An hour-long special on music and politics.
First, we speak with Serj Tankian, multiplatinum selling musician and lead singer of System of A Down. Latest Album Harakiri. [dur. 15 mins.]

Then, we find out about the banned, censored, oppressed, and jailed musicians all over the world. [ dur. 15 mins. ]

With:

• Ole Reitov is the Programme Manager for Freemuse.
• Michael O’Rielly is Senior Campaign Director for Individuals at Risk program at Amnesty International

Finally, on the Scholars’ Circle we discuss at how music effects political change, and how politics effects music. [ dur. 28 mins. ]

With:

• Josh Kun is Associate Professor of communication and journalism, and  director of The Popular Music Project at USC Annenberg’s The Norman Lear Center. He is the author of Audiotopia: Music, Race and America, and co-editor of the book series, Refiguring American Music.
• Mark Levine is professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of California, Irvine, and distinguished visiting professor at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden. He writes a weekly column for al-Jazeera International and, has published numerous books including, “Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil,” and “Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance and the Story of Islam’s Generation-X.” His forthcoming book is about the revolutions in the Arab world, “The Five Year Old Who Toppled a Pharaoh.”
• Dick Flacks is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at University of California–Santa Barabara. He is the author of Making History: The American Left and the American Mind, and Playing for Change: Music and Musicians in the Service of Social Movements. He also produces a music show.

Visit our store [ lists books written by each on the panel ]

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