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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First, we speak with Steven Weisman, editor of the book “Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary” which weaves compelling read of carefully selected from a 10,000 page collection of Senator Moynahan’s correspondence, housed at the Library of Congress. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

• Steven Weisman is a vice president for publications and communications at Peterson Institute for International Economics and formerly served as chief international economics correspondent of the New York Times. He is the editor of the book Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary.

As California burns, oceans rise, storms intensify, and Greenland’s glacier’s melts, we explore solutions to the climate change problem with Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson. He is the author of the just released study The health and climate impacts of carbon capture and direct air capture.

• Mark Jacobson is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford University. He’s also the Co-Founder of The Solutions Project, 100.org, and the 100% Clean, Renewable Energy Movement. He is the author of A path to sustainable energy by 2030 (Scientific American, 2009); 100% clean and renewable wind, water, sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for the 50 United States (Energy & Environmental Sciences, 2015; 100% clean and renewable wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for 139 countries of the world (Joule, 2017); and 100% clean, and renewable wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) all-sector energy roadmaps for 53 towns and cities in North America (Sustainable Cities and Society, 2018)

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

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First, what are the life chances of children of incarcerated parents? [ dur: 10mins. ]

• Christopher Wildeman is Associate Vice Provost for the Social Sciences, Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and Director of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect at Cornell University. He is the co-author of Children of the Prison Boom: Mass Incarceration and the Future of American Inequality.

Then, Canadians have spoken with their ballots. What does Canada’s election mean for climate change, for the future of the Arctic, for LGTBQ rights, for ethics, and for Canada’s role in the world? What does the election mean for Canada’s future? Contributing host Doug Becker explores. [ dur: 48mins. ]

• Steven Lamy is a Professor of International Relations, Environmental Studies, and Spatial Science a the University of Southern California. He is the author of the book chapter The U.S. Arctic Policy Agenda: The State Trumps Other Interests.
• Marc O’Reilly is Jane Frost Kalnow Professor of the Humanities at Heidelberg College. He is the author of Unexceptional:America’s Empire in the Persian Gulf, 1941-2007 and co-editor of Handbook of Canadian Foreign Policy.
• Lisa Burke is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Denver. She is the author of Natural Disasters in the book Rethinking 21st Century Security.

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

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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.

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Contributing host Doug Becker spends the hour exploring the politics of memory and alterations of history. How is memory shaped to influence the politics of war and post-war, in the post-war of former Yugoslavia. What can we learn about how our memories of the past are manipulated to change current and future politics? What can we learn from “memory entrepreneurs” in the former Yugoslavia? How did they try to change understandings about the past to influence the future? [ dur: 53mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

• Jelena Subotic is Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University. She is the author of Hijacked Justice: Dealing with the Past in the Balkans and the forthcoming Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance after Communism.
• Brent Steele is Francis D. Wormuth Presidential Chair of Political Science and Professor of Political Science at University of Utah. He is the author of
  Ontological Security in International Relations and the research paper Maintaining (US) collective memory: from Hiroshima to a critical study of security history.
• Brent Sasley is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas, Arlington. He is the author of the book Politics in Israel: Governing a Complex Society and the journal article Theorizing States’ Emotions.

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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We spend the hour examining the future of US foreign policy after the firing of John Bolton as National Security Advisor, the marginalization of the National Security Council and the possibility of a nuclear arms deal with North Korea. Is the president free-styling his policy? and how much is he consistent with his previous policies? [ dur: 58mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ.

• Jeffrey Fields is Associate Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of State Behavior and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime and Engaging Adversaries: Myths and Realities in American Foreign Policy.
• Robert Williams is Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Social Science Division at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He is the co-author of Seeking Security in an Insecure World.
• Peter F. Trumbore is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Oakland University. He is co-author of the publications Rogue States and Territorial Disputes and Running on Foreign Policy? Examining the Role of Foreign Policy Issues in the 2000, 2002, and 2004 Congressional Campaigns.
• Nicholas Rostow is a Senior Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School with specialization in national security law. He has extensive experience in policy making including as legal advisor to the National Security Council under Colin Powell. He is co-author of the book chapter 9/11 and After: Legal Issues, Lessons, and Irregular Conflict

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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First, scientific discoveries about x and y chromosomes are challenging what we know about what makes us male or female. [ dur: 16 mins. ]

• Jeremy Nathans is Professor of molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience and ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His discoveries have changed our understanding of how humans see the world. link to Professor Jeremy Nathan’s lab
• Melissa Wilson Sayres is Professor in the School of Life Sciences and The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Her research interests are in sex chromosome evolution, sex-biased processes, population genetics, and comparative genomics. Melissa Wilson Sayres research papers

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, what is the celebrity industrial complex? How does it impact our democracies, our culture and society? [ dur: 43 mins. ]

• Joshua Gamson​ ​is a Professor of ​ ​Sociology​ ​at​ the​ University​ of​ San Francisco. He is the author of The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, The Music, The Seventies in San Francisco​,​ Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity​ ​and Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America.​
• David Gilles is a Professor in Media Psychology at the University of Winchester. He is the author of Psychology of the media​, Media psychology​ and Illusions of immortality: A psychology of fame and celebrity​​​​.​
• P. David Marshall is a Professor and Chair in New Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at Deakin University, Australia. He is the au​th​​or of Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture, New Media Cultures and ​T​he Celebrity Culture Reader​.​

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Survey of ocean condition. [ dur: 58mins ]

Karina Nielsen is Professor of Biology and Executive Director of Estuary and Ocean Science Center at San Francisco State University. She is the co-author of California’s 4th Climate Assessment: Coast and Ocean Summary Report and Emerging understanding of seagrass and kelp as an ocean acidification management tool in California, and Are meta-ecosystems organized hierarchically? A model and test in rocky inter-tidal habitats.

Stephen R. Palumbi is Jane and Marshall Steel Jr. Professor in Marine Sciences at Stanford University and the Harold A. Miller Director of the Hopkins Marine Station. He is the co-author of numerous publications including Using naturally occurring climate resilient corals to construct bleaching-resistant nurseries, Cobble community DNA as a tool to monitor patterns of biodiversity within kelp forest ecosystems, and Impacts of biodiversity loss on ocean ecosystem services.

Scott Doney is Joe D. and Helen J. Kington Professor in Environmental Change in the Department of Environmental Sciences at University of Virginia. He is the co-author of numerous publications including A comprehensive global oceanic dataset of helium isotope and tritium measurements , Strengthened scientific support for the Endangerment Finding for atmospheric greenhouse gases , and Anthropogenic ocean acidification over the twenty-first century and its impact on calcifying organisms.

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ.

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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How culture shapes our understanding and treatment of mental health. We speak with three experts. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

• Roberto Lewis-Fernandez is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University. He is also Director of NYS Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence and Hispanic Treatment Program and Co-Director of Anxiety Disorders Clinic at New York State Psychiatric Institute. He is the author and co-editor of the book DSM-5(R) Handbook of the Cultural Formulation Interview. He is also the co-author of the research publications Impact of motivational pharmacotherapy on treatment retention among depressed Latinos, and Conditional risk for PTSD among Latinos: A systematic review of racial/ethnic differences and sociocultural explanations.
• Tanya Marie Luhrmann is the Watkins University Professor in the Anthropology Department at Stanford University. She is the author of When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God, Of Two Minds: An Anthropologist Looks at American Psychiatry and Our Most Troubling Madness: Schizophrenia and Culture.
• Andrew G. Ryder is Associate Professor of Psychology and Co-Director of the Centre for Clinical Research in Health at Concordia University. He is the co-author of the research publications Culture and psychopathology, Revisioning psychiatry: Cultural phenomenology, critical neuroscience, global mental health, Depression in cultural context: Chinese somatization and Towards a cultural-clinical psychology.

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, Bird Colony collapse and crop failures.

• Josh Tewksbury is Research Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and Director of the Colorado Global Hub, Future Earth. He is also Executive Editor of Anthropocene magazine. He is the co-author of the studies Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate and De-faunation leads to interaction deficits, not interaction compensation, in an island seed dispersal network.
• Curtis Deutsch is Associate Professor of Chemical Oceanography in the School of Oceanography at Washington University. He is the co-author of the studies Acceleration of oxygen decline in the tropical Pacific over the past decades by aerosol pollutants, Microbial functional diversity alters the structure and sensitivity of oxygen deficient zones, and Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate.
• Steven R. Beissinger is Professor of Conservation Biology in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the co-author of the studies Mojave Desert Bird Populations Plummet as Region Warms and Dries and The push and pull of climate change causes heterogeneous shifts in avian elevation-al ranges.

Then, birds, bees, whales and turtles all use the earth s magnetic field to guide their behavior. Now scientists have learned much more about how. Joining us is Andres Vidal Gadea. He s a professor of Molecular Neuroethology at Illinois State University who has made the fascinating discoveries. [ dur: 15mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ.

• Andrew Vidal Gadea, Professor of Molecular Neuroethology, Illinois State University . His research website at Illinois State University.

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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