Tag Archives: Political Science

Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 2nd, 2014

First, in light of veteran US Congressman Henry Waxman announcing his retirement, we revisit his analysis about how the Congress really works. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Representative Henry Waxman represents California’s 33rd Congressional District.  He is the author of The Waxman Report: How Congress Really Works

Then, Ukrainian demonstrations are escalating into what some fear could be a civil war. How did we get here and where might it be headed? [ dur: 33 mins. ]

  • Robert English is Director of the School of International Relations and professor of International Relations at University of Southern California. He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West, and editor of My Six Years with Gorbachev.
  • Alexander Motyl is professor of political science at Rutgers University, Newark. He is the author of  Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires; Dilemmas of Independence: Ukraine after Totalitarianism ; and The Turn to the Right: The Ideological Origins and Development of Ukrainian Nationalism, 1919–1929. He has a weekly blog, “Ukraine’s Orange Blues.”
  • Kathryn Stoner-Weiss is Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. She is the author of Resisting the State: Reform and Retrenchment in Post-Soviet Russia, co-author of Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative Perspective, and Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Postcommunist World.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 26th, 2014

First, last week marked the fourth anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s decision Citizens United versus the Federal Election commission. We’ll revisit what it means to American democracy today. [ dur: 26 mins. ]

  • Henry Brady, is professor of Political Science and Dean of Goldman School of Public Policy at University of California, Berkley. Co-author of Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics
  • Scott Bowman is Chair of Political Science Department at California State University, Los Angeles. Author of The Modern Corporation and American Political Thought: Law, Power, and Ideology
  • Daniel Greenwood is professor of Law at Hofstra School of Law.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, scientists are finding remarkable similarities between humans and other animals. What might these similarities teach us about the human condition and our relationship to other species? [dur: 32 mins. ]

  • Marc Bekoff ( blog ), is professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. His books include The Emotional Lives of Animals, Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed: The Fascinating Science of Animal Intelligence, Emotions, Friendship, and Conservation, and has co-authored, Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals,
  • Barbara Natterson-Horowitz is a cardiologist, the Director of Imaging at the UCLA Cardiac Arrhythmia Center and a cardiac consultant for the Los Angeles Zoo. She is the co-author of Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health.
  • Stan Kuczaj is director of The Marine Mammal Behavior and Cognition Laboratory at University of Southern Mississippi . He is coauthor/editor of Emotions of Animals and Humans: Comparative Perspectives (The Science of the Mind)

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 5th, 2014

Can the Lord of the Rings trilogy act as a means to understand complex politics and international relations? Our guest says, indeed, it can. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Patrick James, Professor of International Relations, USC. Author of, The International Relations of Middle-earth: Learning from The Lord of the Rings.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, with dozens of species going extinct every day, we look at the science and ethical issues of de-extinction – cloning using DNA of extinct species – and conservation. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Dr. Michael Archer is professor of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales. He has published over 300 scientific journal articles and books focused on the ecology and evolution of past and present. He has been working to bring back some extinct animals. His latest work includes contributions to two encyclopedias: Fossil mammals of Australia and New Guinea and Evolution and Zoogeography of Australasian Vertebrates. He has authored books including Australia’s Lost World: Prehistoric Animals of Riversleigh
  • Dr. John Wiens is professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. He is also a former curator at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and has served as editor of a number of scientific journals. He is the author of many books including, The Ecology of Birds Communities.
  • Carl Zimmer is an award winning lecturer at Yale University and author of thirteen books including, Evolution: Making Sense of Life and More Brain Cuttings: Further Explorations of the Mind. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Time Magazine, National Geographic, and Scientific American. Here is a list of other books by Carl Zimmer

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 29th, 2013

In this hour, the conflict in South Sudan has claimed 1000 lives, according to a United Nations humanitarian official. Leaders in Africa are working to negotiate a peace agreement between South Sudan’s government and the rebels. But South Sudan, as the world’s newest country, faces many more crises. We speak with a nurse from the organization Doctors Without Borders, or Medicin sans Frontiere, who has recently returned from South Sudan. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Mariam Czech , Nurse MSF.

Then, what is the relationship between minerals, such as oil, diamonds, gold, and conflict, authoritarianism and poverty? This week’s scholars have spent years studying how these so-called extractive industries—mining and drilling—impact people’s lives, their governance, and the environment, throughout the world. How can countries so rich in mineral wealth remain mired in so much poverty?

  • Jeffery Mantz, Professor of Anthropology, George Mason University;
  • Michael Ross, Professor of Political Science, UCLA; Author of The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations
  • Suzana Sawyer, Professor of Anthropology, UC Davis. Author of Crude Chronicles: Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 22nd, 2013

In this hour, why did soldiers on the front line of one of the deadliest wars lay down their arms and play soccer with the very men they were supposed to kill? We’ll revisit the so-called Christmas truce of 1914. [ dur 25 mins. ]

  • Stanley Weintraub, Professor Emeritus historian, Penn State University; Author of Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.

Then, religion, politics and the so-called God gap. We’ll explore how religion unites and divides us. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • David Campbell, Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame; co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
  • Robert Putnam, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University; co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us

Finally, in the midst of so much bad news, what in the world is getting better? We’ll explore the widespread improvements in the world. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Charles Kenney, Sr fellow Center for Global Development. Author of Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding–And How We Can Improve the World Even More

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 15th, 2013

Scholars’ Circle special. We spend the hour assessing 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: 58 mins. ]

Samuel Moyne, Professor of history, Univ. of Columbia. Author of Origins of the Other: Emmanuel Levinas between Revelation and Ethics;

Mark Drumbl, Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University and Director of Transnational Law Institute. Author of Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law

Chris Mahony, Professor of law, University of Auckland. Author of The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa

Elizabeth Borgwardt, Professor of law, Washington University. Author of A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 24th, 2013

First, we continue to trace the birth of free speech in the US, a country that for decades prosecuted dissenters. What caused the radical turn around by the Supreme Court to support free speech?  With Thomas Healy.  [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Thomas Healy is professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. He is the author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind — and Changed the History of Free Speech in America. And the law review publications, Brandenburg in a Time of Terror, and The Rise of Unnecessary Constitutional Rulings.

Then, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, we revisit a discussion with Kennedy’s special counsel, closest adviser and speech writer. President Kennedy referred to him as his intellectual blood bank. We spoke with Sorensen in 2008. He passed away in 2010. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Ted Sorensen has authored nine books including, Counselor: Life at the Edge of History. He co-authored Kennedy’s Pulizer Prize winning book, Profiles in Courage.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 17th, 2013

First, after years of allowing censorship and criminal prosecution of dissent, what caused the radical turnaround by the Supreme Court to then support free speech and dissent? Part one of a two part discussion with Thomas Healy author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind ” and Changed the History. [ dur:  27 mins. ]

  • Thomas Healy is professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. He is the author of, The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind — and Changed the History of Free Speech in America. And the law review publications, Brandenburg in a Time of Terror, and The Rise of Unnecessary Constitutional Rulings

Then, we know that the wealthy have more influence than other americans, but just how unrepresentative is the American Congress and the state legislatures? [ dur: 31 mins. ]

  • Thomas Hayes is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Connecticut. His publications include, Responsiveness in an Era of Inequality: The Case of the U.S. Senate, and Do Citizens Link Attitudes with Preferences? Economic Inequality and Government Spending in the New Gilded Age
  • Martin Gilens is Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America, and Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy.
  • Patrick Flavin is professor of political science at Baylor University. His publications include, Income Inequality and Policy Representation in the American States, Does Higher Voter Turnout Among the Poor Lead to More Equal Policy Representation? and How Citizens and Legislators Prioritize Spheres of Representation.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Nov. 10th, 2013

First, thousands of migrants leave their countries in search of safety or a better life, but many are abducted, enslaved or disappeared never to be seen again. We ll talk w/ an award-winning journalist who documented the lives of Central American migrants and the life-threatening dangers they faced.  [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Oscar Martinez, author, journalist. Author of The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging the Narcos on the Migrant Trail.

 

We then dig deeper into the world of migration, and the systems and policies that perpetuate many of the inhumane conditions. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Kevin Johnson is Dean and  Professor of Public Interest Law at UC Davis School of Law. He has co-authored., Opening the Floodgates: Why America Needs to Rethink Its Borders and Immigration Laws, and authored Immigration Law and the US-Mexico Border.
  • David Shirk is Associate  Professor of Political Science and International, and Director of the Justice in Mexico Project, at University of San Diego. He has co-authored, Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2013, Armed with Impunity: Curbing Military Human Rights Abuses in Mexico, and Contemporary Mexican Politics.
  • David Kyle is professor of Sociology at University of California, Davis. His publications include, Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives, and Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Oct. 20th, 2013

First, why do the super-rich continue to make gains while other Americans are losing ground, in the “winner-take-all” politics?Paul Pierson and Jacob S. Hacker are the authors of, Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer–and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Paul Pierson, Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley.
  • Jacob S. Hacker, Professor of Political Science, Yale.

Then, on the Scholars’ Cirle panel, we examine the politics of the US Constitution, its effect on political institutions and the political process, and ask whether it should be revised or amended. Also, includes comparative analysis with other constitutions. [ dur:  32 mins. ]

  • David S. Law, Professor of Law and Political Science. Washington Univ., St. Louis.
  • Sanford Levinson, Professor of Political Science and Law at Univ. of Texas School of Law. Author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance
  • Louis Michael Seidman, Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University. Author of On Constitutional Disobedience (Inalienable Rights)

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