Delaware Humanities Podcasts

Dr. Thomas Leitch discusses the origins of, the questions of bias and authority within, and how to approach using Wikipedia. These questions and their answers can be applied to other sources of information to help us reflect on how and why we use and rely on them.

Dr. Leitch is an English professor at the University of Delaware, where his primary focus is on film studies. He is the author of the 2014 book Wikipedia U: Knowledge, Authority, and Liberal Education in the Digital Age.

Michele Anstine discusses the origins of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the "Democracy and the Informed Citizen" initiative behind the "A Matter of Facts" podcast, and the misconceptions about the value of the humanities in everyday life.

Michele Anstine is the Executive Director of Delaware Humanities. Previously, Ms. Anstine was the Assistant CEO and Chief Program Officer for the Delaware Historical Society.

Dr. Susan Schneider discusses misconceptions about Artificial Intelligence, questions about and concerns for the future, and how these issues are intricately tied to philosophy.

Dr. Schneider is an Associate Professor at the University of Conneticut, a faculty member in the Ethics and Technology Group at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, and currently a Distinguished Scholar at the U.S. Library of Congress.

Dr. Caroline Janney discusses the history of Civil War monuments, the past and present debates surrounding them, and the importance of community engagement with history.

Dr. Janney is Director of the John L. Nau II Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia and author of "Burying the Dead but Not the Past: Ladies’ Memorial Associations and the Lost Cause" and "Remembering the Civil War: Reunion and the Limits of Reconciliation".

Christine Alois and Shana Payne discuss the state of Delaware's K-12 education system, including its challenges, triumphs, and the importance of collaboration.

Christine Alois was named the state Department of Education's Deputy Director last summer after 24 years in the Caesar Rodney School District. Shana Payne has served as the state Education Department's Director of Higher Education since 2013.

Can professional, evidence-led, fair-minded journalism survive in this era of political polarization and active international propaganda campaigns on social media? The evidence so far is that it can. From unearthing the facts that sparked the #MeToo movement and exposing the abuse scandal at USA Gymnastics, to investigative reporting that have forced free-spending cabinet officials to resign, professional reporters in diverse newsrooms have responded to the populist moment and the attacks on their credibility by demonstrating the enduring importance of a free press.

Steve Coll, Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism and twice a Pulitzer Prize winner, will discuss the press’s sources of durability and strength as well as its failings and vulnerabilities on Thursday, October 18 at 6:30 PM for the 2018 Delaware Humanities Annual Lecturer.

Dr. John Logsdon discusses the politics of Apollo 11, the future of space exploration and NASA, the concept of a "Space Force", and the best sources for space news.

Dr Logsdon is professor emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, a faculty member of the International Space University, and previously held the Charles A. Lindbergh chair in Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum.

Photograph courtesy of NASA.

In this episode of "A Matter of Facts", Pulitzer Prize nominated photojournalist Jim Graham and host Nancy Karibjanian take a critical look at the state of photojouralism, and if we can truly believe what we see in the news. Locally, many know Graham's work from his time on the staff at the News Journal, but he has also shot for the Associated Press, Washington Post, Vanity Fair and the New York Times.

This episode features a conversation with investigative journalist and University of Delaware professor McKay Jenkins.

His latest book, Food Fight: GMOs and the Future of the American Diet, focuses on the contentious national debate over the safety, politics, and environmental implications of genetic engineering and industrial food. And in this edition of A Matter of Facts, host Nancy Karibjanian discusses the issues his book raises and more.

Ofri is a physician at New York’s Bellevue Hospital, the oldest public hospital in country, and a faculty member at the NYU School of Medicine. She’s also co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Bellevue Literary Review, the first literary journal developed in a medical setting. She’s written extensively about medicine and the doctor-patient relationship – and her latest book What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear focuses on communication between doctors and patients.