Tag Archives: Environment

Scholars’ Circle – Genes, Culture and Prospect of humanity -/- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remembered – January 15, 2017

January 13, 2017 host

Is humanity outgrowing planet? We get insight from Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University, Paul R. Ehrlich.[ dur: 28 mins. ]

Paul R. Ehrlich is president of the Center for Conservation Biology and Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University, author of the Population Bomb, Human Natures: Genes, Culture, and the Human Prospect and A World of Wounds: Ecologists and the Human Dilemma.

While much of the country remembers Martin Luther King, Jr. as primarily a leader of civil rights and desegregation and a great orator, our next guests say he stood for so much more. Many aspects of his life, legacy & philosophy remain either unknown or conveniently forgotten. This interview from January, 2014. [ dur: 30 mins.]

David Garrow is Professor of History and Law at University of Pittsburgh, author of FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr: From “Solo” to Memphis.
Joshua Inwood is Professor of Geography and Africana Studies in Geography Department, University of Tennessee. His publications include, Nonkilling Geography, Searching for the Promised Land: Examining Dr. Martin Luther King’s Concept of the Beloved Community,and Street naming and the politics of belonging: spatial injustices in the toponymic commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas Jackson is Professor of History at University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He is the author of, From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Ecosystem Tipping Point, how it happens, effects and our response – January 8, 2017

January 8, 2017 host

We spent the hour looking at the science of tippings and what they mean for our climate and our ecosystems on land and in water today. What causes these types of sudden changes? And how can society be better prepared for such events? We spoke with three scientists whose studies involve tipping points, how they happen and their effects.[ dur: 58mins. ]

Peter Ward is a Professor of Paleontology and Biology at the Earth and Space Sciences Department of the University of Washington, Seattle.He is the co-author of the best-selling Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe, the author of many books including, Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere, Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future, and The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive? which was listed by the New York Times as one of the “100 most important ideas of 2009.”
Simon Thrush is Professor of Marine Science and Head of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Auckalnd in New Zealand, He is the co-author of many publications including, Real world biodiversity-ecosystem functioning: A seafloor perspective, The up-scaling of ecosystem functions in a heterogeneous world, and Altered Sea Ice Thickness and Permanence Affects Benthic Ecosystem Functioning in Coastal Antarctica.
George Perry is a Professor at the School of Environment at the University of Auckland. He studies the effects of humans on forest ecosystems. He is the co-author of many publications including, Positive Feedbacks to Fire-Driven Deforestation Following Human Colonization of the South Island of New Zealand, Feedbacks and landscape-level vegetation dynamics, and Pyrodiversity is the coupling of biodiversity and fire regimes in food webs.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Cuba, now where! -/- Sociology insights into Disaster Recovery – December 4, 2016

December 3, 2016 host

First, with the death of Fidel Castro and with Donald Trump as the incoming president, what will happen with Cuba and it’s relations with the United States? Peter Kornbluh of Cuba Documentation Project at the National Security Archives with insights.[ dur; 26mins. ]

Peter Kornbluh directs the Cuba Documentation Project and the Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archives. He is the author of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana, The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability and co-author of The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History.

Then, storms and fires are on the rise in quantity and severity bringing disastrous consequences to lives and livelihood. How will we deal with the storms, particularly with the loss of power? [ dur: 32mins. ]

Dr Steve Matthewman, teaches at University of Auckland, NZ. His research and expertise is in Social theory, technology studies, the underbelly of modernity, the sociology of accidents and disasters. He is the author of Disasters, Risks and Revelation: Making Sense of Our Times
Dr Julie Leigh MacArthur , teaches at University of Auckland, NZ. Her research and expertise is in Environmental politics and policy, participatory governance, renewable energy policies, social and solidarity economies. She is the author of Empowering Electricity: Co-operatives, Sustainability, and Power Sector Reform in Canada.

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

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Scholars’ Circle -Overuse of Antibiotics -/- Addressing Climate Change – September 25, 2016

September 24, 2016 host

First, sanitation and antibiotics have saved the lives of many, but are they also the culprits behind some of modern diseases? We might have gone overboard in killing our microbes. And that may be causing some of today’s epidemics. Martin I. 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. [ dur: 21 mins. ]

Martin I. 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, scientists say we still have time to address climate change and we’ve made headway, but we still have a long way to go. We speak with renowned climate scientist Michael Mann. [ dur: 37mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Professor Michael Mann is a climatologist and a geophysicist. He’s the director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. He was one of the lead authors of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC. He is the author of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial Is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Humans Disrupting Evolution -/- Ethics in Health Care – August 21, 2016

August 20, 2016 host

First, is humanity the most damaging predator on earth? Our guests say yes, and that its predatory practices may be disrupting evolution.[ dur: 23 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Chris Darimont, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. He has a PhD in Evolution and Ecology from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria.
Dr. Tom Reimchen, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Canada. Please visit the Evolutionary Studies Lab at University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada where you will find additional studies on this subject.
Heather Bryan, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Applied Conservation Science lab exploring the physiological mechanisms by which wildlife responds to environmental change at University of Victoria BC, Canada.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, many observers argue, that the economic forces are corrupting medical care and eroding the trust between patients and their doctors. The problems in health care delivery have wide implications related to how health care should function particularly when there are limited resources. We examine the ethics of medicine and healthcare, and the modern day issues that complicate them. [ dur: 37 mins. ]

Thomas Pogge is the Director of the Global Justice Program and Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University and King’s College. His books include World Poverty and Human Rights, Freedom from Poverty: Who Owes What to the Very Poor? and World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms.
Martin Wilkinson is Professor of Political Studies and Deputy Head of Department of Politics & International Relns at the University of Auckland. His books include Freedom, Efficiency and Equality and Ethics and the Acquisition of Organs.
Richard Cookson is a Reader and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics at the University of York. His books include The Humble Economist: Tony Culyer on Health, Health Care and Social Decision Making and Jonathan Bradshaw on Social Policy: Selected Writings 1972-2011.

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

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Scholars’ Circle- Renewable Revolution in South Korea -/- American Congress influenced by Wealthy – June 12, 2016

June 11, 2016 host

What technological changes are needed to power the renewable revolution? [ dur: 26 mins. ]

Sung-Young Kim is a Lecturer at the University of Auckland with a specialty in political economy. His publications include “Developmental Environmentalism: Explaining South Korea’s Ambitious Pursuit of Green Growth” and “South Korea Doubles Down on Green Growth.“

Then, we know that the wealthy have more influence than other Americans. But just how unrepresentative is the american congress and the state legislature? [ dur: 32 mins. ]

Thomas Hayes is Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut. He is the author of the publications, “Do Citizens Link Attitudes with Preferences? Economic Inequality and Government Spending in the New Gilded Age” and “Responsiveness in an Era of Inequality: The Case of the U.S. Senate.”
Martin Gilens is Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America.
Patrick Flavin is Professor of Political Science at Baylor University. He is the author of the publications, “Campaign Finance Laws, Policy Outcome, and Political Equality in the American States,” and “State Party Competition and Citizen’s Political Engagement.”

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

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Scholars’ Circle- Reasons for unethical Foreign Policies -/- Earth Climate 2047 -/- Wars not in human nature – June 5, 2016

June 4, 2016 host

What drives destructive or unethical foreign policies? Some point to pathological beliefs and pursuits of exceptionalism, honor and glory. Others point to systemic flaws. What are the consequences? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

Christopher Fettweis is a Professor of Political Science at Tulane University. He is the author of The Pathologies of Power: Fear, Honor, Glory and Hubris in U.S. Foreign Policy, Dangerous Times? The International Politics of Great Power Peace and Losing Hurts Twice as Bad: The Four Stages to Moving Beyond Iraq.

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: 15 mins. ]

Camilo Mora, Associates Professor of Geography at University of Hawaii, Minoa; News Release on the article

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

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

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Scholars’ Circle- How humanity will respond to Climate Change -/- Life long effects from act of Bullying – May 8th, 2016

May 7, 2016 host

First, the scenarios we face with climate change and the options for humanity. Gwynne Dyer is author of Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Gwynne Dyer, author, military historian, journalist. He is the author of Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats

Finally, on the scholars’ panel we take a close look at bullying. Bullies and victims of bullies are much more likely to develop psychological disorders such as agoraphobia, panic disorder, suicidal thoughts and aggressive behavior, as adults. In both adult and adolescent settings bullying cultures can emerge when bystanders and others disengage and allow the behavior to continue, ultimately creating abusive organizations. What is the long term effect on individuals and by extension on societies at large, resulting from bulling behaviors? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

Joyce T. Heames is Chair and Professor of Management and Industrial Relations in the College of Business & Economics at West Virginia University. She is the author of publications: “A bully as an archetypal destructive leader” and “Bullying: From the Playground to the Boardroom”.
Catherine Bradshaw is a Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and has a joint appointment in the Johns Hopkins School of Education. She is the Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence and the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Prevention and Early Intervention. Catherine Bradshaw is the co-author of publication “Bullies, gangs, drugs, and school, Understanding the overlap and the role of ethnicity and urbanity”.
Jaana Juvonen is Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. She co-authored “Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized” and “Bullying in school: The power of bullies and the plight of the victims”.

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

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Scholars’ Circle- Uber, Lyft & AirBnB Business Model Effects -/- Species Extinction by Wildlife Traffickers – March 20th, 2016

March 19, 2016 host 1 Comment

First, the battles and changes arising from so-called “disrupters” such as Uber, Lyft and AirBnB. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Sarah Kaine ( website ) is Assistane Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney. She’s been studying the global phenomenon of the so-called sharing economy. Her publication includes How a US ruling on Uber drivers could disrupt the disrupters

Then, on The Scholars’ Circle panel, wildlife trafficking is putting some species to the brink of extinction. We explore the multi-billion dollar a year industry. What is the scope of the problem? What should be done to rescue our most endangered species? [ dur: 30mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

David S. Wilkie PhD is a wildlife ecologist specializing in human behavioral ecology and anthropology. He is the Director of Conservation Support at the Wildlife Conservation Society and Adjunct Associate Professor at Boston College, and formerly co-chair of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force. He has numerous scholarly publications and is a contributor to Huffington Post and LiveScience. He is a contributor to “Great Apes and Humans: The Ethics of Coexistence“
Tanya Wyatt PhD is lecturer of wildlife criminology at the University of Northumbria in the UK. She is the author of “Green criminology & wildlife trafficking: the illegal fur and falcon trades in Russia Far East“, and the book “Wildlife Trafficking: A Deconstruction of the Crime, the Victims, and the Offenders (Critical Criminological Perspectives)“.
Marc Bekoff ( blog ), is professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. His books include “The Emotional Lives of Animals, Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed: The Fascinating Science of Animal Intelligence, Emotions, Friendship, and Conservation“, and has co-authored, “Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals“

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Scholars’ Circle- Adapting to Climate Change -/- Genocides, causes and prevention – February 28th, 2016

February 27, 2016 host

First, planet earth is facing a sixth extinction. Can humanity rescue the planet that it has imperiled? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

Annalee Newitz is journalist and author of Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction. She is the founding editor of the science and science fiction website i09.com.
Elizabeth Kolbert is a staff member at The New Yorker. She is the author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change, and her latest book The Sixth Extinction.

Then on our Scholars’ Circle panel, we analyze the causes of genocide and possible means of preventing them. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

Ben Kiernan is Whitney Griswold Professor of History and Director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University. He is the author of, Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, and The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79.
Alex Hinton is Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide, Conflict Resolution, and Human Rights, and Professor of Anthropology and Global Affairs at Rutgers University. He is the co-author of, Why Did They Kill?: Cambodia in the Shadow of Genocide, and is the editor of Genocide: Truth, Memory, and Representation (The Cultures and Practice of Violence), and Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide.
Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is the author of, Zero Degrees of Empathy, and he is the editor of Understanding Other Minds: Perspectives from developmental social neuroscience, and The Maladapted Mind: Classic Readings in Evolutionary Psychopathology.

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Tag Archives: Environment

Scholars’ Circle – Genes, Culture and Prospect of humanity -/- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remembered – January 15, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Ecosystem Tipping Point, how it happens, effects and our response – January 8, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Cuba, now where! -/- Sociology insights into Disaster Recovery – December 4, 2016

Scholars’ Circle -Overuse of Antibiotics -/- Addressing Climate Change – September 25, 2016

Scholars’ Circle – Humans Disrupting Evolution -/- Ethics in Health Care – August 21, 2016

Scholars’ Circle- Renewable Revolution in South Korea -/- American Congress influenced by Wealthy – June 12, 2016

Scholars’ Circle- Reasons for unethical Foreign Policies -/- Earth Climate 2047 -/- Wars not in human nature – June 5, 2016

Scholars’ Circle- Uber, Lyft & AirBnB Business Model Effects -/- Species Extinction by Wildlife Traffickers – March 20th, 2016

Scholars’ Circle- Adapting to Climate Change -/- Genocides, causes and prevention – February 28th, 2016

By Maria Armoudian