Story in the Public Square

Ep. 420 | Originally Aired: November 24, 2018

The confirmation of Justice Bret Kavanaugh was a bruising episode for many Americans. Jed Shugerman views that confirmation process against the long history of America’s courts and essential debates over the constitutional limits on executive power.

Shugerman is a Professor of Law at Fordham University. He attended Yale Law School and graduated in 2002, and went on to earned his PhD in History. Blending his two areas of study, Shugarman published, The People’s Courts: The Rise of Judicial Elections and Judicial Power in America. The book “traces the history of judicial elections and Americans’ quest for an independent judiciary―one that would ensure fairness for all before the law―from the colonial era to the present.” (Harvard University Press, 2012). His articles often appear in Law Journals such as Yale Law Journal, the Georgia Law Review and the Harvard Law Review.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 419 | Originally aired: November 17, 2018

“You are what you eat” is an expression every grade school student has heard—either as a boast or as a taunt. Guest, Korsha Wilson says that “what we eat, what we cook, and the meals we share can tell us a lot about race, access, privilege, heritage, and culture.”

Korsha Wilson writes about food, food media, race, class and more.

“I’m especially fascinated by how all of those things intersect and play out in restaurant spaces. I also host a weekly podcast on Heritage Radio Network called ‘A Hungry Society’.”

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 418 | Originally aired: November 10, 2018

For decades, Hollywood films and science fiction writers have told us ominous stories about the future dangers of killer robots and artificial intelligence. Peter Asaro warns that machines lack the essential human qualities required for operating weapons systems—and he’s working to ban them from doing just that.

Dr. Peter Asaro is a philosopher of science, technology and media. His work examines artificial intelligence and robotics as a form of digital media, the ethical dimensions of algorithms and data, and the ways in which technology mediates social relations and shapes our experience of the world.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 417 | Originally aired: November 3, 2018

The tension between faith and reason is an ancient one, made even more distinct in the West by the scientific revolution that preceded the era of the Enlightenment. Alan Lightman is a scientist whose personal transcendent experience shapes his view of spirituality today.

Alan Lightman is an American writer, physicist, and social entrepreneur. Born in 1948, he was educated at Princeton and at the California Institute of Technology, where he received a PhD in theoretical physics. He has received five honorary doctoral degrees. Lightman has served on the faculties of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was the first person at MIT to receive dual faculty appointments in science and in the humanities.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 416 | Originally aired: October 27, 2018

Over the last five decades, the United States has fought wars, worked for peace, achieved environmental breakthroughs, and struggled to pass on security—however, you might define that – to the next generation. More often, than not, you would have found guest, John Kerry in the middle of those fights.

John Kerry is a visiting distinguished statesman at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he will focus on conflict resolution and global environmental challenges. He is also a distinguished fellow for global affairs at Yale University.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 414 | Originally Aired: October 20, 2018

We live in a world awash with media of all types. If we’re honest, it seems like we have not yet mastered the current onslaught of social media in public life. Justin Hendrix warns that, for good or for bad, the future is coming.

Justin Hendrix is Executive Director of NYC Media Lab, connecting media and tech companies with NYC universities to drive digital media innovation and entrepreneurship. Previously he was Vice President, Business Development & Innovation for The Economist. He holds a BA from the College of William & Mary and an MSc in Technology Commercialization from the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin. Follow him on Twitter @justinhendrix.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 413 | Originally Aired: October 13, 2018

The stories we tell ourselves shape who we are, as individuals, and as a society. Padma Venkatraman is a novelist whose stories explore enduring themes about the use of violence to resist evil, the meaning of family, and tension between tradition and modernity.

Multiple award-winning author Padma Venkatraman was born in Chennai, India. She came to the U.S. at the age of 19, and became an American citizen after earning a Ph.D. in oceanography from The College of William and Mary.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 412 | Originally Aired: September 29, 2018

We rely on physicians and the American healthcare industry to keep us healthy—and when we are gravely sick, we rely on them to keep us alive. Dr. Sandeep Jauhar has been on both sides of that equation, and his books give us an insight normally reserved for insiders.

A practicing cardiologist, Jauhar has been writing regularly about medicine for The New York Times since 1998 and is currently a contributing opinion writer for the Times. Jauhar has written two medical memoirs, both published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 411 | Originally Aired: September 24, 2018

Since 1976, nearly 1500 Americans have been executed in the name of justice. Sister Helen Prejean, though, cautions about the human cost of the death penalty and the innocent victims wrongfully put to death.

Sister Helen Prejean was born on April 21, 1939, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957 (now know as the Congregation of St. Joseph) and received a B.A. in English and Education from St. Mary’s Dominican College, New Orleans in 1962. In 1973, she earned an M.A. in Religious Education from St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, Canada. She has been the Religious Education Director at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in New Orleans, the Formation Director for her religious community, and has taught junior and senior high school students.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 410 | Originally Aired: September 15, 2018

One of the most persistent ideas in the politics of the West, whether we’re talking about Europe or the United States, is that government debt is best attacked through reducing government spending. Mark Blyth, warns though, that “austerity,” as such plans are known, is a historically dangerous idea.

Blyth received his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1999 and taught at the Johns Hopkins University from 1997 until 2009. Since then, he has been Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at Brown University and a Faculty Fellow at Brown’s Watson Institute for International Studies.

Learn more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.