Category Archives: Scholars’ Circle Interviews

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Politics-in-Soviet-Union-/-Science-of-Compassion-Jan. 4th, 2015

First, while many in the West decry the politics of the former Soviet Union countries as corrupt and anti-democratic, our guest Professor Henry Hale argues, that there are much better ways of understanding the processes and politics of patronal systems. Part one of a two part discussion with Professor Henry Hale.[ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Henry E. Hale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University. His books include Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective, The Foundations of Ethnic Politics: Separatism of States and Nations in Eurasia and the World and Why Not Parties in Russia? Democracy, Federalism, and the State.

Then, on the scholars’ panel, we explore the science of compassion. What is it and how does it impact society? Can we learn to be compassionate? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Iain Wilkinson is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. He is the author of Suffering: A Sociological Introduction and Anxiety in a Risk Society.
  • Dr. Paul Gilbert is the head of the Mental Health Research Unit as well as Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby. His books include Compassion-Focused Therapy: Distinctive Features and The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life’s Challenges
  • Dr James R. Doty is a Clinical Professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. He is the co-author of Surgical Disorders of the Sacrum.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-1914-Christmas-Truce-/-Redefine-Democracy-/-Design-of-Cities-Dec. 28th, 2014

This week on the Scholars’ Circle:

First, why did soldiers on the front line of one of the deadliest wars lay down their arms and play soccer with the very men they were supposed to shoot? We’ll revisit the Christmas truce of 1914, this December marks the 100th anniversary. [ dur: 24 mins. ]

  • Stanley Weintraub is Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University. His books include 11 Days in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce, Long Day’s Journey into War: December 7, 1941 and A Stillness Heard Round the World: The End of the Great War, November 1918

Next, author Raj Patel discusses his book, The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market, Society and Redefine Democracy. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Rajeev Patel is a Research Professor in the 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 and The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy

Finally, how does the design of a city and its architecture affect democracy, community, our psychology and public health? [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Jan Gehl is an Architect and is former Professor and Researcher at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. His books include Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, Cities for People and How to Study Public Life.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-New-Deal-History-/-War-In-Our-Times-Dec. 21st, 2014

First, Michael Hiltzik author of, The New Deal: A Modern History, discusses the politics of the new deal, and what can we learn from the program that reshaped the country. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author who has covered business, technology, and public policy for the Los Angeles Times for three decades. He currently serves as the Times’s business columnist and hosts its business blog, The Economy Hub. His books include The New Deal: A Modern History, Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of Hoover Dam, Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age and The Plot Against Social Security: How the Bush Plan Is Endangering Our Financial Future.

Then, scholars note that the world is waging fewer wars, but that the wars that are waged are more brutal and intractable. How far have we come in the science of making peace? [ dur: 31 mins. ]

  • George Lopez  Vice President and Director of international conflict management  at US Institute of Peace and co-author of Sanctions and the Search for Security: Challenges to UN Action
  • Ervin Staub, Prof. of Psychology University of Massettuces Amherst.  Author of The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others
  • Norrin Ripsman, Professor of  Political Science at Concordia University. Co-author of Globalization and the National Security State

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Free-Speech-in-USA-/-Tortured-Dec. 13th, 2014

First, we continue to trace the birth of free speech in the US, a country that for decades prosecuted dissenters. What caused the radical turn around by the Supreme Court to support free speech? [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Thomas Healy is Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School. Author of The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind–and Changed the History of Free Speech in America

Then, the senate’s report on CIA torture detailed the intelligence agencies inhumane interrogation techniques, which included rectal hydration, water-boarding and beatings. Members of the Bush administration who had sanctioned the torture, continue defending the program despite international condemnation. Our next two panel discussions explore the realities of torture, both from the individuals’ experiences of being tortured and the broader legal and societal questions..

  • Murad Aldin Amayreh is an Independent Film Producer and Director. He produced and directed the recently released documentary, The Tortured: Stories of Survival.
  • Hector Aristizabal is one of the interviewees in the film, who was tortured in Colombia. He has a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, founded ImaginAction to help people tap the transformative power of theatre in programs throughout the US, Latin America, Europe and globally. He is the co-author of, The Blessing Next to the Wound: A Story of Art, Activism, and Transformation.

Also joining the conversation:

  • Pamela Merchant is the former President and Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability. Under her leadership, CJA has grown from an organization devoted solely to human rights litigation in the U.S. to one that also engages in human rights litigation in foreign jurisdictions, such as Spain and Cambodia. CJA now represents over 200 clients from 21 countries and has tripled its operating budget. Ms. Merchant has testified before Congress on accountability for human rights abusers and other human rights issues. Ms. Merchant received degrees from Georgetown University and Boston College School of Law
  • Gerald Gray is a social worker and psychotherapist who works with torture victims and who has initiated numerous institutes to assist them. He founded Center for Justice and Accountabilityin 1998. Currently, he is on the advisory board at the Institute for Redress & Recovery, Santa Clara University School of Law.
  • Stephen Rohde is a constitutional lawyer, founder and current Vice-Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and a Vice President of Death Penalty Focus. He is the author of, Webster’s New World American Words of Freedomand Freedom of Assembly.

 

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Free-Speech-in-USA-/-Influencers-of-American-Congress-Dec. 7th, 2014

First, after years of allowing censorship and criminal prosecution of dissent, what caused the radical turnaround by the Supreme Court to then support free speech and dissent? Part one of a two part discussion with Thomas Healy.

  • Thomas Healy is Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School. Author of The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind–and Changed the History of Free Speech in America

Then, we know that the wealthy have more influence than other americans, but just how unrepresentative is the American Congress and the state legislatures?

  • Thomas Hayes, is Professor of Political Science at University of Connecticut.
  • Martin Gilens, is Professor of Politics, Princeton University. Author of  Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America
  • Patrick Flavin, is Professor of Political Science at Baylor University.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Homelessness-in-United-States-Nov. 30th, 2014

This week on The Scholars’ Circle we spend the hour addressing homelessness in America:

First, the economic crisis is pushing more people into homelessness, an already pervasive epidemic in America. We’ll look at one duo’s efforts to rescue some of the most vulnerable homeless men and women, one by one, and explore the system’s workings and failures from their experiences. [ dur: 28mins. ]

  • Robin Nixon, record producer;
  • Dennis Davis, musician, documentary producer;

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel we further examine homelessness in America with three experts. A recent report published in the efforts to end homelessness entitled, The State of Homelessness in America 2014, found on a single night in January 2013, 610,042 people were experiencing homelessness. What are the realities for the homeless? What are some of the causes contributing to homelessness? And what are some of the solutions? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Sam Tsemberis is a Professor  Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University. Founder & Executive. Director of Pathway to Housing. He is author of Housing First Manual: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction
  • James Baumohl is Professor of Graduate School of  Social Work and Social Research at Bryn Mawr College. He is author of Homelessness in America.
  • Kim Hopper is Professor of Medical anthropology and  research scientist at Nathan S. Klein Institute at  Colombia University. He is author of Reckoning with Homelessness (The Anthropology of Contemporary Issues).

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-Islamic-State-Iraq-Syria-Nov. 23rd, 2014

We spend the hour analyzing the emergence of the Islamic State also known as ISIS or ISIL. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

  • Fred H. Lawson is a Professor and Department Head of Government at Mills College. He is the author of Global Security Watch – Syria, Demystifying Syria, Why Syria Goes to War: Thirty Years of Confrontation and Constructing International Relations in the Arab World.
  • Salman Sayyid is Professor of Social Theory & Decolonial Thought at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the author of Recalling the Caliphate: Decolonisation and World Order, A Fundamental Fear: Eurocentrism and the Emergence of Islamism and co-editor of A Postcolonial People: South Asians in Britain.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-US-Supreme-Court-/-Russia-and-the-West-Nov. 16th, 2014

First, one of the country’s preeminent law scholars makes his case against the supreme court. We are joined by Erwin Chemerinsky author of, The Case Against the Supreme Court.

  • Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Irvine Dean School of Law. Author of The Case Against the Supreme Court

Then, Russian war planes over Europe and war ships near Australia. What do these and other demonstrations of power mean in the current politics between Russia and the West?

  • Martha Merritt, Deputy Dean of the College for Academic Programs and Advancement, University of Chicago; Contributor to Russian and Soviet History: From the Time of Troubles to the Collapse of the Soviet Union
  • Henry E. Hale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, and Co-Director of the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia) at George Washington University. Author of Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective and Why Not Parties in Russia?: Democracy, Federalism, and the State

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle-US-Midterm-Election-/-Ukraine-Crisis-Nov. 9th, 2014

First, what might the Republican sweep mean for everything from the climate, to the economy, to US foreign policy, to democracy in the US? [ dur: 21 mins. ]

  • Peter Hanson, is a Professor of Political Science at University of Denver. Author of  Too Weak to Govern: Majority Party Power and Appropriations in the U.S. Senate
  • 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, Conflict between Russia and Ukraine appears to be escalating while US-Russia relations have seemingly deteriorated. What is fueling these escalations? What can be done to allay the tension? [ dur: 38 mins. ]

  • John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago. Author of Why Why Leaders Lie: The Truth about Lying in International Politics and The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
  • Robert English is Director of the School of International Relations and professor of International Relations at University of Southern California. He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West, and editor of My Six Years with Gorbachev.
  • Molly O’Neal, visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University.
  • Anthony Antoine, Executive Director of the Institute for European Studies at University of Brussels.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Organ Trafficking -/- Climate Change 2047 -/- Immigration US-Mexico – Nov. 2nd, 2014

First, the underworld of organ trafficking. [ dur: 10 mins. ]

  • Nancy Scheper-Hughes, is Professor of anthropology at University of California, Berkeley, editor of Commodifying Bodies and author of Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology.
  • Art Caplan, is Professor and head of the division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center and award-winning author of books including Applied Ethics in Mental Health Care: An Interdisciplinary Reader, Ethics and Organ Transplants, and Smart Mice, Not so Smart People.

Then, Professor Mora and his colleagues have calculated how climate change will affect our temperatures around the year 2047. In the future, they found, our coldest year will be warmer than the past hottest years. The changes, which will first occur in the tropics, are already driving some 25,000 species to extinction each year. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle Panel, thousands of migrants leave their countries in search of safety or a better life, but many are abducted, enslaved or disappeared never to be seen again. We dig deep into the world of migration, and the systems and policies that perpetuate many of the inhumane conditions. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Kevin Johnson is Dean and  Professor of Public Interest Law at UC Davis School of Law. He has co-authored., Opening the Floodgates: Why America Needs to Rethink Its Borders and Immigration Laws, and authored Immigration Law and the US-Mexico Border.
  • David Shirk is Associate  Professor of Political Science and International, and Director of the Justice in Mexico Project, at University of San Diego. He has co-authored, The Drug War in Mexico: Confronting a Shared Threat, and Contemporary Mexican Politics.
  • David Kyle is Professor of Sociology at University of California, Davis. His publications include, Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives, and Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador.

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