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The Scholars" Circle

Insight into Today"s Most Pressing Issues

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Brazil’s militarized police &...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/11/09

Violent policing and "disappearing" people is continuing in Brazil, even today in 2025. How is Brazilian civil society responding? [ dur: 33mins. ]Erica Resende is an Assistant Professor of International Relations and Security Studies at the Brazilian National War College in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is the co-editor of Defending Memory in Global Politics Mnemonical In/Security and Crisis, Memory and Trauma in International Relations: Theories, Cases and Debates and Crisis and Change in Post

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Known Environmental impact of the...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/11/02

We spend the hour looking at the environmental impact of the US military. How much does the US military pollute the environment? What is their role in climate change causing green house emissions? The military has taken some measures to reduce its impact on the environment and green gas emissions, but our guests say these measures do little to assuage the military's bigger effects on climate change. What are these effects and what can be done about them?[ dur: 58mins. ] This interview was recorded

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Consequence of Trump’s Gun boat...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/10/26

Are the US Navy attacks on ships off the coast of Venezuela and Colombia legal? And are they unprecedented? On today's show we explore the legality of these attacks and the precedents for them under the global war on terror and the war on drugs. [ dur: 58mins. ]Marten Willem Brienen is associate professor of Global Studies at Oklahoma State University. He is the author of book chapter Coca, Organized Crime, and (Non-)Violence in Bolivia and the book Prisons in the Americas in the Twenty-First

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Trump’s anti-green energy policies...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/10/23

Green energy shunned by the Trump Administration, we examine how this affects US economy, energy costs and green technology leadership. [ dur: 22mins. ]Shannon Gibson is Associate Professor of Political Science, International Relations, and Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California. She's also the author of Climate Change or Social Change? Environmental and Leftist Praxis and Participatory Action Research and State-led social boundary change: Transnational environmental

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Recruiting Informers For The...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/10/16

Autocratic regimes often use people throughout the population to serve as informants. Why do people choose to become an informant and collaborate with autocracies? And what constitutes justice against these informants once the state democratizes? We discuss a new book on the topic Informers Up Close with its authors Mark Drumbl and Barbora Hola. [ dur: 58mins. ]Mark Drumbl is Professor at Washington and Lee University, School of Law, and Director of the University's Transnational Law Institute

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – President Trump’s use of...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/10/08

Donald Trump has asserted himself with the power of the US into multiple ceasefires and conflict negotiations. How does this comport with US policy historically? What might be his motivation? [ dur: 58mins. ]Amy Skonieczny Professor at San Francisco State University in the International Relations Department. She is the author of a book chapter titled The Trump Shock: Populism and Changing Narratives of US Foreign Policy and author of Globalization and The Occupy Movement: Media Framing of

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Impact of Independent Films on...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/09/30

Robert Redford's passing reminds us that perhaps his greatest legacy is his support for independent film. So on today's show, what is the impact of independent film on the industry? How has independent film changed in recent years. How has the major shift toward streaming affected our access to independent films? [ dur: 58mins. ]Cynthia Baron is a Professor of Arts in Department of Theater & Film at Bowling Green State University. She is the author of Modern Acting: The Lost Chapter of American

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Reasons for political violence and...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/09/22

Political violence is on the rise, we get insight into why it happens and ways to mitigate it's occurrence. With scholars of politics, social inquiry and criminal justice. [ dur: 58mins. ]Roger Petersen is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science at MIT. He is the author of Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, Resentment in Twentieth Century Eastern Europe, Death, Domination, and State-Building: The US in Iraq and the Future of American Military Intervention, and Emotions

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Supreme Court allows deportation...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/09/15

How does the US Supreme Court decision to allow ICE to target immigrants based on language, accent, race, and employment affect the sweeps of undocumented immigrants in the US. And what are the social and economic impacts of Trump's deportation policy? [ dur: 29mins. ]Hiroshi Motomura is the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Threat to Freedom of expression in...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/09/07

As part of an ongoing attack on free expression, Donald Trump is trying to criminalize flag burning. Is this proposed ban constitutional? [ dur: 29mins. ]Dennis Baron is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a frequent commentator on language issues in the national media and has written a number of popular books, including What's Your Pronoun? (2020). Then, why is child care in America so expensive? This vital service that is so crucial for

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Alien Enemies Act policy use to...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/08/31

The Trump Administration is using the Alien Enemies Act to seize Venezuelans and ship them to a notorious prison El Salvador without due process. What can be done to protect and uphold the rule of law and human rights in the face of the Trump Administration's rejection of them? What are some means of legal and political resistance when human rights are being violated? [ dur: 58mins. ] Jennifer Selin is Associate Professor of Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – US role in South Caucasus Armenia...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/08/24

Will the so-called peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan legitimize ethnic cleansing? Will it bring peace to the two nations? Or is it a recipe for future conflict?Military aggression and violations of the notion of sovereignty have marked the conflicts in the South Caucuses region over the last three decades. Will the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan continue this trend or will it avert claims to sovereignty? This agreement brings the US directly into the South Caucuses

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Recognizing Palestine State would...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/08/17

After nearly two years of a war on Gaza, some countries in the west have indicated that they intend to recognize Palestine as its own state. What would such recognition mean for the conflict and how can the war end? [ dur: 58mins. ]Mira Sucharov is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at Carlton University. She is the author of The International Self: Psychoanalysis and the Search for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and co-editor (with Aaron J. Hahn Tapper) of Social

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Texas Re-districting ;...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/08/10

First, will Donald Trump's and the republican party's efforts to redraw electoral maps give them a permanent majority? [ dur: 24mins. ] Jeremi Suri is Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. He holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the co-author of “Problems with President Records are Not Just About Trump” with Kenneth Osgood. He is also the

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Corporation of Public Broadcasting...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/08/05

Congress has now clawed back the funding it had allocated for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. What does this mean for the future of publicly funded broadcasting in the USA? How will it affect news, public affairs and other vital information delivery? We will explore the role of public broadcasting in a democracy. What role does money play at ensuring an independent media? What is the status of public funding and even government owned media throughout the democratic world? [ dur: 58mins. ]

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Private Military Corporations and...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/07/29

Private Military Corporations have become a growing element of the warfighting landscape. States have historically had a monopoly on the use of military force. But private corporations challenge this monopoly. How much do they increase the lethality and likelihood of war? How much can private corporations be regulated? And what are the challenges to regulation? We explore the political, military, legal, and socioeconomic implications of private military corporations. [ dur: 58mins. ] Ori Swed is

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58:01

Scholars’ Circle – Safe drinking water delivery in US...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/07/22

Although Access to safe drinking water is a human right, millions of people in the United States do no have access to safe water. Lead in the pipes is the most well-known cause but there are many others. What can be done to fix the nation's water delivery systems? What have we learned from the Flint case? [ dur: 34mins. ]Newsha Ajami is Chief Development Officer for Research at the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She is the co-author of Building water

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Book Author interview – Melting...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/07/18

The search for a safe haven for Jewish people in the early 20th Century led some Zionists to land on Galveston, Texas as a potential homeland for Jewish refugees. What was the Galveston Movement and what happened to it? We interviews the author of a new book MELTING POINT: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land.[ dur: 35mins. ]Rachel Cockerell is a writer and historian. Then, the search for minerals is leading some corporations to begin mining the ocean floor but scientists warn

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Supreme Court decisions: Federal...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/07/18

The US Supreme Court has decided numerous cases and announced their opinions in the past week. On today's show we explore two cases. The Court declared an end to national injunctions in a case involving birthright citizenship. [ dur: 28mins. ] Erwin Chemerinsky is the Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. His many publications include, most recently, Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted

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58:00

Scholars’ Circle – Aging & wars ; Peaceful use of...

The Scholars" Circle ·

2025/07/02

Does the aging world population mean fewer wars in the future? What exactly is a geriatric peace?Our guest, Mark L. Haas, is the author of The Geriatric Peace - Population Aging and the Decline of War. [ dur: 30mins. ] Mark L. Haas is the Duquesne Professor of Political Science at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He is the author of many books including The Clash of Ideologies: Middle Eastern Politics and American Security. His newest book is The Geriatric Peace - Population Aging and the

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