Tag Archives: United States

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

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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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars Circle- Nov. 11th, 2012

First, Has democracy become like fast food? Our first guest says that democracy needs to slow down. Susan Clark, co-author of Slow Democracy: Rediscovering Community, Bringing Decisionmaking Back Home; [ Dur. 18:30 mins ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, on Friday, President Obama made his first move to address the so-called Fiscal Cliff, one of many critical issues facing the country. But given that the election kept the power structure as is and that polarization remains at a decades-long high, what can we expect in the coming years? [ Dur: 35 mins. ]

  • Sean Theriault is Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of, “The Power of the People: Congressional Competition, Public Attention, and Voter Retribution,” and “Party Polarization in Congress.”
  • Mark Peterson is Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law at UCLA. He is the author of “Legislating Together: The White House and Capital Hill from Eisenhower to Reagan,” co-editor of “Institutions of American Democracy: The Executive Branch.” and contributed to “Institutions of American Democracy: A Republic Divided.”
  • Matthew Dickinson is Professor of Political Science and Department Chair at Middlebury College. He is the author of, “Bitter Harvest: FDR, Presidential Power, and the Growth of the Presidential Branch,” co-editor of “Guardian of the Presidency: The Legacy of Richard E. Neustadt,” and editor of the blog “Presidential Power A NonPartisan Analysis of Presidential Politics.”

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars Circle- Oct. 28th, 2012

First, we speak with Michael Grunwald author of, The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era. Michael Grunwald says both the left and the right missed the real change that President Obama brought about with his stimulus. He says it has so much transformative potential that it’s really a new New Deal. Part 1 of 2 parts. [ dur: 17 mins ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, we look at why so many transgressions go unnoticed while others become nationals scandals. Scandal and Silence — why do so many scandals go unnoticed? Why do some become national stories and others fade out? What about “nonscandals” becoming scandalized? AND how does this phenomenon affect our democracy and society?  We are joined by three experts:

  • Robert Entman, Professor of Media and Public Affairs and Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University. His newest book is, “Scandal and Silence: Media Responses to Presidential Misconduct.” He is also the author of, “Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy,” and “Mediated Politics: Communication in the Future of Democracy.”
  • Brendan Nyhan, Professor of Government at Dartmouth College. He is the author of, “All the President’s Spin: George W. Bush, the Media, and the Truth,” and is the New Hampshire campaign correspondent for Columbia Journalism Review.
  • Sigurd Allern, Professor of Journalism Studies in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Oslo, Norway. He is the author of, “Scandalous!: The Mediated Construction of Political Scandals in Four Nordic Countries.”

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Oct. 14th, 2012

First, the economic crisis are pushing more people into homelessness, an already pervasive epidemic in America. We’ll look at one duo’s efforts to rescue some of the most vulnerable homeless women, one by one, and explore the system’s working and failure from their perspective. With Robin Nixon, record producer; Dennis Davis, musician, documentary producer; [ Dur. 27mins ]

On the Scholars’ Circle, Why are so many people without homes? And what can be done about it?

  • Prof. Sam Tsemberis, Columbia Univ., Founder & Exec. Dir. of Pathway to Housing. author of Housing First: The Pathways Model to End Homelessness for People with Mental Illness and Addiction Manual.
  • Prof. James Baumohl, Bryn Mawr College. author of Homelessness in America.
  • Prof. Kim Hopper, Colombia Univ. . Author of Reckoning with Homelessness.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 16th, 2012

First, the hidden agenda in the Ryan Budget, what they could mean for the US and how the campaigns keep them hidden.

  • Thomas B. Edsall is professor of journalism at Colombia Journalism School. He is the author of numerous articles and many books including, “The Age of Austerity”,  “Building Red America”,  and “Power and Money: Writing About Politics.”  He is currently writing an online election-year column for The New York Times.  His articles have appeared in American Prospect, The Atlantic Monthly, Dissent, The Nation, The New Republic,  The New York Review of Book and others.

Then, on the Scholars Circle, throughout US history, third parties have had a profound impact on policy, governance and voter turnout. So why are we still in a two-party system?

  • Scot Schraufnagel is Director of Graduate Studies of the Department of Political Science at Northern Illinois University. His many publications include, Third Party Blues: The Truth and Consequences of Two-Party Dominance and  Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress
  • David J. Gillespie, is Professor of Political Science at the College of Charleston and the Citadel. He has provided testimony in federal and state ballot access cases, and has written extensively on third parties including recently published “Challengers to Duopoly: 
Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics,” and “Politics at the Periphery: Third Parties in Two-Party America.”
  • Omar Ali is Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he teaches the history of independent black politics. He is the Director of IndependentVoting.org, a national strategy and organizing center for independents. His many publications include, In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third Party Movements in the United States and In the Lion’s Mouth: Black Populism in the New South.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 9th, 2012

First, after a lifetime of working with the poorest children in America, Jonathan Kozol helps us understand their harsh realities and the factors that help the most disadvantaged kids to thrive.  Jonathan Kozol is the author of numerous books including Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America, Rachel and her Children and Amazing Grace. [ dur. 29mins. ]

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle, what is driving the growing poverty levels in America and what should be done about it? [ dur. 28 mins. ]

  • Peter Edelman is Professor of Law at Georgetown University Center for law. He was Assistant Secretary for Bill Clinton’s Department of Health and Human Services, and resigned (as Assistant Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services) in protest of Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform. He was former legislative aide to Robert F. Kennedy. Professor Edelman is the author of numerous books including, “So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard To End Poverty in America,” and co-author of, “Reducing Poverty and Economic Distress After ARRA: Next Steps for Short-Term Recovery and Long-Term Economic Security.”
  • Randy Albelda is Professor of Economics and Senior Research fellow at the Center for Social Policy at University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is the author of numerous books including, “Unlevel Playing Fields Understanding Wage Inequality and Discrimination,” and “Glass Ceilings and Bottomless Pits: Women’s Work/Women’s Poverty.”
  • Professor Frances Fox Piven is American professor of political science and sociology at  City University of New York. She is the author  Among them are REGULATING THE POOR (winner of the C. Wright Mills Award ub 1972, and updated in 1993); POOR PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS (1977); THE NEW CLASS WAR (1982; UPDATED 1985); WHY AMERICANS DON’T VOTE (1988); THE MEAN SEASON (1987); LABOR PARTIES IN POSTINDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES (1992); THE BREAKING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIAL COMPACT (1997); WHY AMERICANS STILL DON’T VOTE (2000); and THE WAR AT HOME (2004); Challenging Authority: How Ordinary People Change America (2006).

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Sept. 2nd, 2012

1) A retrospective on the Republican Convention–What does it tell us about the future of republican politics & policy & what does it mean for the future of the US? [ dur: 9 mins. ]

  • Alan Minsky, Interim Program Director, KPFK;
  • Mitch Jesserich, KPFA;

2) The humanitarian crisis in Syria keeps getting worse with more than 1.5 million people displaced. [ dur: 16 mins. ]

3) The Scholars’ Circle — Syria, the region, the international community and possible solutions to the crisis there. [ dur: 29 mins. ]

  • Mark LeVine, University of California,Irvine; Prof. of History.
    Author of Why They Don’t Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil.
  • Nader Hashemi, Univ. of Denver; Prof. Middle East and Islamic Politics.
    Author of Islam, Secularism, and Liberal Democracy: Toward a Democratic Theory for Muslim Societies.
  • Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University. Prof. of Culture Anthropology:
    Author of Palestinian Village History

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters & Scholars’ Circle – Aug. 26th, 2012

First, we look at the effects of Wikileaks on Latin America with Latin American specialist, Peter Kornbluh. Peter Kornbluh is  Senior Analyst, National Security Archives and an author of  The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountabilility. [ dur. 29 mins. ]
Then on the Scholars’ Circle, what factors determine the outcome of presidential elections? We look at money, vice presidents, voter turnout and much more.

  • Prof. Samuel Popkin, UC San Diego. Author of  The Candidate: what it Takes to Win – and Hold – the White House;
  • Prof. Allan Lichtman, American University, WA. Author of  Predicting the Next President: The Keys to the White House;
  • Prof. Baumgartner, East Carolina Univ. . Author of  Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Insighters – Aug. 19th, 2012

Seg. 1: Michael Hiltzik author of, “The New Deal: A Modern History,” discusses the politics of the new deal, and what can we learn from the program that reshaped the country. [ dur. 29 mins. ]
Seg. 2: Why do the super-rich continue to make gains while other Americans are losing ground in the “winner-take-all” politics?
Paul Pierson and Jacob Hacke are the authors of, WInner Take All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned its Back on the Middle Class.

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