Category Archives: Scholars’ Circle Interviews

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

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Oct. 14th, 2012

First, the economic crisis are pushing more people into homelessness, an already pervasive epidemic in America. We’ll look at one duo’s efforts to rescue some of the most vulnerable homeless women, one by one, and explore the system’s working and failure from their perspective. With Robin Nixon, record producer; Dennis Davis, musician, documentary producer; [ Dur. 27mins ]

On the Scholars’ Circle, Why are so many people without homes? And what can be done about it?

  • Prof. Sam Tsemberis, Columbia Univ., Founder & Exec. Dir. of Pathway to Housing. author of Housing First: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction Manual.
  • Prof. James Baumohl, Bryn Mawr College. author of Homelessness in America.
  • Prof. Kim Hopper, Colombia Univ. . Author of Reckoning with Homelessness.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Oct. 7th, 2012

First, a look into the murky world of the global arms trade and its cost to society, democracy and security. Andrew Feinstein is author of, The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade and  Corruption Watch; [ Dur: 28 mins. ]

Then on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at poverty, inequality, and social mobility both here in the U.S. and worldwide.

  • Lane Kenworthy, Prof. of Sociology & Political Science, Univ. of AZ. Author of  Progress For Poor;
  • David A. Smith, Prof. of Sociology, UC Irvine. Author of  Third World City;
  • Gregory Clark, Prof. & Chair, Dept. of Economics, UC Davis. Author of Farewell To Alms .

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 30th, 2012

Hour-long Scholars’ Circle Special.
This week’s Scholars’ Circle was taped before a live audience with four war and human rights reporters who have taken great risks from some of the world’s most dangerous places to bring us the news.

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 23rd, 2012

Chauncey Bailey was the first journalist killed in the US doing his job since the 1970’s. We’ll look at the reasons behind his assassination. Thomas Peele is the author of Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racist Backlash and the Assassination of a Journalist. [ Dur: 24 mins. ]

Then on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at the multiple issues behind the latest round of protests in the Middle East. [ Dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Prof. Dipak Gupta, Political Science ,UC San Diego . Author of  Who Are The Terrorist? ( The Roots of Terrorism );
  • Roger Petersen, Political Science, MIT. Author of Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, and Resentment in Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe.
  • Hamoud Salhi, Prof. Political Science, CSU Dominguez Hills. Host of SWANA Region Radio on KPFK – Los Angeles.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 16th, 2012

First, the hidden agenda in the Ryan Budget, what they could mean for the US and how the campaigns keep them hidden.

  • Thomas B. Edsall is professor of journalism at Colombia Journalism School. He is the author of numerous articles and many books including, “The Age of Austerity”,  “Building Red America”,  and “Power and Money: Writing About Politics.”  He is currently writing an online election-year column for The New York Times.  His articles have appeared in American Prospect, The Atlantic Monthly, Dissent, The Nation, The New Republic,  The New York Review of Book and others.

Then, on the Scholars Circle, 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?

  • Scot Schraufnagel is Director of Graduate Studies of the Department of Political Science at Northern Illinois University. His many publications include, Third Party Blues: The Truth and Consequences of Two-Party Dominance and  Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress
  • David J. Gillespie, is Professor of Political Science at the College of Charleston and the Citadel. He has provided testimony in federal and state ballot access cases, and has written extensively on third parties including recently published “Challengers to Duopoly: 
Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics,” and “Politics at the Periphery: Third Parties in Two-Party America.”
  • Omar Ali is Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he teaches the history of independent black politics. He is the Director of IndependentVoting.org, a national strategy and organizing center for independents. His many publications include, In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States and In the Lion’s Mouth: Black Populism in the New South.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 9th, 2012

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.  Jonathan Kozol is the author of numerous books including Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America, Rachel and her Children and Amazing Grace. [ dur. 29mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, what is driving the growing poverty levels in America and what should be done about it? [ dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Peter Edelman is Professor of Law at Georgetown University Center for law. He was Assistant Secretary for Bill Clinton’s Department of Health and Human Services, and resigned (as Assistant Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services) in protest of Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform. He was former legislative aide to Robert F. Kennedy. Professor Edelman is the author of numerous books including, “So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard To End Poverty in America,” and co-author of, “Reducing Poverty and Economic Distress After ARRA: Next Steps for Short-Term Recovery and Long-Term Economic Security.”
  • Randy Albelda is Professor of Economics and Senior Research fellow at the Center for Social Policy at University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the author of numerous books including, “Unlevel Playing Fields Understanding Wage Inequality and Discrimination,” and “Glass Ceilings and Bottomless Pits: Women’s Work/Women’s Poverty.”
  • Professor Frances Fox Piven is American professor of political science and sociology at  City University of New York. She is the author  Among them are REGULATING THE POOR (winner of the C. Wright Mills Award ub 1972, and updated in 1993); POOR PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS (1977); THE NEW CLASS WAR (1982; UPDATED 1985); WHY AMERICANS DON’T VOTE (1988); THE MEAN SEASON (1987); LABOR PARTIES IN POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES (1992); THE BREAKING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIAL COMPACT (1997); WHY AMERICANS STILL DON’T VOTE (2000); and THE WAR AT HOME (2004); Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006).

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 2nd, 2012

1) A retrospective on the Republican Convention–What does it tell us about the future of republican politics & policy & what does it mean for the future of the US? [ dur: 9 mins. ]

  • Alan Minsky, Interim Program Director, KPFK;
  • Mitch Jesserich, KPFA;

2) The humanitarian crisis in Syria keeps getting worse with more than 1.5 million people displaced. [ dur: 16 mins. ]

3) The Scholars’ Circle — Syria, the region, the international community and possible solutions to the crisis there. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Mark LeVine, University of California,Irvine; Prof. of History.
    Author of Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil.
  • Nader Hashemi, Univ. of Denver; Prof. Middle East and Islamic Politics.
    Author of Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies.
  • Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University. Prof. of Culture Anthropology:
    Author of Palestinian Village History

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Aug. 26th, 2012

First, we look at the effects of Wikileaks on Latin America with Latin American specialist, Peter Kornbluh. Peter Kornbluh is  Senior Analyst, National Security Archives and an author of  The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountabilility. [ dur. 29 mins. ]
Then on the Scholars’ Circle, what factors determine the outcome of presidential elections? We look at money, vice presidents, voter turnout and much more.

  • Prof. Samuel Popkin, UC San Diego. Author of  The Candidate: what it Takes to Win – and Hold – the White House;
  • Prof. Allan Lichtman, American University, WA. Author of  Predicting the Next President: The Keys to the White House;
  • Prof. Baumgartner, East Carolina Univ. . Author of  Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters – Aug. 19th, 2012

Seg. 1: Michael Hiltzik author of, “The New Deal: A Modern History,” discusses the politics of the new deal, and what can we learn from the program that reshaped the country. [ dur. 29 mins. ]
Seg. 2: 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 Hacke are the authors of, WInner Take All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned its Back on the Middle Class.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Aug. 12th, 2012

Seg. 1: How Google affects our knowledge, politics, privacy, and public projects. Joining us is Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies and Law at the University of Virginia, and author of, “The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry).”

Seg. 2: We explore eliminationalism and genocide in the 20th and 21st century with author and former Professor of Political Science and Social Studies at Harvard University, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen. Goldhagen authored, “Worse than War: Genocide, Eliminationalism and the Ongoing Assault on Humanity.”

Seg. 3: On The Scholars Circle we look at Presidential power, and its restrictions and constraints. Blame Obama or blame the system? Joining us are three experts:

  • Julian E. Zelizer is Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Author:  Governing America: The Revival of Political History.
  • Eric Schickler is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Author:  Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress.
  • Allan Lichtman is Professor of History at America University. Author:  White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement

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