Fordham Conversations

In

the last few years, the catholic church has received a fair amount of

publicity

for its conservative stances on issues like abortion, birth control,

and gay

marriage, leaving many progressive catholics feeling somewhat

abandoned. But that wasn't always the case--remembering the heyday of

liberation theology, this week on Fordham Conversations.

If you remember the 1980's TV show "thirtysomething", chances are you

either loved it or hated it. We talk with Fordham professor Al Auster

about that show and why he says it's still fresh 20 years after the

fact. He's one of the authors of an upcoming book about the series.

York and Equador. But he never thought that when he

grew up, he’d be studying them. We talk to Benavides about telenovelas, and about the US-Mexico border melodramas called “Narcodramas?.

It's one of New York City's least appreciated waterways, but birds,

fish, and now at least one beaver are fans! The Bronx river, by canoe.

at a few of Philadelphia's more than 2700 murals, with Fordham theologian

Maureen O'Connell--she's looking at what the murals say about faith.

On this

weekend before Independence Day, we look

at one very British institutions--the Booker

Prize--and what it says about what it means to be British in this day

and age.

Apparently, yes. We speak to the author of the new book "Why Classical Music Still Matters", Fordham Professor Lawrence Kramer.

This week on Fordham Conversations, we continue our look at Communism in

Harlem during the Great depression. With my guest Mark Naison, we take a

closer look at Richard Wright and Paul Robeson's forays into Communism,

and we talk about the lingering affects of this little-discussed chapter

in American History. (part 2 of 2)

Most of us are familiar with the Harlem Renaissance, but we may not know

that around that same time, the Communist Party was gaining a major

foothold in the neighborhood and in other African-American areas

throughout the country. We'll begin a conversation about race and

American communism in the 1930s, with Fordham Historian Mark Naison

(part 1 of 2).