Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Scholars’ Circle – Cooperatives transform work -/- Christmas 1914 – December 25, 2016

First, can worker owned cooperatives transform workers lives and livelihoods? We speak with Jessica Gordon Nembhard author of, Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. [ dur: 31mins. ]

Then, 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: 23mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Dissent and Free Speech in Law, part 2 -/- Business of altering remembrance of historical events, part 2 – December 18, 2016

First, we continue ( part 1 ) to trace the birth of free speech in the US, a country that for decades prosecuted dissenters. What caused the radical turn around by the Supreme Court to support free speech? Thomas Healy is the author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind – and Changed the History of Free Speech in America.[ dur: 28mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, can historical trauma be used as a means of uniting humanity rather than dividing humanity? Part two of a two part ( part 1 ) panel discussion. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Dissent and Free Speech in Law -/- Business of altering remembrance of historical events – December 11, 2016

First, after years of allowing censorship and criminal prosecution of dissent, what caused the radical turnaround by the Supreme Court to then support free speech and dissent? Part one of a two part discussion with Thomas Healy author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind–and Changed the History of Free Speech in America.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, what we remember about historical events and how we remember them effects the future of politics and policies, according to our guests. And memory entrepreneurs are in the business of shaping these memories as a means of advancing political agenda. We look at the politics of memory and how these memory entrepreneurs are trying to shape what how we remember the past as a means of shaping the future. Part one of a two part panel discussion.

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

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

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

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. ]

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. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Lasting Quality Peace Making -/- Big Money Influences Science and Industry – November 27, 2016

First, beyond ending war what does it take to make a lasting quality peace? Peter Wallensteen is the author of Quality Peace: Peacebuilding, Victory and World Order.[ dur: 28mins. ]

Then, the birth of what we know as big science. The big money supported, cross institution collaborations that have supported both medicine and weaponry. How did science and government get so entrenched with industry, and one another? And what have been the results? Michael Hiltzik is the author of Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention That Launched the Military Industrial Complex. [ dur: 30mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Making of a Scandal -/- US election 2016 affects on climate, economy and foreign policy – November 20, 2016

First, the makings of a scandal. Why are some perceived as big scandals, while a rash of other wrongs are ignored? [ dur: 21mins. ]

Then, what might the 2016 election mean for the future on climate, the economy, foreign policy and democracy in the US? [ dur: 37 mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Ultraconservative Media -/- Election affected by polls, demographics and laws – November 6, 2016

First, the roots of the ultraconservative media movement. Nichole Hemmer is the author of Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics. [ dur: 28mins. ]

How accurate are the polls? Who will vote and who won’t? What election laws affect who votes? And what will ultimately determine the presidential race? Two political scientists join us to analyze. [ dur: 30mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Financial Crisis and American Democracy – October 30, 2016

We look at how the financial crisis, like those that came before it, was a political crisis. We spend the hour analyzing the failures of democracy that allowed it to happen, and what reforms are necessary to prevent it from happening again. We are joined by the authors of Political Bubbles: Financial Crisis and the Failure of American Democracy. [ dur: 57 mins. ]

  • Nolan McCarty is the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and Chair of the Department of Politics at Princeton University, respectively.
  • Keith T. Poole is the Philip H. Alston, Jr. Distinguished Chair and Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Georgia and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of California San Diego.
  • Howard Rosenthal is Professor of Politics at New York University and Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences and of Politics at Princeton University.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Art as an act of resistance -/- Amending US Constitution – October 23, 2016

First we look at art as an act of resistance and as a weapon to counter oppression and violence. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we explore the historic and current efforts to amend the constitution. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Intergenerational economic equality -/- Crop cultivation collapses without bees – October 9, 2016

First, trend for economic equality in US has been changing with less opportunity for people to transcend inter-generational economic status than they have in other countries, like Norway, Finland, Denmark and Canada. Why the changes? [ dur: 13 mins. ]

Then, climate change, pesticides and mites are killing off the planet’s bees. What will happen to the planet’s foods? And can the bee colony collapse be stopped? [ dur: 45 mins. ]

  • Jeremy Kerr is a Professor of Biology at the University of Ottowa, specializing in conservation biology and biodiversity – Macroecology , Conservation research site. His latest publication links the decline of bumble bees to climate change.
  • Peter Dearden is a Professor of Genetics and a researcher in the laboratory for evolution and development at Otago University where he specializes in evolution, development and epigenetics (link).
  • Paulo de Souza is a Professor and team leader at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, and the Global Initiative for Honey Bee Health (link). He’s also a collaborating scientist on NASA’s Mars exploration Rover Mission.

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

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