On January 3, the United States used a drone to kill Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. The Iranian’s retaliated with missile strikes against US military assets in Iraq. Under what legal authority did the US kill Soleimani? Are targeted assassinations legal under international law? Doug Becker discusses the laws of war and the current tensions between the US and Iran with Mark Drumbl, Hannah Garry, and Hamoud Salhi.
How have social movements changed in the twenty-first century and how have new communication technologies facilitated that change? What makes some social movements sustainable and successful while others are more short-term? What is the future for social movements? Maria Armoudian discusses these pressing questions with James M. Jasper, Todd Wolfson, and Anita Lacey.
Why do sustainable business initiatives so often fail? What fundamental changes do we need from societies and the economic system to stem climate change-induced collapsed? What economic systems might work on a planet with a finite capacity to sustain life?
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.
Since March 2014, Ukraine has been in the grips of a bloody civil war in the Eastern part of its country. Forces loyal to Kyiv fight forces loyal to Moscow, with international interference a primary feature of this conflict. How has the Trump Administration’s foreign policy complicated ongoing peace efforts in Ukraine? We examine the causes of this conflict.
The 21st century has already witnessed revolutions in Ukraine, Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, alongside other uprisings and transformational movements that reach all over the world. Although these movements had their roots in earlier movements and revolutions, they are different from their predecessors. For one, these movements are increasingly non-violent, and secondly, they are less ideologically driven. Maria Armoudian discusses how revolutions have changed this century with Leandro Vergara-Camus, John Foran, and Jack A. Goldstone.
Our options as a humanity may be dwindling in the face of climate change. The coming changes may completely alter the world as we know it with collapsed ecosystems, mass immigration of climate refugees, and more devastating wars over basic necessities such as food and water. Maria Armoudian speaks to veteran journalist Gwynne Dyer about the scenarios we face with climate change and the options for humanity.
As California burns, oceans rise, storms intensify, and Greenland’s glacier’s melt, we explore solutions to the climate change problem with Stanford Professor Marc Jacobson. He is the author of the just-released study "The health and climate impacts of carbon capture and direct air capture."
Canadians have spoken with their ballots. What does Canada’s election result mean for climate change, for the future of the Arctic, for LGTBQ rights, ethics, and for Canada’s role in the world? Doug Becker speaks with Steven Lamy, Marc O'Reilly, and Lisa Burke.
How important is historical memory in politics? What can we learn about how our memories of the past are manipulated to change current and future politics? What can we learn from “memory entrepreneurs” in places like the former Yugoslavia? How did they try to change understandings about the past to influence the future? Doug Becker speaks with Jelena Subotic, Brent Steele, and Brent Sasley about the importance of memory in political settings.