Eisenhower:The White House Years
This is a repeat broadcast from Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10 am
Focus
Eisenhower:The White House Years
This is a repeat broadcast from Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10 am
Interview with Cokie Roberts
This is a repeat broadcast from Thursday, May 31, 2012, 11 am
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
Why are some nations rich and others poor? Many explanations have been offered: culture, geography, even weather. But MIT economist Daron Acemoglu says what matters most are the political and economic institutions made by people. We’ll hear more about the root causes behind success and failure and talk about what might be done to build widespread prosperity.
This is a repeat broadcast from Thursday, May 10, 2012, 10 am
Categories:
Books and Reading,
Cultural Studies,
Economics,
Geography,
Government,
History,
International Affairs,
Politics
BackStory with the American History Guys
Independence Daze: A History of July 4th
In the early days of our nation, July Fourth wasn’t an official holiday at all. In fact, it wasn’t until 1938 that it became a paid day-off. So how did the Fourth become the holiest day on our secular calendar? Historian Pauline Maier offers some answers, and explains how radically the meaning of the Declaration has changed since 1776. James Heintze chronicles early Independence Day Bacchanalia. And historian David Blight reflects on Frederick Douglass arresting 1852 Independence Day speech.
Current Events in Burma/Myanmar
Burma is one of the poorest countries in Asia. A long period of military rule has kept the country from developing either politically or economically. But that may be starting to change. One sign of that change was the recent election to Parliament of the country’s leading opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi. Next time on Focus our morning talk show we will review recent events in Burma as we talk with Christina Fink, from the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
This is a repeat broadcast from Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 10 am
Links:
The Candidate: What It Takes to Win—and Hold—the White House
Samuel L. Popkin, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Political Science Department, University of California, San Diego
Host: David Inge
In every presidential campaign there are two winners, the inevitable winner when it starts, and the inevitable winner when it ends. Sometimes, they are actually the same person. Our guest will be Samuel Popkin, professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. We’ll look at the dynamics of some recent campaigns … how challengers get to the White House, and how incumbents hold it. It’s all in his new book "The Candidate."
Links:
Categories:
Politics
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D., the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, Stern School of Business, New York University
Host: David Inge
As we pass through life, we make snap judgments about other people and the things they do. To us, these judgments feel like self-evident truths, making us certain that those who see things differently are wrong. Jonathan Hite calls this moral intuition. He says it varies across cultures, including the cultures of the right and left. We’ll explore the ideas in Jonathan Hite’s new book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion."
Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent
E. J. Dionne Jr., Columnist for the Washington Post; Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; and University Professor, the Foundations of Democracy and Culture, Georgetown University
Host: David Inge
Our guest will be political commentator E.J. Dionne. In his new book "Our Divided Political Heart," he tries to make sense of the current unhappiness that runs through American politics. He says our discontent is rooted in our inability agree on who we are. American history, he says, is defined by the tension between two core values, love of individualism and reverence for community. He says we need to remember our greatness has always depended on a balance between our two core values.
Links:
Political Corruption in Illinois
David Morrison, Deputy Director, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform
Dick W. Simpson, Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, University of Illinois Chicago
Host: David Inge
According to a report released earlier this year by the University of Illinois at Chicago, the city of Chicago leads the nation in public corruption. In the state rankings Illinois takes third place. Why does our state get such high ratings on corruption? How might Illinois politics be changed to enforce more ethical behavior on the part of politicians? We’ll talk about corruption min Illinois politics with two guests, David Morrison from the Illinois Campaign for Political reform and Dick Simpson, professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Categories:
Government,
Politics