What is the impact of the US invading Venezuela and kidnapping its president and first lady? How might it affect international law, regional security and the American reputation?

President Trump has declared he is the “Peace President” and claims to have ended 8 wars. While this is a dubious claim, he did become the first President to bomb 8 different nations in his first year in office. He then started 2026 with an invasion of Venezuela and a kidnapping of its President Nicolas Maduro as well as his wife Cilia Flores. They await trial in Brooklyn. The President has declared that the US will run the nation and will seize whatever oil it desires. The violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, the colonial approach to its resources, and the precedent this invasion is setting for the US throughout the Western Hemisphere is both significant and potentially quite threatening to peace. On today’s show, we will explore the legal, political and security implications of this brazen invasion. And we will explore what the future of US relations in the hemisphere as well as the President’s rampant use of the military means for the immediate future. [ dur: 58mins. ]

• Gabor Rona is Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School. He is the author of Venezuelan Boat Attacks: Utterly Unprecedented and Patently Predictable ,Is There a Way Out of the Non-International Armed Conflict Detention Dilemma? and State Responsibility to Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights Obligations in Cyberspace .
• Carol Wise is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Dragonomics: How Latin America is Maximizing (or Missing Out) on China’s International Development Strategy and “Conceptualizing China-Latin America Relations in the 21st Century: The Boom, the Bust, and the Aftermath” (with Victoria Chonn Ching).
• Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. He holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the co-author of “Problems with President Records are Not Just About Trump” with Kenneth Osgood. He is also the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office. He is the host of the podcast This is Democracy.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Politics and Activism, War / Weapons, Venezuela

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Beyond asylum seekers heading north, the problems of US/Mexico Border are also about the flow of guns and drugs. How can we understand the totality of problems related to the US southern border? What are the solutions?

We speak with Ieva Jusionyte the author of a new book Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border. [ dur: 58mins. ]

• Ieva Jusionyte is a legal and medical anthropologist and associate professor at Brown University. She is also the author of award-winning ethnography Threshold: Emergency Responders on the US-Mexico Border. She has been studying borders, violence, and security in Latin America and the United States for over fifteen years.

This interview was recorded May, 2024

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Politics and Activism, Arms Trade, Gun Lobby, Militarism, Mexico, United States, Borders 

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Why did soldiers on the front line ( in Flanders on 1914 ) of one of the deadliest wars lay down their arms and play soccer with the very men they were supposed to shoot?

We’ll revisit the Christmas truce of 1914 with Stanley Weintraub, author of, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. [ dur: 23 mins. ]

• Stanley Weintraub is a Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University. He is the author of more than 50 books including “Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.“

Then, on the Scholars’ panel, we explore the Science of Compassion. What is it and how does it impact society? Can we learn to be compassionate? [ dur: 35mins. ]

• 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. His books include 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

This program was first broadcast on Dec. 2017.

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

Arts and Humanities, Spirituality / Religion, Peace / Nonviolence, War / Weapons

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Although President Trump claimed that he negotiated a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia, the border wars are continuing. What is causing this conflict?

How does history and national identity impact this war? Why did the war breakout again in 2025? And who might have the greatest influence for bringing the countries to peace? [ dur: 58mins. ]

• Michael G Vann is Professor of History at California State University, Sacramento. He is the co-author of The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empire, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam. You can find his articles in Jacobin. His article on this topic is The Thailand-Cambodia War Was About Shoring Up Elite Power.
• John D. Ciorciari is Dean of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies at Indiana University. He is the author of The Limits of Alignment,Sovereignty Sharing in Fragile States, and Thailand and Cambodia: The Battle for Preah Vihear.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Politics and Activism, War / Weapons,  Cambodia, Thailand 

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The recent UN COP (Conference of Parties) climate summit revealed fissures about how to solve the problem of climate change. What are the divisions? How can states and people help mitigate climate change? [ dur: 58mins. ]

• Pamela Chasek is Professor of Political Science at Manhattan College. She is the co-founder and Executive Editor of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin. She is the author of Transforming Multilateral Diplomacy: The Inside Story of the Sustainable Development Goals, Global Environmental Politics, and The Global Environment in the 21st Century: Prospects for International Cooperation.
• Shannon Gibson is Associate Professor of Political Science, International Relations, and Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. She is the author of the forthcoming book Politics of Global Environment. She’s also the author of a recent article in the Conversation How climate finance to help poor countries became a global shell game….

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Environment, Politics and Activism, Climate Change, Environmental Activism

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We interview Aileen Teague author of Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000 . Why has war on drugs fails to address overdose deaths in the United States. [ dur: 35mins. ]

• Aileen Teague is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. She is the author of Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000.

Is humanity the most damaging predator on earth? Our guests say yes, and that its predatory practices may be disrupting evolution.[ dur: 23 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

• Chris Darimont, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. He has a PhD in Evolution and Ecology from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria.
• Dr. Tom Reimchen, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Canada. Please visit the Evolutionary Studies Lab at University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada where you will find additional studies on this subject.
• Heather Bryan, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Applied Conservation Science lab exploring the physiological mechanisms by which wildlife responds to environmental change at University of Victoria BC, Canada.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Politics and Activism, Science / Technology, Governance / Law, Drugs, government policy

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We interview Aileen Teague author of Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000 . Why has war on drugs fails to address overdose deaths in the United States. [ dur: 35mins. ]

• Aileen Teague is Assistant Professor of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. She is the author of Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000.

Is humanity the most damaging predator on earth? Our guests say yes, and that its predatory practices may be disrupting evolution.[ dur: 23 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

• Chris Darimont, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. He has a PhD in Evolution and Ecology from the Biology Department at the University of Victoria.
• Dr. Tom Reimchen, is a Professor at the Department of Geography at University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. Canada. Please visit the Evolutionary Studies Lab at University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada where you will find additional studies on this subject.
• Heather Bryan, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Applied Conservation Science lab exploring the physiological mechanisms by which wildlife responds to environmental change at University of Victoria BC, Canada.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

Politics and Activism, Science / Technology, Governance / Law, Drugs, government policy, Drugs, Evolution, Human society

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In 2020, the Supreme Court surprised many observers by holding up the rights of the Muscogee (Creek) nation. In McGirt v Oklahoma, the Court held that the Creek Nation retained its sovereign rights over a very large part of Eastern Oklahoma. The decision began with a poetic line: “At the end of the Trail of Tears is a promise.” The case raises further interest in issues of Indian law, which includes a very important case on the docket this year on the issue of the adoption of Indian children without the consent of the tribe.

Robert Miller and Robbie Ethridge have written a new book on the McGirt case, on the history of the Muscogee nation’s relations with the United States, and the details of the case itself. And the title of the book references that first line of the decision. It is called A Promise Kept: The Muscogee (Creek) Nation and McGirt v Oklahoma. Our guests are the authors of the book. [ dur: 58mins. ]

• Robert J. Miller is Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. He is the author of Reservation “Capitalism”: Economic Development in Indian Country and Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Manifest Destiny.
• Robbie Ethridge is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Mississippi. She is the author of From Chicaza to Chickasaw: The European Invasion and the Transformation of the Mississippian World, 1540–1715 and Creek Country: The Creek Indians and Their World, 1796–1816.

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

Politics and Activism, Governance / Law, Courts, indigenous rights

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Climate change will lead to climate migration. There has been a renewed interest in adaptation strategies. Mitigation efforts seek to limit the amount of greenhouse gases in the environment to slow climate change. But adaptation recognizes that the climate has changed and we as a society and as a planet must adapt to these rising temperatures and the changing ecosystem. We will explore some of the challenges for adaptation.

We Interview Jesse M.Keenan author of the book North: Future of Post Climate America. He surveys places which are vulnerable to climate change effects and what are the state and regional implication of migration North in America. [ dur: 26mins. ]

• Jesse M. Keenan is Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning at the School of Architecture and the Built Environment. His research advances the interdisciplinary fields of sustainable real estate and infrastructure finance and development. He is the author of the book North: Future of Post Climate America.

How is climate change affecting place, where we live, who can move off the coasts, and who is immobile despite living in climate-threatened zones? And what does it mean for the well-being, the economy, politics and for the regions themselves? [ dur: 32mins. ]

• Jesse M. Keenan is Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning at the School of Architecture and the Built Environment. His research advances the interdisciplinary fields of sustainable real estate and infrastructure finance and development. He is the author of the book North: Future of Post Climate America.
• Matt Hauer is Charles B. Nam Associate Professor, Department of Sociology – Center for Demography and Population Health at Florida State University. He is the author of Sea-level rise and human migration.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian, Sudd Dongre and Anna Lapin .

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What is Donald Trump trying to accomplish by resuming nuclear testing? And what impact will this decision have on nuclear non-proliferation? It seems that Trump doesn’t understand either nuclear testing or the basics about nuclear weapons. Does this undermine US policy for non-proliferation? Also, the US is unique in that a single person controls the decision to use nuclear weapons? Could the international response to the US announcement of resuming nuclear testing change this command structure? [ dur: 58mins. ]

• Ira Helfand, MD is a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)s International Steering Committee. He is a co-founder and past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), IPPNWs US affiliate. He has co-authored PSRs report Nuclear Famine: 2 billion at Risk?
• Wayne Glass is Professor Emeritus in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the former Senior Defense Policy Advisor to Senator Jeff Bingaman on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He has worked extensively with nuclear weapons policies.
• Joe Cirincione is a national security analyst and author with over 40 years of experience. He is the author of the books Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late and co-author of Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats.

Active Campaign by Back from the Brink to prevent nuclear war.

This program is produced by Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Maria Armoudian and Sudd Dongre.

Politics and Activism, War / Weapons, Nuclear Weapons

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