Speakers' Forum Podcast

Cornell Economist Robert Frank

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Economist Robert H. Frank says Charles Darwin, not Adam Smith, will be remembered as the father of modern economics. Robert Frank is a professor at Cornell University and a "behavioral economist." He looks at how human nature guides the financial choices we make in everyday life, from children's birthday parties to high–end outdoor gas grills. Robert Frank's latest book is a collection of his New York Times columns called "The Economic Naturalist's Field Guide: Common Sense Principles for Troubled Times." He spoke at Town Hall in Seattle on June 22, 2009. Town Hall Center for Civic Life and Elliott Bay Book Company sponsored the talk.

Bill Wasik on Internet-Driven Culture

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Remember Susan Boyle? "David After Dentist"? "Keyboard Cat"? All recent internet sensations, and all well on their way to being forgotten for the next thing. Bill Wasik is a senior editor at Harper's magazine. He's credited with organizing the first flash mob, in New York City in 2003. He points to similar Web–driven hits (and his own online pranks) to show how the internet has sped up the stream of culture. But not just for celebrities and funny videos: music, news, politics, advertising. Wasik says it all becomes "nanostories" that tumble over each other — "a churning culture of distraction." Bill Wasik looks at how the digital revolution is changing culture in his book, "And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture." He spoke at Town Hall in Seattle on June 16, 2009.

Tyler Boudreau: Packing Inferno

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:05:00 -0700

When the Iraq War started, Tyler Boudreau was practically giddy. He'd already been in the Marines for a decade, training for the day he'd get to fight for real. He was excited to finally see some serious action. In Iraq, he even journaled about the joy of killing. But in that same diary entry he also wrote about the guilt he anticipated feeling as a result of his actions.

At Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, Boudreau talks about these strange, mixed thoughts of enjoyment and grief and guilt, about misguided orders, bad decisions made by his comrades, and PTSD. On Monday, June 15, Boudreau kicked off a cross–country bike trip at Seattle's Gas Works Park. He hopes to deepen the conversation about war "and how it exists in the individual and collective consciousness."

Boudreau's memoir is called "Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine." He spoke on Sunday, June 14, 2009.

Dambisa Moyo: Dead Aid

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Aid to Africa. What does that sound like to you? It's got to be a good thing, right? It's aid. It means help. A trillion dollars of Western aid have gone to countries in Africa over the last 50 years. It's part of the fabric of the African economy. But Dambisa Moyo says it's doing damage. She says aid leaves citizens unable to hold their governments accountable as politicians court NGOs and the World Bank instead of their countrymen. Here, Moyo explains more about why aid hurts Africa and how to phase it out. Moyo grew up in Zambia and studied at Harvard and Oxford. She has worked for The World Bank and Goldman Sachs.

The World Affairs Council sponsored Dambisa Moyo's talk at the University of Washington in Seattle on May 7, 2009. The African Chamber of Commerce co–sponsored the event along with the Global Business Center at the UW Foster School of Business.

Obama's Cairo Speech

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:05:00 -0700

A special this week: Speakers' Forum brings you President Obama's highly anticipated Cairo speech. It's considered his address to the Muslim world. How will he handle Egypt's tarnished human rights record? What will he say about peace between Palestinians and Israelis? Will he have specific proposals? President Obama speaks at Cairo University on June 4, 2009.

Reza Aslan: The End of the War On Terror

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Responding to Osama Bin Laden with a "war on terror" and a "crusade against evil" was a bad idea. Reza Aslan says it validates the worldview of the jihadists; a view that places good (them) againt evil (us.) When we respond, saying good (us) should prevail against evil (them), we are fighting on their terms. Aslan calls this a cosmic war and he says it's unwinnable. He's glad the Obama administration has dropped the term "war on terror" but he says Obama can do more.

Aslan's latest book is called "How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror." He's a Middle East commentator for PRI's "Marketplace" and he's a creative writing professor at University of California, Riverside. Aslan spoke at the University of Washington on May 18. The World Affairs Council, The Islamic School of Seattle, and the UW College of Education sponsored his talk.

Michael Pollan Says: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Michael Pollan says our diet has changed more in the last 125 years than in the last 10,000, and that's because of the invention of modern industrialized food. He says the Western diet consists of refined carbohydrates, refined oils, lots of meat and lots of calories. Basically, he says, lots of everything except whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. He says this diet is making us sick. We're suffering from diabetes and obesity. He gives twelve rules to live by, like: "Eat foods that will eventually rot." Pollan wants people to see their bodies not as machines to put good or bad things into, but as a crucial part of a circle that includes people, bodies, plants, and soil.

Dave Cullen: 'Columbine'

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:05:00 -0700

What were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold thinking when they walked into Columbine High School and killed their classmates? Eric was a classic psychopath. He conned almost everyone into thinking he was a good kid who was empathetic to the people around him and remorseful about wrongs he committed. His journal is full of the word "hate." The most common word in Dylan's journal is "love." His motivations were entirely different. Dave Cullen was one of the first journalists on the scene at Columbine High School, reporting for Salon.com. Ten years after the massacre, he's finished his book on the two high school killers and what went down that day. It's called "Columbine." Cullen also sheds light on school policies post–Columbine, and shares some small ways we can prevent these kinds of attacks.

Cullen spoke at University Book Store at the University of Washington in Seattle on April 27, 2009.

Bishop Gene Robinson: 'In the Eye of the Storm'

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:05:00 -0700

Bishop Gene Robinson is the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and the first openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. He delivered an invocation that kicked off days of President Obama's Inauguration ceremonies. Robinson was invited to be a part of the ceremonies. The same day the news about that broke, January 12, Robinson spoke in Seattle. He was excited and so was the crowd there to see him. Robinson has written a memoir, called "In The Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God." The Diocese of Olympia, Integrity Puget Sound, and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church sponsored his talk at Town Hall Seattle.

Jonathan Goldstein: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible!'

webhelp@kuow.org (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:05:00 -0700

In Jonathan Goldstein's telling of the Adam and Eve story, Eve describes Adam as a nimrod. She also laments about God: He's great and all, but she wishes he were better at trash talk. Goldstein calls his book of short stories, "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bible!", a bible that readers can finally, genuinely relate to. Goldstein read at the University Book Store in Seattle on April 13, 2009. He also answers the age–old question about his radio show "Wiretap" — are those phone conversations with friends real?