Tag Archives: Governance / Law

Scholars’ Circle – Birthright Citizenship, its Historic Roots in Immigration, Slavery, & Indigenous Peoples – April 26, 2026

April 26, 2026 host

As the US Supreme Court deliberates over the future of birthright citizenship, we explore its historic roots in light of immigration, slavery, and indigenous peoples. How do contemporary ideas of birthright citizenship fit with those of the past? How might these ideas influence the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Book cover - Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship by author Anna Law.

Anna Law holds the Herbert Kurz Chair in Constitutional Rights at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. She is the author of The Immigration Battle in American Courts and Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants.
Julie Novkov is the Dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy and Professor of Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University at Albany. She is the author of Donald Trump, Constitutional Failure, and the Guardrails of Democracy and co-author of American by Birth: Wong Kim Ark and the Battle for Citizenship.
Gabriel “Jack” Chin is Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Legal Education at UC Davies School of Law. The U.S. Supreme Court has cited his work in two cases: Chaidez v. United States and Padilla v. Kentucky. And Justice Sotomyer has cited his law article in Utah v. Strieff. He is the co-author of Birthright Citizenship, Slave Trade Legislation, and the Origins of Federal Immigration Regulation and author of A Nation of White Immigrants: State and Federal Racial Preferences for White Noncitizens.

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

Politics and Activism, Governance / Law, Courts, Immigration, Birthright

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – US Attorney General Pam Bondi Legacy; Prosecuting Presidents for Crimes – April 19, 2026

April 20, 2026 host

The Department of Justice has historically been largely independent from the White House, despite the fact that the Attorney General is appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. However, Donald Trump’s DOJ has been different. Recently fired AG Pam Bondi sought to prosecute the President’s political opponents and the Department has gone to great lengths to protect the President amid the revelations of the Epstein Files. On today’s show, we will discuss the legacy of Pam Bondi as Attorney General and what this means for the future of the Justice Department. [ dur: 28mins. ]

Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. He is the editor of Is Democracy Doomed? and Lethal Injection and the False Promise of Humane Execution and Pam Bondi’s extreme political loyalty to Trump wasn’t enough to save her job, in The Conversation.

The criminal indictments of President Trump have created an unprecedented political crisis. Historically, U.S. presidents have not faced criminal charges—even in cases where guilt appeared likely—due in part to longstanding institutional norms surrounding the presidency. Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon embodies this norm.

What can the U.S. learn from other countries that have prosecuted former presidents? What can we learn from past prosecutions of political figures in American history? Is the prosecution of former heads of state simply the weaponization of justice mechanisms? How common is this political charge? [ dur: 30mins. ]. This is a portion of our hour long discussion originally posted in August, 2023. Link to full interview.

Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office and his latest book Civil War by Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight For Democracy. He hosts the podcast This is Democracy.
Tom Ginsburg is Leo Spitz Professor of International Law and Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar at the University of Chicago Law School. He is the author of the books The Endurance of National Constitutions, Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes, and co-author of the paper The Comparative Constitutional Law of Presidential Impeachment.
Ezequiel González Ocantos is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations and a Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. He is the author of Shifting Legal Visions: Judicial Change and Human Rights Trials in Latin America, The Politics of Transitional Justice in Latin America: Power, Norms and Capability Building, and co-author of Prosecutors, Voters, and the Criminalisation of Corruption in Latin America (w/ Paula Muñoz, Nara Pavao & Viviana Baraybar).

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

Politics and Activism, Governance / Law, Congress, Courts

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – US threat to own Greenland is causing Europeans to rethink its longtime alliance with US – January 25, 2026

January 26, 2026 host

One of the most notable international initiatives of the Trump Administration has been its pursuit of Greenland. Recently the President has declared that the island is a national security issue and the US needs sovereignty over Greenland. It is currently an autonomous territory under the Danish flag. As of this recording, the US has stated it will not use military force to seize the island and there is a “concept of a deal” over the island. But this is an issue that is far from resolved. What is the US interest in Greenland? How does this campaign to acquire the territory frame the potential for future competition and conflict in the Arctic region? And what do American threats against allies, specifically members of the NATO alliance, indicate about the relationship between the US and Europe? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Map of Greenland and it's Nordic neighbors

Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West: Gorbachev, Intellectuals and the End of the Cold War and The Other Side: How Soviets and Americans Perceive Each Other.
Donald Heflin, Executive Director of the Edward R. Murrow Center and as Senior Fellow of Diplomatic Practice in the Center, Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is a former foreign service office for the US State Department, serving as Ambassador to Cape Verde between 2015-2018. He is also the author of “Trump’s Greenland quest threatens alliances that helped build the modern world order” in The Conversation

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

Politics and Activism, Governance / Law, War / Weapons, North Atlantic, Greenland

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – ICE the organization, terrorizing communities with its tactics. – January 18, 2026

January 18, 2026 host

The killing of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross reflects increasingly aggressive and violent immigration & customs enforcement and policing in the US. What’s behind this growing violence in law enforcement?

Has ICE become more violent or are we just paying closer attention? What has changed with the organization under Trump?

On January 7, 2026, 37 year old Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Since the killing, protests have surged in the Minnesota city. The White House and supporters of ICE state that Good was a domestic terrorist who threatened the ICE officer. But numerous accounts, videotaped taken by residents on their phones, have shown a very different story of the altercation. Residents, as well as elected officials have demanded that ICE leave the city and allow local law enforcement to maintain control. In response the Department of Homeland Security has indicated they will send hundreds more ICE officers and the President has threatened to declare war on the city via the Insurrection Act. On today’s show we will explore the history, policing, and impact of ICE on American cities. And we will explore the narratives told about these killings and how increasingly the visibility and transparency of policing has altered the narratives. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Felicia Arriaga is Assistant Professor in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College. She is the author of “PolICE in Schools: Immigration Enforcement as a Racial Project and Opportunities for Resistance” and Behind Crimmigration: ICE, Law Enforcement, and Resistance in America.
Greg Brown is Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology and the Department of Law & Legal Studies at Carleton University (Ottawa). He is the author of The blue line on thin ice: Police use of force modifications in the era of camera phones and YouTube, and Police body-worn cameras in the Canadian context: Policing’s new visibility and today’s expectations for police accountability

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

Politics and Activism, Governance / Law, police, Civil Liberties, Police Brutality

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interview : Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000 – December 7, 2025

December 7, 2025 host

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. ]

Book cover has a photo of Mexican police and Military arresting farmers on Drug supply charges..Title of the book is Policing on Drugs- The United States, Mexico, and the Origins of Modern Drug War, 1969 - 2000 by Aileen Teague.

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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interview : Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000 – December 7, 2025

December 7, 2025 host

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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – A Promise Kept: The Muscogee (Creek) Nation and McGirt v Oklahoma – November 30, 2025

November 29, 2025 host

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.

bookcover - shows bust of an American Indian with book title

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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Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s anti-green energy policies ; ICJ climate change ruling for all affected states – October 19, 2025

October 23, 2025 host

Green energy shunned by the Trump Administration, we examine how this affects US economy, energy costs and green technology leadership. [ dur: 22mins. ]

Shannon Gibson is Associate Professor of Political Science, International Relations, and Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. She’s also the author of Climate Change or Social Change? Environmental and Leftist Praxis and Participatory Action Research and State-led social boundary change: Transnational environmental activism, ‘ecoterrorism’ and September 11.
Dr. Kelly Twomey Sanders is an Associate Professor in the University of Southern California’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is the co-author of Integrating Sociodemographic, Health, and Environmental Data to Assess the Spatiotemporal Trends of Vulnerability to Heatwaves in California .

International Court of Justice (ICJ ) made decision on behalf of Vanuatu in July 2025 Recognizing the “urgent and existential threat” facing the world, granting those harmed by human-caused climate change may be entitled to “reparations”. [ dur: 35mins. ]

Johanna L. Gusman Regional Adviser for Human Rights and Social Development at the Pacific Community (SPC) based in Suva, Fiji. She has authored Pacific Island Countries Make Historic Submissions to the International Court of Justice Climate Change Advisory Opinion.
Dr. Justin Sobion Lectures on Environmental Law at University of Auckland, New Zealand. He has contributed chapter to Reflections on Earth Trusteeship. Mother Earth and a new 21st-century governance paradigm.

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

Environment, Politics and Activism, Climate Change, Renewable Energy, Governance / Law

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Reasons for political violence and how it becomes inevitable – September 21, 2025

September 22, 2025 host

Political violence is on the rise, we get insight into why it happens and ways to mitigate it’s occurrence. With scholars of politics, social inquiry and criminal justice. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Roger Petersen is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science at MIT. He is the author of Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, Resentment in Twentieth Century Eastern Europe, Death, Domination, and State-Building: The US in Iraq and the Future of American Military Intervention, and Emotions and backlash in US society and politics.
David L. Altheide is a Regents Professor Emeritus on the faculty of Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. He is the author of Terrorism and the Politics of Fear, The Media Syndrome and Gonzo Governance: The Media Logic of Donald Trump.
Brian Levin is Director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism and Professor of Criminal Justice at California State University, San Bernardino. He is co-author of the book The Limits of Dissent and co-author of the publications Report to the nation: hate crimes rise in US cities and counties in time of division and foreign interference, Posing the Why Question: Understanding the perpetration of racially motivated violence and harassment, and Fact Sheet: Anti-Asian Prejudice 2020 (March 2, 2021).

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Threat to Freedom of expression in US ; Author interview on case for universal Child Care for working American – September 7, 2025

September 7, 2025 host

As part of an ongoing attack on free expression, Donald Trump is trying to criminalize flag burning. Is this proposed ban constitutional? [ dur: 29mins. ]

Dennis Baron is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a frequent commentator on language issues in the national media and has written a number of popular books, including What’s Your Pronoun? (2020).

Picture of a Child's closet for a book titled Raising A Nation - 10 reasons every American has a stake in Child care for all. by Elliot Haspel.

Then, why is child care in America so expensive? This vital service that is so crucial for child and community development is among American families’ largest expenses. And why is child care so underfunded by the government? We speak with Elliot Haspel, author of Raising a Nation, 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Elliot Haspel is a nationally recognized child care policy expert, a senior fellow at the think tank Capita. He’s the author of Crawling Behind America’s Child Care Crisis and How to Fix It, but today we’re going to talk about his new book. The new book is entitled, Raising a Nation, 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All. Elliott Hospital is currently pursuing his PhD in early childhood policy at the University of Colorado, Denver.

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

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The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Governance / Law

Scholars’ Circle – Birthright Citizenship, its Historic Roots in Immigration, Slavery, & Indigenous Peoples – April 26, 2026

Scholars’ Circle – US Attorney General Pam Bondi Legacy; Prosecuting Presidents for Crimes – April 19, 2026

Scholars’ Circle – US threat to own Greenland is causing Europeans to rethink its longtime alliance with US – January 25, 2026

Scholars’ Circle – ICE the organization, terrorizing communities with its tactics. – January 18, 2026

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interview : Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000 – December 7, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interview : Policing on Drugs – The United States , Mexico and Origins of Modern Drug War, 1996 – 2000 – December 7, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – A Promise Kept: The Muscogee (Creek) Nation and McGirt v Oklahoma – November 30, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s anti-green energy policies ; ICJ climate change ruling for all affected states – October 19, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – Reasons for political violence and how it becomes inevitable – September 21, 2025

Scholars’ Circle – Threat to Freedom of expression in US ; Author interview on case for universal Child Care for working American – September 7, 2025

By Maria Armoudian