Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into Solutions to Climate Change -/- Ways Biology affects Free Will – April 16, 2017

April 15, 2017 host

With unprecedented global warming, wealth disparities and peak everything, we need to act now to meet the power, heating and transportation needs of growing populations, and to do so sustainably, equitably and democratically. What are the obstacles? What are possible solutions? How do we build resilient communities? [ dur: 44mins. ]

Steve Matthewman is a professor of sociology at the University of Auckland. She is the author of Disasters, Risks and Revelation: Making Sense of Our Times and Being Sociological.
Julie MacArthur is a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Auckland. She is the author of Empowering Electricity: Co-operatives, Sustainability, and Power Sector Reform in Canada (Sustainability and the Environment).
Prue Taylor is a senior lecturer in environmental and planning law at the University of Auckland, Deputy Director of the New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law. She is the author of An Ecological Approach to International Law: Responding to the Challenges of Climate Change
Manuel Vallee is a lecturer in environmental sociology at the University of Auckland. He is a co-author of Resilience, Environmental Justice and the City

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. ]

Dr. Dickson Despommier is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University. He is the author of The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century and People, Parasites, and Plowshares: Learning From Our Body’s Most Terrifying Invaders.
Patrick House is Neuroscientist at Stanford University. He is the co-author of Predator Cat Odors Acdivate Sexual Arousal Pathways in Brains of Toxoplasma Gondii infected Rats.

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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 – French Philosophy and CIA -/- Code Economy and Future of Work – April 2, 2017

April 1, 2017 host

Why were CIA agents reading French philosophy? [ dur: 22mins. ]

Gabriel Rockhill is a philosopher, cultural critic and political theorist. He is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Villanova University and Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop at the Sorbonne. He is the author of Counter-History of the Present: Untimely Interrogations into Globalization, Technology, Democracy, Interventions in Contemporary Thought: History, Politics, Aesthetics and Radical History and the Politics of Art.

What is the Code Economy and what does it have to do with the future of work. Some people argue that machines will take over jobs. But our guest argues that perhaps humanity will reinvent work in a way that’s more aligned with what it means to be human. [ dur: 36mins. ]

Philip Auerswald is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and a Senior Fellow at the Kauffman Foundation. He is the author of The Code Economy: A Forty-Thousand Year History, The Coming Prosperity: How Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Economy and he is the editor of Iraq, 1990-2006 3 Volume Set: A Diplomatic History Through Documents.

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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 – Survery of government policies to address climate change -/- Justice for Archbishop Oscar Romero – March 26, 2017

March 26, 2017 host 1 Comment

First, a look at changes in environmental policies on local, state, national and international levels. [ dur: 13 mins. ]

Astrid Carrapatoso is assistant professor of political science at University of Feiberg, Germany. She has published many studies on climate change policy implemented by local, state, national and international governments. She is the author of The Greening of Free Trade: Domestic Politics and Environmental Issues in New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreement Negotiations and co-editor of Climate-Resilient Development: Participatory solutions from developing countries. List of her publications can be found here 🔗.

Then, we’ll explore the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the case to bring his killers to justice. We speak with Matt Eisenbrandt author of The Assassination of a Saint. [ dur: 40 mins. ]

Matt Eisenbrandt is a former Legal Director for the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) and a member of the trial team that brought Archbishop Óscar Romero’s assassination to court. He is now the Legal Director of the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), where he helps survivors of torture, war crimes and other atrocities seek justice. He is the author of The Assassination of a Saint: The Plot to Murder Oscar Romero and the Quest to Bring His Killers to Justice.

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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 – South Sudan Humanitarian Crisis -/- Democracy and uninformed population – March 19, 2017

March 18, 2017 host

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: 29 mins. ]

Alex de Waal, Exec. Dir World Peace Foundation, Research Professor at Fletcher School. Tuft University. Website Justice Africa. He is the author of following books, The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power , Famine Crimes: Politics & the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa , Advocacy in Conflict: Critical Perspectives on Transnational Activism , Famine that Kills: Darfur, Sudan , Young Africa: Realising the Rights of Children and Youth .

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: 29 mins. ]

Arthur Lupia is the Hal R. Varian Collegiate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan and Chair of National Research Council’s Roundtable on the Application of Behavioral and Social Science. He is the co-author of The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know?, Elements of Reason: Cognition, Choice, and the Bounds of Rationality, and the author of his latest book Uninformed: Why People Know So Little About Politics and What We Can Do About It.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Insight into race, propaganda and ideology -/- extinction of species – March 12, 2017

March 11, 2017 host 1 Comment

First, an analysis of ideology, propaganda and race.

David Livingstone Smith is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, How Biology Shapes Philosophy and Why We Lie: Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind.

Then, what are the causes of the rapid rate of species extinction and what can be done.

Anthony Barnosky is Executive Director of Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and an Emeritus Professor of Integrative Biology at University of California Berkeley. He is the author of Dodging Extinction—Power, Food, Money and the Future of Life on Earth and co-author of Tipping Point for Planet Earth—How Close Are We To The Edge (with Elizabeth Hadly).
Stuart Pimm is Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University. He is the author of A Scientist Audits the Earth, The Balance of Nature? Ecological Issues in the Conservation of Species and Communities, and Patterns in Nature: The Analysis of Species Co-Occurences.
David Wilkie is Director of Conservation Measures for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Hunting for consensus: reconciling bushmeat harvest, conservation, and development policy in West and Central Africa, Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest, and Impacts of protected areas on local livelihoods in Cambodia.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – 7 Earth like planets detected -/- Secret heroes in American history -/- UN during Donald Trump Presidency – March 5, 2017

March 4, 2017 host

In first for 3 segments, we speak with James G. Ingalls a Staff Scientist at the Spitzer Space Telescope / Science Center, and a member of the InfraRed Spectrograph Instrument Support Team that discovered the seven earthlike planets orbiting a dwarf star. [ dur: 12mins. ]

James G. Ingalls is Staff Scientist at the Spitzer Space Telescope / Science Center, and a member of the InfraRed Spectrograph Instrument Support Team. He is co-author of Seven temperate terrestrial planets around the nearby ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.

Then, 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: 14mins. ]

Paul Martin is writer, editor and journalist., He is the author of Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World and Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues.

Finally, what does the election of Trump mean for the United Nations? [ dur: 33mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Stephen Hoadley is a Professor of Politics and International Relations at The University of Auckland. He is the author of, Asian Security Reassessed, New Zealand and France: Politics, Diplomacy and Dispute Management, and Soldiers and Politics in South East Asia.
Mark Eugene Amsler is a Professor in Cultures, Languages and Linguistics and Director of the Europe Institute at the University of Auckland, He is the author of Effective Literacies: Writing and Multilingualism in the Later Middle Ages.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Melting glaciers and ice sheets -/- Insight into Addiction and it’s treatment – February 26, 2017

February 24, 2017 host

First, climate change, receding glaciers and melting ice sheets are causing the oceans to rise dramatically. What does that mean for the world’s coastal cities? [ dur: 15mins. ]

Andrea Dutton is a Professor of Geological Sciences at the University of Florida. She is the co-author of Tropical Tales of Polar Ice:Evidence of Last Interglacial Polar Ice Sheet Retreat Recorded by Fossil Reefs of the Granitic Seychelles Island published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
Brian Fagan is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is the author of The Attacking Ocean: The Past, Present, and Future of Rising Sea Levels, Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind and The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations

Then, on The Scholars’ Circle panel, science contradicts long held societal myths about addiction. What are the most effective means of addressing addiction? [ dur: 43mins. ]

Dr. Lance Dodes is a former Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of The Heart of Addiction: A New Approach to Understanding and Managing Alcoholism and Other Addictive Behaviors, Breaking Addiction: A 7-Step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction and The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry.
Dr. Jeffrey Foote is the Co-founder and Clinical Director of the Center For Motivation and Change. Previously, he was the Deputy Director of the Division of Alcohol Treatment and Research at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and a Senior Research Associate at The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. He is the co-author of Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change.
Dr. Adi Jaffe is a lecturer at UCLA and the Co-Founder and Executive Director at Alternatives Addiction Treatment.

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Consumer Choice -/- Earth, Science and Religion – February 12, 2017

February 11, 2017 host

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

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

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Scholars’ Circle – Human rights Laws -/- Challenging USA shutting out Refugees – February 5, 2017

February 4, 2017 host

How is international law changing for human rights and for war? Moving from protecting state security to increasingly protecting individual security. The shifts are influenced by the human rights frame and reshaping what she calls “humanity’s law.” [dur: 15mins. ]

RutiTeitel is Professor of Comparative Law at the New York Law School and Visiting Professor at London School of Economics. She is the author of numerous publications including Humanity’s Law and Globalizing Transitional Justice.

While the worlds deals with an ongoing and escalating refugee crisis, the USA is shutting its door on seven countries. Already states and local governments are seeking ways to challenge the new administration’s orders. We’ll explore the historic, global and legal context with our experts. [ dur: 43mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Kevin Johnson is Dean of the School of Law and Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies at University of California at Davis. 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 Kyle is Professor of Sociology at University of California at Davis. His publications include, Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives, and Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador.
Phil Orchard is a Senior Lecturer in Peace and Conflict Studies and International Relations and the Research Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for Responsibility to Protect at the University of Queensland in Australia. He is the author of A Right to Flee: Refugees, States, and the Construction of International Cooperation and the forthcoming book Protecting the Internally Displaced: Rhetoric and Reality.
Brad Blitz is Professor of International Politics at Middlesex University in London and Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics. He is the author of European Union: Displaced, Undocumented and Unwanted, Statelessness and Citizenship: A Comparative Study on the Benefits of Nationality, and Migration and Freedom: Mobility, Citizenship, Exclusion.

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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 – Propaganda in democratic society, Part 2 of 2 -/- Ways States Resist President Donald Trump agenda – January 29, 2017

January 28, 2017 host

First, how propaganda works, particularly in democratic settings. Jason Stanley is the author of How Propaganda Works. This is part two of a two part interview. Hear part one [ dur: 25 mins. ]

Jason Stanley is Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. He is the author of How Propaganda Works , Know How and Knowledge and Practical Interests (Lines of Thought).

Then, throughout US history conflict has risen between states’ rights to self-govern and the power of national government to pass laws applying across the country. With Donald Trump as president, many cities and states are gearing up to resist his agenda. How will states’ rights figure into the resistance? IS secession a real possibility? Sanford Levinson is the author of The Undemocratic Constitution and Nullification and Secession in Modern Constitutional Thought. [ dur: 33mins. ]

Sanford Levinson is Professor in the Department of Government and Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School. His numerous publications include, Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance, Constitutional Faith, Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It) and, most recently, Nullification and Secession in Modern Constitutional Thought.

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

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The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into Solutions to Climate Change -/- Ways Biology affects Free Will – April 16, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – French Philosophy and CIA -/- Code Economy and Future of Work – April 2, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Survery of government policies to address climate change -/- Justice for Archbishop Oscar Romero – March 26, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – South Sudan Humanitarian Crisis -/- Democracy and uninformed population – March 19, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into race, propaganda and ideology -/- extinction of species – March 12, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – 7 Earth like planets detected -/- Secret heroes in American history -/- UN during Donald Trump Presidency – March 5, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Consumer Choice -/- Earth, Science and Religion – February 12, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Human rights Laws -/- Challenging USA shutting out Refugees – February 5, 2017

Scholars’ Circle – Propaganda in democratic society, Part 2 of 2 -/- Ways States Resist President Donald Trump agenda – January 29, 2017

By Maria Armoudian