Tag Archives: Technology

Scholars’ Circle – Sounds of nature ; Thanksgiving (history and memory) – November 26, 2023

How does deep listening to nature promote biodiversity and a deeper relationship with the natural world?

Book Cover of Civil War by Other Means has an red X on the title of the book

We discuss the book THE SOUNDS OF LIFE: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the World of Animals and Plants. [ dur: 34mins. ]

References to clips of nature sound recordings included in the interview with Karen Bakker :

The American Thanksgiving story is one of cooperation and coexistence between white European settlers and the native peoples. But the real story is much darker.
How does this Thanksgiving narrative get the history wrong?

We discuss the history, the memory, and the meaning of Thanksgiving in the contemporary relationship between the United States and Indigenous people. [ dur: 24mins. ]

This show was recorded November 27, 2022.

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

Scholars’ Circle – Use of Software Algorithms to create Artificial Intelligence that inform institutions, why should we be wary? – January 1, 2023

Algorithms reflect the biases of the society in which they exist and the programmers who create them. There has been a social and political reaction against their use. How do algorithms govern social and political interactions? What is the most proper use of algorithms? And what are the biases that persist in their use? [ dur: 58mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Deep Listening to Sounds of Nature; Actual History in American Thanksgiving Story – November 27, 2022

How does deep listening to nature promote biodiversity and a deeper relationship with the natural world?

Book Cover of Civil War by Other Means has an red X on the title of the book

We discuss the book THE SOUNDS OF LIFE: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the World of Animals and Plants. [ dur: 34mins. ]

References to clips of nature sound recordings included in the interview with Karen Bakker :

The American Thanksgiving story is one of cooperation and coexistence between white European settlers and the native peoples. But the real story is much darker.
How does this Thanksgiving narrative get the history wrong?

We discuss the history, the memory, and the meaning of Thanksgiving in the contemporary relationship between the United States and Indigenous people. [ dur: 24mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Prisoners Human Rights in times of COVID-19 pandemic and Insights into race to develop autonomous vehicles- January 17, 2021

Covid-19 has worsened prison conditions worldwide. This week we explore the human rights implications of the pandemic on prisons. [ dur: 32mins. ]

China is winning the race for autonomous cars, despite inherent advantages for the United States. We explore this race and why China is winning. [ dur: 26mins. ]

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

Scholars’ Circle – Privacy affects security, society and democracy – January 3, 2021

Is the age of privacy over? We spend the hour on technology, spying and privacy, exploring how privacy, and the lack of it, affects security, democracy and society. What exactly is at stake when we lose our privacy? [ dur: 58 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Explore Privacy as it affects security, society and democracy – June 16, 2019

Is the age of privacy over? We spend the hour on technology, spying and privacy, exploring how privacy, and the lack of it, affects security, democracy and society. What exactly is at stake when we lose our privacy? [ dur: 58 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Sharing Economy and American Workers -/- Political Ethos of Anonymous Groups – Aug. 5th, 2018

First, the dark side of Uber, AirBnB and the rest of the so called “sharing economy.” We speak with Steven Hill. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Steven Hill is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and co-founder of Fair Vote: Center for Voting and Democracy. He’s the author of Raw Deal: How the Uber Economy and Naked Capitalism are Screwing American Workers.

Then, we explore Anonymous and the political ethos driving it with Luke Goode. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Luke Goode (profile page) is Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Television at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His research interests focus primarily on the connections between media, technology and democracy. He is the author of Jurgen Habermas: Democracy and the Public Sphere (Modern European Thinkers) and has published on a range of topics including public service broadcasting, social media, citizen journalism and hacktivism.

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into hacking, fake news, paid troll and democracy -/- Politics of Muslim Americans – July 22, 2018

First, hacking, fake news, paid trolls both from within the country and from afar, are they destroying democracy? [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Chris Tenove is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Ethics and the Munk School of Global Affairs of the University of Toronto. He studies international relations and political theory, with an emphasis on issues of global governance and global justice. He is also an award-winning freelance writer and broadcaster.
  • Jennifer Forestal is an Assistant Professor of Political Science (Theory) at Stockton University in New Jersey.

Then, what are the politics of Muslim Americans? And how might they be changing with the current political climate? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Emily Cury Tohma is a Research Fellow at Northeastern University’s Middle East Center. She’s the author of the research papers Muslim Americans and the 2016 Elections and Muslim American Policy Advocacy and the Palestinian Israeli Conflict: Claims-making and the Pursuit of Group Rights.
  • Aubrey Westfall is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Wheaton College. She is the author of the research papers Gender and Political Behavior among Muslim Americans, The Complexity of Covering: The Religious, Social and Political Dynamics of Islamic Practice in the United States, and the forthcoming Islamic Headcovering and Political Engagement: The Power of Social Networks.

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle-New Media affects Politics-/-Science and Politics-October 25th, 2015

First, can new media change power relations? We speak with Rory O’Connor. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Rory O’Connor is an author, filmmaker and journalist. He is the author of “Friends, Followers and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands, and Killing Traditional Media ” . He is the co-author of “Shock Jocks: Hate Speech and Talk Radio: America?s Ten Worst Hate Talkers and the Progressive Alternatives” and “Nukespeak: The Selling of Nuclear Power in America“.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, in the face of looming public health and sustainability, we look at the intersection of science and politics. [ dur: 31mins. ]

  • Naomi Oreskes is Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. She is the co-author of “ Science and Technology in the Global Cold War“, “The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View from the Future“, and “Merchant of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
  • David H. Guston is Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University. He is Principal Investigator and Director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University and author of “Between Politics and Science: Assuring the Integrity and Productivity of Research“, co-author of “Informed Legislatures: Coping with Science in a Democracy“, and he has co-edited “Shaping the Next Generation of Science and Technology Policy“.
  • Mark B. Brown is Professor in the Department of Government at California State University, Sacramento. He is the author of “Science in Democracy: Expertise, Institutions, and Representation“.

Find book/publication authored by our guest scholars Book Shelf .

The Scholars’ circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 20th, 2013

In this hour, can a breakthrough in DNA snipping lead to curing AIDS and other diseases?

  • Jennifer A. Doudna is Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UC, Berkeley. She is the author of numerous publications including, “RNA-programmed genome editing in human cells”, “A Programmable Dual-RNA-Guided DNA Endonuclease in Adaptive Bacterial Immunity” and “RNA-Guided Human Genome Engineering via Cas9.”

Then, the Postal Service is in dire straits. What is the future of US mail?

  • A. Lee Fritschler is a Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. He is the co-author of numerous publications and books including, “Closed Minds? Politics and Ideology in American Universities” ,  and “Smoking and Politics: Bureaucracy Centered Policy Making, Sixth edition”.

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle, how will the Obama Administrations proposals to address gun violence fare with the congress and the supreme court?

  • David S. Law is Professor of Law and Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, and currently Visiting Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He is author of numerous publications and co-author with Mila Versteeg of, “The Declining Influence of the US Constitution” and “The Evolution and Ideology of Global Constitutionalism”.
  • Sanford Levinson holds the W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law and is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of numerous publications and books including, “Wrestling With Diversity” and most recently, “Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It)”.
  • Erwin Chemerinsky is the founding dean and distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in Political Science. He is the author numerous books most  recently, “The Conservative Assault on the Constitution”, “Enhancing Government: Federalism for the 21st Century” and “Interpreting the Constitution”.

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