Institute for philosophy in Public Life

Grand Forks, ND


Upcoming shows

For a map of Prairie Public's radio stations in North Dakota
 or a link to the online stream, click here. WHY? is broadcast on the second Sunday of every month at 5 p.m. central.



 

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 or enter the address listed below into your podcast application:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/ndpr/.jukebox?action=viewPodcast&podcastId=17538

To find the podcast in the iTunes Store follow this link: Why on iTunes


April 11, 5 p.m. central:
"The Profession of Philosophy"
Guest: Brian Leiter.

Brian Leiter founded the University of Chicago Law School's Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values when he joined their faculty in July 2008. His teaching and research interests are in general jurisprudence (including its intersection with issues in metaphysics and epistemology), moral and political philosophy (in both Anglophone and Continental traditions), and the law of evidence. Most influentially, though, he is the gatekeeper to philosophy's official unofficial rankings, maintaining "The Philosophical Gourmet" an annually updated list of the most prestigious graduate programs. He maintains multiple blogs including "The Leiter Reoprt" a compendium of professional news, issues in the profession, and new clippings related to philosophy as a discipline and as a career. His scholarly books include Objectivity in Law and Morals, Nietzsche on Morality, The Future for Philosophy, Naturalizing Jurisprudence: Essays on American Legal Realism and Naturalism in Legal Philosophy, and The Oxford Handbook of Continental Philosophy. Leiter holds an AB from Princeton University, and a JD and PhD in philosophy from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.


May 9, 5 p.m. central:
"Empathy, the Constitution, and Sexual Orientation"
Guest: Martha Nussbaum.

Martha Nussbaum is one of the most distinguished and important philosophers living today. She received her BA from NYU and her MA and PhD from Harvard. She has taught at Harvard, Brown, and Oxford Universities. Martha is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, appointed in the Philosophy Department, Law School and Divinity School. She is an Associate in the Classics Department and the Political Science Department, a Member of the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, and a Board Member of the Human Rights Program. She is the founder and Coordinator of the Center for Comparative Constitutionalism.

Her publications include Aristotle's De Motu Animalium (1978), The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy (1986, updated edition 2000), Love's Knowledge (1990), The Therapy of Desire (1994), Poetic Justice (1996), For Love of Country (1996), Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education (1997), Sex and Social Justice (1998), Women and Human Development (2000), Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions (2001), Hiding From Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law (2004), Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (2006), The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s Future (2007), and Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality (2008).  From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law will be published in February 2010.  She has also edited thirteen books. Her Supreme Court Foreword, “Constitutions and Capabilities,” appeared in 2007 and will ultimately become a book to be published by Harvard.  Her current work in progress includes: Not For Profit: Liberal Education and Democratic Citizenship (Princeton); The Cosmopolitan Tradition (Harvard); Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach (Harvard); and Compassion and Capabilities (Cambridge).


June 13, 5 p.m. central:
"Eric Sevareid and the Philosophy of Journalism"
Guest: Clay Jenkinson
Pre-recorded live in Minot, ND. Join us for the live show on June 3 at the Taube Museum.


Born in Velva, North Dakota, Eric Sevareid was one of America’s most influential broadcast journalists. One of “Murrow’s Boys” – named as such because of his extensive work with the legendary Edward R. Murrow – his reports on World War II captivated America. On this episode of Why?, Clay Jenkinson returns to examine Sevareid’s legacy and the ways in which journalism has changed since his first broadcasts. Discussing his current documentary project on the legendary reporter and Sevareid’s autobiography Not So Wild A Dream, Jenkinson will explore the impact journalism has on the world around us and ways in which autobiography reveals how one person, at least, crafted and pursued his personal mission.

A cultural commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs, Clay Jenkinson is the host of public radio's The Thomas Jefferson Hour. He has been honored by two United States presidents for his work. On November 6, 1989, he received one of the first five Charles Frankel Prizes, the National Endowment for the Humanities' highest award (now called the National Humanities Medal), at the nomination of the NEH Chair, Lynne Cheney. Since his first work with the North Dakota Humanities Council in the late 1970s, including a pioneering first-person interpretation of Meriwether Lewis, Clay Jenkinson has made thousands of presentations throughout the United States and its territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas. He is also the author of numerous books.

Why?'s host Jack Russell Weinstein says, "Sevareid is a romantic figure who builds his sense of self on an idealized North Dakota childhood. These days, Clay Jenkinson is probably America’s most recognized North Dakota romantic. I can therefore think of no better person to channel Seavreid and no more appropriate mind to explore these issues with. I’m thrilled for Clay’s return to the show and for the opportunity to once again examine how the lives of North Dakotans reveal the larger human experience.”

Have a question you want to ask Clay in advance, or don’t want your voice on the air? Send it to us at: askwhy@und.edu


July 11, 5 p.m. central:
TBA


August 8, 5 p.m. central:
"Domestic Violence and the Law: China vs. the U.S.A"
Guest: Robin Runge.

In March of 2010, Robin Runge traveled to Beijing to train Chinese judges to better deal with issues of domestic violence in the law; this was her second such visit. In comparing the Chinese and American systems, she has able to see those areas in which American law better responds to the needs of the community and those areas in which the Chinese system does. In this episode of Why? we will discuss her experiences and address central questions in the philosophy of law. What counts as evidence? How ought the court deal with a he said/she said situation? In what ways can judges work with the police to promote better investigations? How do cultural differences affect legal frameworks, and to what extent is domestic violence a violation of human rights? 

Robin R. Runge is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of North Dakota School of Law where she teaches in the Employment and Housing Law Clinic. Professor Runge taught public interest lawyering and domestic violence law at The George Washington University Law School, and domestic violence law at The American University Washington College of Law. From 2003 to 2009, Professor Runge was Director of the Commission on Domestic Violence at the American Bar Association where she managed all aspects of Commission programming including developing training curricula for attorneys, writing articles and speaking domestically and internationally on various aspects of domestic violence and the legal response to domestic violence including the employment rights of domestic violence victims.  Previously, Professor Runge was Deputy Director and Coordinator of the Program on Women’s Employment Rights (POWER) at the D.C. Employment Justice Center and the Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Employment Project at the Employment Law Center, Legal Aid Society of San Francisco. 

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