On September 10, 2019, Donald Trump fired his national security advisor John Bolton. Bolton
insisted he resigned. Trump says he doesn’t need a real national security advisor because he is his
own advisor. Given this, what is the future of US foreign policy under Donald Trump? What are the
practical implications of this position? What are the implications of this for foreign policy challenges
the US faces? Doug Becker speaks with Jeffrey Fields, Robert Williams, Peter F. Trumbore, and
Nicholas Rostow.
Last year, a 72-year-old former police officer named Joseph D’Angelo was arrested for a spate of rapes and murders attributed to the elusive Golden State Killer between 1976 and 1986. D’Angelo’s arrest has raised profound questions about ethical uses of DNA and how popular DNA testing and genealogical services can be used or misused without the user’s knowledge. Maria Armoudian speaks to Ellen Wright Clayton, Mark Rothstein, and Dennis McNevin about how DNA and other private data can be used and misused in law enforcement, healthcare and employment.
With sea-level rise, coastal flooding, garbage patches, and coral bleaching, how bad is the crisis facing our oceans? Maria Armoudian speaks with Karina Nielsen, Stephen Palumbi, and Scott Doney.
Are some green solutions unhelpful for the environment or, worse, do they actually harm it? In her book Green Gone Wrong: How Our Economy Is Undermining the Environmental Revolution, journalist Heather Rogers explores whether ‘green’ products such as carbon offsets, organic food, biofuels, and eco-friendly cars work in offsetting the effects of climate change. Maria Armoudian spoke to Rogers about whether earth-friendly products can save the planet.
How has internet titan Google changed our knowledge, our politics, and our lives over the last two decades? Siva Vaidhyanathan, media studies professor at the University of Virginia and author of “The Googlization of Everything — and Why We Should Worry”, argues that Google affects the information we gather, jeopardises our personal privacy, and hinders public projects. Vaidhyanathan spoke to Maria Armoudian about the impact of Google.
While water is a basic human right, some three billion people face water scarcity and some countries are running out of water. Maria Armoudian explores the realities of water with Barbara Cosens and Rick Hogeboom.
Science is no longer cool, according to Chris Mooney. This could have huge consequences for the world, which needs science to help resolve many crises facing us today. But people are paying less attention and giving less credence to science and scientists due in part to politics, mainstream media, religion, and anti-intellectualism. How did we get so far off the scientific track, and what should we do now? Maria Armoudian speaks to Mooney, the co-author of “Unscientific America: How scientific illiteracy threatens our future”.
Why do people remain in refugee camps for decades? Refugees remain in camps for an average of seventeen years and often for much longer according to Elizabeth Dunn, who explored the phenomenon for her latest book No Path Home. Dunn sat down with Maria Armoudian to discuss what she learned after spending sixteen months in refugee camps.
What does the election of Boris Johnson mean for Brexit and a bitterly polarized British public? What is the future of the British economy? What will the UK likely look like in 2020?
On the heels of more mass shootings in the United States, we examine the mindset, the trends, and changes of a globally connected rightwing movement, then turn to solutions to the growing animosity between identity groups.