All posts by host

Scholars’ Circle – Fake News and Informed Democracy -/- Politics and Society as Climate Change Unfolds – September 10, 2017

First, hacking, fake news, paid trolls both from within the country and from afar, are they destroying democracy? [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Chris Tenove is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Ethics and the Munk School of Global Affairs of the University of Toronto. He studies international relations and political theory, with an emphasis on issues of global governance and global justice. He is also an award-winning freelance writer and broadcaster.
  • Jennifer Forestal is an Assistant Professor of Political Science (Theory) at Stockton University in New Jersey.

We also get insight into unprecendented storms that are ravaging communities and destroying lives all while revealing dynamics in society, politics and power. What are these risks and revelations and what needs to be done? [ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Steve Matthewman is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Auckland. He is the author of Disasters, Risks and Revelations.
  • Naomi Zack is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon. She is the author of the Ethics of Disaster.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Labor Union movement in America -/- Lives affected by Storms and Fires – September 3, 2017

First, we examine the history of labor unions and how they have shaped America today. We are joined by Philip Dray author of There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America.

  • Philip Dray is an author, historian, fellow @ New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU.

Then, storms and fires are on the rise in quantity and severity bringing disastrous consequences to lives and livelihood. How will we deal with the storms, particularly with the loss of power?

  • Steve Matthewman, University of Auckland, NZ. Studies and teaches on Social theory, technology studies, the underbelly of modernity, the sociology of accidents and disasters
  • Julie MacArthur, University of Auckland, NZ. Studies and teaches environmental politics & renewable energy policy,

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

Scholars’ Circle – Bird Songs -/- New Form of Corporate Lawlessness – August 27, 2017

First, scientists have made fascinating discoveries on how animals communicate. Birdsongs are more than music; they are warnings of danger understood by many species. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Erick Greene, Professor of Biological Sciences at University of Montana. He has published numerous papers in ornithology, the latest in collaboration with the Cornell labs of Ornithology

Then, companies like Uber, Google and AirBnb claim to be civil rights leaders, but they are introducing a new form of corporate lawlessness? [ dur: 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies at University of Virginia. Author of “The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry)“. His articles at Slate can be found here. He co-authored an opinion piece on Guardian UK newspaper with Frank Pasquale ( author of Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information (Harvard University Press, 2015) Uber and the lawlessness of ‘sharing economy’ corporates

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

Scholars’ Circle – Preparing for Nazis in Charlottesville -/- Survey of Extremists and Radicalization in USA -/- Power Breeds Immorality and Hypocrisy – August 20, 2017

In this hour, we explore why the Nazis came to Charlottesville. [ dur: 32 mins. ]

  • Siva Vaidhyanathan is Professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. He is the author of The Googlization of Everything and Why We Should Worry, The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System, Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Propery and How it Threatens Creativity.

What the common patterns among violent extremists are. [ dur: 16 mins. ]

We end with discussion on how power can breed immorality and hypocrisy. [ dur: 10 mins. ]

  • Adam Galinsky is the Chair of Management Department and Professor of Business at the Columbia Business School at Columbia University. He is the co-author of FRIEND AND FOE: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both​.​

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

Scholars’ Circle – Big Science insight -/- Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen – August 13, 2017

The birth of what we know as big science. The big money supported, cross institution collaborations that have supported both medicine and weaponry. How did science and government get so entrenched with industry, and one another? And what have been the results? Michael Hiltzik is the author of Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention That Launched the Military Industrial Complex. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author. He has been writing for the Los Angeles Times for three decades and is currently the Times’ Business Columnist. He is the author of many books including, The New Deal: A Modern History; The Plot Against Social Security, and his latest Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention That Launched the Military Industrial Complex.

Yemen is facing one of the worst humanitarian crisis on earth. How did it get to this? And what should be done? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into Good and Evil part II -/- Race, Ethnicity, Politics and Society – August 6, 2017

First, we continue our conversation with preeminent psychology scholar Ervin Staub. Last week we discussed how to build peaceful societies, particularly when some groups have been traumatized by violence, war or genocide. Erwin Staub’s latest book is The Roots of Goodness and Resistance to Evil. This is part two of our discussion.

  • Ervin Staub is a Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Founding Director of its ​Ph.D. concentration in the Psychology of Peace and Violence.

Then, what is race? How is it distinct from ethnicity? And what do they mean for politics and society?

  • 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 and The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War.
  • Garrett Albert Duncan is Associate Professor of Education in Arts & Sciences. He also teaches African & African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. His publications are listed here.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Look at World Arms Trade -/- Insight into Good and Evil – July 30, 2017

First, a look inside the arms trade and its effects on politics and society.[ dur: 33mins. ]

  • Suzette Grillot is a Professor of International Studies at University of Oklahoma. She is the co-author of the book The International Arms Trade.

Then, we speak with Erwin Staub about his latest book, The ​R​oots of ​G​ood​nes​s​ and ​R​e​s​ist​ance to ​Evil: Inclusive ​C​aring, ​M​oral ​C​ou​r​age, ​Altruism ​B​o​r​n of ​S​uffering, ​A​c​t​ive ​B​ystandership and ​H​e​r​oism. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Ervin Staub is a Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Founding Director of its ​Ph.D. concentration in the Psychology of Peace and Violence.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Agricultural Land Ownership by African-Americans -/- Political Corruptions and Consequence – July 23, 2017

First, did predatory developers use the law to confiscate thousands of acres from African-American? [ dur: 16 mins. ]

Then, we continue analyzing political corruption, its causes, consequences and remedies. [ dur: 42 mins. ]

  • Matthew Stephenson is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is the author of Legislation and Regulation and the book chapter Corruption and Democratic Institutions: A Review and Synthesis.
  • Miriam Golden is Professor of Political Science at UCLA. She is the author of Heroic Defeats: The Politics of Job Loss and co-author of Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Animal and Human Connections -/- Humanitarian Intervention – July 16, 2017

First, do animals get depression, eating disorders, alcoholism, or diabetes? What can we learn from animals about healing? We explore the surprising common grounds between animals and human beings.[ due: 28mins. ]

  • Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine at the Division of Cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is a cardiovascular consultant to the Los Angeles Zoo. She is the co-author of Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health.
  • Kathryn Bowers is a Fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. She is the co-author of Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health.

Then, do states have sovereign rights over their citizens or should outside forces bear responsibility to protect innocent victims within states? When should the international community/United Nations interfere? And how? What are the laws and ethics that should guide these decisions? Our panel of scholars looks at the politics and ethics of humanitarian intervention.[ dur: 28mins. ]

  • Frank Chalk is Professor of History and Director of Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University. He is Co-director of the Will to Intervene project. He is the co-author of The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies, and associate editor of Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.
  • Jeff Holzgrefe is Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. He is the co-editor of Humanitarian Intervention: Legal, Ethical and Political Dilemmas.
  • Fernando Teson is Tobias Simon Eminent Scholar at Florida State University College of Law. He is the author of Humanitarian Intervention: An Inquiry Into Law and Morality and Philosophy of International Law.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Power Shifts -/- Truth about Lies we speak and hear – July 9, 2017

First, power is shifting and changing hands more rapidly than ever. What does it mean for global politics, religion, and economies? [ dur: 22 mins. ]

  • Moisés Naím is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is the author of The End of Power.

Then, while many argue that we are in a post-truth era, some scholars argue that deception has always been ubiquitous. In this hour, we get some truth about lying. [ dur: 36 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Timothy R. Levine is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the editor of Encyclopedia of Deception, Vol. 1 & 2 and many scholarly articles on deception.
  • David Livingstone-Smith is Professor of Philosophy in the University of New England. He is the author of Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind, Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others and The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War.
  • Briony Swire-Thompson is a Ph. D. student in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. She is a co-author of the studies Processing Political Misinformation: Comprehending the Trump Phenomena, and Correcting false information in memory: Manipulating the strength of misinformation encoding and its retraction.

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