Tag Archives: Human Rights

Scholars’ Circle – Efforts towards making sustainable cities and urban housing – February 25, 2024

With the massive population growths, cities are facing enormous challenges especially with housing, building climate resilience, transportation networks, and addressing the needs of working people. How are cities facing these challenges? We discuss the 21st Century city. [ dur: 32mins. ]

Across the US, many cities are grappling with an enormous housing crisis, as homelessness reaches unprecedented levels. What are the causes and what can be done to be sure people have adequate housing? [ dur: 26mins. ]

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – MLK legacy on Politics and BLM movement of 21st century ; Book Author interview – By the Numbers – January 14, 2024

To commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. we explore the impact of Dr. King and his memory on contemporary issues, including the role of women in the movement and the security of people of color as embodied in the Black Lives Matter movement. What is the meaning of Dr. King’s dream today? [ dur: 30mins. ]

*This was part of a panel discussion recorded January 2023. To hear the entire discussion please visit: here.

How did better understandings of mathematical concepts and the rise in numeracy rates change society, politics, philosophy and science? And what did it mean for religion? We explore how educating ordinary people, the adoption of Arabic numerals, alongside related changes transformed early modern England. [ dur: 28mins. ]

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Henry Kissinger forging memorable trail of destruction when he pursued foreign policy for United States and others – December 16, 2023

Henry Kissinger was perhaps among the most influential people on US foreign policy and global events, fr which some consider him a war criminal. How should Kissinger be remembered? What does this answer say about the US in the world?

In 1979 Vietnam invaded Cambodia, a country ravaged by a war partly caused by US bombings, and overthrew the genocidal Khmer Rouge government. What have been the consequences of that decision? We explore the reasons for this invasion with the author of a new book.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into LGBTQ+ communities impacted by global politics – November 12, 2023

LGBTQ communities are marginalized in so many places around the world. While their presence in international politics is growing, they still face quite a lot of threats and challenges. We explore LGBTQ communities and their impact on global politics.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Which mistakes Israel is likely to make in Gaza and Book Author interview – A Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts – October 29, 2023

Rage and a desire for vengeance after 9/11 drove the US to violate human rights on a mass scale. What were those mistakes and what lessons do they offer to others dealing with political violence? How much does rage and demands for vengeance undermine peace? [ dur: 28mins. ]

  • Steve Swerdlow, esq. is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. A human rights lawyer and expert on the former Soviet region, Swerdlow was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, heading the organization’s work on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and founding its Kyrgyzstan field office. He worked as a human rights monitor for the Union of Council for Soviet Jews (UCSJ) as their Caucasus monitor in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia as well as with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Russia.
  • 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 book chapter “The End of Oslo and The Second Intifada, 2000-2005.”

Then, How much does race and class determine legal outcomes in the United States? What role does the prosecutor play in the justice system?
We speak with the co-author of a new book A Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts. Co-authors are legendary death penalty opponent Stephen Bright and legal scholar James Kwak. [ dur: 28mins. ]

  • Our guest James Kwak is a former professor of law at the University of Connecticut and chairperson of the board of the Southern Center for Human Rights. His co-author is Stephen Bright. He teaches law at Yale and Georgetown Universities. He was director of the Southern Center for Human Rights and won multiple capital cases in the Supreme Court.

From the publisher:
Almost 70 years ago Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black wrote there “can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.” In THE FEAR OF TOO MUCH JUSTICE: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts (The New Press; June 20; 2023), legendary death penalty opponent Stephen Bright and legal scholar James Kwak show the myriad ways the US criminal legal system fails to live up to this ideal of fairness: Innocent people are condemned to death and convicted of crimes because they cannot afford lawyers and because of the color of their skin. Racial discrimination in jury selection still lives in communities that have substantial Black and Latino populations. The mentally disabled are incarcerated instead of given the treatment they need, while the poor are processed through many courts with little or no legal representation in an assembly-line fashion. And many courts act as centers of profit whose main purpose is to raise money by imposing fines on the most vulnerable in their community and jailing them when they cannot pay.

But Bright and Kwak also see the promise of meaningful change on the horizon. They point to jurisdictions across the political spectrum that have made significant progress. The use of the death penalty has plummeted, and the authors see a future where it will remain in only the most ardent holdouts. Public defender offices that protect clients from wrongful convictions have been established across the country, and many places have reduced the use of cash bail and stopped imposing fines and fees on people who cannot afford them.

The book makes the case that prosecutors have too much power and defense lawyers are often out-gunned and incentivized to encourage plea bargains. How should the system rectify this? What is the first step in fixing this imbalance?

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Ethnic cleansing of Artsakh – October 1, 2023

Azerbaijan has attacked the indigenous Armenian people in an area known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing them to flee from their ancestral homelands. Over hundred thousand have fled the region they know as Artsakh. Why has the international community failed to do anything to protect this population who left behind their homes, communities, belongings, and historical heritage?

Russia’s abandoned its role of protector of Armenians who are now victims to atrocities and grave human rights violations. And the US has failed to act on the warnings about Azerbaijan’s aggression toward the civilian population. What should now be done to address Azerbaijan’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and atrocities? [ dur:58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Abortion limits and its consequence – September 24, 2023

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade, what are the legal and medical ramifications of the huge geographical swaths of women who have no access to abortion? We discuss reproductive healthcare in a post-Dobbs world. What has it meant for the medical profession and the ways in which it had to alter some of the ways healthcare is provided? How have women sought to secure access to abortion in the areas of the country where it is not legal? Mifepristone, the medicine used to terminate pregnancy, faces severe challenges and restrictions. What does this mean for access to medicinal abortion access? What can the areas where it is legal do to help their counterparts in red states? [dur: 58mins. ]

West Alabama Women’s Center: https://alreprohealth.com/

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – History of Queer culture in Germany; LGBTQ rights struggle in US – September 17, 2023

What was the experience of gay people in East and West Germany during the Cold War? We speak with Samuel Clowes Huneke author of States of Liberation: Gay Men between Dictatorship and Democracy in Cold War Germany. [ dur: 32mins. ]

Since the 2020 election, anti-transgender campaigns have been growing in the United States. What are these efforts? We look at the campaigns to curtail and reverse gay and transgender rights, in particular we explore campaigns such as Florida’s Parental Rights in Education act (dubbed by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” bill) and attempts to ban trans athletes in all levels of competition. [ dur: 25mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Recorded May 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Prosecution of Presidents Around the World – August 27, 2023

The criminal indictments of former President Trump have created a political crisis in their unprecedented nature. Historically, U.S. presidents have not faced criminal charges even in cases where there is a high likelihood of guilt, in large part due to respect for the office. Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon embodies this norm.

What can the U.S. learn from other countries that have prosecuted former presidents? And what can we learn from American history about the prosecutions of political figures? Is the prosecution of former heads of state simply the weaponization of justice mechanisms? And how common is this political charge? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Human rights of disabled persons in a society that favors able-bodied persons – July 9, 2023

The rights of persons with disabilities is a growing and important area of human rights. But what does it mean to ensure equal treatment under the law? What exactly is a disability, and who makes the judgment? And what do we mean by ableism? [ dur: 58mins. ]

This interview was recorded in October, 2021.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.