canada. Why the changes? [ dur: 13 mins. ]

  • Miles Corak is a 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” and “Income Mobility Across the Generations

Then, climate change, pesticides and mites are killing off the planet’s bees. What will happen to the planet’s foods? And can the bee colony collapse be stopped? [ dur: 45 mins. ]

  • Jeremy Kerr is a Professor of Biology at the University of Ottowa, specializing in conservation biology and biodiversity. His latest publication links the decline of bumble bees to climate change.
  • Peter Dearden is a Professor of Genetics and a researcher in the laboratory for evolution and development at Otago University where he specializes in evolution, development and epigenetics.
  • Paulo de Souza is a Professor and team leader at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, and the Global Initiative for Honey Bee Health. He’s also a collaborating scientist on NASA’s Mars exploration Rover Mission.

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Scholars’ Circle-Western-Dominance-of-the-World-/-How-ideas-shape-international-power-structures-September 12th, 2015

First, what were the factors that led to Western dominance of the world and how are they changing the world. We discuss the book, Why the West Rules For Now: The Patterns of History and What They Reveal About the Future with Professor Ian Morris. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Ian Morris is Professor of Classics Faculty at the Stanford Archaeology Center. He is a historian and archaeologist. He has excavated in Britain, Greece, and Italy, most recently as director of Stanford’s dig at Monte Polizzo, a native Sicilian site from the age of Greek colonization. His publications include “Why the West Rules–For Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future“, and “The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations“.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, how might the power of ideas shape countries and international power structures [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Elizabeth Borgwardt is an Associate Professor of History and is an acclaimed international law and human rights historian whose research focuses on human rights ideas and institutions. Her publications include, “A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights“.
  • Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of History at Oregon State University. Nichols specializes in the history of the United States and its relationship to the rest of the world, particularly in the areas of isolationism, internationalism, and globalization. His publications include, “Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age“.
  • Tim Lynch is Professor and Director of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Melbourne.His books include “Turf War: the Clinton Administration and Northern Ireland” and he co-authored “After Bush: the Case for Continuity in American Foreign Policy“.

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Scholars’ Circle-Turkey-assaults-Kurds-/-UN-Human-Rights-Council-September 6th, 2015

First, is Turkey using ISIS as a cover for a war against its Turkish population? It has recently launched some 300 airstrikes against the Kurdish PKK and rounded up more than a 1,000 members from another pro-Kurdish group, the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, according to The Independent. It has also arrested and detained local journalists. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

Then, what is the United Nations’ Human Rights Council? Is it dominated by human rights violators? Hillel Neuer is Executive Director of UN Watch. [ dur: 40 mins. ]

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