The Scholars’ Circle is hosted by Maria Armoudian. Listen & search our archive of interviews.

 

 

Below are our 10 most recent recordings.

First, what can the history of human rights tell us about the struggles of today. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

• Michelline Ishay is Professor and the director of the International Human Rights Program at the University of Denver. She is the author of The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization Era.

Then, Israel’s spiritual crisis and how it effects the Middle East. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

• Avraham Burg, Former speaker of Israel’s parliament. He is author of The Holocaust Is Over; We Must Rise From its Ashes.

Finally, our panel argues that warring is a relatively new phenomenon in human societies and that human beings are not warlike by nature. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

• Douglas P. Fry, Director of Peace, Mediation & Conflict Research at Abo Akademi University. Finland.  He is author of Beyond War : The Human Potential for Peace.
• Darcia Narvaez, Profressor of Phycology, University of Minnesota. Co-author of Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development: From Research to Practice and Policy.
• Brian Ferguson, Professor of  Anthropology , Rutgers University.  Co-author of  War in the Tribal Zone: Expanding States and Indigenous Warfare.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

First, how much does biology effect the propensity for violence? We are joined by Adrian Raine, author of, Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

• Adrian Raine is Professor of Criminology and Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of, Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime;

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, with climate change, depleted natural resources, and more than 9 billion people, what will the world look like in 2050? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

• Deepak Ray is Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Global Landscapes Initiative Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. He is co-author of the study, “Yield Trends Are Insufficient to Double Global Crop Production by 2050,” and “Solutions for a Cultivated Planet.”
• Eward Miguel is Professor at University of California, Berkeley and Director of the Center for Effective Global Action. He is the author of, Africa’s Turn? He is co-author of Economic Gangsters: Corruption, Violence and the Poverty of Nations, and the study, “Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict.?
• Laurence C. Smith is Professor and Chair of Geography at UCLA and author of The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization’s Northern Future.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

First, we explore eliminationism and genocide in the 20th and 21st century. And address how to prevent and hold those responsible, accountable, with Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, author of Worse than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.

• Daniel Jonah Goldhagen was a Professor of Political Science and Social Studies at Harvard University until he decided to devote himself full time to writing. He is the author of, Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, A Moral Reckoning: The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair, and Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, what are the requisite pathways to building a real peace between Israel and Palestine?

• Sami Adwan is Professor of Education at Bethlehem University and the Palestinian Director and Co-Director of Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME). His is the author of, Learning Each Other’s Historical Narrative: Palestinians and Israelis, co-author of Comparative Analysis of the Israeli and Palestinian Conflict in History and Civic Education, and Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine.
• Sarai Aharoni is Professor and research fellow of International Relations at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She is the co-author of, Where Are All the Women? U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325: Gender Perspectives of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
• Ervin Staub is Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His numerous publications include The roots of evil: The origins of genocide and other group violence, The psychology of good and evil: Why children, adults and groups help and harm others, and Overcoming evil: Genocide, violent conflict and terrorism

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

First, our monthly series with Scientific American, Scholars Circle Scientific (SCSC), with highlights in science. We discuss Cancer Research News and new discoveries about our universe. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

• Fred Guterl, is Executive Editor, Scientific American;

Then, we revisit the American Revolution through the story of the loyalists – those loyal to Great Britain. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

• Maya Jasanoff, is Professor of History  at Harvard University. She is author of Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists and the Revolutionary War.

Finally with Scholars’ Circle Panel we discuss  history of Constitutional Amendments  to  US Constitution. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

• John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-1995, and soon to be released ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.
• Stephen M. Griffin is Professor in Constitutional Law at Tulane Law School. He is the author of, Long Wars and the Constitution and American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics.
• Sanford Levinson is Professor in the Department of Government and Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. His numerous publications include, Constitutional Faith, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and, most recently,Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

First, we continue our conversation about why no one predicted that Justice Scalia would become one of the most polarizing Supreme Court justices in US history. Bruce Allen Murphy is the author of Scalia: A Court of One. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

• Bruce Allen Murphy is a judicial biographer and professor of law at Lafayette College. His latest book is Scalia: A Court of One.

Then on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we review the latest US Supreme Court term. [ dur: 29 mins.  ]

• John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in Action, Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-1995, and soon to be released ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.
• Stephen M. Griffin is Professor in Constitutional Law at Tulane Law School. He is the author of, Long Wars and the Constitution and American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics.
• Sanford Levinson is Professor in the Department of Government and Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. His numerous publications include, Constitutional Faith, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and, most recently, Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

In this hour, the man some call the most polarizing and controversial supreme court justice in American history — The story of Antonin Scalia and why no one predicted who he would become. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

• Bruce Allen Murphy is a judicial biographer and professor of law at Lafayette College. His latest book is Scalia: A Court of One.

Then, on the Scholar’s Circle panel, what is driving the increased violence against women around the world and how are women responding? [dur: 30 mins. ]

• Manisha Desai is Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies & Sociology at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of Gender and the Politics of Possibilities: Rethinking Globalization, and co-editor of Women’s Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggle and Global Politics.
• Jacqui True is Professor of Politics and International Relations at Monash University. She is the author of The Political Economy of Violence Against Women and Gender, Globalization and Postsocialism.
• Amana Fontanella-Khan writes for Slate, the Daily Beast and the New York Times. Her book is called Pink Sari Revolution: A Tale of Women and Power in India.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

What drives destructive or unethical foreign policy? Some point to pathological pursuits of exceptionalism, honor and glory. Others, point to systemic flows. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

• Christopher J. Fettweis is Professor of Political Science at Tulane University. He is the author of Dangerous Times? The International Politics of Great Power Peace and The Pathologies of Power: Fear, Honor, Glory, and Hubris in U.S. Foreign Policy.

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 Professor of Sociology at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America and Freaks Talk Back: Tabloid Talk Shows and Sexual Nonconformity.
• David Marshall is Chair of New Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at Deakin University, Australia. He is the author of Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture, New Media Cultures, and The Celebrity Culture Reader.
• David Giles is Professor of Media Psychology at the University of Winchester, UK. He is the author of Illusions of Immortality: A Psychology of Fame and Celebrity, and Psychology of the Media.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

First, how the murky world of the global arms trade compromises democracy and security. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

• Andrew Feinstein served as an African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament in South Africa for over seven years. He is the founding Director of Corruption Watch. He is the author of, The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade, and his political memoir, After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey Inside the ANC.

Then, the International Criminal Court has sentenced a Congolese militia leader, completing its second conviction since the court was founded 12 years ago. Why so few convictions and what should be done about prosecuting international crime? [ dur: 33 mins. ]

• Hannah Garry is a professor of law at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law and Director of the International Human Rights Clinic. She specializes in international human rights law, international criminal law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law.
• Chris Mahony, is a research fellow at Center for International Law Research and Policy. He was Deputy Director of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice, Faculty of Law, Auckland University. He has advised the International Criminal Court, the British and US governments, the International Centre for Transitional Justice, and the Open Society Initiative, on international justice, transitional justice and justice sector reform.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

First, sanitation and antibiotics have saved the lives of many, but are they also the culprits behind some of our modern diseases? We might have gone overboard in killing our microbes. And that may be causing some of today’s epidemics. With Martin  Blaser.[ dur: 22 mins. ]

• Martin J. Blaser is Professor of Translational Medicine and Director of Human Microbiome Program at New York University. He is the author of Missing Microbes : How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, in light of the shootings in Santa Barbara, we look at how the meaning of the second amendment has changed since its introduction and what it may mean for today’s debate about gun laws. Our guests have traced the historical meaning of the second amendment from the very first days when it was drafted and proposed. [ dur: 36 mins. ]

• Michael Waldman is President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. His is the author of POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency, A Return to Common Sense: Seven Bold Ways to Revitalize Democracy, and his latest, The Second Amendment: A Biography.
• Adam Winkler is Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. He is the author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America and the co-editor of Encyclopedia of the American Constitution.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play:

First, Thailand has experienced its second military coup in a decade. What does the military siege mean for the country and the region. [ dur: 17 mins. ]

• Jack Fong, Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Author of Revolution as Development: The Karen Self-Determination Struggle Against Ethnocracy (1949 – 2004)

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, while advances in neuroscience are making great leaps in understanding humanity, scholars and doctors disagree on what neuroscience does and does not tell us about what it means to be human. Are we our brains? Do we have free will? How far can neuroscience take us? [ dur: 40 mins. ]

• Dr. Sally Satel is lecturer at Yale University, a resident scholar at AEI and the staff psychiatrist at a methadone clinic. She is coauthor of One Nation under Therapy and Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience.
• Patricia S. Churchland is professor emerita of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. In 1991, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Her books include Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy, Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality, and Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain.

Your purchase from our store supports our work!
Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Play: