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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Culture War by CIA in 1950’s against French cultural left -/- Code Economy and Future of Work – December 17, 2017

Why were CIA agents reading French philosophy? [ dur: 22mins. ]

  • Gabriel Rockhill is a philosopher, cultural critic and political theorist. He is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University and Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop at the Sorbonne. In this interview, we ask about his published paper The CIA Reads French Theory: On The Intellectual Labor of Dismantling The Cultural Left. In it, he focused on the reasoning behind why the CIA wanted to dismantle cultural left in France soon after the end of World War II. He is the author of Counter-History of the Present: Untimely Interrogations into Globalization, Technology, Democracy, Interventions in Contemporary Thought: History, Politics, Aesthetics and Radical History and the Politics of Art.

What is the Code Economy and what does it have to do with the future of work. Some people argue that machines will take over jobs. But our guest argues that perhaps humanity will reinvent work in a way that’s more aligned with what it means to be human. [ dur: 36mins. ]

  • Philip Auerswald is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and a Senior Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation. He is the author of The Code Economy: A Forty-Thousand Year History, The Coming Prosperity: How Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Economy and he is the editor of Iraq, 1990-2006 3 Volume Set: A Diplomatic History Through Documents.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Analysis of Ideology, Propaganda and Race -/- Rapid Rate of Extinction, why and what can be done – December 10, 2017

First, an analysis of ideology, propaganda and race. [ dur: 17 mins. ]

  • David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, How Biology Shapes Philosophy and Why We Lie: Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind.

Then, what are the causes of the rapid rate of species extinction and what can be done. [ dur: 41 mins. ]

  • Anthony Barnosky is Executive Director of Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and an Emeritus Professor of Integrative Biology at University of California Berkeley. He is the author of Dodging Extinction—Power, Food, Money and the Future of Life on Earth and co-author of Tipping Point for Planet Earth—How Close Are We To The Edge (with Elizabeth Hadly).
  • Stuart Pimm is Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University. He is the author of A Scientist Audits the Earth, The Balance of Nature? Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities, and Patterns in Nature: The Analysis of Species Co-Occurences.
  • David Wilkie is Director of Conservation Measures for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Hunting for consensus: reconciling bushmeat harvest, conservation, and development policy in West and Central Africa, Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest, and Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods in Cambodia.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Are Google and Facebook increasing income inequality and damaging democracy and art -/- Teaching Children about community, Giving and Empathy – December 3, 2017

First, are Google and Facebook increasing income inequality, harming the arts and damaging democracy? Our guests says yes. [ dur: 44 mins. ]

  • Jonathan Taplin was the founding director of the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab and an Oscar nominated filmmaker, a music manager and author. He is the author of Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy.

Then, how one university professor is teaching children about community, civics, empathy and giving. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

  • Ann Crigler is Professor of Political Science at USC. She is the co-author of Common Knowledge: News and the Construction of Political Meaning and Crosstalk: Citizens, Candidates and the Media in a Presidential Campaign, and the co-editor of Rethinking the Vote: The Politics and Prospects of American Election Reform and The Affect Effect: Dynamics of Emotion in Political Thinking and Behavior

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Building Equitable and Sustainable Food Systems – November 26, 2017

We spend the hour on good food politics, the food revolution, and the movements to build equitable and sustainable food systems. First, we’re joined by Will Allen author of Good Food Revolution. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Will Allen is the author of Good Food Revolution and the founder of the non-profit Growing Power.

Then, our guests have studied the food system and what it means to have an equitable and sustainable system. What are the problems in the system and what are the solutions? [ dur: 33 mins. ]

  • Saru Jayaraman is Director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California, Berkeley . She is the co-founder and co-director of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United) which has more than 18,000 worker members, 200 employer partners, and several thousand consumer members in a dozen states nationwide. She is the author of Behind the Kitchen Door and her latest Forked: A New Standard for American Dining.
  • Raj Patel is a Research Professor in the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, The Value of Nothing – a New York Times and international best-seller – and his latest, co-written with Jason W. Moore, A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things. He co-hosts the fortnightly food politics podcast The Secret Ingredient .

Raj Patel and Saru Jayaraman are contributors to The Nation magazine’s special issue, “The Future of Food: Setting the table for the next generation“.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into aspects of Money Laundering – November 19, 2017

We discuss the many faces to money laundering, the cost to society and potential remedies. Why is it so hard to track and prosecute money laundering? How does it finance terrorism? [ dur: 58 mins. ]

  • Moyara Ruehsen is Associate Professor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California. She is the Director of Financial Crime Management Specialization. Her expertise is in financial regulatory compliance and investigations, and public policies related to illicit markets as well as macro-economy. She is the author of Follow the Proliferation Money and Terrorism Financing Methods: An Overview.
  • Richard Gordon is Professor of Law at Case Western University. He is also Director of the Financial Integrity Institute; Associate Director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center. He is the author of A Model Regulation on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and Public Corruption And Money Laundering.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Oceans Rising -/- Designing Peace – November 12, 2017

First, climate change, receding glaciers and melting ice sheets are causing the oceans to rise dramatically. What does that mean for the world’s coastal cities? [ dur: 15 mins. ]

Then, designing peace in divided societies. How do you make peace after fatal conflicts and loss of lands? What is the role of identity in conflict and peacemaking? [ dur: 43 mins. ]

  • Neophytos Loizides is Professor and Chair in International Conflict Analysis in the School of Politics & International Relations (POLIR) at the University of Kent. He is the author of The Politics of Majority Nationalism: Framing Peace, Stalemates, and Crises and Designing Peace: Cyprus and Institutional Innovations in Divided Societies. He is also the co-editor (with Oded Haklai) of Settlers in Contested Lands: Territorial Disputes and Ethnic Conflicts.
  • Dr. Madura Rasaratnam is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics in the Department of International Politics at City University of London. She is the author of Tamils and the Nation: India and Sri Lanka Compared.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Nazi attempt to control Hollywood and America in 1930’s -/- Insight into North Korean Standoff – November 5, 2017

First, how one man infiltrated the Nazi cells and foiled their plots to sow chaos in Los Angeles. Steven J. Ross is the author of Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America. [ dur: 33 mins. ]

  • Steven J. Ross is Professor of History at USC. He is the author of Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics, and his most recent Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America.

Then, an in depth analysis of the growing crisis with the US and North Korea. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Stephan Haggard is Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies, director of the Korea-Pacific Program, and distinguished professor of political science at University of California, San Diego. He has co-authored with Marcus Noland Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid, and Reform, Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea and Hard Target: Sanctions, Inducements, and the Case of North Korea.
  • Charles K. Armstrong is Professor of Korean Studies at Colombia University. He is the author of The North Korean Revolution, 1945-1950, The Koreas (2nd edition), and Korean Society: Civil Society, Democracy, and the State Recent.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Inside Look at Presidential Campaign Events -/- Use of Private Military in International Conflicts – October 29, 2017

First, a look behind the presidential campaign events with one of the top advance men. How do Advance people shape what we see in mass media? Steven Jacques, author of Advance Man. [ dur: 19 mins. ]

  • Steven Jacques is author and former Advance team leader for the White House and presidential campaigns. He is the author of Advance Man.

Then, how is the privatization of military activities compromising international conduct in conflict? What does it mean for international law and ethics in conflict? We look at the multi-billion dollar private military industry. Amy Eckert is the author of Outsourcing War: Just War Tradition in the Age of Military Privatization. [ dur: 37mins. ]

  • Amy Eckert is Professor of Political Science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver where she teaches and studies international ethics and international law. Her books include “The Future of Just War: New Critical Essays” and, her latest, “Outsourcing War: Just War Tradition in the Age of Military Privatization“.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Assassination of Journalist Chauncey Bailey -/- How to survive Climate Change Event – October 22, 2017

Chauncey Bailey was the first journalist killed in the US doing his job since the 1970’s. We’ll look at the reasons behind his assassination. [ dur: 24 mins. ]

  • Thomas Peele is the author of Kill the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism’s Backlash and the Assassination of a Journalist.

Then, scientists say we still have time to address climate change and we’ve made headway, but we still have a long way to go. We speak with renowned climate scientist Michael Mann. [ dur: 33 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Professor Michael Mann is a climatologist and a geophysicist. He’s the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. He was one of the lead authors of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC. He is the author of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Predatory Humans affect ecology -/- Current Problems with Health care delivery – October 15, 2017

First, is humanity the most damaging predator on earth? Our guests say yes, and that its predatory practices may be disrupting evolution. [ dur: 23mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Chris Darimont, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. He has a PhD in Evolution and Ecology from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria.
  • Dr. Tom Reimchen, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Canada. Please visit the Evolutionary Studies Lab at University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada where you will find additional studies on this subject.
  • Heather Bryan is a postdoctoral fellow in the Applied Conservation Science lab at the University of Victoria BC, Canada. She studies the physiological mechanisms by which wildlife responds to environmental change.

Together they are the authors of the research paper The unique ecology of human predators you can view on the Science site.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, many observers argue, that the economic forces are corrupting medical care and eroding the trust between patients and their doctors. The problems in health care delivery have wide implications related to how health care should function particularly when there are limited resources. We examine the ethics of medicine and healthcare, and the modern day issues that complicate them.[ dur: 37 mins. ]

  • Thomas Pogge is the Director of the Global Justice Program and Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University and King’s College. His books include World Poverty and Human Rights, Freedom from Poverty: Who Owes What to the Very Poor? and World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms.
  • Martin Wilkinson is Professor of Political Studies and Deputy Head of Department of Politics & International Relns at the University of Auckland. His books include Freedom, Efficiency and Equality and Ethics and the Acquisition of Organs.
  • Richard Cookson is a Reader and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York. His books include The Humble Economist: Tony Culyer on Health, Health Care and Social Decision Making and Jonathan Bradshaw on Social Policy: Selected Writings 1972-2011.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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