Tag Archives: Governance / Law

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Lost African-American land ownership -/- Consequence of Political Corruption – May 27, 2018

First, did predatory developers use the law to confiscate thousands of acres from African-American? [ dur: 16 mins. ]

Then, we continue analyzing political corruption, its causes, consequences and remedies. [ dur: 42 mins. ]

  • Matthew Stephenson is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is the author of Legislation and Regulation and the book chapter Corruption and Democratic Institutions: A Review and Synthesis.
  • Miriam Golden is Professor of Political Science at UCLA. She is the author of Heroic Defeats: The Politics of Job Loss and co-author of Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know.

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Political Corruption, cause and effect – May 13, 2018

We spend the hour discussing corruption, particularly political corruption, its history, causes, costs to society and possible remedies. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Turkey -/- Activism in Authoritarian State like China – April 22, 2018

First, in commemoration of the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we revisit two important discussions: With Pulitzer Prize winning author, poet and Professor Peter Balakian and Professor and Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Ben Bagdikian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who was later responsible for publishing the Pentagon Papers while working at the Washington Post. His character was portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the Oscar nominated film, The Post. Bagdikian passed away in 2016. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Peter Balakian is a professor of humanities. He is a noted poet, his books include “Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir” and “The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response“
  • Ben Bagdikian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who was later responsible for publishing the Pentagon Papers while working at the Washington Post.

Then, why have so many human rights campaigns, such as Free Tibet and the Falun Gong, failed in China? And why have others—better environmental protection and HIV/Aids – care fared better? What have the costs been on political movements with the more successful campaigns? What activism can work in the authoritarian country? Stephen Noakes joins us. He is a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and the author of The Advocacy Trap. Transnational activism and state power in China.[ dur: 29 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Stephen Noakes is a senior lecturer of Chinese Politics, jointly appointed to Politics and International Relations and Asian Studies at the University of Auckland. ​He is coauthor of Support for Civil Society in China in Creating Democratic Value: Evaluating Efforts to Promote Democracy Abroad.

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Cryptocurrency, Insight from Scholars – April 15, 2018

We spend the hour understanding crypto-currency. Will cryptocurrency profoundly alter the monetary system? What is the future of it? What are the pros and cons? And what do they mean for economics, for power and for society? [ dur: 58 mins. ]

  • David Golumbia, is Associate Professor in the Department of English; Media, Art, & Text Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the author of The Cultural Logic of Computation and The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism . His blog is uncomputing.org.
  • Gina C. Pieters is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Trinity University, and an honorary Research Fellow at the University College London Centre for Blockchain Technologies. She is the author of the research papers Does Bitcoin reveal new information about exchange rates and financial integration?, The Potential Impact of Decentralized Virtual Currency on Monetary Policy and Cross-Country Distribution of Power and Exposure in the Crypto-Market.
  • Lee W McKnight is Associate Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University. He is the co-author of The Gordian Knot:Political Gridlock on the Information Highway, Cloud to Edgeware: Wireless Grid Applications, Architecture and Security for the “Internet of Things”, Knowledge Networks, the Internet, and Development , and co-editor of Creative Destruction: Business Survival Strategies in the Global Internet Economy and Internet Economics.
  • Emin Gun Sirer is Associate Professor at Cornell University and Co-Director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts. He is the co-author of Majority is not Enough: Bitcoin Mining is Vulnerable, Managing the Network with Merlin. and On the Feasibility of Completely Wireless Datacenters. He developed the precursor to Bitcoin. His blog is HackingDisturbed.com

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – South Sudan -/- Political Knowledge informs Democratic Institutions – March 25, 2018

South Sudan is in crisis with tens of millions of people at risk of starvation over the next six months, according to the World Food Program. The conflict there has taken thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes. What is the scope of the problem? And what can be done to help the young country and its citizens. [ dur: 29mins. ]

Then, why do people seem to know so little about politics? And what does that mean for democracy? We speak with Arthur Lupia author of Uninformed: Why People Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It. [ dur; 29mins. ]

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Public Corruption and Democratic Institutions – March 11, 2018

We continue our exploration of public corruption. We’ll examine the specific allegations related to U.S. President Donald Trump, his family and associates, and what their effects might be on governance and society. [ dur: 58mins. ]

  • Matthew Stephenson is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. His publications include Legislation and Regulation and the book chapter Corruption and Democratic Institutions: A Review and Synthesis. He is Editor In Chief of the Global Anticorruption Blog which tracks corruption in the Trump Administration. https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/
  • Richard Gordon is Professor of Law at Case Western University. He is also Director of the Financial Integrity Institute and Associate Director of the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center. He is the author of A Model Regulation on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism and Public Corruption And Money Laundering.

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Interpreting 2nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America – February 24, 2018

With the latest lethal shooting in America, we spend the hour analyzing how the second amendment came to be interpreted as a individuals’ right to bear arms, and how this change contrasts with other changes in constitutional interpretation, including the right for marriage equality and human rights protection. We speak with David Cole. His latest book is Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

  • David D. Cole is the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. He is author of many books including Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law.

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Birmingham, Alabama -/- Cost Benefit of Homeland Security -/- Eisenhower-Nixon Relationship – February 18, 2018

First, we’ll revisit the 1920 founding of Black History Month and the pivotal civil rights campaign in Birmingham. [ dur: 12 mins. ]

  • V.P. Franklin is the Distinguished Professor of History at University of California, Riverside. He is the author of Living Our Stories, Telling Our Truths: Autobiography and the Making of the African-American Intellectual Tradition as well as the editor of Journal of African American History.

Next, our guests suggest the government may be overreacting. We are joined by John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart, authors of, Terror, Security, and Money: Balancing the Risks, Benefits, and Costs of Homeland Security. [ dur: 16 mins. ]

  • John Mueller is a Research Scientist and Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University and author of Retreat from Doomsday and War, Presidents and Public Opinion.
  • Mark Stewart is a Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Center for Infrastructure, Performance and Reliability at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Finally, for President’s Day, we’ll take a peek inside the strange political marriage of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon and how their terms shaped U.S. politics and policy. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Jeffery Frank is a journalist and the author of Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage.

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

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. ]

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

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.

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