Category Archives: Scholars’ Circle Interviews

Information and recordings from Schloars’ Circle radio show is posted here.

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. 19th, 2014

In this hour, is humanity outgrowing planet?

  • Paul R. Ehrlich is president of the Center for Conservation Biology and Bing professor of population studies at Stanford University, author of the Population Bomb, Human Natures: Genes, Culture, and the Human Prospect and A World of Wounds: Ecologists and the Human Dilemma.

Then, while much of the country remembers Martin Luther King, Jr. as primarily a leader of civil rights and desegregation and a great orator, our next guests say he stood for so much more. Many aspects of his life, legacy & philosophy remain either unknown or conveniently forgotten

  • David Garrow, Professor of History and Law at University of Pittsburgh, author of FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr: From “Solo” to Memphis
  • Joshua Inwood is Professor of Geography and Africana Studies in Geography Department, University of Tennessee. His publications include, Nonkilling Geography, Searching for the Promised Land: Examining Dr. Martin Luther King’s Concept of the Beloved Community,and Street naming and the politics of belonging: spatial injustices in the toponymic commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Thomas Jackson, Professor of History at University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He is the author of, From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice

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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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

In this hour, the conflict in South Sudan has claimed 1000 lives, according to a United Nations humanitarian official. Leaders in Africa are working to negotiate a peace agreement between South Sudan’s government and the rebels. But South Sudan, as the world’s newest country, faces many more crises. We speak with a nurse from the organization Doctors Without Borders, or Medicin sans Frontiere, who has recently returned from South Sudan. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Mariam Czech , Nurse MSF.

Then, what is the relationship between minerals, such as oil, diamonds, gold, and conflict, authoritarianism and poverty? This week’s scholars have spent years studying how these so-called extractive industries—mining and drilling—impact people’s lives, their governance, and the environment, throughout the world. How can countries so rich in mineral wealth remain mired in so much poverty?

  • Jeffery Mantz, Professor of Anthropology, George Mason University;
  • Michael Ross, Professor of Political Science, UCLA; Author of The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations
  • Suzana Sawyer, Professor of Anthropology, UC Davis. Author of Crude Chronicles: Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

In this hour, 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 kill? We’ll revisit the so-called Christmas truce of 1914. [ dur 25 mins. ]

  • Stanley Weintraub, Professor Emeritus historian, Penn State University; Author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.

Then, religion, politics and the so-called God gap. We’ll explore how religion unites and divides us. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • David Campbell, Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame; co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
  • Robert Putnam, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University; co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

Finally, in the midst of so much bad news, what in the world is getting better? We’ll explore the widespread improvements in the world. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Charles Kenney, Sr fellow Center for Global Development. Author of Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding–And How We Can Improve the World Even More

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

Scholars’ Circle special. We spend the hour assessing 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: 58 mins. ]

Samuel Moyne, Professor of history, Univ. of Columbia. Author of Origins of the Other: Emmanuel Levinas between Revelation and Ethics;

Mark Drumbl, Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University and Director of Transnational Law Institute. Author of Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law

Chris Mahony, Professor of law, University of Auckland. Author of The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa

Elizabeth Borgwardt, Professor of law, Washington University. Author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

In this hour, we reflect on Nelson Mandela s life, legacy and the struggle for multiracial democracy in South Africa with Mandela s friend and partner in the struggle, Albie Sachs.

  • Albie Sachs, South African Human rights lawyer and co-authored new constitution of South Africa. He has authored among others, The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law.

Then, scholars note that the world is waging fewer wars but that the wars that are waged are more brutal and intractable. How far have we come in the science of making peace?

  • George Lopez  Vice President and Director of international conflict management  at US Institute of Peace and Author of Sanctions and the Search for Security: Challenges to UN Action
  • Ervin Staub, Prof. of Psychology University of Massettuces Amherst.  Author of The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others
  • Norrin Ripsman, Professor of  Political Science at Concordia University. Author of Globalization and the National Security State

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

First, Will Allen talks about the Good Food Revolution, a movement dedicated to equitable and sustainable food, and creating just world, one food secure community at a time. [ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Will Allen, author, founder of Growing Power; Author of The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, the economic crisis are pushing more people into homelessness, an already pervasive epidemic in America. Why are so many people without homes? And what can be done about it? [ dur: 32 mins. ]

  • Prof. Sam Tsemberis, Professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University, Founder & Exec. Dir. of Pathway to Housing; Author of Housing First Manual: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction
  • Prof. James Baumohl, Professor at Bryn Mawr College, Graduate school of social work and social research; Author of Homelessness In America
  • Prof. Kim Hopper, Professor of Medical Anthropology & research scientist at Nathan S. Kline institute of Psychiatric Research of Colombia University; Author of Private Lives/Public Spaces: Homeless Adults on the Streets of New York City and Reckoning with Homelessness

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 24th, 2013

First, we continue 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?  With Thomas Healy.  [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Thomas Healy is professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. He is the author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind — and Changed the History of Free Speech in America. And the law review publications, Brandenburg in a Time of Terror, and The Rise of Unnecessary Constitutional Rulings.

Then, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, we revisit a discussion with Kennedy’s special counsel, closest adviser and speech writer. President Kennedy referred to him as his intellectual blood bank. We spoke with Sorensen in 2008. He passed away in 2010. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Ted Sorensen has authored nine books including, Counselor: Life at the Edge of History. He co-authored Kennedy’s Pulizer Prize winning book, Profiles in Courage.

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