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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Aug. 5th, 2012

This week, in honor of the late Gore Vidal, we bring a 2008 interview we did at his Hollywood Hills home where he reflected on the state of politics and education.

Then on the Scholars’ Circle, with one of the most negative presidential campaigns upon us, and with the Swiftboat Veterans and Willie Horton ads in our rearview mirror, we talk with three top political communication scholars about “going negative,” and what it might mean, especially in this post-Citizens United world.

  • Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Univ. of Penn. – Dir. Annenberg Public Policy Center, Flackcheck.org & FactCheck.org . Author: Packaging the Presidency.
  • Michael Franz, Bowdoin College – Prof. Government Studies & Legal Studies. Author: Interest Groups in American Campaigns.
  • John Geer, Vanderbilt Univ. – Prof. / Chair of Political Science. Author: From Tea Leaves to Opinion Polls.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle July 29th, 2012

With unprecedented melting of the ice sheets and worst drought in 55 years, we spend the hour understanding climate change AND the solution, including how to power the entire planet with renewables–with top scientists.

Part 1: Interview with Joseph Romm, senior fellow, American Progress – Author of Hell and High Water.  Editor in Chief : climateprogress.org [ dur. 28 mins. ]

Part 2: The Scholars’ Circle.

  • Prof. William Moomaw, Tuft Univ.
  • Prof. Mark Jacobson, Stanford
  • Prof. Ravi Rajan, UC Santa Cruz – Author of Modernizing Nature –  Forestry and Eco-imperialism 1800 to 1950.

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By Maria Armoudian