Welcome to The Scholars’ Circle
Producers: Maria Armoudian, Ankine Aghassian & Melissa Chiprin
contact us : host (at) scholarscircle.org
The Scholars’ Circle is a weekly production. Our library contains interviews from 2011 to present.
Below are our 10 most recent recordings.
First, we speak with Nancy Gibbs about one of the world’s most exclusive and influential clubs. Nancy Gibbs is the co-author of The Presidents Club: Inside the Worlds Most Exclusive Fraternity. [ dur: 29 mins. ]
Then, we’ll take a peek inside the strange political marriage of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon and how their terms shaped U.S. politics and policy. [ dur: 29 mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
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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. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
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We explore public corruption. We’ll examine the specific allegations related to U.S. President Donald Trump, his family and associates, and what their effects might be on governance and society. [ dur: 58 mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
First, we speak with Erwin Staub about his latest book, The Roots of Goodness and Resistance to Evil: Inclusive Caring, Moral Courage, Altruism Born of Suffering, ActI’ve Bystandership and Heroism. [ 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.
Then, we speak with Fritjof Capra about his book The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. He is also the author of, The Tao of Physics, Tthe Turning Point, The Web of Life, The Hidden Connections, The Science of Leonardo, and Learning from Leonardo. This is part two of a two part interview. Part one of this interview can be found here. [ dur: 33 mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The world is facing a water crisis. In a report the World Bank and the United Nations have reported that some 40 percent of the world’s population is effected by water scarcity, two billion people rely on unsafe water, and some 700 million people are at risk of being displaced by water scarcity. We spend the hour with four experts on water and water governance. [ dur: 58 mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
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With historic changes in the House of Representative, what can we expect from Congress and the President in policy and investigative battles? How will the power struggles play out? Will the Supreme Court weigh in, and if so, how?
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
We spend the hour understanding crypto-currency. Will cryptocurrency profoundly alter the monetary system? What is the future of it? What are the pros and cons? And what do they mean for economics, for power and for society? [ dur: 58 mins. ]
- David Golumbia, is Associate Professor in the Department of English; Media, Art, & Text Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the author of The Cultural Logic of Computation and The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism . His blog is uncomputing.org.
- Gina C. Pieters is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Trinity University, and an honorary Research Fellow at the University College London Centre for Blockchain Technologies. She is the author of the research papers Does Bitcoin reveal new information about exchange rates and financial integration?, The Potential Impact of Decentralized Virtual Currency on Monetary Policy and Cross-Country Distribution of Power and Exposure in the Crypto-Market.
- Lee W McKnight is Associate Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. He is the co-author of The Gordian Knot:Political Gridlock on the Information Highway, Cloud to Edgeware: Wireless Grid Applications, Architecture and Security for the “Internet of Things”, Knowledge Networks, the Internet, and Development , and co-editor of Creative Destruction: Business Survival Strategies in the Global Internet Economy and Internet Economics.
- Emin Gun Sirer is Associate Professor at Cornell University and Co-Director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts. He is the co-author of Majority is not Enough: Bitcoin Mining is Vulnerable, Managing the Network with Merlin. and On the Feasibility of Completely Wireless Datacenters. He developed the precursor to Bitcoin. His blog is HackingDisturbed.com
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
While water is a basic human right, some 3 billion people face water scarcity and some countries are running out of water. We’ll explore the realities of water. [ dur: 34 mins. ]
Then, how much water is in the jeans we wear or the meals we eat? How our everyday decisions can alleviate the water crisis. Thomas Kostigan discusses his book, the Green Blue Book. [ dur: 22 mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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 with Stanely Weintraub, author of, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. [ dur: 23 mins. ]
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: 35mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
How does culture shape our understanding and treatment of mental illness? [ dur: 58 mins. ]
This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download