The Scholars' Circle

How does deep listening to nature promote biodiversity and a deeper relationship with the natural world? We discuss the book THE SOUNDS OF LIFE: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the World of Animals and Plants. Followed by The American Thanksgiving story is one of cooperation and coexistence between white European settlers and the native peoples. But the real story is much darker. How does this Thanksgiving narrative get the history wrong? We discuss the history, the memory, and the meaning of Thanksgiving in the contemporary relationship between the United States and Indigenous people.

Americans in polls consistently cite the nature of campaign financing as perhaps the greatest threat to democracy. And increasingly, candidates self-finance. In the LA Mayor’s race alone, billionaire developer Rick Caruso spent at least $100 million of his own fortune. What legal issues does this sort of financing raise? What does it mean for candidate quality? In what ways does it challenge and potentially undermine democracy?

Followed by, the book we are discussing today, Civil War by Other Means: America's Long and Unfinished Fight For Democracy with it's author Jeremi Suri. He is the Professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin.

Since 2020 many states have passed legislation, making it more difficult to vote. Fears of voter suppression in the disenfranchisement of marginalized communities proliferated the 2022 midterms. But were these fears realized? Followed by, When does democracy have a dark side? Our guest says that majorities can and do oppress minorities in the name of majoritarian democracy. On this post election week, from our archives we bring you this discussion on the dark side of democracy.

Brazil's election of Lula da Silva over Bolsonaro has provided hope that the country will retain its democratic institutions. We discuss the elections and the likely policy changes. Followed by, The campaign of John Fetterman for a Senate seat from Pennsylvania has produced some truly disturbing ableist discourses about the qualifications of persons with disabilities for public service. How is this ableist narrative framing the rights and abilities of persons with disabilities in the United States? What does this mean for persons with disabilities and their capabilities as elected officials? We explore this debate.

Some say that we have entered a new era in Supreme Court jurisprudence in the wake of the Court’s recent Dobbs decision, reversing nearly 50 years of law recognizing a woman’s right to choose, and that this has ushered in a far more confrontational and political court. But are both political and legal considerations baked into America’s judiciary by design? We speak with the author of a new biography of former First Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge, Frank M. Coffin, a former member of congress, former USAID official and jurist renowned for his deep understanding of the politics of judging but was able to do so in a manner that privileged comity, cooperation and respect, even in times of profound political disagreement. Hosted by Tim Fadgen. [ dur: 23mins. ]

* Richard J. Maiman is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at University of Southern Maine. He is the author of A Man for All Branches: Judge Frank M. Coffin of Maine.

On this election week, we bring you from our archives this panel discussion on third parties in the United States.

Throughout US history third parties have had a profound impact on policy, governance and voter turnout. So why are we still in a two-party system? [ dur: 35min. ]

This interview was first broadcast in July 2017.

* Omar H. Ali is a professor of African Diaspora History and Politics at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is the author of In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States.

* David Gillespie is a professor of Political Science at College of Charlston & the Citedal. He is the author of Challengers to Duopoly: Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics

* Scot Schraufnagel is a professor of Political Science & Director of Graduate Studies at Northern Illinois University. He is the author of Third Party Blues: The Truth and Consequences of Two-Party Dominance

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Los Angeles is embroiled in a city governance crisis, due to leaked audio highlighting the racism of elected city council members. It has demonstrated that race is still a fundamental problem in the city. We explore race in Los Angeles. Then, privatization may undermine safeguards of our constitutional republic. How does privatization amount to what our guest calls a Constitutional Coup? We discuss the book Constitutional Coup: Privatizations Threat to the American Republic.

Money can distort politics. And the lack of transparency where this money comes from can further distort politics and invite corruption. Since much of the money in campaign finance is not subject to transparency laws, it has taken the name dark money. This specifically references spending by nonprofit organizations created for political spending. How much has dark money skewed American democracy? What role does transparency in spending play in ensuring the legitimacy of democracies? [ dur: 58mins. ]

* Stan Oklobdzija is Visiting Assistant Professor at UC Riverside’s School of Public Policy. He is the author of Public positions, private giving: Dark money and political donors in the Digital Age and Closing Down and Cashing In: Extremism and Political Fundraising.

* Ciara Torres-Spelliscy is Professor of Law at Stetson Law School. She is the author of Corporate Citizen? An Argument for the Separation of Corporation and State and Political Brands.

* Maurice Cunningham is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He is the author of Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

Brazil is in the midst of Presidential elections. They reveal the partisanship of the nation, with the current right wing President Jair Bolsonaro trailing the former left wing President Lula after the first round. We will examine what the top issues are, what’s at stake, and whether Brazil could face political violence or even an overthrow of the democracy with partisan stakes not dissimilar to the United States. How difficult it might be for Lula to govern if he does, in fact, win? If Bolsonaro loses, does he leave the presidency? What is the future of Amazonian deforestation? [ dur: 58mins. ]

* Marcelo M. Valenca is Assistant Professor at Brazilian Naval War College in Brazil. He is the co-author of The Articulation between Diplomacy and Military Power in the Great Strategies of Rio Branco and Amorim“.

* 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 Memory and Trauma in International Relations: Theories, Cases and Debates and Crisis and Change in Post Cold-War Global Politics.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

First, regions have the resilience to manage conflicts and ensure they do not spread to other countries. Our guest Anna Ohanyan examines the factors that help build this resilience. She is the author of The Neighborhood Effect: The Imperial Roots of Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia.

Then, our panel looks at the power of ideas to shape countries, foreign policies, international power structures and the world.

State legislatures have traditionally controlled districting, with a decentralization of process and decision-making as to how they are drawn. And in recent years, technology has enabled a more complex system of gerrymandering that can challenge the principles of democracy. Indeed it could produce outcomes where the party with fewer votes has control of the democratic institution. How much have voting districts have been gerrymandered and how might it affect the upcoming elections? [ dur: 26mins. ]

Followed by - Alaska's recent special election produced a rare win for a Democrat, rather than a Republican for the state's congressional seat. How much of it had to do with the voting process known as ranked-choice voting? Rank choice voting is meant to produce majoritarian outcomes in elections with multiple candidates. How exactly does this process work? And what are its implications for democracy? [ dur: 32mins. ]