Odyssey—July 29, 2005
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Genetics and Human History
Katayoun Chamany—Director and Founder, Science, Technology, and Society Program; Eugene Lang College, New School University
M. Susan Lindee—Professor, Department of the History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
The National Geographic Society plans to reconstruct human migration patterns by conducting genetic studies of indigenous populations, renewing the debate over genetic research. What can genetics contribute to our understanding of the human species?
Biologist and science educator Katayoun Chamany and historian of scientific philosophy M. Susan Lindee join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Lindee is author of the book, Genetic Disease in American Culture: Moments of Truth.
Originally broadcast April 22, 2005 |
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Odyssey—July 28, 2005
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The Life of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Jim O’Loughlin—Assistant Professor of English, University of Northern Iowa
Kenneth Warren—Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Chicago
While today many think of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin as typifying egregious stereotypes of African
Americans, the novel was hugely popular for over one hundred years. Why did the abolitionist tale have such a big impact?
Literary scholars Jim O'Loughlin and Kenneth Warren join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion.
O'Loughlin is coauthor of the book, Daily Life in the Industrial United States: 1870-1900. Warren is the author of
So Black and Blue: Ralph Ellison and the Occasion of Criticism. |
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Odyssey—July 27, 2005
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Interest Rates and the U.S. Economy
John Cochrane—Myron S. Scholes Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business
Martin Eichenbaum—Ethel and John Lindgren Professor of Economics, Northwestern University
Despite action by the Federal Reserve, long-term interest rates remain surprisingly low. Even Alan Greenspan is scratching his head. What's keeping interest rates down?
Economists John Cochrane and Martin Eichenbaum join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Cochrane researches monetary economics. Eichenbaum works on macroeconomics and business cycles. |
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Odyssey—July 26, 2005
Originally broadcast December 4, 2003
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The History of the Imagination
Forest Pyle—Associate Professor of English, University of Oregon
Claudia Swan—Associate Professor of Art History, Northwestern University
What comprises imagination? How does it actually work? And what does it produce? These questions have long intrigued artists and scientists alike. How have we imagined the imagination?
Forest Pyle and art historian Claudia Swan join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Pyle is author of The Ideology of Imagination: Subject and Society in the Discourse of Romanticism. Swan is author of Mimesis and Imagination in Seventeenth Century Dutch Art. |
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Odyssey—July 25, 2005
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The Politics of the Roberts Nomination
Nathan Persily—Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Cass Sunstein—Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Chicago Law School
There's little reason to doubt that John Roberts will be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. But the first Court nomination in eleven years won't pass without a political fight. What can we expect from this confirmation process?
Legal scholars Nathan Persily and Cass Sunstein join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Persily has written extensively on election law, constitutional law, and politics. Sunstein is author of several books, including Radicals in Robes: Why Extreme Right-wing Courts Are Wrong for America. |
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Odyssey—July 22, 2005
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Film Forum: Digital Technology and Film
Thomas Looser—Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, New York University
Timothy Murray—Professor, English and Comparative Literature, Cornell University
Digital technology has allowed many directors to create fantastic special effects in their movies. Just about anything we see on the screen might be a digital creation. How is this transition to digital affecting our relationship to movies? Japanese studies scholar Thomas Looser and literary and new media scholar Timothy Murray join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Murray cocurates the online internet art exhibition site CTheory Multimedia.
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Odyssey—July 21, 2005
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The Power and Pleasures of Reality TV
Henry Jenkins—Media Studies Scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Laurie Ouellette—Assistant Professor, Department of Media Studies, Queens College
Reality programs are a fixture of television. Shows like Survivor and The Apprentice may get panned by the critics, but it’s hard to ignore their ratings. Fans and marketers just can’t get enough. How can we make sense of this success?
Media scholars Henry Jenkins and Laurie Ouellette join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Jenkins is coeditor of the book Rethinking Media Change: The Aesthetics of Transition. Ouellette is author of Viewers Like You?: How Public TV Failed the People and coeditor of Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture. |
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Odyssey—July 20, 2005
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The Underground
David Pike—Assistant Professor of Literature, American University
Michael Saler—Associate Professor of History, University of California, Davis
Beneath every city lies a labyrinth of tunnels, cables, and pipes. Without it, our daily lives would be impossible. But it also makes us anxious. What is our relationship to the underground?
Literary scholar David Pike and historian Michael Saler join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Pike is author of Subterranean Cities: The World beneath Paris and London, 1800–1945 and Passage through Hell: Modernist Descents, Medieval Underworlds. Saler is author of The Avant-garde in Interwar Britain: Medieval Modernism and the London Underground. He's working on a book exploring enchantment in the modern world. |
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Odyssey—July 19, 2005
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Making Sense of Suicide Terrorism
Mia Bloom—Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Cincinnati
Robert Pape—Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
The London bombings have drawn attention to suicide terrorism as a growing global phenomenon and not just a tactic in regional conflicts. As we try to make sense of the tragedy, how can we understand the spread of suicide bombing?
Political scientists Mia Bloom and Robert Pape join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Bloom is author of Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror. Pape is author of Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. |
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Odyssey—July 18, 2005
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White Collar Crime
Albert Alschuler—Julius Kreeger Professor, University of Chicago Law School
Frank Bowman—Faculty Member, School of Law; University of Missouri, Columbia
The American justice system once virtually ignored white collar crime. But changing legal and political trends have meant that corporate criminals are now subject to severe punishment. Are we too tough on white collar crime?
Legal scholars Frank Bowman and Albert Alschuler join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Bowman has written extensively on white collar crime. |
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Odyssey—July 15, 2005
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Africa in Global Politics
Jeffrey Herbst—Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, Miami University
Peter Lewis—Associate Professor of Comparative and Regional Studies, Director of the Council for African Studies; School of International Service, American University
Politicians and pop stars have been turning their attention to Africa, calling for aid packages at the G8 Summit, and raising awareness of poverty at the Live 8 concerts. But what role will the country itself be allowed to play on the world stage?
Political scientists Jeffrey Herbst and Peter Lewis join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Herbst is coauthor of the book, The Future of Africa: A New Order in Sight. Lewis is coauthor of Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa. |
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Odyssey—July 14, 2005
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Language Preservation
Joseph Errington—Professor of Anthropology, Yale University
Robert Moore—Visiting Assistant Professor of Linguistics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Despite the fact that Gaelic, Ireland's national language, has been disappearing from everyday use, the European Union has made it one of its official langauges. What drives such efforts to save a language?
Anthropologist Joseph Errington and linguist Robert Moore join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Errington is author of Colonial Linguistics, which explores the development of linguistic science in the colonial period. Moore is finishing the book, The End of the Word: The Wasco Language (Kiksht) Lost and Found. |
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Odyssey—July 13, 2005
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The Military and the War on Terror
Nora Bensahel—Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation
Michele Flournoy—Senior Adviser, International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
The war on terrorism is vastly different than previous U.S. conflicts. As the Department of Defense embarks on its first formal review since September 11, we discuss how this new form of warfare is changing the military.
Defense policy analysts Nora Bensahel and Michele Flournoy join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Bensahel is coeditor of The Future Security Environment in the Middle East: Conflict, Stability, and Political Change. Flournoy is coauthor of Protecting Against the Spread of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons: An Action Agenda for the Global Partnership. |
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Odyssey—July 12, 2005
Originally broadcast March 23, 2005 |
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Social Meanings of Disability
Jill Hasday—Associate Professor of Law, Yale University
Robert McRuer—Assistant Professor of English, George Washington University
Public space has been transformed—with closed captions, curb cuts, and automatic doors—to accomodate the disabled. But have we grown any more accepting of disability itself?
Legal scholar Jill Hasday and literary scholar Robert McRuer join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Hasday has written extensively on anti-discrimination and disability law. She's a visiting professor at the Vanderbilt University Law School. McRuer is working on the book, Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability. |
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Odyssey—July 11, 2005
Originally broadcast February 2, 2005
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Domesticating the American Man
Claudia Nelson—Associate Professor of English, Texas A & M University
Jessica Sewell—Assistant Professor of American and New England Studies and Art History, Boston University
Programs such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy seem to fuse masculinity and domesticity. How do male Americans deal with domestic issues?
Literary scholar Claudia Nelson and art historian Jessica Sewell join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Nelson is author of the books, Invisible Men: Fatherhood in Victorian Periodicals, 1850–1910 and Little Strangers: Portrayals of Adoption and Foster Care in America, 1850–1929. Sewell is author of Gendering the City: Women and Everyday Public Space in San Francisco, 1890–1915. She's also working on a project about the material culture of masculinity. |
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Odyssey—July 7, 2005 |
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Film Forum: Film and Excess
Giuliana Bruno—Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University
Tom Gunning—Professor of Art History, Committee on Cinema & Media Studies; University of Chicago
War of the Worlds has everything you would expect from a summer blockbuster: action, cutting edge special effects,
aliens, and a star in full meltdown. Why do movies feature so much excess, and why are audiences drawn to it?
Film scholars Giuliana Bruno and Tom Gunning join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Bruno is the
author of Atlas of Emotion: Journeys in Art, Architecture, and Film and Streetwalking on a Ruined Map. Gunning
is the author of The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity and This Is Called Moving: A Critical
Poetics of Film about the films of Abigail Child.
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Odyssey—July 7, 2005 |
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The Social History of Computers
Paul Edwards—Associate Professor, School of Information; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Nathan Ensmenger—Assistant Professor of History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
As rapidly as computer technology has changed, so have our hopes for—and fears about—its potential. How do we imagine the place of computers in our lives?
Historians of science and technology Nathan Ensmenger and Paul Edwards join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Ensmenger writes and researches on the history of software, artificial intelligence, and the information age. Edwards is author of The World in a Machine: Computer Models, Data Networks, and Global Atmospheric Politics. |
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Odyssey—July 6, 2005 |
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Religious Meanings of the Ten Commandments
Nancy Duff—Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, Princeton Theological Seminary
James Kugel—Professor of Hebrew Literature, Emeritus, Harvard University
The Supreme Court has renewed the battle over whether the Ten Commandments are part of our general cultural heritage. The debate also presupposes a religious significance of the tablets. How important are the Commandments in Judeo-Christian tradition?
Christian ethicist Nancy Duff and Hebrew literature scholar James Kugel join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Duff is author of Humanization and the Politics of God: The Koinonia Ethics of Paul Lehmann. Kugel is author of The Bible as It Was and The God of Old. |
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Odyssey—July 5, 2005 |
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Supreme Court Wrap-up
Dennis Hutchinson—Senior Lecturer, Law School, University of Chicago
Thomas Merrill—Charles Keller Beekman Professor, School of Law, Columbia University
Sandra Day O'Connor's surprise retirement has shifted attention from some of the Supreme Court's more controversial decisions to the looming political battle over Court appointments. What is the state of the Rehnquist court?
Our usual Supreme Court guides, Tom Merrill and Dennis Hutchinson, join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. |
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Odyssey—July 1, 2005 |
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Founding America: Beyond The Fathers
Woody Holton—Assistant Professor of History, University of Richmond
John Smolenski—Professor of History, University of California, Davis
In remembering the American Revolution, we tend to think of our founding fathers: Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and others who articulated the ideas of independence. But what did revolution mean for the rest of America's colonial population?
Historians Woody Holton and John Smolenski join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Holton is currently a Lloyd Lewis Fellow in American history at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and is author of Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia. Smolenski is the coeditor of New World Orders: Violence, Sanction, and Authority in the Colonial Americas and is working on a book about the creolization of civic culture in colonial Pennsylvania. |
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