Tag Archives: Society and Culture

Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Bird Songs -/- New Form of Corporate Lawlessness – September 4, 2016

First, scientists have made fascinating discoveries on how animals communicate. Birdsongs are more than music; they are warnings of danger understood by many species. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Erick Greene, Professor of Biological Sciences at University of Montana. He has published numerous papers in ornithology, the latest in collaboration with the Cornell labs of Ornithology

Then, companies like Uber, Google and AirBnb claim to be civil rights leaders, but they are introducing a new form of corporate lawlessness? [ dur: 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies at University of Virginia. Author of “The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry)“. His articles at Slate can be found here. He co-authored an opinion piece on Guardian UK newspaper with Frank Pasquale ( author of Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms that Control Money and Information (Harvard University Press, 2015) Uber and the lawlessness of ‘sharing economy’ corporates

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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 – National Psychology in Age of Excess -/- Treatment of Misdeeds among Leaders in our Society – August 7, 2016

America has entered an age of excess, according to our guest. Driven by a maddening quest for perfection, technology, deregulation, and a superficial and often inaccurate mass media, our national psychology has become narcissistic. That is leading to a culture of cheating, lying, and reckless behavior that crashed the economy and continues to wreck lives and the national fabric. We examine our national psychology with J.R. Slosar author of, “Culture of Excess: How America Lost Self Control and Why We Need to Redefine Success.” [ dur: 18 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, why some misdeeds become scandals and others don’t? Why is it that the same type of transgressions are treated differently at different times, and might this differential treatment affect our politics, policies and society? [ dur: 41 mins. ]

Find books authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

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- Guns and the US Constitution – June 19, 2016

With the latest and most lethal shooting in America, we spend the hour analyzing how the second amendment came to be interpreted as a individuals’ right to bear arms, and how this change contrasts with other changes in constitutional interpretation, including the right for marriage equality and human rights protection. With speak with David Cole. His latest book is “Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law“. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

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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- Reasons for unethical Foreign Policies -/- Earth Climate 2047 -/- Wars not in human nature – June 5, 2016

What drives destructive or unethical foreign policies? Some point to pathological beliefs and pursuits of exceptionalism, honor and glory. Others point to systemic flaws. What are the consequences? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

Then, Professor Mora and his colleagues have calculated how climate change will affect our temperatures around the year 2047. In the future, they found, our coldest year will be warmer than the past hottest years. The changes, which will first occur in the tropics, are already driving some 25,000 species to extinction each year. [ dur: 15 mins. ]

Finally, our panel argues that warring is a relatively new phenomenon in human societies and that human beings are not warlike by nature. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

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- How humanity will respond to Climate Change -/- Life long effects from act of Bullying – May 8th, 2016

First, the scenarios we face with climate change and the options for humanity. Gwynne Dyer is author of Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats. [ dur: 28 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Gwynne Dyer, author, military historian, journalist. He is the author of Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats

Finally, on the scholars’ panel we take a close look at bullying. Bullies and victims of bullies are much more likely to develop psychological disorders such as agoraphobia, panic disorder, suicidal thoughts and aggressive behavior, as adults. In both adult and adolescent settings bullying cultures can emerge when bystanders and others disengage and allow the behavior to continue, ultimately creating abusive organizations. What is the long term effect on individuals and by extension on societies at large, resulting from bulling behaviors? [ dur: 30 mins. ]

  • Joyce T. Heames is Chair and Professor of Management and Industrial Relations in the College of Business & Economics at West Virginia University. She is the author of publications: “A bully as an archetypal destructive leader” and “Bullying: From the Playground to the Boardroom”.
  • Catherine Bradshaw is a Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and has a joint appointment in the Johns Hopkins School of Education. She is the Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence and the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Prevention and Early Intervention. Catherine Bradshaw is the co-author of publication “Bullies, gangs, drugs, and school, Understanding the overlap and the role of ethnicity and urbanity”.
  • Jaana Juvonen is Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. She co-authored “Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized” and “Bullying in school: The power of bullies and the plight of the victims”.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

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- Russian Politics Analyzed -/- American Media History of Reform – February 7th, 2016

First, while many in the West decry the politics of the former Soviet Union countries as corrupt and anti-democratic, our guest argues that there are much better ways of understanding the processes and politics of patronal systems. Part one of a two part discussion with Professor Henry Hale author of Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Henry E. Hale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University. His books include Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective, The Foundations of Ethnic Politics: Separatism of States and Nations in Eurasia and the World and Why Not Parties in Russia? Democracy, Federalism, and the State.

Then, Professor Victor Pickard traces the history of American Media, particularly in the crucial period of the 1940s and 1950s when citizens and political leaders held vigorous debates about how media could best serve the public. What happened to lead us to where we are today?[ dur: 38 mins. ]

  • Victor Pickard is Assistant Professor of Communications at Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.  He is author of America’s Battle for Media Democracy: The Triumph of Corporate Libertarianism and the Future of Media Reform and co-editor of Will the Last Reporter Please Turn out the Lights: The Collapse of Journalism and What Can Be Done To Fix It

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Zomba Music Project of Malawi -/- New Humanitarians – January 31st, 2016

First, it’s the most unlikely group to get a Grammy award or to even be nominated. Our guest, Ian Brennan, produced that record. He’s up for a Grammy for his production of an album recorded at a federal Malawi prison, the Zomba Music Project, featuring singers and musicians behind bars. [ dur: 38 mins. ]

  • Ian Brennan is a GRAMMY-winning record producer and has produced four GRAMMY-nominated records (World Music- 2011 and 2015, Best Traditional Folk- 2006 and 2007). His recently produced album “I HAVE NO EVERYTHING HERE By Zomba Prison Project (2015-03-16)” – find it in our Book Shelf.

Next we speak with Dr. Chris Stout of Center for Global Initiatives. All over the world organizations are working for social justice, health access and peace. We discuss their struggle, success and common ground. [ dur: 20 mins. ]

  • Dr. Chris Stout is a clinical full Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; an Advisory Board Member to the College of Medicine’s Center for Global Health; a Fellow in the School of Public Health Leadership Institute, and is a Core Faculty at the International Center on Responses to Catastrophes at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the Founding Director of the Center for Global Initiatives (CenterForGlobalInitiatives.org) which was ranked as a Top Healthcare Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits.org (2011, 12). He is the author of “The New Humanitarians [3 volumes]: Inspiration, Innovations, and Blueprints for Visionaries (Social and Psychological Issues: Challenges and Solutions)“.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Cooperative economic history and practices -/- How human society is affected by unconscious mind – January 24th, 2016

First, can worker owned cooperatives transform workers lives and livelihoods? We speak with Jessica Gordon Nembhard author of, Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice. [ dur: 31 mins. ]

  • Jessica Gordon Nembhard is Associate Professor of Community Justice and Social Economic Development in the Department of Africana Studies at John Jay College, City University of New York. Her latest book is Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice.

Then, a look at how the unconscious mind and biological predispositions effect political outcomes, waging war and prejudice biases. We are joined by Guillermo Jimenez author of, Red Genes, Blue Genes, and Shankar Vedantam author of, The Hidden Brain. [ dur: 27 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Shankar Vedantam is a science correspondent with NPR. Before joining National Public Radio in 2011, Vedantam was a national science writer at The Washington Post. Between 2007 and 2009, Vedantam authored the weekly Department of Human Behavior column in The Washington Post. He is the winner of several journalism awards. Vedantam is a 2009-2010 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Shankar Vedantam is a science correspondent with NPR. His latest book is “The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives“.
  • Guillermo Jimenez is Professor of International Trade at State University of New York. He is the author of “Red Genes, Blue Genes: Exposing Political Irrationality“.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. -/- Free Speech in Politics – January 17th, 2016

While much of the country remembers Martin Luther King, Jr. as primarily a leader of civil rights and desegregation and a great orator, our next guests say he stood for so much more. Many aspects of his life, legacy & philosophy remain either unknown or conveniently forgotten. In this Scholars’ Circle we are joined by: [ dur: 28 mins. ]

  • David Garrow is a Professor of History and Law at University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr: From “Solo” to Memphis
  • Joshua Inwood is a Professor of Geography and Africana Studies in Geography Department, University of Tennessee. His publications include, “ Nonkilling Geography” and “Street naming and the politics of belonging: spatial injustices in the toponymic commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.“
  • Thomas Jackson is a Professor of History at University of North Carolina, Greensboro. He is the author of “From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice“. Suggested reading “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” by Martin Luther King Jr.

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? In this Scholars’ Circle we are joined by: [ dur: 30 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Robert Entman is a Professor of Media and Public Affairs and Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He is the author of “Projection of Power :Framing News, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy“
  • Steven Heyman is Professor of Law at the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is the author of “Free Speech and Human Dignity“
  • Michael W. Wagner is an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is the co-author of “Political Behavior in Midterm Election“

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle- Christmas Truce of 1914 -/- How to Redefine Democracy -/- Unforeseen Cost of Civilization – December 27th, 2015

First, 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. [ dur: 23 mins. ]

  • Stanley Weintraub is a Professor Emeritus of Arts and Humanities at Penn State University. He is the author of more than 50 books including “Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce.“

Next, author Raj Petal discusses his book, “The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market, Society and Redefine Democracy.” [ dur: 12 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

  • Rajeev Patel is a Research Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin.

Finally, what are the hidden costs of civilization? Could it be behind disease and other problems? Spencer Wells is the author of “Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost of Civilization.” [ dur: 23 mins. ]

For a transcript of this interview, please visit: TheBigQ

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