Conversations with History host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Fawaz A. Gerges for a discussion of the origins, evolution and future direction of Islamic militancy.
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Siegfried S. Hecker, former Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, for a discussion of scientists, the national laboratories, and the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Hecker traces his career in material sciences, describes the evolution of his intellectual focus, and recalls his leadership of Los Alamos. He then traces the changes in the international security environment in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union discussing the response of the U.S. and the weapons laboratories to the momentous events that created a...
Noted psychiatrist and author Robert J. Lifton has researched Hiroshima, the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and now terrorist cults. Through these explorations he probes the profound questions of death and its meaning for life.
Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent, discusses his experiences covering Middle East wars for the last 30 thirty years.
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes political scientist Robert A. Pape for a discussion of how social science can help us understand suicide terrorism. Professor Pape also reflects on international relations theory and its implications for foreign policy.
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Philip Bobbitt, Herbert Wechsler Professor of Jurisprudence, Columbia University. Focusing on the transformation of the state and warfare, Professor Bobbitt offers a new interpretation of terrorism. He explains the emergence of the market state, compares it to the nation state, analyzes the unique features of warfare in the new century, and brings into focus the distinctive qualities of today's terrorism. Professor Bobbitt also describes the challenges posed for national security and offers an agenda for changes that integrate strategy and law....
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor Peter Dale Scott for a discussion of secrecy and its consequences in the making of U.S. foreign policy. Their discussion focuses on CIA interventions, the rise of Al Qaeda, the role of U.S. government in supporting Islamic jihadists to counter Soviet power during the Cold War, and the response of the Bush administration to the 911 attack.
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes distinguished French political scientist Olivier Roy for a discussion of globalization's impact on religion and culture. The conversation focuses on changes within Islam. They explore the balance of power between Islamists and neo fundamentalists, the dynamic propelling terrorism, and the appropriate response of the West to the challenges posed by the interaction between globalizatiion and Islam.
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor John Yoo of UC Berkeley for a discussion of Presidential war powers. Professor Yoo analyzes the situation confronting the United States after the 911 attack and explains the development of the legal justifications for the Bush'administration's response. Topics addressed include the memorandum on torture, the interface between law and politics, secrecy and democracy, and the Bush legacy.