Tag Archives: Politics and Activism

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle July 22nd, 2012

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 ]

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Nature of organizing societies and hate speech politics – July 15th, 2012

What does nature teach us about organizing societies, governments and businesses? [dur: 28mins. ]

  • Rafe Sagarin (1971-2015) was a research scientist with the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ and the Program Manager for Oceans at Biosphere 2, where he was working to transform Biosphere 2’s ocean biome into a living model of the Gulf of California. He is the author of, Learning from the Octopus: How Secrets From Nature Can Help Us Fight Terrorism Attacks, Natural Disasters and Disease.

What are the effects of incivility, vilification and hate speech? What are the effects of political incivility and vilification on pubic policy and political participation? On democracy? How do they compare to hate speech? Where are the legal lines drawn? [ dur: 29mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle July 8th, 2012

From the ashes of the harsh recession new sustainable ownership models are emerging with groups, unions, and entire communities coming together to co-own their workplaces, homes, and sources of credit. With us to look into the possibilities is Marjorie Kelly, a fellow at the Tellus Institute think tank and author of, “The Divine Right of Capital,” her latest book is, “Owning Our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution,” and she cofounded “Business Ethics” magazine. [ dur. 27 mins. ]

And, on the Scholars’ Circle; Earlier this week a high level memorandum was leaked which revealed some of the inner workings of the supreme court. What was said in that memo? What does drive judicial decision making and what constrains it? And, how do these votes effect American society? We are joined by three experts:

  • Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Professor of Law at University of California, Irvine. He has authored several books including his latest, “The Conservative Assault on the Constitution.”
  • Adam Winkler, Professor of Law at UCLA and the author of, “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.”
  • Lawrence Baum, Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University his books include, “The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior,” “Judges and Their Audiences,” and “Specializing the Courts.”

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

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle July 1st, 2012

First Segment,  Untangling the science and politics of climate change with renowned climate scientist, James Hansen, author – Storms of my Grandchildren. ( dur: 27mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

On Scholars’ Circle. Politics of Emotions. How do emotions drive political outcomes like violence, war and genocide? [ dur. 25 mins. ]

  • Roger Peterson, MIT: author of: Understanding Ethnic Conflict.
  • David Altheide, AZ State Univ.: author of: Terror Post 9-11 and the Media
  • Jeff Berkenstein, St. Martin’s Univ.: author of: Re-framing 9-11

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Scholars’ Circle June 24th, 2012

Scholars’ Circle special. In the week before (July 1st. ) the ten year anniversary of the International Criminal Court. 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 Moyn, Prof. of History , University of Columbia – Author:  Origin of the other.
  • Mark Drumbl is professor of law and director of the Transnational law Institute at Washington and Lee University School of Law. His numerous publications include,  Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law and Reimagining Child Soldiers in International Law and Policy.
  • Chris Mahony is Professor of law and Deputy Director for the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice at the University of Auckland. His many publications include the book, The Justice Sector Afterthought: Witness Protection in Africa.
  • Liz Borgwardt is an associate professor of history and law  at Washington University. She focuses on human rights ideas and institutions. She is the author of, A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights  and the forthcoming The Nuremberg Idea: Crimes against Humanity in History, Law & Politics .

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Insighters & Scholars’ Circle June 17th, 2012

Seg. one: Secret heroes. We look at lesser known people who have shaped the world. With Paul Martin, author of Secret Heros ; journalist. [ dur. 16 mins.]

Seg. two: A lock down in Tibet continues, with six more monks burning themselves as acts of protests. We speak with a scholar who just returned from Tibet and China. With Lori Brand, professor, USC; [ dur. 15 mins. ]

On the Scholars’ Circle, we look at root causes of the China – Tibet conflict, and how it might be resolved. [ dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Prof. Robbi Barnett, Colombia, Director of Modern Tibet Studies Program and author of numerous books on Tibet;;
  • Prof. Perry Link, UC Riverside.  Author: Evening Chats in Beijing  co-translated the Tianamen Papers.
  • Prof. Emily Yeh, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder.

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Insighters & Scholars’ Circle June 9th, 2012

Will Allen talks about the Good Food Revolution, a movement dedicated to equitable and sustainable food, and creating just world one food secure community at a time.  With Will Allen, author of Good Food Revolution , founder of Growing Power. [ dur. 25 mins. ]

And on The Scholars’ Circle, we dissect the conflict in Syria, the failed Kofi Annan attempt at peace talks, and what it means for the region and the world.The Middle East.

  • Prof. Samer S. Shehata, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies @ Georgetown Univ. Author: Islamist Politics in the Middle East: Movements and Change
  • Prof. Hamoud Salhi, Cal State Domingues Hills, Essay in International Relations and Security in the Digital Age
  • Prof. Nader Hashemi, Univ. of Denver. Author: Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies

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Insighters June 3rd, 2012

Seg. 1: Two Isreali women, one Jewish, one Palestinian, are working together to sage peace in the region. With Taghrit Shabita, human rights lawyer, peace activist; Dafna Bnai, activist, Machsom Watch. [ dur. 20 mins. ]

Seg.2: What role do media play in the success or failure of the peace process? A look at the media and peace process in Israel and Palestine; With Prof. Gadi Wolfsfeld, Hebrew Univ., Jerusalem. [ dur. 20 mins. ]

Seg. 1: What exactly is terrorism? Where should it fall on the continuum of political violence? Prof. Dekmejian is the foremost expert of terrorism and genocide. With  Author and Prof. Richard Dekmejian, USC [ dur. 18 mins. ]

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Insighters & Scholars’ Circle May 27th, 2012

Seg. 1: Does power breed hypocrisy? If so, why? And what are the political and social implications. With Prof. Adam Galinski, Northwestern University. [ dur. 9 mins. ]

Seg. 2: The media’s role in political change. Richardson discusses his book A Bomb in Every Issue: How the Short, Unruly life of Ramparts Magazine changed America. Scheer, founder of Truthdig, contributes his thoughts as a former journalist at Ramparts. With Peter Richardson, author, A Bomb in Every Issue; Bob Scheer, Ramparts, TruthDig [dur. 20 mins. ]

Seg. 3: Scholars’ Circle: Health care system is under increased pressure legally, politically, and professionally, and doctors are leaving their practice. What is the future of healthcare. With Maggie Kozol, author of  The Color of Atmosphere; Dr. Ted Mazer, author, Exec. Committee of CA Medical Assoc.; Will Marshall, Pres. Progressive Policy Inst.

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Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – May 20th, 2012

Seg. 1: Mexico’s drug war is claiming thousands of lives and threatening to destabilize Mexico. With Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Univ. of Texas @ Brownsville,  studies Mexican politics, Mexico-U.S. relations. Molly Molloy, New Mexico State Univ. is prof. and librarian for Border & Latin American issues. She is creator of The Frontera List. [ duration 28 mins. ]

Seg. 2: The Scholars’ Circle. How is the so-called war on drugs connected to lethal drug trade and how can societies more effectively and humanely solve drug problems. Our three panel members have co-authored a book titled, Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know.

  • Prof. Mark Kleiman, author – When Brute Force Fails , UCLA;
  • Prof. Jonathan P. Caulkins, Carnegie Mellon Univ.;
  • Prof. Angela Hawken, Pepperdine Univ.

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