Tag Archives: Political Science

Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

First, how did society develop from bands of hunter and gatherers to our current political system? Where did the concepts of accountability come from? And why was a swell of democracy followed by a decline in democratic gain? What is behind political decay? Francis Fukuyama poses these questions in his latest book, The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • Francis Fukuyama, author, senior fellow at Stanford Univ.;

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, what are the trends and consequences of increasingly unequal society? We look at inequality, its causes and consequences. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

  • Prof. Lane Kenworthy, Sociology and Political science Univ. of AZ.; Author: Progress for the Poor
  • Prof. Miles Corak,  Prof. of Economics, Univ. of Ottawa, Canada; Author: Generational Income Mobility in North America and Europe
  • Prof. Sylvia Allegretto, Center on Wage & Employment Dynamics, Labor Economist , UC Berkeley. Author : The State of Working America:

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

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

Begin with, President Obama used the state of the union address to galvanize support for his agenda. How does his state of the union compare to those of his predecessors? [ dur. 12:51 ]

  • Ryan Lee Teten, Professor of Political Science at Univ. of Louisiana.  Author of  – Evolution of Rehtorical Presidency.

Then, for President’s Day, we’ll take a peek inside the strange political marriage of Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon and how their terms shaped US politics and policy. [ dur. 41mins. ]

  • Jeffery Frank, author, journalist;  Author of Ike and Dick of Strange Political Marriage.

Finally, we’ll revisit the 1920 founding of Black History Month and in advance of its 50th anniversary, the pivotal civil rights campaign in Birmingham. [ dur. 18 mins. ]

  • VB Franklin, Distinguished Prof. History at UC Riverside. Author of Education of Black Philidelphia.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Feb. 3rd, 2013

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. 30 mins. ]

  • Patrick James, Professor of International Relations and Director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. He is the author of, “The International Relations of Middle-earth: Learning from The Lord of the Rings.”

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at deception and lying. Some scholars say that deception is ubiquitous and normal in all human interactions, that lying is useful and possibly even biological. Others suggest that there is a cost to lying even for white lies. What is the truth about lying? [ dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Sissela Bok is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, and formerly a Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University. Her many books include the seminal, “Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life,” “Secrets: on the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation,” and “A Strategy for Peace: Human Values and the Threat of War.”
  • David Livingstone Smith is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of several books including, “Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind,” “Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others,” and “Hidden Conversations: An Introduction to Communicative Psychoanalysis.”
  • Charles V. Ford, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, in the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama. His books include “Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit.”

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 27th, 2013

Much of the mass media has fixated on whether the film Zero Dark Thirty glorified torture. Academy Award-winning director Katherine Bigelow has been forced by critics to explain her use of graphic, detailed torture scenes in her new film, which dramatizes the hunt and assassination of Osama Bin Laden. But while headlines and talk shows focus on Bigelow and her film, less has been said about two new reports detailing extensive torture, or about the realities of torture.

We are joined by filmmaker Murad Aldin Amayreh discussing his most recent documentary, “The Tortured: Stories of Survival.” And, Hector Aristizabal, one of the interviewees in the film who was tortured in Colombia. Also joining the conversation: Pamela Merchant is Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability. Gerald Gray is a social worker and psychotherapist who works with torture victims and who has initiated numerous institutes to assist them (including the Center for Justice and Accountability). Pamela Merchant is Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability. Stephen Rohde is a constitutional lawyer, founder and Chair of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, Chair of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California and a Vice President of Death Penalty Focus, and author of AMERICAN WORDS OF FREEDOM, and FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY. [ dur. 29 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, President Obama has announced that a decade of war is now ending, our panel argues that warring is a relatively new phenomenon in human societies and that human beings are not warlike by nature. [ dur. 27 mins. ]

Douglas P. Fry, Dir of Peace, Mediation & Conflict Research at Abo Akademi Univ. Finland.  Author of Beyond War : The Human Potential for Peace.

Darcia Narvaez, Prof. of Phycology, Univ. of Minnesota. Co-author of Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development: From Research to Practice and Policy.

Brian Ferguson, Prof. of  Anthropology , Rutgers Univ. .  Co-author of  War in the Tribal Zone: Expanding States and Indigenous Warfare.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ circle & Insighters Radio- Jan. 13th, 2013

First, we look at post-earthquake reconstruction, disaster relief and the role of NGO’s in Haiti. We also take a deeper look at the critical role of the Haitian Diaspora.

  • Jonathan Katz, Journalist and author of The Big Truck That Went By;
  • Manolia Charlotin, executive editor of The Haitian Times;

Then, on the Scholars Circle, 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.

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

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Insighters Radio- Dec. 23rd, 2012

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 ]

  • Prof. Stanley Weintraub, Professor Emeritus Penn State University, historian. Author of  Story of World War 1 Christmas Truce & Pearl Harbor Christmas , World at War Dec 1941.

Then, religion, politics and the so-called God gap. We’ll explore how religion unites and divides us. With authors of “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.” [ Dur. 15 mins. ]

  • Prof. David Campbell, Political Science, Univ. of Notre Dame;
  • Robert Putnam, Public Policy, Harvard;

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. 18 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. 16th, 2012

First, a look inside the secret world of spying and intelligence agencies. A discussion with Glenn Carle, former CIA agent and author of the book, The Interrogator, An Education. [ Dur. 28 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, how might the power of ideas shape countries and international power structures.

  • Liz Borgwardt, Prof. at Univ. of Chicago & Washington University, author of New Deal for the World, America’s Vision for Human Rights;
  • Christopher McKnight Nichols, fellow at Univ. Of Penn and prof. of history oregon state university and author of Promise and Peril , America at Dawn of a Global Age;
  • Tim Lynch, Prof. Political Sciences Univ. of Melbourne. Turf war, Clinton Administration and Northern Ireland;/li>

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 9th, 2012

First, what were the factors that led to Western dominance of the world and how are they changing the world. We are joined by Ian Morris, author of, “Why the West Rules For Now: The Patterns of History and What They Reveal About the Future.” [ Dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Ian Morris is Professor of Classics and History at Stanford University.

Then, the effect of war on laws, society, governance, and democracy itself. How are these affected, as the lines of war-time are increasingly blurred? [ Dur. 27 mins. ]

We are joined by three experts:

  • Mary Dudziak is Professor of Law, History, and Political Science at the University of Southern California. She is the author of, “War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences.”
  • Patrick James is Professor of International Relations and Director of the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous publications including, “Constitutional Politics in Canada After the Charter: Liberalism, Communitarianism, and Systemism,” “A New Quest for International Peace: Civil-Military Dynamics, Political Communications and Democracy,” and “Religion, Identity and Global Governance: Theory, Evidence and Practice.”
  • Christopher McKnight Nichols is Professor of History at Oregon State University. Previously he was the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in U.S. History at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of, “Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age.”

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

The Scholars’ Circle & Insighters Radio- Dec. 2nd, 2012

First we explore the politics of Palestine in relation to the region and in light of its new status of statehood. We began a discussion with Mark Perry about the politics of Palestine and statehood. We continue now to make sense of the new dynamics inside and outside of Palestine. Author of  Talking with Terrorists: Why America must engage with its enimies. [ Dur. 16 mins. ]

Finally on Scholars’ Circle: With more than 130 votes in the United Nations, Palestine has attained statehood, a move that is thought to empower President Mahmood Abbas’s position both inside Palestine and in future legal battles with its neighbor, Israel. This change in status along with other developments within Palestine and the region may have more ripple effects.

  • Ervin Staub, Prof. of Phycology, University of Massachusetts , Amherst. Author or  Roots of Evil : Origins of  Genocide and other Group Violence.
  • Sami Adwan, Prof. of Education, Bethlehem University , Editor of Peace Research Institute in Middle East and Author of Side by Side: Parallel history of Israel-Palestine
  • Sarai Aharoni, Prof. of Political Science, Hebrew University,  Jerusalem.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters Radio- Nov. 25th, 2012

First, it’s been 50 years since the Cuban Missile Crises. What really happened? We’ll explore through newly declassified documents. Joining us is Peter Kornbluh, director of the Cuba Documentation Project and the Chile Documentation Project at the National Security Archive. He is co-author of “The Iran-Contra Scandal: The Declassified History,” and author of “The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability.” [ dur. 21 mins. ]

Later, Lizz Winstead talks about the birth of the ‘Daily Show,’ the death of ‘Air America Radio,’ and the state of the media and comedy today. Lizz Winstead is co-creator and former head writer of The Daily Show and Air America Radio co-founder. After creating “The Daily Show,” Lizz Winstead formed ‘Shoot the Messenger Productions’ to create and develop other projects for television and theater and the web. She is also the author of, “Lizz Free or Die: Essays.”

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