Tag Archives: History

Scholars’ Circle – Ideology, propaganda and race in Trump’s America/ Roots of current political turmoil, divisions, and partisanship in the US – March 24, 2019

First, an analysis of ideology, propaganda and race in Trump’s America. [ dur: 17 mins. ]

Then, the historical roots of the present day political turmoil, divisions, and partisanship in the United States. The fault lines that fractured the United States. [ dur: 40 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

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

Scholars’ Circle – Stories about Secret Heros -/- Britain Loyalist during American Revolution -/- Retirement of US Justice Anthony Kennedy ( part 2 ) – July 8, 2018

First, secret heroes. We know the role of presidents and other leaders in shaping history, however we hear little about the unsung heroes; many who have risked their lives to liberate and rescue others. Who might some of those secret heroes be? We are joined by Paul Martin author of Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

  • Paul Martin is a journalist, author and editor. He is the author of Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World and his most recent American Trailblazers:A Celebration of All But Forgotten Firsts.

Next, tens of thousands of people remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolutionary War, who were they and what happened to them? Where did they go after the war and what do their stories tell us about American history? Maya Jasanoff joins us, she is a Professor of History at Harvard and author of Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World.[ dur: 15 mins. ]

  • Maya Jasanoff is Professor of History at Harvard University. She is the author of Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists and the Revolutionary War. Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750-1850, and The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World.

Finally, what does the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy mean for the United States? This is part two of a two part interview. Part one can be found here. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Sanford Levinson, is a Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas. He is the author of The Undemocratic Constitution and Nullification and Secession in Modern Constitutional Thought and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance (2012)
  • Dr. John Vile is a professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee University. He is the author of: Constitutional Law in Contemporary America, Essential Supreme Court decisions and The Writing and Ratification of the US Constitution
  • Stephen Griffin is a professor of Constitutional Law at Tulane University. He is the author of American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics, Long Wars and the Constitution, and Broken Trust: Dysfunctional Government and Constitutional Reform

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

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.

Scholars’ Circle – Magnetic Field effects on Birds, Bees, Whales and Turtles -/- Natural bonds among animals and humans – October 16, 2016

First, birds, bees, whales and turtles all use the earth s magnetic field to guide their behavior. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Human history has been drastically changed by our relationship with animals. So much so that our next guest says it would be a different world if not for our intimate bonds with animals. How have they changed us and the world we live in? Joining us is Professor Brian Fagan. [ dur: 41 mins. ]

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

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

Scholars’ Circle- Reasons for unethical Foreign Policies -/- Earth Climate 2047 -/- Wars not in human nature – June 5, 2016

What drives destructive or unethical foreign policies? Some point to pathological beliefs and pursuits of exceptionalism, honor and glory. Others point to systemic flaws. What are the consequences? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

Then, Professor Mora and his colleagues have calculated how climate change will affect our temperatures around the year 2047. In the future, they found, our coldest year will be warmer than the past hottest years. The changes, which will first occur in the tropics, are already driving some 25,000 species to extinction each year. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

Finally, our panel argues that warring is a relatively new phenomenon in human societies and that human beings are not warlike by nature. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

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

Scholars’ Circle- Study on effects of consumerism -/- humanity affected by history of science and religion – May 1st, 2016

First, how most of what we buy and consume helps create wars, prop up dictatorships and systems of oppression, and some ways to start changing this. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Leif Wenar is Chair of Philosophy and Law at King’s College London. He is the author of “Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence and the Rules That Run the World“. Leif Wenar website

Then, how might Big History change our thinking about the role of humanity in the history of the earth and the convergence of science and religion. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Jonathan Markley is Associate Professor of History at California State University, Fullerton. He is part of the Big History movement and has been featured in many television episodes related to it. Big History Project website

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

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

Scholars’ Circle- Human Rights Laws – March 27th, 2016

Last week the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Radovan Karadzic. of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the mass killings and ethnic cleansing of Bosnia. In this hour we assess how far we’ve come in protecting human rights and what else can be done. What are some of ICC’s strengths and weaknesses? [ dur: 58mins. ]

  • Samuel Moyn is Professor of Law and History at Harvard University. His publications include Christian Human Rights and The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History
  • Mark Drumbl is Professor at Washington and Lee University, School of Law, and the Director of the University’s Transnational Law Institute. He is the author of numerous books including the award winning , Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law, and Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy .
  • Dr. Chris Mahony is Research Fellow at the Centre for International Law Research and Policy, Visiting Research Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center, and Criminal Justice and Citizen Security Consultant at the World Bank in Washington D.C.His publications include, The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa, and he is the co-editor of Evaluating Transitional Justice: Accountability and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone.
  • Elizabeth Borgwardt is Associate Professor in the Department of History at Washington University in St. Louis. She is the author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights and co-author of Coping with International Conflict: A Systematic Approach to Influence in International Negotiation.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

Scholars’ Circle-Western-Dominance-of-the-World-/-How-ideas-shape-international-power-structures-September 12th, 2015

First, what were the factors that led to Western dominance of the world and how are they changing the world. We discuss the book, Why the West Rules For Now: The Patterns of History and What They Reveal About the Future with Professor Ian Morris. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Ian Morris is Professor of Classics Faculty at the Stanford Archaeology Center. He is a historian and archaeologist. He has excavated in Britain, Greece, and Italy, most recently as director of Stanford’s dig at Monte Polizzo, a native Sicilian site from the age of Greek colonization. His publications include “Why the West Rules–For Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future“, and “The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations“.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, how might the power of ideas shape countries and international power structures [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Elizabeth Borgwardt is an Associate Professor of History and is an acclaimed international law and human rights historian whose research focuses on human rights ideas and institutions. Her publications include, “A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights“.
  • Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of History at Oregon State University. Nichols specializes in the history of the United States and its relationship to the rest of the world, particularly in the areas of isolationism, internationalism, and globalization. His publications include, “Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age“.
  • Tim Lynch is Professor and Director of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Melbourne.His books include “Turf War: the Clinton Administration and Northern Ireland” and he co-authored “After Bush: the Case for Continuity in American Foreign Policy“.

Find book/publication authored by our guest scholars Book Shelf .

Scholars’ Circle-Magnetic-field-affects-Animals-/-History-of-Human-bond-with-Animals-August 30th, 2015

First, birds, bees, whales and turtles all use the earth s magnetic field to guide their behavior. [ dur: 17mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Then, human history has been drastically changed by our relationship with animals. So much so that our next guest says it would be a different world if not for our intimate bonds with animals. How have they changed us and the world we live in? [ dur: 41 mins. ]

  • Brian Fagan, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, University of California, Santa Barbara. He has authored more than two dozen books, including the latest. “The Intimate Bond: How Animals Have Shaped Human History“.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]

Scholars’ Circle-Secret-Heroes-/-Loyalist-of-American-Revolution-/-Amending-US-Constitution-July 5th, 2015

First, Secret heroes. We look at lesser known people who have shaped the world. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

  • Paul Martin, author and jouranlist; Author of Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World

Then, we revisit the American Revolution through the stories of the loyalist, those who fought on the side of Great Britain. We’re joined by Maya Jasanoff author of Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Maya Jasanoff, is Professor of History  at Harvard University. She is author of Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists and the Revolutionary War.

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, we explore the historic and current efforts to amend the constitution. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • John R. Vile is Dean and Professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the author of, The Writing and Ratification of the U.S. Constitution: Practical Virtue in ActionEncyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-2005, and ReFramers: 170 Eccentric, Visionary, and Patriotic Proposals to Rewrite the U.S. Constitution.
  • Stephen M. Griffin is Professor in Constitutional Law at Tulane Law School. He is the author of, Long Wars and the Constitution and American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics.
  • Sanford Levinson is Professor in the Department of Government and Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. His numerous publications include, Constitutional FaithOur Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and, most recently,Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance.

Visit our Store [ lists books written by each on this panel ]