Human Rights

Natan Sharansky: Science, Faith, and Survival

Natan Sharansky
1999

UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler welcomes Natan Sharansky, a minister in the Israeli government and a leading figure in the human rights movement in the Soviet Union during the last stages of the Cold War. They discuss how he survived imprisonment in the Gulag, the role of human rights in bringing on the demise of communism, and the implications of the global human rights struggle for the search for peace in the Middle East.

KEYWORDS: Soviet Union, Russia, Political Activism.

Mark Danner: The Red Cross Report, the Torture Memos, and Political Accountability

Mark Danner
2009

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes writer Mark Danner for a discussion of his articles in the New York Review of Book on the torture policies of the Bush Administration. The conversation addresses these topics: how interrogation turned to torture in response to the 911 attacks, the mind set of Cheney and Rumsfeld, the impact of the Church Committee reforms, the political dimensions of uncovering scandal in an empire that is also democracy, the implications of torture for American identity, and the politics and necessity of establishing accountability.

KEYWORDS...

Mark Danner: Truth, Power, and the Iraq Debacle

Mark Danner
2007

Conversations Host Harry Kreisler welcomes writer Mark Danner for a discussion of the Iraq War and foreign policy in the Bush administration. Informed by history, Danner's analysis includes comparison of Bush and Reagan, draws attention to change in U.S. policy on torture, and examines the options for future U.S. policymakers.

KEYWORDS: Iraq, Torture.

Mark Danner: Being a Writer

Mark Danner
1999

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I am Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest today is Mark Danner, a staff writer for the New Yorker specializing in foreign affairs. He has worked on the staff of the New York Review of Books, as senior editor of Harper's Magazine, as foreign affairs editor of The New York Times Magazine. He has co-written and co-produced two hour-long, award-winning documentaries for ABC News Peter Jennings Report. Mark is a frequent contributor to major magazines and is a frequent guest on news analysis television programs. He is...

Leon Wieseltier: Intellectual Odyssey

Leon Wieseltier
2012

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Leon Wieseltier, Literary Editor of the New Republic. Focusing on Wieseltier's intellectual odyssey, the conversation includes discussion of his background, his education and mentors, Jewish identity in America, the political debate in Israel, his decision to write Kaddish, the attributes of intellectuals, the defining features of liberal sensibility, the challenge of reconciling theory and practice, the argument for humanitarian intervention, the meaning of the Arab Spring, and the challenges facing culture in America today.

KEYWORDS...

William Haglund: Voices from the Grave

William Haglund
2000

Forensic Scientist William Haglund joins host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of how his work as a coroner in murder investigations led to his involvement in the use of forensic science in human rights investigation in Bosnia, Central America and Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Forensic Science, Anthropologists.

Wendy Ewald: The Innocent Eye

Wendy Ewald
1998

Photographer Wendy Ewald joins host Harry Kreisler in a discussion of her craft, shares her thoughts on working with children, and reflects on using a camera as an educational tool.

KEYWORDS: Photography

Wei Jingsheng: The Political Education of a Chinese Dissident

Wei Jingsheng
1998

Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng joins Conversations host Harry Kreisler for a discussion of the factors that shaped his life as one of China's leading dissidents.

KEYWORDS: China, Dissent.

Tom Segev: The Life and Work of Simon Wiesenthal

Tom Segev
2010

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes historian Tom Segev for a discussion of his new book, The Life and Legends of Simon Wiesenthal. The conversation focuses on the roots of Wiesenthal's passionate commitment to justice and explores his lifelong quest to convict perpetrators of genocide. Wiesenthal's goal was to prevent future genocides by keeping the memory of the holocaust alive. Topics covered in the interview include Wiesenthal's circle of identities, his operating style, his perspectives on the holocaust, his involvement in the capture of Adolph Eichmann, his...

Tom Farer: International Law and Human Rights

Tom Farer
2000

Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver, Tom Farer discusses his work in human rights, international law, foreign policy and humanitarian intervention with UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler