Yearly Archives: 2013

Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Oct. 20th, 2013

First, why do the super-rich continue to make gains while other Americans are losing ground, in the “winner-take-all” politics?Paul Pierson and Jacob S. Hacker are the authors of, Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Paul Pierson, Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley.
  • Jacob S. Hacker, Professor of Political Science, Yale.

Then, on the Scholars’ Cirle panel, we examine the politics of the US Constitution, its effect on political institutions and the political process, and ask whether it should be revised or amended. Also, includes comparative analysis with other constitutions. [ dur:  32 mins. ]

  • David S. Law, Professor of Law and Political Science. Washington Univ., St. Louis.
  • Sanford Levinson, Professor of Political Science and Law at Univ. of Texas School of Law. Author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance
  • Louis Michael Seidman, Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University. Author of On Constitutional Disobedience (Inalienable Rights)

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Oct. 13th, 2013

First, has democracy become like fast food? Our first guest says that democracy needs to slow down. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

  • Susan Clark, author; Co-Author of Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, Bringing Decision Making Back Home

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, once upon a time, corporations were required to have a public purpose and once they fulfilled it, they were dissolved. How did we get to where we are today & what does it mean for democracy? [ dur: 40 mins. ]

  • Richard Abrams, professor of History, UC Berkeley; Author of America Transformed: Sixty Years of Revolutionary Change, 1941-2001
  • Paul Pierson, professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley; Co-Author of Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class
  • Professor Scott Bowman, Chair of Political Science department,  California State University, Los Angeles (CSU-LA). Author of The Modern Corporation and American Political Thought: Law, Power, and Ideology

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Oct. 6th, 2013

First, A House Divided: The real forces of a divided congress & the consequences on democracy in America. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Christian Grose is a professor of Political Science at University of Southern California. Christian is the author of Congress in Black and White: Race and Representation in Washington and at Home.
  • David Parker is a professor of political science at Montana State University. He is the author of The Power of Money in Congressional Campaigns, 1880-2006

Then, Change they Can’t Believe in: a new thorough study of the Tea Party and Reactionary Politics in America. [ dur:  20 mins. ]

  • Matt Barreto is a professor of political science at the University of Washington and the director of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race. He is the author of Ethnic Cues: The Role of Shared Ethnicity in Latino Political Participation and co-author of Change They Can’t Believe In: The Tea Party and Reactionary Politics in America

Finally, How to sustain and restore the Green Equilibrium that’s necessary support life on earth. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

  • Christopher Wills is Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences and member of the Center for molecular Genetics at the University of California San Diego. He is the author of Green Equilibrium The vital balance of humans & Nature and The Darwinian Tourist Viewing the World Through Evolutionary Eyes.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Sept. 29th, 2013

First, the relationship between income inequality and the federal Reserve . [ dur: 11 mins. ]

  • Henry E. Brady, Dean Goldman school of Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley; Author of The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we look at the origins, philosophy and politics of humor. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Amber Day, Professor of Performance studies in English and Culture Studies Department at Bryant University; Author of Satire and Dissent: Interventions in Contemporary Political Debate
  • John Morreall, Professor of Philosophy Dept. Chair at Religious Studies College of William and Mary; Author of Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor
  • Peter McGraw, Professor Marketing and Psychology at University of Colorado, Boulder; Author of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny

Finally, we are joined by a panel of comedians. [ dur: 18 mins. ]

  • Steven Skrovan, tv writer, wrote and products Everybody Loves Raymond;
  • Dylan Brody, author and humorist.
  • Ruben Paul, is a comic actor

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Sept. 22nd, 2013

This week we cover following issues:

1) The house voted on Friday to de-fund President Obama’s signature Affordable Health Care act. What does this polarization mean for the future of US Policy? [ dur:  13 mins. ]

  • Sean Theriault, Professor of Government at Univ. of Texas at Austin. Author of  The Gingrich Senators: The Roots of Partisan Warfare in Congress and The Power Of The People: Congressional Competition, Public Attention, And Voter Retribution
  • Peter Hanson, Professor of Political Science Univ. of Denver;

2) Climate change, receding glaciers and melting ice sheets are causing the oceans to rise dramatically. What does that mean for the world’s coastal cities? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

  • Andrea Dutton, Professor of Geological Sciences at Univ. of FL; Author of Journal Science article Ice Volums and Sea level During the last interglacial
  • Brian Fagan. Professor of Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara; Author of The Attacking Ocean: The Past, Present, and Future of Rising Sea Levels

3) What most of the world has gotten wrong about Muslim fundamentalism. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Karima Benoune, Professor of Law  at UC Davis, School of Law; Author of  Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism
  • Ousseina Alidou, Professor at Center African Studies, Rutgers University; Author of Engaging Modernity: Muslim Women and the Politics of Agency in Post-colonial Niger (Women in Africa and the Diaspora)
  • Sadia Abbas; Professor of English at Rutgers University; Echo Chamber of Freedom: Muslim Women and Pretext of Agency

 

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Sept. 15th, 2013

First, we look at the relationships and regional dynamics that can help resolve the conflict in Syria. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Chris Mahony, Deputy director of the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Auckland. Author of The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa
  • Eric Bordenkircher, Doctoral Candidate Islamic Studies, UCLA.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, when should the US and international community intervene on atrocities? What does international law say about intervention? [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Karima Bennoune, Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law. Author of Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism
  • Ryan C. Hendrickson, Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois University. Author of The Clinton Wars: The Constitution, Congress, and War Powers
  • Frank Chalk, Professor of History, Concordia University. Author of The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Sept. 8th, 2013

First, 40 years after the Chilean coup. We revisit what happened, new revelations & how Chileans are dealing with their past. [dur: 27 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Peter Kornbluh, National Security Archives; Author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability
  • Prof. John Dingus, Journalism, Colombia; Author of The Condor Years: How Pinochet And His Allies Brought Terrorism To Three Continents

Then, the realities of the Syrian war, what the effects of a US strike might be, and post-coup Egypt. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Laurie A. Brand, Professor of International Relations, USC; Author of Palestinians in the Arab World: Institution Building and the Search for State
  • Fred Lawson, Professor of Government , Mills College; Author of Demystifying Syria (SOAS Middle East Issues Series) and Why Syria Goes to War: Thirty Years of Confrontation
  • Bruce Rutherford, Professor of Political Science, Middle East Studies, Colgate. Author of Egypt after Mubarak: Liberalism, Islam, and Democracy in the Arab World

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Sept. 1st, 2013

The great recession of 2007—2008 was not solely a financial crisis. Similar to financial crises of our past, it was indeed a political crisis, say our guests. We spend the hour analyzing the failures of democracy that allowed such a crisis to happen, and what reforms are necessary to prevent it from happening again. [ dur: 57 mins. ]

We are joined by Nolan McCarty, Keith T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal, authors of the book, “Political Bubbles: Financial Crises and the Failure of American Democracy.”

  • 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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Aug. 25th, 2013

First, after a lifetime of working with the poorest children in America, Jonathan Kozol helps us understand their harsh realities, and the factors that help the most disadvantaged kids to thrive. Kozol is the author of, Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America. [ dur: 23 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, throughout US history third parties have had a profound impact on policy, governance and voter turnout. So why are we still in a two-party system? [ dur: 35mins. ]

  • Omar H. Ali, Univ. of North Carolina at Greensboro, Prof. of African Diaspora History and Politics. Author of In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States.
  • David Gillespie, College of Charlston & the Citedal; Prof. of Political Science. Author of Challengers to Duopoly: Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics
  • Scot Schraufnagel, Northern Illinois University. Prof. of Political Science & Director of Graduate Studies. Author of Third Party Blues: The Truth and Consequences of Two-Party Dominance

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Aug. 18th, 2013

First, we speak with Steven Weisman author of, Daniel Patrick Moynihan: A Portrait in Letters of an American Visionary, a book of Senator Moynahan’s correspondence. [ dur. 17 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, why some misdeeds become scandals and others don’t? Why is it that the same type of transgressions are treated differently at different times, and might this differential treatment affect our politics, policies and society? [ dur: 41 mins. ]

  • Robert Entman is a professor at George Washington University and the author of Scandal & Silence: Media Responses to Presidential Misconduct.
  • Brendan Nyhan is professor at Dartmouth College and coauthor of All the President’s Spin.
  • Sigurd Allern is a professor at Volda University and project leader for the Nordic Research Network in Journalism Studies. Author of Scandalous!: The Mediated Construction of Political Scandals in Four Nordic Countries

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