AUDIO LIBRARY

The President's Vision of the State
In his State of the Union address, President Bush discussed issues ranging from terrorism to marriage to steroids.
Guests:
James Morone — Political scientist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and author of the book, Hellfire Nation:
The Politics of Sin in American History
James Ceaser — Political scientist at the University of Virgina in Charlottesville and author of the book, Reconstructing America: The Symbol of America in Modern Thought

American Utopianism
Visions of utopia have long animated American social thought. Utopian movements have sought to transform life through religion, technology, even sexuality.
Guests:
Carl Guarneri — St. Mary’s College of California
Douglas Rossinow — Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis
Robert Abzug — University of Texas at Austin
originally broadcast on July 11, 2002

Media Objectivity
Most mainstream media outlets claim to provide objective coverage of political events. But partisanship was once an accepted element of journalism. How does media objectivity affect political discourse in America?
Guests:
Michael Schudson — Communications scholar at the University of California-San Diego and author of the book, The Sociology of News
Jay Rosen — Media critic and chairs the department of journalism
at New York University, author of the book, What are Journalists For?. He also runs the weblog pressthink.org.

Science and the "Unknowable"
In the twentieth century, scientific knowledge grew by leaps and bounds. Scientists developed new ideas about the origins of the universe, advanced the theory of evolution, and mapped the human genome. But in these pursuits, science encountered the limits of its reach. How does science contend with what it cannot know?
Guests:
Arthur Fine — Philosopher at the University of Washington
Peter Dear — History and Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University
Sean Carroll — Physicist at the University of Chicago
originally broadcast, July 3, 2003

Mark Twain
How do Mark Twain's writings shed light on what it means to be American?
Guests:
Michael Kiskis — On faculty at Elmira College and co-author of Constructing Mark Twain: New Directions in Scholarship
Bruce Michelson —Literature scholar at the University of Illinois and author of Mark Twain on the Loose: A Comic Writer and the American Self
originally broadcast, October 24, 2003

Film Forum—Serial Killer Films
In the movie Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter is intelligent, charming, and charismatic. He's also a serial killer. Host Gretchen Helfrich and guests discuss the allure of the serial killer film.
Guests:
David Schmid — Teaches in the department of English at the State University of New York and author of the forthcoming book, Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know: Serial Murder and Contemporary American Culture
Stephen Prince — Film scholar at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia and author of the book, Classical Film Violence: Designing and Regulating Brutality in Hollywood Cinema, 1930-1968

The Library in American Life
The public library is a fixture of American cities and towns, but what goes on inside the library is constantly changing.
Guests:
Louise Robbins — Director of the school of library and information sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book, The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship and the American Public Library
Matthew Battles — Coordinating editor of the Harvard Library Bulletin at Harvard University and author of the book, Library: An Unquiet History

Civil Society
Civil society is a hot topic. It's an issue in postwar Iraq, and it's also a concern here in the United States.
Guests:
John Ehrenberg — Political scientist at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University and author of Civil Society: The Critical History of an Idea
Jeffrey Weintraub — Political theorist and the co-editor of Public and Private in Thought and Practice: Perspectives on a Grand Dichotomy

Currency and the Economy
The falling value of U.S. dollar may be a boost for American exports. But what are the other affects — here and abroad — of the declining greenback?
Guests:
David Richardson — Economist at Syracuse University, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics in Washington D.C., and co-author of the book, Why Global Commitment Really Matters!
Martin Eichenbaum — Chairs the department of economics at Northwestern University

Is America a Religious Nation?
With most Presidential candidates discussing the connection between their politics and their faith, religion is not limited to the sidelines of American public life. Host Gretchen Helfrich and guests discuss the United States as a religious nation.
Guests:
Jon Butler — On faculty at Yale University, co-director of the
Center for Religion and American Life, and author of Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People
Thomas Engeman — Political Theorist at Loyola University and author of the forthcoming book, Protestantism and the American Founding

The Immigrant
In his proposal to grant legal status to undocumented workers, President Bush asserted that America is nation that values and depends on immigration. But immigrants have embodied both the hopes and fears of our society.
Guests:
Mai Ngai — Historian at the University of Chicago. and is currently a fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America.
Bonnie Honig — Political scientist at Northwestern University and author of the book, Democracy and the Foreigner

Truth Commissions
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are an increasingly common tool for addressing atrocities. They’re used in the transition to democratic regimes, and in the United States, truth commissions are examining race crimes from the past. What kind of justice do truth commissions seek?
Guests:
Sanford Levinson — Constitutional Scholar at the University of Texas School of Law
Elizabeth Kiss — Political Philosopher, and Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

The Politics of Polling
With election season heating up, a barrage of public opinion polls are tracking the popularity of the candidates among voters. But what does polling really say about public attitudes?
Guests:
Michael Hogan — Communication studies scholar at Pennsylvania State University. He has written extensively on public opinion polling.
Susan Herbst — Political scientist and dean at Temple University and author of the book Reading Public Opinion: How Political Actors View the Democratic Process

The Meanings of Suicide
Suicide is a personal and private tragedy. But taking one's life can also be a cultural and political act.
Guests:
Margaret Higonnet — Teaches at the University of Connecticut is the author of Nurses at the Front: Writing the Wounds of the Great War and co-author of the forthcoming book, The Welcome Guest: The Debate on Suicide in Eighteenth-Century France
Jeffrey Timmons — Teaches at Virginia Wesleyan College and has written about suicide in the recent article "A Fatal Remedy: Eighteenth-Century Discourse on Melancholy and Murder"

The Shifting Politics of the Middle East
Iran, Syria, and Libya have all signaled a new direction in their foreign policies. Is a new political landscape emerging in the Middle East?
Guests:
Michael Barnett — Political scientist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and author of Dialogues in Arab Politics: Negotiations in Regional Order
Samer Shehata — Middle East specialist at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

Film Forum—The Most Relevant Films for 2003
Anyone can make a list of the ten best movies of the year. But what films were the most relevant in 2003?
Guests:
Amy Taubin — Lectures in film studies at the School of the Visual Arts in New York City and is a contributing editor to Film Comment magazine
Jonathan Miller — Teaches film studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology here in Chicago and is a film contributor for Chicago Public Radio

The Interracial Taboo
Reaction to the news that Strom Thurmond fathered a bi-racial daughter suggests that anxieties about interracial relationships persist. Host Gretchen Helfrich and guests discuss the interracial taboo.
Guests:
Annette Gordon-Reed — Legal scholar at New York Law School and author of, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy
Werner Sollors — Cultural historian at Harvard University in Cambrdige, Massachusetts and author of the book, An Anthology of Interracial Literature: Black-White Contacts in the Old World and the New

Literature and Science
The current pursuits of science and literature seem worlds apart. But historically, the two disciplines have had much in common. Host Gretchen Helfrich and guests examine the intersection of literature and science.
Guests:
Mary Baine Campbell — Teaches in the Department of English and American Literature at Brandeis University and author of Wonder and Science: Imagining Worlds in Early Modern Europe
Katherine Hayles — Teaches in the Department of English at the University of California, Los Angeles and is author of How We Became Post-Human: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics

The American Fascination with the Rich
With both Paris Hilton and Donald Trump the subject of new television shows, the lives of the wealthy are currently a hot entertainment draw. Host Gretchen Helfrich and guests discuss why we watch the rich.
Guests:
Charles Ponce de Leon — Historian at the State University of New York at Purchase and author of Self-Exposure: Human-Interest Journalism and the Emergence of Celebrity in America, 1890-1940
Leo Braudy — American studies scholar at the University of Southern California and author of the book, The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and its History

Medicine and Commerce
Many medical practices, such as plastic surgery and genetic testing, have become commodities in the commercial realm. Host Gretchen Helfrich and guests examine where we draw the line between medicine and commerce.
Guests:
Sander Gilman — Cultural historian and Director of the Humanities Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Chicago and author of Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery and Fat Boys: A Slim Book
Bryn Williams-Jones — Post-Doctorate fellow in the Center for Family Research at Cambridge University and has conducted research focuses on the commercialization of genetic technologies.

Animals and Poplular Culture
From Animal Farm to Seabiscuit, are stories about animals really about ourselves?
Guests:
Susan McHugh — University of New England, Maine
Harriet Ritvo — Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts
originally aired August 14, 2003

Student Politics
In the 1960's, student protests became a visible part of politics worldwide. Students haven’t gone away — they continue to be involved in political movements. What kind of a political force do students represent?
Guests:
Behrooz Ghamari — Georgia State University
Jeremi Suri — University of Wisconsin, Madison
originally aired July 1, 2003