Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Past Climate Change and human responses -/- Leadership for Democracies -/- Children healing from abduction trauma – April 10th, 2016

First, how have our ancestors dealt with earlier changes in the climate and environment? What does it tell us about our current situation? [ dur: 25 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Then, our guest argues that strong leaders are not necessarily the best leaders, particularly for democracies. What does history tell us about the best kind of leader for society? We are joined by Professor Archie Brown author of The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age. This is part two of a two part interview. Part one can be found here. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Archie Brown is Professor Emeritus of Politics at Oxford University. His books include “The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age“, “The Gorbachev Factor” and “The Rise and Fall of Communism“.

Finally, what becomes of the children who are abducted and forced into sex slavery and child soldiering? Our guest Jane Ekayu, a child trauma therapist, is helping children heal and rebuild their lives. [ dur: 13 mins. ]

  • Jane Ekayu, Founder and Executive Director Children of Peace, Uganda.

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

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Leadership for democracies-/-Privatized Military affects conflict ethics – April 3rd, 2016

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First, our guest argues that strong leaders are not necessarily the best leaders, particularly for democracies. What does history tell us about the best kind of leader for society? We are joined by Professor Archie Brown author of The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age. This is part one of a two part interview. [ dur: 21mins. ]

  • Archie Brown is Professor Emeritus of Politics at Oxford University. His books include “The Myth of the Strong Leader: Political Leadership in the Modern Age“, “The Gorbachev Factor” and “The Rise and Fall of Communism“.

How is the privatization of military activities compromising international conduct in conflict? What does it mean for international law and ethics in conflict? We look at the multi-billion dollar private military industry. Amy Eckert is the author of Outsourcing War: Just War Tradition in the Age of Military Privatization. [ dur: 37mins. ]

  • Amy Eckert is Professor of Political Science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver where she teaches and studies international ethics and international law. Her books include “The Future of Just War: New Critical Essays” and, her latest, “Outsourcing War: Just War Tradition in the Age of Military Privatization“.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Human Rights Laws – March 27th, 2016

Last week the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Radovan Karadzic. of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the mass killings and ethnic cleansing of Bosnia. In this hour we assess how far we’ve come in protecting human rights and what else can be done. What are some of ICC’s strengths and weaknesses? [ dur: 58mins. ]

  • Samuel Moyn is Professor of Law and History at Harvard University. His publications include Christian Human Rights and The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History
  • Mark Drumbl is Professor at Washington and Lee University, School of Law, and the Director of the University’s Transnational Law Institute. He is the author of numerous books including the award winning , Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law, and Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy .
  • Dr. Chris Mahony is Research Fellow at the Centre for International Law Research and Policy, Visiting Research Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center, and Criminal Justice and Citizen Security Consultant at the World Bank in Washington D.C.His publications include, The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa, and he is the co-editor of Evaluating Transitional Justice: Accountability and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone.
  • Elizabeth Borgwardt is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Washington University in St. Louis. She is the author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights and co-author of Coping with International Conflict: A Systematic Approach to Influence in International Negotiation.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

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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

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 Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- US Justice Antonin Scalia (part 2) -/- Peace-making in the 21st Century (part 2) ?- March 13th, 2016

First, we’ll rebroadcast an interview about the man some call the most polarizing and controversial supreme court justice in American history, Justice Antonin Scalia. He passed away on February 13th. We speak with Prof. Bruce Allen Murphy author of, Scalia: A Court of One. This is part two of a two part interview. Part one of this interview can be found here.[ dur: 28 min. ]

  • Bruce Allen Murphy is a judicial biographer and Professor of law at Lafayette College. His biographical book of Justice Scalia, “Scalia: A Court of One“.

Then, real life effective strategies for lasting peace building. We’re joined by two experts in peace making. This is part two of a two part interview. Part one of this interview can be found here.[ dur:25 mins. ]

  • Ervin Staub is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Founding Director of its Ph.D. concentration in the Psychology of Peace and Violence. He is the author of “The roots of goodness and resistance to evil: Inclusive caring, moral courage, altruism born of suffering, active bystandership and heroism​” and “Overcoming evil: Genocide, violent conflict and terrorism“.
  • Peter Wallensteen is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden. He is the author of “Quality Peace: Peacebuilding, Victory and World Order“.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Money & Media effects on Politics-/-Prisoners, a concern of human rights – February 21st, 2016

First, the money-media election complex keeps destroying the democratic process. How did we get here? And where are we headed? Robert McChesney author of Dollarocracy: How the Money-and-Media-Election Complex is Destroying America. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Robert W. McChesney is a professor of communication at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois. His books include, Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy, Dollarocracy: How the Money-and-Media-Election Complex is Destroying America, and The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again.

Then, we explore the effects of solitary confinement and the impact of harsh prison conditions on guards and prisoners. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Hope Metcalf is an associate research scholar in Law, and Director of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program. She teaches a clinic on prisoners’ rights in the United States. She is the co-author of reports Administrative Segregation, Degrees of Isolation, and Incarceration: A National Overview of State and Federal Correctional Policies, and Gideon at Guantanamo: Democratic and Despotic Detention
  • Philip Zimbardo is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University and current *core faculty at Palo Alto University. He is the creator of the The Stanford Prison Experiment. He is the author of numerous publications including The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, Psychology and Life, and The Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence.
  • Dr. Stuart Glassian is a psychiatrist who has formerly taught at Harvard Medical School. His is the author of reports, Psychiatric Effects of Solitary Confinement, and Effects of Sensory Deprivation in Psychiatric Seclusion and Solitary Confinement.
    He has served as an expert on class-actions lawsuits regrading solitary confinement.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Russian Politics Analyzed, Part 2 -/- New Media and Social movements- February 14th, 2016

First, while many in the West decry the politics of the former Soviet Union countries as corrupt and anti-democratic, our guest Professor Henry Hale argues, that there are much better ways of understanding the processes and politics of patronal systems. Part two of a two part discussion with Professor Henry Hale author of Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective. Part 1 of this discussion can be found here: [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Henry E. Hale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University. His books include Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective, The Foundations of Ethnic Politics: Separatism of States and Nations in Eurasia and the World and Why Not Parties in Russia? Democracy, Federalism, and the State.

Then, how have social movements changed in the twenty-first century and how have new communication technologies facilitated change? What makes some social movements sustainable and successful while others are more short term? What is the future for social movements? [ dur: 33 mins. ]

  • James M. Jasper is a Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His books include Protest: A Cultural Introduction to Social Movements, ​T​he Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements and The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts.
  • Todd Wolfson is a Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and the Digital Media Coordinator for the MCIS Program at Rutgers University. He is the author of Digital Rebellion: The Birth of the Cyber Left and co-author of The Great Refusal Herbert Marcuse and the Contemporary Cycle of Struggle​​.​
  • Anita Lacey is Senior Lecturer in Political Studies at the University of Auckland. She is the co-author of Governing the Poor: Exercises of Poverty Reduction, Practices of Global Aid and Networks of social justice: Transnational activism and social change.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Zomba Music Project of Malawi -/- New Humanitarians – January 31st, 2016

First, it’s the most unlikely group to get a Grammy award or to even be nominated. Our guest, Ian Brennan, produced that record. He’s up for a Grammy for his production of an album recorded at a federal Malawi prison, the Zomba Music Project, featuring singers and musicians behind bars. [ dur: 38 mins. ]

  • Ian Brennan is a GRAMMY-winning record producer and has produced four GRAMMY-nominated records (World Music- 2011 and 2015, Best Traditional Folk- 2006 and 2007). His recently produced album “I HAVE NO EVERYTHING HERE By Zomba Prison Project (2015-03-16)” – find it in our Book Shelf.

Next we speak with Dr. Chris Stout of Center for Global Initiatives. All over the world organizations are working for social justice, health access and peace. We discuss their struggle, success and common ground. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Dr. Chris Stout is a clinical full Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; an Advisory Board Member to the College of Medicine’s Center for Global Health; a Fellow in the School of Public Health Leadership Institute, and is a Core Faculty at the International Center on Responses to Catastrophes at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the Founding Director of the Center for Global Initiatives (CenterForGlobalInitiatives.org) which was ranked as a Top Healthcare Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.org (2011, 12). He is the author of “The New Humanitarians [3 volumes]: Inspiration, Innovations, and Blueprints for Visionaries (Social and Psychological Issues: Challenges and Solutions)“.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Cooperative economic history and practices -/- How human society is affected by unconscious mind – January 24th, 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: 31 mins. ]

  • Jessica Gordon Nembhard is Associate Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College, City University of New York. Her latest book is Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice.

Then, a look at how the unconscious mind and biological predispositions effect political outcomes, waging war and prejudice biases. We are joined by Guillermo Jimenez author of, Red Genes, Blue Genes, and Shankar Vedantam author of, The Hidden Brain. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Shankar Vedantam is a science correspondent with NPR. Before joining National Public Radio in 2011, Vedantam was a national science writer at The Washington Post. Between 2007 and 2009, Vedantam authored the weekly Department of Human Behavior column in The Washington Post. He is the winner of several journalism awards. Vedantam is a 2009-2010 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Shankar Vedantam is a science correspondent with NPR. His latest book is “The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives“.
  • Guillermo Jimenez is Professor of International Trade at State University of New York. He is the author of “Red Genes, Blue Genes: Exposing Political Irrationality“.

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