The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Apr. 14th, 2013

First, we’ll begin with the surprising ways that Hollywood actors have shaped American politics and who have some of the most groundbreaking and influential on the body politic. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

Then, how do our experiences, our traumas, diets and lifestyles get coded in our genetic systems and passed on to our offspring and their offspring? How do they affect our health and our politics? [ dur: 28 mins. ]

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Apr. 7th, 2013

First, Is our behavior free will or is it . . . parasites?! New science shows how parasites change behaviors throughout the animal kingdom. Does it also apply to humans? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

Then, what becomes of children abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and made to be sex slaves or child soldiers? one program seeking to heal and rebuild the lives of tens of thousands of child soldiers victimized by the brutal war in Uganda. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle, making sense of the politics of North Korea. [ dur. 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Mar. 31st, 2013

First, what are the real factors that will drive the justices decisions on Prop. 8 and DOMA? [ dur. 27mins. ]

  • Samuel A. Marcosson is Professor of Law at University of Louisiana, Lious S. Brandis School of Law. HIs publications include, Original Sin: Clarence Thomas and the Failure of the Constitutional Conservatives, and the book chapter The Special Status of Religion Under the First Amendment … and What it Means For Gay Rights and Anti-Discrimination Laws (in Moral Argument, Religion, and Same-Sex Marriage: Advancing the Public Good).
  • Lawrence Baum is Professor Emeritus in the Political Science Department at Ohio State University.. His publications include,The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior (Analytical Perspectives on Politics), and Specializing the Courts.
  • Sanford Levinson is Chair in Law and professor of government at University of Texas Law School. His numerous publications include, Wrestling with Diversity; Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, with dozens of species going extinct every day, we look at the science and ethical issues of de-extinction – cloning using DNA of extinct species – and conservation. [ dur. 29 mins. ]

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Mar. 23rd, 2013

First, we speak with Kishore Mahbubani author of, The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World . [ dur: 30 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at Venezuela post-Chavez era. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Mar. 17th, 2013

The United Nations has concluded its annual conference on the status of women with a focus on ending violence against women at a time when modern slavery has become a more than $35 billion industry that enslaves millions of people, mostly women and girls. The State Department estimated that in 2012, 27 million people were being held as slaves, most as sex slaves, and many held in western nations. Just last week, in fact, a UK commission found more than 1000 cases of enslavement. Most were women and girls forced into sexual exploitation. What are the realities of trafficking and slavery in 2013?We spend the hour exploring the realities of human trafficking, modern day slavery and exploitation.

First Scholars’ Circle: [ dur.  35 mins. ]

  • Kathleen Kim is a Professor of Law at Loyola Law School. She currently co-directs the Anti-Trafficking Litigation Assistance and Support Team. Her many publications include, “The Coercion of Trafficked Workers”,(link to publication ) and “Reconceptualizing Approaches to Human Trafficking: New Directions and Perspectives from the Field(s).”
  • Siddharth Kara is a Fellow with the Carr Center Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. He is the author of, “Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia,” and the award-winning book, “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery.” Kara currently advises the United Nations, the U.S. Government, and several other governments on antislavery research, policy and law.
  • Gillian Wylie is an Assistant Professor in International Peace Studies at Trinity College Dublin. She is the author of many publications including, “Human Trafficking in Europe: Character, Causes, Consequences,” and “Defining Trafficking/Denying Justice: Forced Labour in Ireland and the Consequences of Trafficking Discourse.”

Finally with Scholars’ : [ dur. 18mins. ]

  • Kathleen Berry, Prof. Emiritus Penn State University –  Authour of  Female Sexual Slavery;
  • Kathryn McKeenan, Prof. of Law, Univ. of Michigan Law School – Author of Sex equality only word.
  • Melissa Farley, Clinical Physcologists with Center for World Indigenous Studies. – Author of Men who buy Sex.

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Insighters Radio- Mar. 10th, 2013

First, we speak with Nancy Gibbs, Time magazine editor and author of “The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity “, on one of the world’s most exclusive and influential clubs. [ dur. 29 mins. ]

Then, did the sexual counter revolution polarize American politics? We speak with Nancy Cohen visiting scholar at UCLA and author of  “Delirium:How the Sexual Counterrevolution is Polarizing America”. [ dur. 27 mins. ]

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Mar. 3rd, 2013

First, can new media change power relations? We speak with Rory O’Connor author of, “Friends, Followers and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands, and Killing Traditional Media.” [ dur. 27mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, in the face of looming public health and sustainability, we look at the intersection of science and politics. [dur. 28 min. ]

  • Naomi Oreskes, Prof. History & Science, UC San Diego; Author of  “Merchants of Doubt”.
  • Prof. David Guston, Political Science, Co-director Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, AZ State Univ.  Author of  “Between Politics and Science: Assuring the Integrity and Productivity of Research” .
  • Prof. Mark Brown, Gov’t & Political Science, CSU Sacrament; Author of “Science in Democracy”.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 24th, 2013

First, how did society develop from bands of hunter and gatherers to our current political system? Where did the concepts of accountability come from? And why was a swell of democracy followed by a decline in democratic gain? What is behind political decay? Francis Fukuyama poses these questions in his latest book, The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Francis Fukuyama, author, senior fellow at Stanford Univ.;

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, what are the trends and consequences of increasingly unequal society? We look at inequality, its causes and consequences. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Prof. Lane Kenworthy, Sociology and Political science Univ. of AZ.; Author: Progress for the Poor
  • Prof. Miles Corak,  Prof. of Economics, Univ. of Ottawa, Canada; Author: Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe
  • Prof. Sylvia Allegretto, Center on Wage & Employment Dynamics, Labor Economist , UC Berkeley. Author : The State of Working America:

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 17th, 2013

Begin with, President Obama used the state of the union address to galvanize support for his agenda. How does his state of the union compare to those of his predecessors? [ dur. 12:51 ]

  • Ryan Lee Teten, Professor of Political Science at Univ. of Louisiana.  Author of  – Evolution of Rehtorical Presidency.

Then, for President’s Day, we’ll take a peek inside the strange political marriage of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon and how their terms shaped US politics and policy. [ dur. 41mins. ]

  • Jeffery Frank, author, journalist;  Author of Ike and Dick of Strange Political Marriage.

Finally, we’ll revisit the 1920 founding of Black History Month and in advance of its 50th anniversary, the pivotal civil rights campaign in Birmingham. [ dur. 18 mins. ]

  • VB Franklin, Distinguished Prof. History at UC Riverside. Author of Education of Black Philidelphia.

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The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 10th, 2013

For this Valentine’s week:

First, we look at the global advances for marriage equality, just in time for the landmark Supreme Court cases. [ dur. 15  mins. ]

  • Jenny Pizer is Senior Counsel and Director of Law and Public Policy at Lambda Legal.

Then, they may have been some of the world’s greatest thinkers but they were also great failures at love.[ dur. 12 mins. ]

  • Andrew Shaffer is the author of, “Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love,” and “Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors.”

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle, what is love? Is it emotional? Biological? Can it be summarized by rational decision? How does it play out in society? [  dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Simon May is a Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Kings College, London. His books include, “Love: A History” and “Nietzsche’s Ethics and his War on Morality’.”
  • Bennett W. Helm is a Professor of Philosophy at Franklin & Marshall College. His books include, “Love, Friendship, and the Self: Intimate Identification and the Sociality of Persons,” and “Emotional Reason: Deliberation, Motivation, and the Nature of Value.”
  • Dr. Robert Epstein is Senior Research Psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology. He is currently working on a book called “Making Love: How People Learn To Love, and How You Can Too,” which is based on his research on how love emerges over time in arranged marriages. He is also the author of, “Teen 2.0: Saving Our Children and Families from the Torment of Adolescence,” and “Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays.”

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By Maria Armoudian