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Last 20 Shows Politics, Poetry, and the Inner Life of Democracy Howard Zinn and Mark Nepo discuss the American Dream at the beginning of the 21st century. They question how our experiment in democracy has stood the test of time and what Americans can do to ensure a healthy democratic future for their children. Historian Howard Zinn shares his new essay "The Common Cradle of Concern", written for the Fetzer Institute as part of their project to deepen the American dream through a thoughtful national conversation about American ideals.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Debating Same-Sex Marriage / The Good LifeLecture Twenty-Two: "Debating Same-Sex Marriage"
If principles of justice depend on the moral or intrinsic worth of the ends that rights serve, how does society deal with the fact that people hold different ideas and conceptions of what is good? Using the example of same-sex marriage, students debate whether it is possible to detach moral permissibility of sexuality from the end or purpose of marriage.
Lecture Twenty-Three: "The Good Life"
Professor Sandel raises two questions. Is it nec ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
The Claims of Community / Where Our Loyalty LiesLecture Twenty-One: "The Claims of Community"
Professor Sandel presents Immanuel Kant's and John Rawl's objections to Aristotle who believe that individuals should be free and capable of choosing his or her ends. This leads to an introduction to the communitarian view. As individuals, how do we weigh our obligations to family against our obligations to community and to our country?
Lecture Twenty-Two: "Where Our Loyalty Lies"
Professor Sandel leads a discussion about the arguments for ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
The Good Citizen / Freedom vs. FitLecture Nineteen: "The Good Citizen"
Aristotle's theory of justice leads to a contemporary debate about golf, specifically "the purpose" of golf. Students debate whether the PGA was wrong in not allowing a disabled golfer, Casey Martin, to use a golf cart during professional tournaments.
Lecture Twenty: "Freedom vs. Fit"
Sandel addresses one of the most glaring objections to Aristotle's views on freedom — his defense of slavery. Students discuss other objections to Aristotle's the ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Arguing Affirmative Action / What's the Purpose?Lecture Seventeen: "Arguing Affirmative Action"
Students discuss the issue of affirmative action and college admissions. Is it "just" for schools to consider race and ethnicity as a factor in admissions? Does it violate individual rights? Or is it as equal, and as arbitrary, as favoring a star athlete? Is the argument in favor of promoting diversity a valid one? How does it size up against the argument that a student's efforts and achievements should carry more weight?
Lecture Eightee ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
This Land is My Land / Consenting AdultsLecture Seven: "This Land is My Land"
John Locke is both a supporter and detractor from the theory of Libertarianism. Locke argues that in the "state of nature," before any political structure has been established, every human has certain natural rights to life, liberty — and property. However, once we agree to enter into society, we are consenting to being governed by a system of laws. And so, Locke argues, even though government is charged with looking after one's individual right ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
What's a Fair Start? / What Do We Deserve?Lecture Fifteen: "What's a Fair Start?"
John Rawls applied his "veil of ignorance" theory to social and economic equality issues, as well as fair governance. He asks, if every citizen had to weigh in on the issue of redistributive taxation — without knowing whether they would end up as one of the poor or one of the wealthy members of society — wouldn't most of us prefer to eliminate our financial risks and agree to an equal distribution of wealth?
Lecture Sixteen: "What Do We ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
A Lesson in Lying / A Deal Is A DealLecture Thirteen: "A Lesson in Lying"
Immanuel Kant's stringent theory of morality allows for no exceptions; he believed that telling a lie, even a white lie, is a violation of one's own dignity. His theory is put to the test with a hypothetical case. If your friend was hiding inside your home, and a killer knocked on your door asking where he was, what could you say to him — without lying — that would also save the life of your friend? This leads to a discussion of "misleading ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Hired Guns? / For Sale: MotherhoodLecture Nine: "Hired Guns?"
During the Civil War, men were conscripted to fight in the war — but draftees were allowed to pay hired substitutes to fight in their place. Professor Sandel asks students — was this policy an example of free-market exchange? Or was it a form of coercion, because the lower class surely had more of a financial incentive to serve? This leads to a classroom debate about the contemporary questions surrounding war and conscription. Is today's voluntary ar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Free to Choose / Who Owns Me?Lecture Five: "Free to Choose"
Libertarians believe the ideal state is a society with minimal governmental interference. Sandel introduces Robert Nozick, a libertarian philosopher, who argues that individuals have the fundamental right to choose how they want to live their own lives. Government shouldn't have the power to enact laws that protect people from themselves (seat belt laws), to enact laws that force a moral value on society, or enact laws that redistribute income from the rich ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Putting a Price Tag on Life / How to Measure PleasureLecture Three: "Putting a Price Tag on Life"
Jeremy Bentham's late 18th century Utilitarian theory — summed up as "the greatest good for the greatest number" — is often used today under the name of "cost-benefit analysis." Sandel presents some contemporary examples where corporations used this theory — which required assigning a dollar value on human lives — to make important business decisions. This leads to a discussion about the objections to Utilitarianism: i ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Putting a Price Tag on Life / How to Measure PleasureLecture Three: "Putting a Price Tag on Life"
Jeremy Bentham's late 18th century Utilitarian theory — summed up as "the greatest good for the greatest number" — is often used today under the name of "cost-benefit analysis." Sandel presents some contemporary examples where corporations used this theory — which required assigning a dollar value on human lives — to make important business decisions. This leads to a discussion about the objections to Utilitarianism: i ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Irani and Sidhwa on the Song of KahunshaBapsi Sidhwa and Anosh Irani, two of the most highly praised contemporary Indian authors, discuss their new work.Two of the most highly praised contemporary Indian authors discuss their work. Irani's new novel, The Song of Kahunsha, follows his acclaimed book, The Cripple and His Talisman. Sidwa is the author of several notable books that have been turned into movies, including Water: A Novel, which was adapted for screen and nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and C ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Poetry at Noon: Susan BullockSusan Bullock reads from her poetry, which explores faith, hope, love, despair, and the lifeline of language, plunging into the depths of being and the complexities of life.
Susan Bullock was born in Somerville, New Jersey, and attended Wellesley College. In 1981 she went to Europe on a Thomas Watson Fellowship, and then returned to the United States where she studied with Joseph Brodsky. Her poems have appeared in Persephone, Harvard Review, Princeton Theological Review, English, Ars Inter ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
The Centennial of Martha GellhornCaroline Moorehead and war correspondent turned novelist Ward Just (2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist) pay tribute to the groundbreaking career of journalist and writer, Martha Gellhorn, with NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg. Gellhorn was the third wife of Ernest Hemingway, whose papers are archived at the Kennedy Library.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
The Centennial of Martha GellhornCaroline Moorehead and war correspondent turned novelist Ward Just (2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist) pay tribute to the groundbreaking career of journalist and writer, Martha Gellhorn, with NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg. Gellhorn was the third wife of Ernest Hemingway, whose papers are archived at the Kennedy Library.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Montaigne and the Struggle for Writing IdentityThomas Newkirk discusses Michel de Montaigne's creation of the essay form, a writing style that encourages self-discovery.
Thomas Newkirk is a professor of English at the University of New Hampshire, the former director of its freshman English program, and the director and founder of its New Hampshire Literacy Institutes. The author of the award winning Performance of Self in Student Writing and the editor of Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide to Teaching College Composition, he has also writt ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Jill McDonough: Habeas CorpusJill McDonough reads from her first book, Habeas Corpus, which includes fifty sonnets, each about a historical execution, including those of Mary Dyer, Mary Surratt, and Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
Jill McDonough has taught incarcerated college students through Boston University's Prison Education Program since 1999. Her poems have appeared in The Threepenny Review, The New Republic, and Slate. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fine Arts Wo ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Antonio Lobo Antunes: What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire?Antonio Lobo Antunes discusses the razor-thin line between reality and madness that is transgressed in his first novel to appear in English in five years. What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire?, is set in the steamy world of Lisbon's demimonde where Antune ventriloquizes the voices of the damned in a work that recalls Joyce's with a dizzying farrago of urban images few readers will forget. What Can I Do When Everything's On Fire? was translated into English by Gregory Rabassa, who moderat ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Frank McCourt: Act TwoFrank McCourt discusses his long-awaited book about how his 30-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City.
Frank McCourt is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the beloved memoirs Angela's Ashes and 'Tis.Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
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