Tag Archives: Social Sciences

Scholars’ Circle – Ideology, propaganda and race in Trump’s America/ Roots of current political turmoil, divisions, and partisanship in the US – March 24, 2019

First, an analysis of ideology, propaganda and race in Trump’s America. [ dur: 17 mins. ]

Then, the historical roots of the present day political turmoil, divisions, and partisanship in the United States. The fault lines that fractured the United States. [ dur: 40 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Erwin Staub interview -/- Fritjof Capra interview – January 27, 2019

First, we speak with Erwin Staub about his latest book, The ​R​oots of ​G​ood​nes​s​ and ​R​e​s​ist​ance to ​Evil: Inclusive ​C​aring, ​M​oral ​C​ou​r​age, ​Altruism ​B​o​r​n of ​S​uffering, ​A​c​t​I’ve ​B​ystandership and ​H​e​r​oism. [ dur: 25 mins. ]

  • Ervin Staub is a Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Founding Director of its ​Ph.D. concentration in the Psychology of Peace and Violence.

Then, we speak with Fritjof Capra about his book The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. He is also the author of, The Tao of Physics, Tthe Turning Point, The Web of Life, The Hidden Connections, The Science of Leonardo, and Learning from Leonardo. This is part two of a two part interview. Part one of this interview can be found here. [ dur: 33 mins. ]

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Christmas truce -/- Effects of Compassion on Society – December 23, 2018

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 shoot? We’ll revisit the Christmas truce of 1914 with Stanely Weintraub, author of, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. [ dur: 23 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ panel, we explore the Science of Compassion. What is it and how does it impact society? Can we learn to be compassionate? [ dur: 35mins. ]

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Side effects of google and facebook businesses -/- Teaching children civics and community – October 14, 2018

First, are Google and Facebook increasing income inequality, harming the arts and damaging democracy? Our guests says yes. [ dur: 44 mins. ]

Then, how one university professor is teaching children about community, civics, empathy and giving. [ dur: 14 mins. ]

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Will International Finance protect human rights -/- Responsibility of Individual, State and Institutions – September 16, 2018

Can international finance systems be harnessed to protect human rights? While historically financiers have funded some of the worse of human rights abuses, finances also enabled great human leaps. Our guest argues that it is time to alter the financial system for the good of humanity. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

Then, our guest studies factors that shape our lives and ways of being in life, like ideas and events. What does it really mean to be responsible? It might depend on where you live. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – What is behind rise of suicides in USA -/- Retirement of US Justice Anthony Kennedy ( part 1 of 2 )- July 1, 2018

First, what’s behind the rise in suicide? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Dr. Mark S. Kaplan, is a professor of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. His publications include: The social nature of male suicide: A new analytic model. Suicide among male veterans: a prospective population-based study and Physical illness, functional limitations, and suicide risk: a population-based study.

Then, what does the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy mean for the United States? This is part of 2 part interview. Part 2 can be found here. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Sanford Levinson, is a Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas. He is the author of The Undemocratic Constitution and Nullification and Secession in Modern Constitutional Thought and Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance (2012)
  • Dr. John Vile is a professor of Political Science at Middle Tennessee University. He is the author of: Constitutional Law in Contemporary America, Essential Supreme Court decisions and The Writing and Ratification of the US Constitution
  • Stephen Griffin is a professor of Constitutional Law at Tulane University. He is the author of American Constitutionalism: From Theory to Politics, Long Wars and the Constitution, and Broken Trust: Dysfunctional Government and Constitutional Reform

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Intersection of Music, Art and Politics -/- Healing Traumatic Experiences – June 24, 2018

First, the intersection of music, art and politics. Our guest producer Sam Smith explores how modern artists like Childish Gambino use music and video for political communication. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Patrycja Rozbick is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Aston University. She is the author of Childish Gambino shows, pop music can be powerfully political – despite censorship, this article can be found here and Crisis in the Eye of Beholder: Contingency and Perplexity Along the Balkan Migration Route.

Then, the toll of trauma, its aftermath and how to heal after traumatic experiences. We speak with three renowned experts. [ dur: 43 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Charles R. Figley is Distinguished Chair, Professor in Disaster Mental Health and Director of the Tulane University Traumatology Institute and School of Social Work. He’s Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the author of Mapping the Wake of Trauma: Autobiographical Essays by the Pioneers of Trauma Research; the Encyclopedia of Trauma: An Interdisciplinary Guide; and Beyond Trauma: Cultural and Societal Dynamics, and Death and Trauma.
  • Richard A. Chefetz is a psychiatrist in Washington, D.C. and past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Richard Chefetz is Founder and Chair of their Dissociative Disorders Psychotherapy Training Program, a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology and a faculty member at the Washington School of Psychiatry, the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis, and the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis. He is the author of Intensive Psychotherapy for Persistent Dissociative Processes: The Fear of Feeling Real.
  • Dr. Daniel Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute, the author of books, including The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are, The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being, and co-author of books including The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in YourChild and Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Future of food, food politics -/- US immigration policy and Human Rights Crisis – June 17, 2018

First, we continue our exploration of the future of food. With climate change, contamination and host of stressors on the planet, how will we feed a growing population? What are the politics of food? This is part three of a three part panel from a symposium held in Auckland, NZ. In the third part of this symposium on food, we look at solutions and the changes we need to assure a system is just, sustainable and resilient. Future of Food symposium recording: Part 1, Part 2.[ dur: 23 mins. ]

  • Michael Carolan is a Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Research for the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University. He has authored and coedited books including Reclaiming Food Security; The Sociology of Food and Agriculture; The Real Cost of Cheap Food; Food Utopias: Reimagining Citizenship, Ethics and Community; and Biological Economies: Experimentation and the Politics of Agrifood Frontiers.
  • Richard Le Heron is a Professor of Geography in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland. His has coauthored and coedited books including Knowledge, Industry and Environment: Institutions and Innovation in Territorial Perspective; Economic Spaces of Pastoral Production and Commodity Systems: Markets and Livelihoods; Agri-Food Commodity Chains and Globalising Networks; and Biological Economies: Experimentation and the politics of agri-food frontiers.
  • Nicolas Ian Lewis is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment at the University of Auckland. He coedited the book Biological Economies: Experimentation and the politics of agri-food frontiers and has authored book chapters including ‘Constructing economic objects of governance: the New Zealand wine industry’ in Agri-Food Commodity Chains and Globalising Networks.
  • Anastasia Telesetsky is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland. She has coauthored and coedited the books The International Law of Disaster Relief; Ecological Restoration in International Environmental Law; and Marine Pollution Contingency Planning, State Practice in Asia-Pacific States.

Then, is America facing a human rights crisis with its immigration policy? With reports of indefinite detentions and separating children from their families, we explore how we got here, what the political and legal ramifications are, and what happens next for America. [ dur: 35 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • 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. His list of publication can be found here.
  • 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 and Smart Humanitarianism: Re-imagining Human Rights in the Age of Enterprise. You can find his publications here.

This program is produced with contributions from the following volunteers: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Anaïs Amin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

Scholars’ Circle – Living Off-Grid -/- Infinite Game of Living Communities – April 29, 2018

First, living off the grid. A look inside the movement to live with total freedom and independence. Who is doing it? How are they doing it and why are they doing it? [ dur: 15 mins. ]

  • Nick Rosen is writer, author and filmmaker. He is the author of Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government and True Independence in Modern America. His website is  www.off-grid.net

Then, living life as an infinite game. We speak with Niki Harre author of Infinite Game: How to Live Well Together. [ dur: 43 mins. ]

  • Niki Harre is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for Sustainability at the University of Auckland. She is the author of Psychology for a Better World and The Infinite Game: How to Live Well Together. Her website is: http://www.infinite-game.net/

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

Scholars’ Circle – Compassion, a Human response – December 24, 2017

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 shoot? We’ll revisit the Christmas truce of 1914 with Stanely Weintraub, author of, Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. [ dur: 23 mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ panel, we explore the Science of Compassion. What is it and how does it impact society? Can we learn to be compassionate? [ dur: 35mins. ]

  • Iain Wilkinson is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. He is the author of Suffering: A Sociological Introduction and Anxiety in a Risk Society
  • Dr. Paul Gilbert is the head of the Mental Health Research Unit as well as Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby. His books include Compassion-Focused Therapy: Distinctive Features and The Compassionate Mind: A New Approach to Life’s Challenges
  • Dr James R. Doty is a Clinical Professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. He is the co-author of Surgical Disorders of the Sacrum

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