Tag Archives: Congress

Scholars’ Circle – Comments from Latino LA city council members threaten years of Black-Latino Coalition ; Many ways Privatization is an attack on Civil Service roles in the Government – October 23, 2022

October 22, 2022 host

Los Angeles is embroiled in a city governance crisis, due to leaked audio highlighting the racism of elected city council members. It has demonstrated that race is still a fundamental problem in the city. We explore race in Los Angeles. Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 34mins. ]

Claudia Sandoval is Assistant Professor at Loyola Maramount University. She is the author of “Black, Brown, Young and Together: Inter- and Intra-Group Affinity and Coalitions Between Black and Latino Youth” and with Chaya Crowder she has co-authored the opinion article Latino leaders can collaborate with Black communities. Why don’t they?

Privatization may undermine safeguards of our constitutional republic. How does privatization amount to what our guest calls a Constitutional Coup? Hosted by Maria Armoudian. [ dur: 24mins. ]

This interview was first broadcast July 2018.

Jon Michaels is a Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. He is the author of Constitutional Coup: Privatization’s Threat to the American Republic.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Regulatory challenges for EPA after West Virginia v. EPA Decision of 2022 – July 17, 2022

July 16, 2022 host

The Supreme Court has weakened executive agencies and their ability to regulate and make policy. No agency has been more affected than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). What is next for environmental protection? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Traditionally, the US Supreme Court has given executive branch agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency quite a bit of latitude at enforcing Congressional legislation. This principle is called Chevron deference. But in this term, the Supreme Court weakened this principle significantly, in particular in the area of environmental protection. In West Virginia v EPA, the Court signaled that the EPA can only enforce on areas specifically outlined by Congress. Specifically, it weakened the agency’s ability to take regulatory steps to combat climate change. We will discuss what this means for the EPA, for public policy, and for the US’s ability to make international commitments on the environment.

Joel A. Mintz is Professor Emeritus of Law and C. William Trout Senior Fellow in Public Interest Law at Nova Southeastern University Law Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is the author of Enforcement at the EPA: High Stakes and Hard Choices and “Thinking Beyond Gridlock: Towards A Consistent Statutory Approach To Federal Environmental Enforcement“.
Richard N. L. (Pete) Andrews is a Faculty Fellow of the Institute for the Environment and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the author of Managing the Environment, Managing Ourselves: A History of American Environmental Policy.
Pamela Chasek is Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at Manhattan College. She is the author of Global Environmental Politics.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Impeachement of Donald Trump and President Biden’s immigration policy – February 14, 2021

February 13, 2021 host

What is the future of impeachment as a constitutional tool after the Second Trump Impeachment Trial? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 33mins. ]

Frank Bowman III is Floyd R. Gibson Missouri Endowed Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law. He is an expert on the impeachment of the president and other federal officers. Bowman is the author of High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump. His writes the blog “Impeachable Offenses”.
Eric M. Freedman is a Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Rights at Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. He is the author of Habeas Corpus: Rethinking the Great Writ of Liberty and Making Habeas Work: A Legal History.

How will Biden change American immigration policy? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 25mins. ]

Joanne Lin is National Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs at Amnesty International, USA.
Hiroshi Motomura is a Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has authored many books including Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States and Immigration Outside the Law.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – The future of American Democracy and What is Trump’s legacy? – January 10, 2021

January 9, 2021 host

The mob seizure of the US Capitol this week has raised several concerns about the future of American democracy? Was this a coup attempt? Is this beginning an era of undemocratic actions against peaceful transitions following elections? And is the Trump Presidency an anomaly to American democracy? [ dur: 27mins. ]

Anne Meng is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. She is the author of Constraining Dictatorship: From Personalized Rule to Institutionalized Regimes.
Naunihal Singh is Associate Professor at the U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of Seizing Power: The Strategic Logic of Military Coups and this analysis article on Washington Post: Monkey Cage Section.

The authoritarianism of the Trump Administration has lasting implications for the Presidency. We discuss this authoritarianism and his impact on the Republican Party. [ dur: 31 mins. ]

Andrew Rudalevige is Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin College. He is co-author of Managing the President’s Program: Presidential Leadership and Legislative Policy Formulation and the author of The New Imperial Presidency.
George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies at Texas A&M University. His books include On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit , The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership and Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership. He is the editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Politics and policy implication after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg – Sept 27, 2020

September 26, 2020 host

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the Republican promise to replace her has profound implications for American politics and policy. In our first segment we examine the potential legal impacts on the Court’s decisions themselves. In our second segment, we explore the impact of this decision on public policy, on the checks and balances of the branches of American government, and the 2020 election. [ dur: 58mins. ]

First Panel: [ dur: 28mins. ]

Sanford Levinson is W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. He is the author of many publications including Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance and, with Cynthia Levinson, Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today.

Erwin Chemerinsky is Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law and Dean at University of California Berkeley School of Law. His many publications include Closing the Courthouse Doors: How Your Constitutional Rights Became Unenforceable and We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century.

Second Panel: [ dur: 28mins. ]

John Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee University. He is the author of Essential Supreme Court Decisions: Summaries of Leading Cases in U.S. Constitutional Law, 17th Edition, The United States Constitution: One Document, Many Choices and The Bible in American Law and Politics: A Reference Guide.

Mark Peterson is Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Legislating Together: The White House and Capital Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan and the editor of Healthy Markets? The New Competition in Medical Care and co-editor of the volume Institutions of American Democracy: The Executive Branch.

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – President Trump’s immigration policies – July 5, 2020

July 4, 2020 host

One of the most fundamental features of the Trump Administration is a policy of limiting immigration and reversing previous US policy on work visas, asylum, and deportation policy. Today we examine the status of this policy in light of recent US Supreme Court decisions and the Covid-19 Pandemic. Hosted by Douglas Becker, Assistant Professor (Teaching) of International Relations and Environmental Studies at USC, Los Angeles, CA. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

Peter J. Spiro is a Professor of Law at Temple University, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He holds the Charles Weiner Chair in international law. He is the author of Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization (Oxford University Press 2008) and Citizenship: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press).
Hiroshi Motomura is a Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA, Los Angels, CA. He is a scholar of immigration and citizenship, with influence across a range of academic disciplines and in federal, state, and local policymaking. He has authored many books including Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States (Oxford 2006) and Immigration Outside the Law.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Insect declines affect agriculture -/- US President effects on the direction of the nation and the world – June 2, 2019

June 1, 2019 host

First, why are the numbers of insects in fast decline? What does it mean for our food supply and our long term survival? Scientists say climate change is not the only reason.[dur: 11 min. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Andrew Dopheide is Researcher at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. He is the co-author of “Estimating the biodiversity of terrestrial invertebrates on a forested island using DNA barcodes and metabarcoding data.”

Then, how much does the president truly matter for the direction of the United States and for the rest of the world. [ dur: 46 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

William F. Grover is Professor of Political Science at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont. He is the author of The President as Prisoner: A Structural Critique of the Carter and Reagan Years, co-editor of Voices of Dissent: Critical Readings in American Politics, and The Unsustainable Presidency: Clinton, Bush, Obama and Beyond.
Joseph G. Peschek is Professor of Political Science at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of Policy-Planning Organizations: Elite Agendas and America’s Rightward Turn, co-editor of Voices of Dissent: Critical Readings in American Politics, and The Unsustainable Presidency: Clinton, Bush, Obama and Beyond.

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – US House of Representatives 2019 will affect law and the Trump presidency – January 13, 2019

January 12, 2019 host

With historic changes in the House of Representative, what can we expect from Congress and the President in policy and investigative battles? How will the power struggles play out? Will the Supreme Court weigh in, and if so, how?

Andrew Rudalevige is Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government at Bowdoin College. He is the author of Managing the President’s Program: Presidential Leadership and Legislative Policy Formulation and The New Imperial Presidency.
George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies at Texas A&M University. His books include On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit , The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership ,and Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership. He is the editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly.
Mark Peterson is Professor of Public Policy and Political Science in the Department of Public Policy’s Meyer and Renee Luskin School of Public Affairs, and Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law. He is the author of Legislating Together: The White House and Capital Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan and the editor of Healthy Markets? The New Competition in Medical Care and co-editor of the volume Institutions of American Democracy: The Executive Branch,
Sean Theriault is a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of The Power of the People: Congressional Competition, Public Attention, and Voter Retribution, Party Polarization in Congress, and The Gingrich Senators: The Roots of Partisan Warfare in Congress.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Outcome from Investigating the President of USA -/- Parasites affect human behavior – January 28, 2018

January 27, 2018 host

First, what might be next in U.S. politics in light of the latest developments? Last week, we discussed where the U.S. is headed under the Trump presidency, and whether it might begin to resemble authoritarian states. In this hour, in light of the latest revelations in the special investigation by Robert Mueller, we continue our conversation with our experts. What are the consequences should the investigation come to a head? [ dur: 42 mins. ]

Louis Michael Seidman is a Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law School. He is the author of Silence and Freedom, On Constitutional Disobedience and Our Unsettled Constitution: A New Defense of Constitutionalism and Judicial Review.
Sanford Levinson is a Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It) and Constitutional Faith.
Mark Peterson is Professor of Public Policy, Political Science Law at UCLA. He is the author of Legislating Together: The White House and Capital Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan and the editor of Healthy Markets? The New Competition in Medical Care.

Then, we end with the question, is our behavior free will or is it partly due to parasites? New science shows how parasites change behaviors throughout the animal kingdom. What does that mean for human behavior? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

Dr. Dickson Despommier is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University. He is the author of The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century and People, Parasites, and Plowshares: Learning From Our Body’s Most Terrifying Invaders.
Patrick House is Neuroscientist at Stanford University. He is the co-author of Predator Cat Odors Acdivate Sexual Arousal Pathways in Brains of Toxoplasma Gondii infected Rats.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Constitution and Unprecedented Political Power in USA -/- Science of Sleep – January 21, 2018

January 20, 2018 host

First, Unprecedented times in the U.S.A. Is the country facing an existential crisis? And if so, what might effect the outcome? [ dur: 24 mins. ]

Louis Michael Seidman is a Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law School. He is the author of Silence and Freedom, On Constitutional Disobedience and Our Unsettled Constitution: A New Defense of Constitutionalism and Judicial Review.
Sanford Levinson is a Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (And How We the People Can Correct It) and Constitutional Faith.
Mark Peterson is Professor of Public Policy, Political Science Law at UCLA. He is the author of Legislating Together: The White House and Capital Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan and the editor of Healthy Markets? The New Competition in Medical Care.

Then, Why do we sleep? What is its purpose? And what actually happens during sleep? [ dur: 34 mins. ]

Marcos G. Frank is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Washington State University-Spokane. He is the author of The mystery of sleep function: current perspectives and future directions, The role of sleep in memory consolidation and brain plasticity: dream or reality? and Sleep enhances plasticity in the developing visual cortex
Graham H. Diering is Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is the co-author of Homer1a drives homeostatic scaling-down of excitatory synapses during sleep, and Regulation of dendritic spine growth through activity-dependent recruitment of the brain-enriched Na+/H+ exchanger NHE5

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Congress

Scholars’ Circle – Comments from Latino LA city council members threaten years of Black-Latino Coalition ; Many ways Privatization is an attack on Civil Service roles in the Government – October 23, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Regulatory challenges for EPA after West Virginia v. EPA Decision of 2022 – July 17, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Impeachement of Donald Trump and President Biden’s immigration policy – February 14, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – The future of American Democracy and What is Trump’s legacy? – January 10, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Politics and policy implication after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg – Sept 27, 2020

Scholars’ Circle – President Trump’s immigration policies – July 5, 2020

Scholars’ Circle – Insect declines affect agriculture -/- US President effects on the direction of the nation and the world – June 2, 2019

Scholars’ Circle – US House of Representatives 2019 will affect law and the Trump presidency – January 13, 2019

Scholars’ Circle – Outcome from Investigating the President of USA -/- Parasites affect human behavior – January 28, 2018

Scholars’ Circle – Constitution and Unprecedented Political Power in USA -/- Science of Sleep – January 21, 2018

By Maria Armoudian