Tag Archives: Science and Technology

Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle Radio- May 11th, 2014

How water has shaped our past and how new water challenges are shaping the future. We talk with Charles Fishman. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Charles Fishman, journalist and author of The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, in the wake of President Obama’s new climate plan, three of the world’s top scientists assess how to heal this planet [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Mark Z. Jacobson is Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of Atmosphere/Energy Program at Stanford. He is the author of Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science, and Solutions and  Atmospheric Pollution: History, Science, and Regulation
  • Michael E. Mann is a Professor of Meteorology at Penn State University, and the Director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. Dr. Mann is author of more than 150 peer-reviewed and edited publications, and two books including, Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming, and The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines. He is also a lead author for the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on climate change for which he, his coauthors, and VP Al Gore won the Nobel prize.
  • Peter Ward is Professor of Biology at the University of Washington. He is the author of The Flooded Earth: Our Future In a World Without Ice Caps, Under a Green Sky: Global warming, the mass extinctions of the past and what they can tell us about our future mass extinctions, and  Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle Radio- April 27th, 2014

First, droughts all over the world are driving the prices of food and costing jobs as farmers are forced to cut crops from water shortages.  [ dur: 16 mins. ]

  • Lynn Ingram, professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at University of California, Berkeley. She is the co-author of The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow.

Then, a conversation between four Nobel Laureates about science and society, and the importance of public education. Hosted by UC Berkeley. [ dur: 44 mins. ]

  • Randy W. Schekman, professor of molecular and cell biology, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his role in revealing the machinery that regulates the transport and secretion of proteins in our cells.
  • Saul Perlmutter, professor of physics and a faculty senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), led one of two teams that simultaneously discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe and was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  • George Smoot, professor of physics and an astrophysicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), led a team that obtained the first images of the infant universe ” findings that confirmed the predictions of the Big Bang theory ” and was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  • Daniel L. McFadden, professor of economics, was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economics for his development of statistical methods relating to the economic theory of “discrete choice,” tools that have been used to determine how people and organizations make choices from a distinct set of alternatives.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle Radio- March 30th, 2014

First we launch the first in our new monthly series with Scientific American, Scholars Circle Scientific (SCSC), with highlights in science. [ dur: 13 mins. ]

  • Fred Guterl, Executive Editor, Scientific American;

Then, in the wake of the three year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster we speak with Edwin Lyman. [ dur: 13 mins. ]

  • Edwin Lyman is Senior Scientist with the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He is the co-author of, Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster.

Finally, the Crimea vote, was it self-determination or was it coercion? We explore autonomy, self-determination and ethnic conflict. [ dur: 32 mins. ]

  • Stefan Wolff is professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham, England, UK. He is the co-author of, Ethnic Conflict: Causes-Consequences-Responses, and the co-author of Autonomy, Self Governance and Conflict Resolution: Innovative approaches to Institutional Design in Divided Societies (Routledge Advances in International Relations and Global Pol) and Disputed Territories: The Transnational Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict Settlement (Studies in Ethnopolitics).
  • Hurst Hannum is professor of International Law at Tufts University. He is the author of, International Human Rights: Problems of Law, Policy, and Practice, and co-author of Negotiating Self-Determination and Autonomy, Sovereignty, and Self-Determination: The Accommodation of Conflicting Rights (Procedural Aspects of International Law).
  • Steven Fish is a professor of political science at UC Berkeley and author of award-winning books including Democracy Derailed in Russia: The Failure of Open Politics and Democracy from Scratch: Opposition and Regime in the New Russian Revolution (Princeton, 1995). He is coauthor of The Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey (Cambridge, 2009) and Postcommunism and the Theory of Democracy (Princeton, 2001).

 

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle Radio- March 23rd, 2014

First, the underworld of organ trafficking. [ dur: 10 mins. ]

  • Nancy Scheper-Hughes, professor of anthropology at University of California, Berkeley, editor of Commodifying Bodies and author of Violence in War and Peace: An Anthology.
  • Art Caplan, professor and head of the division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center and award-winning author of books including Applied Ethics in Mental Health Care: An Interdisciplinary Reader, Ethics and Organ Transplants, and Smart Mice, Not so Smart People.

Then, scientific discoveries about x and y chromosomes are challenging what we know about what makes us male or female. [ dur: 16mins. ]

  • Jeremy Nathans. Dr. Nathans is a professor of molecular biology and genetics, of neuroscience, and of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
  • Melissa Wilson Sayres, Miller Fellow at University of California, Berkley. Research interests are in sex chromosome evolution, sex-biased processes, population genetics, and comparative genomics. See her work here

Finally, revolutions are not what they used to be. How have they changed? We’ll explore revolutions in the 20th and 21st Century. [ dur: 32 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Leandro Vergara-Camus is professor at the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Land and Freedom, The MST, the Zapatistas and Peasant Alternatives to Neoliberalism.
  • John Foran is professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of, The Future of Revolutions: Re-thinking Radical Change in an Age of Globalization, and Taking Power: On the Origins of Revolutions in the Third World.
  • Jack A. Goldstone is Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. He is the author of Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World, REVOLUTIONS: A Very Short Introduction, and the co-editor of POLITICAL DEMOGRAPHY: How Population Changes are Reshaping International Security and National Politics. Editor of blog on the global economy and world politics at http://newpopulationbomb.com

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle Radio- March 16th, 2014

First, great steps in science are unraveling the mysteries of the mind and finding, what we thought was only science fiction, is reality. Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist and cofounder of the String Field Theory. His latest book is, The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind. Part two of a two part interview. Part one can be found here . [ dur: 16 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, science contradicts long held societal myths about addiction. What are the most effective means of addressing it? [ dur: 42 mins. ]

  • Lance Dodes is former clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard medical school. He is the author of The Heart of Addiction: A New Approach to Understanding and Managing Alcoholism and Other Addictive Behaviors, Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction and his latest, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry
  • Jeffrey Foote is co-founder and executive director of the Center for Motivation and Change. He was previously Senior Research Associate at Columbia University and Deputy Director of Alcohol Treatment and Research at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. He is the co-author of Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change.
  • Adi Jaffe a lecturer at UCLA and Director of Research, Education and Innovation at Alternatives Addiction Treatment.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle Radio- March 9th, 2014

First, great steps in science are unraveling the mysteries of the mind and finding, what we thought was only science fiction, is reality. [ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist , currently Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at the City College of New York and co-founder of String Field Theory. He is the author of numerous books including, Physics of the Impossible, Physics of the Future and his newest book The Future of the Mind.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, wildlife trafficking is putting some species to the brink of extinction. Can a recent international agreement stop this multibillion dollar industry? [ dur: 32 mins. ]

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.
  • 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 [ his 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

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 9th, 2014

First, we speak with Kishore Mahbubani. He is professor in the Practice of Public Policy and Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

  • Kishore Mahbubani has authored many books including, The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, how do our experiences, our traumas, diets and lifestyles get coded in our genetic systems and passed on to our offspring and their offspring? How do they affect our health and our politics? The explore the science of epigenetics.

  • Eva Jablonka, Tel Aviv University; Author of Evolution in Four Dimensions: Genetic, Epigenetic, Behavioral, and Symbolic Variation in the History of Life
  • Randy Jirtle, Duke Univ. & Univ. of WI; Author of Environmental Epigenomics in Health and Disease
  • Patrick McCowan, Univ. of Toronto

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 26th, 2014

First, last week marked the fourth anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s decision Citizens United versus the Federal Election commission. We’ll revisit what it means to American democracy today. [ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Henry Brady, is professor of Political Science and Dean of Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkley. Co-author of Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics
  • Scott Bowman is Chair of Political Science Department at California State University, Los Angeles. Author of The Modern Corporation and American Political Thought: Law, Power, and Ideology
  • Daniel Greenwood is professor of Law at Hofstra School of Law.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, scientists are finding remarkable similarities between humans and other animals. What might these similarities teach us about the human condition and our relationship to other species? [dur: 32 mins. ]

  • 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,
  • Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a cardiologist, the Director of Imaging at the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center and a cardiac consultant for the Los Angeles Zoo. She is the co-author of Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health.
  • Stan Kuczaj is director of The Marine Mammal Behavior and Cognition Laboratory at University of Southern Mississippi . He is coauthor/editor of Emotions of Animals and Humans: Comparative Perspectives (The Science of the Mind)

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 12th, 2014

First, most important stories of science in 2013,

  • Philip Yam is the managing editor, online, for Scientific American, responsible for the overall digital content on the Website and mobile devices.  He is the author of The Pathological Protein: Mad Cow, Chronic Wasting,and Other Deadly Prion Diseases.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we look at the physiology, sociology and politics of compassion.

  • Iain Wilkinson is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. He is the author of Suffering: A Sociological Introduction and Anxiety in a Risk Society.
  • Dr. Paul Gilbert is the head of the Mental Health Research Unit as well as Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby. He is the author of several books including Compassion Focused Therapy: Distinctive Features and The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life’s Challenges.
  • Dr James R.  Doty is a Clinical Professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. He is the co-author of Surgical Disorders of the Sacrum.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 5th, 2014

Can the Lord of the Rings trilogy act as a means to understand complex politics and international relations? Our guest says, indeed, it can. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Patrick James, Professor of International Relations, USC. Author of, The International Relations of Middle-earth: Learning from The Lord of the Rings.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, with dozens of species going extinct every day, we look at the science and ethical issues of de-extinction – cloning using DNA of extinct species – and conservation. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Dr. Michael Archer is professor of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales. He has published over 300 scientific journal articles and books focused on the ecology and evolution of past and present. He has been working to bring back some extinct animals. His latest work includes contributions to two encyclopedias: Fossil mammals of Australia and New Guinea and Evolution and Zoogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. He has authored books including Australia’s Lost World: Prehistoric Animals of Riversleigh
  • Dr. John Wiens is professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. He is also a former curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and has served as editor of a number of scientific journals. He is the author of many books including, The Ecology of Birds Communities.
  • Carl Zimmer is an award winning lecturer at Yale University and author of thirteen books including, Evolution: Making Sense of Life and More Brain Cuttings: Further Explorations of the Mind. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Time Magazine, National Geographic, and Scientific American. Here is a list of other books by Carl Zimmer

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