In this episode, evolutionary biologist Douglas Emlen joins Fred Lawrence in a conversation about his research on extreme animal weapons— from the horns of a rhinoceros beetle to elk antlers. He discusses his family's scientific legacy, his early reluctance to follow in their footsteps, and how his childhood experiences in Kenya influenced his path. In his award-winning book, Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle, Emlen also explores the parallels between animal and human arms races. His interdisciplinary work connects biological evolution with military history, shedding light on the forces that drive the escalation of weapons in both human societies and nature.

For a lot of Americans, geography is just a middle school subject or a trivia night category at their neighborhood bar. But for Professor Kendra McSweeney, the “invisible field” of geography is a way to understand the relationship between people and their environment, from adaptation to climate change to how the drug trade impacts biodiverse forests in Colombia. In this episode, McSweeney highlights how her dynamic career as an academic has taken her from Canada to eastern Honduras, and talks about the thought process behind lectures such as “Viewing Political Ecology Through the Lens of the Tree of Heaven,” an enlightening take on the so-called invasive tree that is providing crucial shade in neighborhoods in the US.

With an international background and love of languages, Professor Shawkat M. Toorawa decided to study intensive Arabic with the encouragement of a highly influential advisor at the University of Pennsylvania, which set him on a path to becoming a professor of Arabic literature, Comparative literature and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University. In this episode, Professor Toorawa reflects on the journey, which was admittedly not linear, with stops in medieval French literature, modern British poetry, and even U.S. history along the way. Professor Toorawa also discusses "The dr T projecT," a regular drop-in session for students to learn about items of cultural interest — from music to literature — to aid in his lessons.

In this episode, Fred Lawrence speaks with Professor Martin Kern, a leading scholar in Chinese antiquity and a professor at Princeton University. Kern shares his unique academic journey, from growing up in post-war Germany to studying in Beijing during a period of political transformation. He discusses the complexities of interpreting ancient Chinese texts, the challenges of nationalism in historical scholarship, and his passion for comparative antiquity. The conversation also explores the richness of classical Chinese poetry, the evolution of historical narratives, and exactly how he ended up studying ancient Chinese manuscripts in the first place. 

This special episode of Key Conversations is joined by Kate Manne, associate professor of philosophy at Cornell University, and David Livingstone Smith, Professor of Philosophy at the University of New England. Each year, the Lebowitz Prize is presented to a pair of philosophers who hold contrasting views of an important philosophical question that is of current interest both to the field and to an educated public audience. The professors discuss the topic for the 2024 Lebowitz Prize, which is the "Dehumanization and its Discontents"

In this episode, evolutionary biologist Douglas Emlen joins Fred Lawrence in a conversation about his research on extreme animal weapons— from the horns of a rhinoceros beetle to elk antlers. He discusses his family's scientific legacy, his early reluctance to follow in their footsteps, and how his childhood experiences in Kenya influenced his path. In his award-winning book, Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle, Emlen also explores the parallels between animal and human arms races. His interdisciplinary work connects biological evolution with military history, shedding light on the forces that drive the escalation of weapons in both human societies and nature.

In this episode, Professor Kristina Richardson, a distinguished historian and Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, joins Fred Lawrence for a compelling conversation about her groundbreaking research on marginalized communities in medieval Islamic societies. Professor Richardson sheds light on the lives of disabled individuals, Romani crafts people, and East African enslaved laborers—groups often overlooked. She also explores her personal journey from Detroit to academia, her transformative fieldwork on Pemba Island, and the integration of Swahili into her research.

The Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards are presented annually to three outstanding scholarly books published in the United States.  The 2024 winners are Gregg Hecimovich for his book The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative; Jeremy Eichler for his book Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance; and Emily Monosson for her book Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic.  This year, the Book Awards Dinner was held in person in Washington, D.C. in December 2024, where the three scholars discussed the impetus behind their books and the motives that keep them sleepless—and engaged—in liberal arts and sciences.

Growing up in a New York City suburb, Corey Robin was influenced by his public high school teachers who taught American history via the Socratic method. Today, Robin tries to replicate that magnetic energy in his own classroom as a political science professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center while authoring books and essays that have been read and translated across the world. In this episode, Robin touches on his Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar teachings of Austrian economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek, as well as his upcoming scholar lecture on “Who is Clarence Thomas, and Where is He Taking Us?” in which he explores Thomas’ identity as a conservative black nationalist jurist.

For a lot of Americans, geography is just a middle school subject or a trivia night category at their neighborhood bar. But for Professor Kendra McSweeney, the “invisible field” of geography is a way to understand the relationship between people and their environment, from adaptation to climate change to how the drug trade impacts biodiverse forests in Colombia. In this episode, McSweeney highlights how her dynamic career as an academic has taken her from Canada to eastern Honduras, and talks about the thought process behind lectures such as “Viewing Political Ecology Through the Lens of the Tree of Heaven,” an enlightening take on the so-called invasive tree that is providing crucial shade in neighborhoods in the US.