Free Food for Thought: Recent Episodes
Free Food for Thought
Free Food for Thought is a student-run, student focused podcast that seeks to feed intellectual curiosity. We interview renowned speakers, thought leaders, and anyone else we think has an idea worth hearing!
Nathaniel Worley sits down with professor of Philosophy Dr. Susan Schneider in this insightful episode.
Nathaniel joins Brookings fellow Michael O'Hanlon for a conversation on college, war, and speech.
In this episode, Marshall Bessey sat down with Felicia Marcus, the William C. Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program and an attorney, consultant, and member of the Water Policy Group to discuss a range of topical issues.
Marshall and Nathaniel sat down with Professor Emeritus at the University of Leeds Ian Wood to discuss his upbringing, the Franks, and the church as a socio-economic power.
Ellie Lerner and Vedanth Reddy sit down with Taner Akçam discuss the national security implications of Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide on stability and reconciliation efforts in the region today. Historian Taner Akçam is the inaugural director of the Armenian Genocide Research Program of the Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA. Previously he was the Kaloosdian and Mugar Chair in Modern Armenian History and Genocide in the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. Akçam grew up in Turkey, where he was imprisoned for editing a political youth journal and was subsequently adopted as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in 1976. Akçam later received political asylum in Germany. In 1996 he received his doctorate from the University of Hanover with a dissertation on The Turkish National Movement and the Armenian Genocide Against the Background of the Military Tribunals in Istanbul Between 1919 and 1922.
Emma Pan and Tutu Jereissati sit down with Professor Cassia Roth to talk about women's reproductive health in relation to legal and medical policy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cassia Roth is associate professor of history and Latin American & Caribbean Studies at the University of Georgia. Her book, A Miscarriage of Justice: Women’s Reproductive Lives and the Law in Early Twentieth-Century Brazil was published in 2020 (Stanford University Press). It won the Murdo J. MacLeod Prize from the Latin American and Caribbean Section of the Southern Historical Association and the Choice Outstanding Academic Title from the American Library Association.
Emma Pan and Ryan Lenney sit down with Justin Brooks, director and co-founder of the California Innocence Project.
Nathaniel and Emma sat down with Richard Sander — economist and Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA — to discuss his work on the problems of social inequality.
Emma Pan sat down with David Tolchinsky to discuss if and how film and television can help normalize mental health.
Nathaniel Worley sits down with Mia Mask, professor of film at Vassar College and author of Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film. They have an engaging conversation about the African American western hero within the larger context of film history. Mia Mask is the Mary Riepma Ross Professor of Film at Vassar College. She is the author of Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film. Mask edited the anthology Contemporary Black American Cinema, published by Routledge. She also published the jointly edited collection Poitier Revisited: Reconsidering a Black Icon in the Obama Age(Bloomsbury). Her newest book is Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western.
Vedanth Reddy and Natalie Chen sit down with Eric Schwitzgebel, professor of philosophy at UC Riverside, to talk about consciousness and the ethics of artificial intelligence. Eric Schwitzgebel is professor of philosophy at University of California, Riverside, and author of four books and over a hundred research articles spanning widely across philosophy and psychology. He is especially drawn to interdisciplinary topics where standard research methodologies fall apart.
Joelle Min and Daniella Reyes sit down with Elizabeth Farfán-Santos to talk about her new book, Undocumented Motherhood: Conversations on Love, Trauma, and Border Crossing. Elizabeth Farfán-Santos has a Ph.D. and M.A. in medical anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. An accomplished researcher and scholar, Farfán-Santos is the author of two books, Black Bodies, Black Rights: The Politics of Quilombolismo in Contemporary Brazil and Undocumented Motherhood: Conversations on Love, Trauma, and Border Crossing, both published by the University of Texas Press.
Emma Pan and Joelle Min sit down with Phia Salter, associate professor of psychology at Davidson College, to talk about viewing systematic racism through critical race and cultural-psychological perspectives. Phia S. Salter is associate professor of psychology at Davidson College. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Kansas in 2010. In her research, she uses cultural-psychological and critical race perspectives to inform her work on collective memory, racial identity, and systemic racism. Her research lab, the Culture in Mind Research Collaboratory, conducts research that addresses social inequalities and injustice in different facets of American society.
Vedanth Reddy and Nathaniel Worley sit down with Professor Daniel W. Drezner to talk about the state of globalization today. Daniel W. Drezner is professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is also the co-director of Fletcher’s Russia and Eurasia program.
Nathaniel Worley sits down with Davy Rothbart in this episode. Davy Rothbart is a bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, the creator of Found Magazine, a frequent contributor to public radio's This American Life, and the author of a book of personal essays, My Heart Is An Idiot, and a collection of stories, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas. He writes regularly for GQ and his work has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times.
Emma Pan and Ryan Lenney sit down with Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. Justice Cuéllar is the President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former Justice of the Supreme Court of California. In this episode, Justice Cuéllar shares his experiences from his upbringing in Mexico and California. He also talks about global policy and national security.
Daniella Reyes and Natalie Chen sit down with Mukulika Banerjee—Associate Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In this episode, Mukulika Banerjee expresses her thoughts on recent social movements in India and how taking on a republican mindset will be essential to reviving the constitutional vision for the democractic system in India. She also explains how gaining insight on the ethnographic context of its community alongside its election results can help us to understand the future of Indian democracy.
Emma Pan and Tutu Jereissati sit down with Kevin Merida—the Executive Editor of the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Kevin Merida talks about the changing nature of the Los Angeles Times and media coverage of the government and politics.
Baron Zeng and Justin Ongchin sit down with Robert Simonds—media entrepreneur and prolific film producer—in this exciting episode. From creating China's number one TV Show to running Bollywood's second largest streaming platform, Robert Simonds—founder and chairman of STX Entertainment—shares his story on how he succeeded in Hollywood as a young film producer and expanded his company globally. Frequent collaborators of his included Adam Sandler, Steve Martin, Dave Chapelle, and many others.
Tutu Jereissati and Ryan Lenney sit down with Tom Linebarger, executive chairman of Cummins, Inc.—a global power technology company that pioneers new technologies to sustainably meet the world’s growing power needs, to talk about his career, life, and how to live a life a purpose. For Linebarger, working for an employer whose values aligned with his own was the key to finding his purpose.
Dorismar Cuevas and Nathaniel Worley sat down with former Southern California journalist-turned-novelist Charmaine Wilkerson to talk about the power of storytelling and her debut novel "Black Cake."
Natalie Chen and Nathaniel Worley sit down with Pardis Mahdavi—the provost and executive vice president at the University of Montana—to talk about the political and cultural landscape in Iran.
Ellie Lerner and Marshall Bessey sit down with Omer Bartov, the Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, to have an in-depth conversation about his new book, “The Butterfly and the Axe” and the rise of antisemitism.
Nathan Verba and Nathaniel Worley interview University of Washington School of Law Dean Tamara Lawson (CMC '92) to discuss a variety of issues relating to her experiences so far as dean as well as her previous experience working as deputy district attorney at the Clark County District Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Justin Ongchin and Baron Zeng sit down with data scientist Jay Cordes in this insightful episode. Jay Cordes co-authored the book The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science with Pomona economist Gary Smith to help guide future data scientists away from the common pitfalls he saw in the corporate world.
Nathaniel Worley sat down with SoCal legend Larry Mantle to discuss his long-running show AirTalk, public radio, and more in this engaging episode sure to please any radio-enthusiast.
Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University, author of four books, and holds the Library of Congress Chair on US-Russian Relations. Vedanth Reddy and Justin Ongchin sit down with Professor Timothy Frye to discuss Putin's worldview and Russia's similarities to other autocracies.
Nathaniel Worley sits down with Professor Joe Soss to discuss the interplay of politics, inequalities, and public policy in this insightful episode.
In this educational episode, Nathaniel Worley and Dorismar Cuevas sit down with Michelle Tusan, a Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Hear an insightful discussion on modern British history, the British Empire, and women’s history.
Justin and Nathaniel sit down with Peabody and Emmy award-winning director Elizabeth Ito. Elizabeth Ito has been working as a creator, writer, director, and storyboard artist in the animation industry since 2004 on TV, feature, and commercial projects. Her first series, City of Ghosts, premiered in 2021 and won a Peabody Award in 2022.
Justin and Vedanth sit down with cartoonist Lynda Barry in this creative and inspiring episode.
In this episode, Nathaniel and Baron interview Sanjib Kalita, co-founder and CEO of Guppy—the Web3 credit bureau—and editor-in-chief of Money 20/20—the world’s leading fintech event series. They discuss the current FinTech landscape, data monetization, digital cash, and more, in this exciting episode.
Nathaniel and Justin discuss topics ranging from ornithology to communication methods with UCLA Professor Jared Diamond, author of best-selling science books The Third Chimpanzee; Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse, The World Until Yesterday, and Upheaval.
Nathaniel and Noah interview two-time Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Michael Shear, who currently writes for the New York Times as a White House correspondent. Shear, a 1990 graduate of Claremont McKenna College, shares his career path, his thoughts on the current state of media, and some reflections on the reporting of the Virginia Tech shooting in this thought provoking episode.
In this episode, Nathaniel and Dorismar interview Amanda Little, Professor at Vanderbilt University. Hear an insightful discussion on the future of food, the importance of efficiency, and how students today can become involved in the future of agriculture.
Vedanth Reddy and Nathaniel Worley sit down with Professor Daniel W. Drezner to talk about the state of globalization today. Daniel W. Drezner is professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is also the co-director of Fletcher’s Russia and Eurasia program.
Nathaniel Worley sits down with Davy Rothbart in this episode. Davy Rothbart is a bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, the creator of Found Magazine, a frequent contributor to public radio's This American Life, and the author of a book of personal essays, My Heart Is An Idiot, and a collection of stories, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas. He writes regularly for GQ and his work has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times.
Emma Pan and Ryan Lenney sit down with Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. Justice Cuéllar is the President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former Justice of the Supreme Court of California. In this episode, Justice Cuéllar shares his experiences from his upbringing in Mexico and California. He also talks about global policy and national security.
Daniella Reyes and Natalie Chen sit down with Mukulika Banerjee—Associate Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In this episode, Mukulika Banerjee expresses her thoughts on recent social movements in India and how taking on a republican mindset will be essential to reviving the constitutional vision for the democractic system in India. She also explains how gaining insight on the ethnographic context of its community alongside its election results can help us to understand the future of Indian democracy.
Emma Pan and Tutu Jereissati sit down with Kevin Merida—the Executive Editor of the Los Angeles Times. In this episode, Kevin Merida talks about the changing nature of the Los Angeles Times and media coverage of the government and politics.
Baron Zeng and Justin Ongchin sit down with Robert Simonds—media entrepreneur and prolific film producer—in this exciting episode. From creating China's number one TV Show to running Bollywood's second largest streaming platform, Robert Simonds—founder and chairman of STX Entertainment—shares his story on how he succeeded in Hollywood as a young film producer and expanded his company globally. Frequent collaborators of his included Adam Sandler, Steve Martin, Dave Chapelle, and many others.
Tutu Jereissati and Ryan Lenney sit down with Tom Linebarger, executive chairman of Cummins, Inc.—a global power technology company that pioneers new technologies to sustainably meet the world’s growing power needs, to talk about his career, life, and how to live a life a purpose. For Linebarger, working for an employer whose values aligned with his own was the key to finding his purpose.
Dorismar Cuevas and Nathaniel Worley sat down with former Southern California journalist-turned-novelist Charmaine Wilkerson to talk about the power of storytelling and her debut novel "Black Cake."
Natalie Chen and Nathaniel Worley sit down with Pardis Mahdavi—the provost and executive vice president at the University of Montana—to talk about the political and cultural landscape in Iran.
Ellie Lerner and Marshall Bessey sit down with Omer Bartov, the Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, to have an in-depth conversation about his new book, “The Butterfly and the Axe” and the rise of antisemitism.
Nathan Verba and Nathaniel Worley interview University of Washington School of Law Dean Tamara Lawson (CMC '92) to discuss a variety of issues relating to her experiences so far as dean as well as her previous experience working as deputy district attorney at the Clark County District Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Justin Ongchin and Baron Zeng sit down with data scientist Jay Cordes in this insightful episode. Jay Cordes co-authored the book The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science with Pomona economist Gary Smith to help guide future data scientists away from the common pitfalls he saw in the corporate world.
Nathaniel Worley sat down with SoCal legend Larry Mantle to discuss his long-running show AirTalk, public radio, and more in this engaging episode sure to please any radio-enthusiast.
Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University, author of four books, and holds the Library of Congress Chair on US-Russian Relations. Vedanth Reddy and Justin Ongchin sit down with Professor Timothy Frye to discuss Putin's worldview and Russia's similarities to other autocracies.
Nathaniel Worley sits down with Professor Joe Soss to discuss the interplay of politics, inequalities, and public policy in this insightful episode.
In this educational episode, Nathaniel Worley and Dorismar Cuevas sit down with Michelle Tusan, a Professor of History at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Hear an insightful discussion on modern British history, the British Empire, and women’s history.
Justin and Nathaniel sit down with Peabody and Emmy award winning director Elizabeth Ito. Elizabeth Ito has been working as a creator, writer, director, and storyboard artist in the animation industry since 2004 on TV, feature, and commercial projects. Her first series, City of Ghosts, premiered in 2021 and won a Peabody Award in 2022.
In this episode, Nathaniel and Baron interview Sanjib Kalita, co-founder and CEO of Guppy—the Web3 credit bureau—and editor in chief of Money 20/20—the world’s leading fintech event series. They discuss the current FinTech landscape, data monetization, digital cash, and more, in this exciting episode.
Nathaniel and Justin discuss topics ranging from ornithology to communication methods with UCLA Professor Jared Diamond, author of best-selling science books The Third Chimpanzee; Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse, The World Until Yesterday, and Upheaval.
In this episode, Nathaniel and Dorismar interview Amanda Little, Professor at Vanderbilt University. Hear an insightful discussion on the future of food, the importance of efficiency, and how students today can become involved in the future of agriculture.
In this installment, Daenerys and Nathan W. sit down with Tyehimba Jess, a Pulitzer Prize winning poet.
Vedanth and Nathan V. talk with anthropologist David Treuer about Native American narratives and how he approaches writing.
In this episode of Free Food for Thought, Daenerys and Joelle sit down with Professor Martha jones of Johns Hopkins University to discuss the history of Black women in American democracy.
In this episode, Adhi and Justin sit down with Professor John List about the proliferation of experiments in social science, deformalizing economics, and the strategies to recognize a great idea in his new book, the Voltage Effect.
Marshall and Daniel sat down with Dr. Jennifer Burns, an associate professor of history at Stanford University and author of Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand the American Right, to discuss her research on Ayn Rand and her upcoming book on Milton Friedman. We discussed her research, the influence of Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman on today’s world, and the value of researching at the intersections.
Vedanth and Sophie sat down with Professor Chris Slobogin, Director of the Vanderbilt Criminal Justice Program and author of “Just Algorithms: Using Science to Reduce Incarceration and Inform a Jurisprudence of Risk” to talk about the role of algorithms and risk assessments in the legal system. We discuss the practical use of algorithms, their ethical ramifications, and the future of AI and machine learning in the legal system.
For this installment of Free Food for Thought, Simon and Daniel sit down with Daron Acemoglu, professor of economics at MIT. Their conversation covers Acemoglu’s work on growth and institutions, his approach to research, and the future of economics.
In this installment of free food for thought, Nathaniel and Simon talk to Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution about the ongoing war in Ukraine, the historical roots of Putin’s war, and what inspired her to work in Russian affairs.
Nathaniel and Izabella sit down in conversation with Matt Pyken (CMC 83’), a television writer and producer from Southern California. Discover Matt’s journey from DC to Hollywood, reflections on his time at CMC, and how he brought the western writing room style to India in this exciting episode of Free Food for Thought.
In this episode of Free Food for Thought, Daenerys and Sophie sit down to chat with Ragen Chastain, a speaker, writer, ACE Certified Health Coach and functional fitness specialist, and activist. They cover the topics of media and its effect on Fatphobia, the impact of fitness culture among young people, and activism.
In this episode of Free Food for Thought, Nathan sits down with Dr. France A. Cordova, a leader in science, engineering and education. Hear a discussion of the importance of women in STEM, science’s current place in the public dialogue, and the sharing of her wisdom gained through decades of experience.
In this episode, Adhitya and Daenerys sit down with Martha Minnow to discuss her career teaching and practicing law, legal challenges in the technology sector, and the key to asking a great question.
In this episode, Nathan and Simon sit down with Professor Roger Karapin to discuss the past, present, and future of climate policy.
In this installment of Free Food for Thought, Adhitya and Simon sit down with Professor Peter Moskos from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In their discussion, they discuss Professor Moskos's path from police officer to sociologist as well as the outlook for more effective law enforcement in the United States.
Daenerys and Anna speak with Charles Yu, author of novels How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and National Book Award winner Interior Chinatown. They discuss his transition from corporate law to writing full-time, the role of science fiction in imagining a more equitable world, and the inspiration behind Interior Chinatown.
Sophie and Simon sit down with Ryan Cirz, founder of Achaogen and Revagenix. They discuss the development of antibiotics, his path through the world of pharmaceutical startups, and how he stays motivated in field as tumultuous and antibiotic development.
This week Izzy and Justin speak with Steven Pinker, a renowned cognitive psychologist, Harvard professor, and public intellectual. They discuss optimism in the face of uncertainty, the extent of human rationality, social media, and the validity of the nature versus nurture debate.
On this week's episode, Sophie and Baron sat down to chat with Naomi Bagdonas, an alumna of CMC, lecturer at Stanford, and author of Humor, Seriously. In this episode we discussed Naomi's journey from the consulting world to comedy, the importance of humor in serious settings, and advice for how to navigate difficult professional and personal situations.
How do psychedelics fit into the field of neuroscience and mental health research? We find the answers to this question and more in this week’s episode of Free Food For Thought. Nathan and Daenerys sit down with Dr. Daniel Kelly to explore the fascinating research being done on the macrodosing of psychedelic substances as a promising alternative form of mental health treatment. Hear Dr. Kelly share his research, insights, and more - all in this episode.
For the inaugural episode of Free Food for Thought this school year, Daenerys Pineda and Simon Gilbert sat down with Professor Sameer Pandya of University of California Santa Barbara. Over the course of the interview, they discussed his recent book Members Only, representation of the diverse experiences of Asian-Americans, and his writing process.
In this episode of the Professor Series, Sophie sits down with Professor Megan Gallagher, Professor of Literature at CMC and Assistant Director of CMC's Center for Writing and Public Discourse. Professor Gallagher discusses the role of current events in teaching, as well as the marvels of GenZ and TikTok.
In this episode, Sabrina and Hans sit down with Valerie Tiberius, a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota. Tiberius shares her experiences about getting into philosophy, how she came about her research on values and well-being, and offers her perspective about human nature and relationships.
In this episode of the Professor Series, Daenerys sits down with Professor JoAnne Ferguson, the coach of Pomona-Pitzer’s softball team. Coach Ferguson talks about how she develops her P.E. classes and gives us tips to help us thrive in our virtual world.
In this episode of the Professor Series, Nathan sits down with Professor Chloe Martinez to discuss her experiences as a scholar, poet, and educator navigating through this pandemic. Hear her thoughts on the topics of poetry, time management, and South Asian religions, and more.
In this episode, Nathan and Daenerys speak with Gabrielle Calvocoressi, an accomplished poet and professor at UNC Chapel Hill. Calvocoressi discusses several impactful experiences during their formative years, the body positivity/neutrality movement, self-care, and the American experience, amongst other topics. Hear Calvocoressi share their thoughts on these informative topics in consideration with the difficulties that emerged from the ongoing pandemic.
In this episode of the Professor Series, Nathan sits down with Professor Kenneth P. Miller to discuss Miller’s life, his most recent book, and the experiences and insights he's gained being a professor at CMC.
Live from the Ath, Tori and Anna speak with CMC alumna Candace Valenzuela '06, former candidate for Texas's 24th congressional district. Valenzuela discusses her path to the campaign trail, her experiences trying to make her campaign staff reflect the district they were serving, and things that are making her hopeful during this tumultuous time. She also shares many pieces of advice for our listeners, from how to constructively participate in politics to how she overcomes self-doubt.
Sabrina and Sophie speak with Dr. Stefanie Johnson, a researcher and professor at University of Colorado, Boulder's Leeds School of Business. Dr. Johnson has coined the term "inclusify," a term that defines inclusion as an action item. Dr. Johnson shares her experiences getting into the Diversity and Inclusion field and how she works to make diversity and inclusion a higher priority.
Adhi and Simon speak with Graham Lee Brewer, editor for Indigenous Affairs at High Country News and board member of the Native American Journalists Association. He shares how his reporting gives a platform to Indigenous voices and what the journalism industry can do to become more inclusive
Maya and Olivia sit down with Eli Slaslow, a reporter for the Washington Post and author of Rising out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist. He discusses his path as a journalist, how his stories impact him and how he wants his stories to impact others, and how we as a country can change for the better through exposing ourselves to stories about those that are different from us.
In this week's episode, Sophie and Olivia sit down with Dr. O'Connor to discuss the overwhelming presence of misinformation and disinformation in today's world. Dr. O'Connor shares how her career led her to studying misinformation, dispels fake news myths, discusses the impact of misinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic, and gives tips on how everyone can catch fake news that they may come across.
In this episode, Tori and Adhi speak with Cary Aspinwall, a Dallas-based staff writer for The Marshall Project and Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Local Reporting. She discusses the triumphs and challenges in local journalism and offers wisdom to students interested in the field.
How does "curiosity" help you overcome addictions and how do we overcome our inner-skeptic? Dr. Jud Brewer sat down with Sabrina and Sophie to talk about mindfulness as an alternative psychiatric solution, his personal journey entering this field of work, and his “five finger breathing” technique.
In the latest episode of Free Food for Thought, Sabrina and Simon sit down with Katherine Mangu-Ward, the Editor-in-Chief of Reason Magazine. Their discussion covers a wide range of topics, including Mangu-Ward’s career trajectory, how she navigates the rapidly shifting field of journalism, and the future of libertarianism.
Anna and Nandeeni sit down with Dwayne Betts, a poet, Yale Law School graduate and current Ph.D. candidate, who spent nearly 9 years in prison for a crime he committed at age 16. They discuss his decision to pivot from poetry to law, blending legalese into poetry, and his past and present ambitions.
Debra Tolchinsky sheds light on her documentary project, “True Memories and Other Falsehoods,” her interest in the human memory, and her career as a documentary filmmaker.
Koss and Seth sit down with Alex Kotlowitz, former staff writer of The Wall Street Journal and critically acclaimed author of An American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago. They discuss his journey from working on a cattle ranch to the Emmy winner he is today, his approach to journalism and his drive to share the stories of a segregated society.
Seth and Maya sit down with former District Judge for the Southern District of New York, Katherine Forrest, to discuss the use of Artificial Intelligence in the courtroom.
Melanie and Anna sit down with Nikole Hannah-Jones, a writer for the New York Times Magazine and creator of the 1619 project. Listen in to hear their discussion on modern-day segregation in America's public school system and how Hannah-Jones' own relationships with that system inspired her journalistic career.
Anna and Nandeeni sit down with Dwayne Betts, a poet, Yale Law School graduate and current Ph.D. candidate, who spent nearly 9 years in prison for a crime he committed at age 16. They discuss his decision to pivot from poetry to law, blending legalese into poetry, and his past and present ambitions.
Sabrina and Sam sat down with Professor Susan Hockfield to talk about her passion in STEM, her current book and the interdependence of academia, administration leadership in higher education and public service in government.
This week, Mel and Bryn sit down with Kathryn Matthews, Ph.D., who works as the chief scientist for Oceana, the largest international advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans. Kathryn’s work has bridged subjects and settings from the Arctic ice caps to Capitol Hill, international treaty negotiations, and the waters of the eastern tropical Pacific--listen in to hear how Matthews has navigated science policy and handled the frustration of working on such a polarizing political issue in D.C.
Joe and Sabrina interview John Brennan, CIA Director 2014 - 2017. Brennan shed light on his early experience in the CIA as well as his time in the White House, spanning multiple administrations. Brennan reveals his personal definition of success and what he thinks of America's future.
This week, Sam and Seth sit down with Nick Sousanis, an Eisner-winning comics author and an assistant professor of Humanities & Liberal Studies at San Francisco State University. Listen in to hear about Sousanis' perspective on comics as an academic, and how his studies informed his recent book Unflattening, which argues for the importance of visual thinking in teaching and learning. Happy listening!
For our first-ever live interview at the Claremont McKenna Athenaeum, Sophia and Melanie sat down with Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent at The New York Times. Before joining the Times, Shear spent eighteen years writing about local, state, and national politics at The Washington Post. In this wide-ranging discussion, Mike discusses his experience reporting on immigration before and after the 2016 election and how it led to co-writing his first book, "Border Wars."
Listen in to hear Joe and Sabrina sit down with Judith Grisel, Ph.D., an internationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist and a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Bucknell University. Grisel, whose research focuses on determining the root causes of drug addiction, speaks with Joe and Sabrina about how her research insights and personal experience inform her recent book "Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction."
This week, Joe and Melanie sit down with Robert Dry, who served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in the Middle East, East, and Southeast Asia. He now teaches international relations at New York University, and before delivering his talk "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: How the United States and China Fail the Global Environmental Governance System," he reflects on some of his most memorable experiences in the foreign service.
Ring in the New Year with some Free Food for Thought--this week, Sabrina and Izzy sit down with Dan Rose, who spent 20 years in leadership roles at Amazon and Facebook before becoming chairman of Coatue, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco. Listen in to hear Sabrina and Izzy learn about Dan's early influences from college and his takeaways from being a manager and leader in Silicon Valley during periods of massive growth at two tech companies.
This week, father-daughter duo Jeff and Kendyl Klein sit down with Sam and Brian to talk about launching their careers in media, their collective decades of experience across news media and social media, and the generational and cultural trends they've witnessed over time. Listen in to hear Jeff, a long-time media executive, lawyer, writer, and communications professor, and Kendyl, an expert in digital content strategy, dissect how their careers have overlapped and diverged.
This week, Sam sits down with Paul Hessburg, a research ecologist with Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. The two talk about the history of firefighting in the U.S., the dawn of the megafire, and how science can help us prepare to tackle the wildfires of the future.
In this episode, Shiv and Sam sat down with child clinical psychologist and UCLA professor Anna Lau. Listen in to hear Lau delve into the nuances of mental healthcare and education and her unique approach to translating psychological research to practice.
This fall, Melanie and Joe sat down with Samantha Power, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and current professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. In their interview, Power discusses her early career as a journalist, her time working with the United Nations, and how her experiences informed her just-released book, The Education of an Idealist. Listen in to hear about Power's incredible professional experiences and her personal advice for young people hoping to change the world.
Free Food for Thought is kicking off its eighth season with the last interview we recorded in the spring, a conversation with Symone D. Sanders that couldn't be more relevant to today's political conversation. Sanders, a current senior advisor for former Vice President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, sat down with Skip and Anna to discuss her early career as political strategist, her thoughts on the importance of millennial voices in political media, and why she approaches presidential campaigns like start-ups. Get ready for an engaging political conversation and another fifteen episodes of Free Food coming out biweekly this fall!
"Had my flight left earlier, my whole life would have been very different from what it is now...and so my advice to all students is to keep your eyes open all the time."
A special Saturday release this week to share Sabrina and Nandeeni's conversation with Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, a career diplomat, expert in the field of international justice, and the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Listen in to hear Nandeeni and Sabrina ask Zeid about his entrée into the field of diplomacy and his reflections on a career dedicated to service and working toward resolutions of complex refugee crises.
“I was so captivated by the notion of not just being able to understand the past, but in a certain sense to stand amongst it and to be within the past.”
This week, Zach and Sam sat down with Eric Poehler, an associate professor of classics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the director of the joint Blended Learning and Digital Humanities program for the Five Colleges consortium. Listen in to hear about Eric's path toward archeology and thoughts on a profession that forces one to be constantly immersed in the past.
"I think valuing progress more than success is more important, and being less results-oriented [means that] the process is more important than than the results."
This week, Elena and Zach had the chance to speak with Eduardo Chávez, grandson of legendary civil rights activist César Chávez. He recently created the film "Hailing César" to reflect on this legacy and address themes of labor rights, Latino empowerment, activism and social justice that played into his grandfather's life.
"Our culture has to push our policy-makers. Our policy-makers must see and understand that they are out of step with our culture."
This week, Shiv and Elena sat down with Fatima Goss Graves, a lifelong legal advocate for women and girls who currently serves as President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. Listen in to hear their discussion about women in the law and the role of the budding TImesUp movement.
"I always compare foreign policy to a baseball average. If you miss 70% of the time you’re going to the Hall of Fame, and I think foreign policy is like that, too."
This week, Anna and Will sat down with Robert Kagan, foreign policy expert and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Listen in to hear Kagan's reflections on his life and career working in the field of international relations.
"Silence seems native to all of us...it shocks me to think about all of the people who seem to give it away so easily."
This week, Melanie and Skip sat down with former U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan to discuss her collections of poetry, her love of silence, and her evolution as a poet.
"Particularly as a member of a migrant family living the United States, history, religion, [and] culture was seen as a way to protect us in what was perceived to be a foreign land that at times could be very hostile toward us. History was like a refuge for us."
This week, Alexander Aviña sat down with Brian and Skip to discuss revolutions in the Mexican countryside during the Cold War, CIA involvement in the international drug trade, and what the latest season of Netflix’s Narcos doesn’t cover.
"Our society at the moment, our world, which is so parched for empathy, really needs poetry. We need poets--there is something about poetry that's emotional, it is of course emotional, but it speaks to us."
Sam and Nandeeni sit down with Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh to discuss how her early life, feminism, and poetry has impacted her study of religion.
"Writers are always in thrall to their personality. My personality is such that I almost never want to write the argument that is the consensus view, for better or worse...if everybody has kind of agreed on an issue, then there might be something that we’re overlooking.”
Thomas Chatterton Williams sat down with Shiv and Brian to discuss moving from Brooklyn to Paris, obtaining his first book deal, and confronting racial differences in his immediate family.
“There’s a sense that data can provide all the answers [to addressing poverty] but you never ask the people what they think. What is it like to be poor? What is it like to be that person?…That logic is different from the people in headquarters who are making decisions. This antiseptic way of dealing with the problems of poor people in development is a major, major constraint to our work today.”
Marc Sommers sat down with Sabrina and Melanie to discuss about reflections on his experiences as a high school headmaster in Africa, conflict-resolution in developing countries, and his journey moving from on-site volunteer work to academia.
"One of the greatest vaccinations to fear is having a mission."
Carl Wilkens sat down with Nandeeni and Sam to discuss his initial experiences in developing Africa, his relationship with God, and the decision that made him the only American to willingly reside in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.
“I think we all love to work with our medium…we love to work with language, and so the prospect of having a whole morning where we’re writing and rewriting—maybe doing a little reading—you know, to me, that’s pure delight.”
Mel and Sophia sat down with Joyce Carol Oates to talk about her start as a novelist in the 1960s, her love for teaching, and the intricacies of her writing process.
“History is the cheap way and the fast way to get experience…You want to do things? Read about people who did.”
Larry Arnn sat down with Skip and Nick to discuss how he became director of research for the official biography of Winston Churchill, the drawbacks of historical narratives, and the value of studying history today.
“The museum is becoming this place for conversation and shared memory...and that’s kind of been the Obama effect as well.”
Over Family Weekend at Claremont McKenna College, Skip and Melanie sat down with Kim Sajet, Director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. to talk about her life and career as a museum director, the political nature of portraiture, and how the Obama Portraits have taken the Gallery by storm.
"We have to do better with our law enforcement communities. Other countries have it much better than we do."
Rabia Chaudry sat down with Elena and Zach to discuss wrongful convictions, Adnan Syed, and social justice in law enforcement.
"[The Republican Party] is largely a zombie movement at this point, willing to be captured by the next cult of personality."
Erick Erickson sat down with Nandeeni and Zach to discuss getting his talk radio show by accident, the threats he received for not supporting Donald Trump in 2016, and the intersection between theology and party.
“If you’re in negotiations with adversaries…you have to understand their culture, you have to understand what interests they are representing for their country at the table, but also what their own personal psychology is — not to become their analyst, but to understand the things that might press their buttons, the things that might help get progress to move forward, and those things that are going to be big obstacles.”
Ambassador Wendy Sherman sat down with Bryn and Nick to talk about being the only woman at the negotiating table, discussing the “red line” in Syria with President Obama, communicating via text message with other colleagues in the room during the Iran deal negations, and why she doesn’t think politics stops at the water’s edge.
"I don't support police brutality. But with that said, I do think if you think about Chicago every so often, and children dying because of stray bullets, you have to think, 'Well we need policing here'...I think there's a way to be aggressive in policing without being brutal to people. And the more we're able to do that, the better off we'll be."
Michael Fortner sat down with Will and Anna to discuss mass incarceration, Harlem politics, and the Rockefeller drug laws.
"The point of politics is to govern. It is not to express yourself; it is not to make woke gestures about things. It is about governing...you cannot do anything for women, African-Americans, migrants, [or] LGBT people if you do not hold power."
Mark Lilla sat down with Skip and Sabrina to discuss identity politics, the importance of state government, and advice to Democratic candidates running in 2020.
"I think what makes a good writer is empathy — empathy with the reader. It is about being able to split your mind in two...being an expert on a certain topic, but also being able to communicate it to a reader who hasn't had your experiences."
Benn Steil sat down with Nandeeni and Zach to discuss the importance of the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, why he considers World War II the pinnacle of American foreign policy, and China's growing influence in the academic world.
"Germany is the...largest economy and most populous country in the European Union...but nonetheless, Angela Merkel, Germany's Chancellor, would be the first to admit that Germany still needs the United States in 2018. This is why we are in such a fraught period in the U.S.–German and U.S.–European relationship ... [President Trump] is trying to renegotiate this relationship with Europe in a way that is deeply concerning to Germany and our other European allies."
Karen Donfried sat down with Sabrina and Will to discuss serving as President Obama's senior advisor on Europe during the Snowden leaks, researching the conclusion of the Cold War in Germany, and the importance of strengthening transatlantic partnerships.
“India has been fortunate in the transition from President Obama to President Trump. [It] does not fall neatly into one of two categories of countries that have been somewhat problematic. One are traditionally inimical relationships such as Iran, North Korea, and to some degree Russia and China. The other set of countries that are facing challenges from Trump are traditional allies and trade partners such as Mexico and Canada. India has not been in the front of these two lines of criticism."
Nandeeni and Shiv sat down with Dhruva Jaishankar to discuss the impact of his liberal arts education on his approach to studying international politics, current research on U.S.- India relations, and power shifts in the South Asian region.
“The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991… they lost their superpower status, they lost their ideology. So there was a big drop in Russian national pride… and I think the idea was if [Vladimir Putin] came in as this strong, tough, masculine leader then Russia itself could come, as they say, 'off its knees' and become a strong, empowered country again.”
Bryn and Skip sat down with Valerie Sperling to talk about her initial experiences abroad in Leningrad, the separation of the Russian church and state, and the gendered nature of politics in Russia.
“Liberal education should be teaching students to ask tough questions of the books they are reading, to ask tough questions of one another, to see things from a multiplicity of points of view...[this] makes us more civil, more tolerant, endows us with greater empathy—all qualities, it seems to me, we want to encourage in liberal and democratic citizens."
Zach and Will sat down with Peter Berkowitz to talk about reforming the college academic curriculum, the importance of the classics to liberal education, and why Claremont McKenna is doing a good job promoting viewpoint diversity.
“People are drawn to fascism because democracy is hard, self-rule is hard. People want a strong leader to come in and take care of their problems. People are tempted to accept a leader who can do it all for us. These are concepts that political philosophers...continue to explore."
Skip and Shiv sat down with Jason Stanley to discuss the impact of the Holocaust on his family and his research, the politics of language, and the relationship between nationalism and fascism.
"The community-based approach and scholar-activism makes [environmental] research better. It makes the science better, it makes the policy better...For me, there is no research that doesn't take those voices seriously."
Skip and Will sat down with Julie Sze to discuss environmental justice, American studies, and her work as a scholar-activist.
"The U.S. government still moves relatively slowly in its analysis [of unfolding events]. It’s only starting to think about how to tap the wide array of information that’s on social media. And by following it, you can know things faster than the CIA, and that’s important for those of us who are now on the outside looking at developments in these countries.”
Bryn and Nandeeni sat down with Joshua White to discuss Situation Room meetings with President Obama, elections in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and heightened military competition in the Indian Ocean.
“My immediate reaction is to find [the Romans] really repulsive. But then they get at you. Sometimes when you are reading Roman literature, they say something super thoughtful that you really can relate to and then you are sucked back in again.”
Emma Dench sat down with Skip and Zach to discuss the multiculturalism of Ancient Rome, her decision to move to the United States, and using the Romans’ mistakes to identify blind spots in America today.
“There’s a lot of continuity between fan communities. Generally they tend to have more in common than they differ from each other. But I think Austen is in some ways unique, or at least rare, because she is...a focus of fandom who also gives you keys about how to interact with the people you find yourself in company with.”
Ted Scheinman sat down with Will and Shiv to discuss Jane Austen's enduring impact, covering climate change with Pacific Standard Magazine, and the power of writing.
"I think of the trail as a great leveler...the sort of things that divide us, that become our identity, like what car you drive or even what job you have, go away. You can connect with people at a very basic human level...it really makes people reflect on who they are."
Liz Thomas, CMC '07, sat down with Bryn and Zach to discuss hiking thousands of miles alone, her advocacy work on behalf of environmental conservation, and getting hooked on urban hiking.
“The Constitution always has been, and hopefully always will be, a living Constitution. Otherwise, it would be absurd for us to be governed by a document that was written in the 1787 for an agrarian slave society.”
Erwin Chemerinsky sat down with Zach and Skip to speak about his work as a professor and dean at UC Berkeley’s Law School, why hate speech is protected under the Constitution, and his case against the Supreme Court.
“I’ll visit the New York Times and I’ll visit Breitbart and I’ll visit Drudge. They’re all really the same news, except that the headlines are completely different. That’s kind of the trick you need to understand when you’re exploring partisan media.”
Tina Nguyen, CMC '11, sat down with Shiv and Skip to discuss her viral review of the Trump Grill for Vanity Fair (and the President's response), covering alt-right conspiracy theories, and her time at Claremont McKenna writing for all three on-campus student publications.
"At times of great reward or great fear, we have a shift. Our perception changes, and we're not able to see the facts. And I think health care is the classic example of that."
Robert Pearl sat down with Skip and Zach to talk about health care policy, price gouging in the pharmaceutical industry, the anti-vaccine movement, and fundamental problems with the culture of medicinal practice.
"Democracy is about disagreement, not agreement."
Jonah Goldberg sat down with Skip and Will to talk about American democracy, echo chambers, and the state of journalism.
"Even when I try not to write about home, it ends up in [my work]. Even in the inaugural poem that I wrote and read for President Obama’s inauguration. I thought that was just a poem about our country...the whole poem is about our yearning to come home to our figurative home, to come home to America, to finally belong under one roof. And I was like, 'darn it, there I go again. There's the home again.'”
Richard Blanco sat down with Elena and Zach to discuss his writing process, growing up Cuban-American, and building bridges through storytelling.
"[Artificial Intelligence] is really about augmenting that intelligence, that human capability. It's not about replacing humans, it's about this new partnership between man and computer."
Jay Bellissimo P'20 sat down with Kate and Shivani to examine the role of artificial intelligence in our ability to make complex decisions in the healthcare industry, the education system, and our own personal lives.
“I discovered all these people trying to beat the [stock] market by coming up with these flimsy theories. They’d ransack data, they’d find some correlation, and they would think it was real. That just fascinated me. And as I went on, it wasn’t just in the stock market, it's everywhere else. You find these people, they dredge the data, ransack the data…and they find these correlations which, on the face, don't make sense."
Gary Smith sat down with Bryn and Will to discuss the drawbacks of artificial intelligence, today's information revolution in the context of the industrial revolution, and new monopolies forming in Silicon Valley.
"We've lost track of the fact that a key set of our muscles are what we do with words...we need that engagement with that incredibly powerful part of our brain, our spirit, our thinking muscles, in order to shape the world together. So, from my point of view, the humanities and the liberal arts are fundamental to educating any person in a democracy for effective citizenship."
Danielle Allen sat down with Will and Christian to talk about teaching the Declaration of Independence to low-income night students in Chicago, the importance of criminal justice reform at the state level, and how the sophistication of the Federalist Papers reveals an undeniable intellectual decline in American society today.
"Overwhelmingly, the greatest threat to the United States today is internal."
Stephen Walt sat down with Bryn and Will to talk about the challenges behind evaluating cyberthreats, a potential pardon of Edward Snowden, and foreign policy in the Trump administration.
"Political rhetoric, political themes, political messaging can really change the world, change how people really see the world, change how people really understand the world. And so that's really inspired throughout my career to be very aware of the importance of politics and campaigning, not just for winning elections, but for changing hearts and changing minds and laying a groundwork for action."
Ron Klain sat down with Mel and Skip to discuss running debate preparation for President Obama, serving as White House Ebola response coordinator, and achieving change using the levers of power.
"What’s great about the IMF is that it’s an institution that is constantly evolving, and it’s constantly evolving because it’s job is to manage crises and crises tend to evolve." -Sean Hagan on Free Food for Thought
Will and Shivani sit down with Sean Hagan, General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department at the International Monetary Fund, to discuss the evolving role of the Fund.
This episode was edited by Skip Wiltshire-Gordon.
Sam and Zach sit down with Professor Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Kate and Melanie sit down with Professor Jo Scott-Coe to discuss her research and writings.
Salonee and Nick sit down with David E. Tolchinsky, screenwriter/playwright/director and professor at Northwestern University.
“The conservative movement as I knew it is really a finished project. It doesn’t have anything useful to say to the present moment… But the conservative disposition, the conservative impulse, that will always be part of the human brain.” - David Frum on Free Food for Thought
Sophia and Will sit down with David Frum, former George W. Bush speechwriter and conservative intellectual, to talk about the past, present, and future of the conservative movement.
"The middle class is shrinking -- we need to expand it. So that means we have to lift those on the lowest end." - Marianne Haver Hill on Free Food for Thought
Shivani and Skip sit down with Marianne Haver Hill, executive director of Propel LA, to chat about her work with MEND, the volunteer model, and the implementation of Propel LA.
“Make sure your education is opening your mind to new ways of thinking about things and that you will get a chance to be with people who oppose your values and the ways you think about things. I really do think that progress in this country will come from getting together because we are so polarized right now.“ - Susannah Wellford on Free Food for Thought
Melanie and Shivani sit down with Susannah Wellford, founder of Running Start, to talk about reaching across the ideological aisle and empowering young women both inside and outside of the classroom.
Amal Kassir on U.S. intervention in Syria: “Politics is exhausting. The United States’s responsibility, and I’m not talking about the leaders so much I am the people … our responsibility is to take care of the refugees and help the humanitarian situation. That’s someone who has lost hope; that’s my solution.” - Amal Kassir on Free Food for Thought
Will Frankel and Shivani Pandya sit down with poet and activist Amal Kassir to talk about Syria, the power of art, and what it means to be American.
Edited by: Michael Waters
[Ken and I are] talking about doing a history of crime and punishment in America -- it would go back to before the pilgrims came here, people coming here enslaved, [and ask] what are our notions of what is a crime? What is the proper punishment? What is the role of the criminal justice system? How has it evolved? We’re in a very bad place right now, and we have been for a very long time, and we have to try to figure out how we got here so we can get out of it.” Lynn Novick on Free Food for Thought
Skip and Shivani sit down with director and producer Lynn Novick to discuss her upcoming projects on Lyndon B. Johnson and crime and punishment in America.
“I do think there is a line [in free speech]. The line should not be 'I disagree with what you’re saying.' The line should not be 'what you’re saying is disrespectful.' The line should not be 'what you’re saying is obnoxious, or even offensive.' But I do think there is a line when someone becomes dangerous. And in that regard, you have to say, 'I don’t think that it’s responsible to present this person with a forum.'" Professor Jelani Cobb on Free Food for Thought
Shivani Pandya and Skip Wiltshire-Gordon sit down with Professor Jelani Cobb to discuss to contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King and free speech on college campuses.
“As a thought experiment, if I was in charge, I would create incentives for experimenting and for making mistakes. Because it turns out that every time that I made a mistake, I learned something! … But how can we get to a point where you are rewarded for taking the chances, for getting out of your comfort zone?” Professor Steve Kotkin on Free Food for Thought
Shivani Pandya and Nick Sage sit down with Professor Steve Kotkin to discuss higher education incentives in pursuing intellectual experimentation.
Professor Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, sits down with Wesley Whitaker and Shivani Pandya to discuss morality, decision-making, and the complex relationships between science and society.
"You [must] go out of your zones--you have people demanding things you don’t have, so you have to go out with people, to be with them, to belong to them, to understand them, and to help them, so it was a different role." -Valentino Deng on Free Food for Thought
Kate and Melanie sit down with South Sudanese education activist Valentino Deng to discuss his relationship with his home country and his approach toward education reform.
"To me success is waking up and feeling that you’re contributing to enlightening society--and that may be through the science I’m doing, it might be through the history I’m doing, it might just be through talking to people like I am here." Lee Dugatkin on Free Food for Thought
Nick and Connor sat down with Professor Dugatkin to discuss how his life and career built up to his new book, How to Tame a Fox (and Build a Dog). The conversation ranged from the history of science to the role of behavior in genetics research to his own scientific experiments in Siberia!
"I don’t think we’re necessarily destined to have a democracy, I think it’s something we have to fight for." Professor Michael Klarman on Free Food for Thought
Melissa and Melanie sit down with Professor Michael Klarman to discuss the role constitutional law played in the nation's founding and continues to play in politics today.
"I think we need to recognize that there are all sorts of things that might condition students bringing different levels of comfort to the classroom. Not just gender, but things like educational background, class background, racial background, that all of these things just inflect what it means to move through the world, like on every level in contemporary America." Leslie Jamison on Free Food for Thought
Shivani and Shiv sit down with novelist and essayist Leslie Jamison to talk about her take on personal narratives, teaching, and empathy in the writing process.
Kate Ridenour and Nick Sage sit down with Dave Rubin, creator and host of The Rubin Report, to chat about free speech, burgeoning media, and classic liberalism.
“People would say, ‘oh you’re crazy, no one can win.’ I say, ‘look, simple. If I have a choice of being hopeless like you or delusional, I’ll take delusional all day long. You can be hopeless, but I’m going to charge up this hill.”
Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and author of the 2008 TARP bank bailout, sits down with Zach and Melissa to discuss his role at the Treasury Department in 2008, what drives him towards public service, and reflections on his unsuccessful 2014 gubernatorial campaign.
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Kashkari on how he gained responsibility as a staffer in the Treasury Department: “But that’s how I proved myself to (Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson). I did a good job; I earned his respect and his trust. And then I got more responsibility. So the lesson from it is do your best in whatever is given to you. Deliver, and the people who you’re working for will see that and say “wow this person delivered. I’m going to give this person more responsibility…” so that when the financial crisis hit, (Secretary Paulson) turned to me as one of his key people.” - 4:35
“Ultimately when you are overseas you are dealing with people, and you’re trying to figure out what is it that lets them become human to you and what is it about you that allows you to become human to them.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter sits down with Zach and Shiv to discuss track-two diplomacy, cultural immersion, and his thoughts on success.
Biography:
Cameron Munter is President and CEO of the EastWest Institute (EWI) in New York. Ambassador Munter served as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer for nearly three decades in some of the most conflict-ridden areas of the globe. He was Ambassador to Pakistan (2010-2012) guiding U.S.-Pakistani relations through a period of crisis, including the operation against Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad. He was Ambassador to Serbia (2007-2009), where he negotiated Serbia domestic consensus for European integration while managing the Kosovo independence crisis. He served twice in Iraq, leading the first Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mosul in 2006 and then handling political-military affairs in Baghdad in 2009-2010. Munter graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 1976 and earned a doctoral degree in modern European history from the Johns Hopkins University in 1983. He was a Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy in 1991. He also taught at Pomona College from 2013-2015.
Quotes Preview:
“Inflection points are not always sharp breaks that you recognize. There’s a trend you realize I’ve done something well enough for long enough and yet if I’m going to do the next step of what I’ve got to do I have got to realize that’s not enough.” (3:23)
“What can i do to where I can continue to learn and to adjust and to find different ways of thinking? And I was drawn towards diplomacy. Instead of being a break from academia, it was for me the only way I could continue to be intellectually curious in the way that I had been before.” (5:24) : “People in Europe, who I knew, who were cultural snobs, will say: “McDonalds, you get the same thing every time. How gross.” Poorer people in Europe, especially minorities in Europe, have always told me “What I love about McDonalds is that it’s not snobby. They treat me as Nigerian the same way they treat you as American. And that’s what I love about America. OK, now you see this, you see how food plays this incredible role in understanding people's sense of self-worth or humiliation or motivation in politics. And I’m using food or drink as an example, but there’s any number of things you can look at.” (9:44)
“There’s a new style with Trump, but I think the changes in diplomacy are much bigger than just the changes in administration.” (12:54)
“People become very enamored with the idea of getting to a certain place at a certain time--promotions in a military sense, moving ahead. And yet, I know this sounds very Californian, but I’m allowed as a native Claremont-er, I’m allowed to say you have to make that decision yourself what you want success to be. Look hard inside yourself. What do you like to do? What are you good at? What makes you happy? When you do that, you are much more likely to be successful.” (23:22)
Election Reflection: CMC's Professor Jack Pitney sat down with Kate and Zach on November 7 to discuss the following day's election, his predictions, and teaching politics in today's political climate.
Biography:
Professor Pitney is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of American History and Politics at Claremont McKenna College, where he teaches courses on Congress, interest groups, political parties, and mass media. A leading expert on the structure and practice of American politics, Pitney is a widely published author or co-author of six books on American politics. Before he was a professor at Claremont McKenna, Professor Pitney was the acting director for the Research Department of the Republican National Committee and a Senior Domestic Policy Analyst for the U.S. House Republican Research Committee, among other important appointments.
“Sometimes lawyers confuse what they think is moral versus what the law says, and those are different things.”
Professor John Yoo, a deputy assistant attorney general in Bush’s first term, sat down with Kate and Skip to discuss his path to law school, clerking at the Supreme Court, and his role in the torture and war powers legal debate.
Biography:
John Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has been on the faculty since 1993. Yoo received his B.A., summa cum laude, in American history from Harvard University. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he worked at the Yale Law Journal. Professor Yoo clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on issues involving foreign affairs, national security and the separation of powers.
Quote Preview:
"I think in law you still have a connection to the great debates and the great ideas you are introduced to in college.” (5:00)
“[Clerking on the Supreme Court] left me with the idea of how important it was that judges constrain their role, that they try not to become philosopher kings who think it's their job to make and remake society as they see fit.” (6:00)
“Just because something is politically hard doesn’t mean we have to rewrite the Constitution or our understanding to fix it.” (9:40)
“That doesn’t mean that because members of Congress are politically reluctant that we have to therefore decrease presidential power.” (10:40)
“Members of Congress like to see the President take all the responsibility for the tough decisions in war, so they’re going to fund the military maybe even if they don’t agree with it because they don’t want to have to take responsibility for it.” (11:15)
“In a liberal democracy like ours, I think there is such a thing as freedom from politics.”
National Review Senior Editor Jay Nordlinger sat down with Zach and Bryn last week to discuss his "night job" as an music reviewer, new book on the children of dictators, and the role of politics and party affiliation in daily life.
Biography:
Jay Nordlinger is a senior editor at National Review and writes about topics ranging from politics to human rights to the arts. Originally from Michigan, Nordlinger attended the University of Michigan before relocating to New York. In addition to his journalism experience, Mr. Nordlinger hosts the Need to Know podcast and has written multiple books.
Quote Preview:
“I think you’re allowed to be an individual, and vote for the candidates of your choice, [and] argue for whatever position strikes you as best. You don’t need to be a member of a party. I must say I liked being a member of a party.” (2:30)
“Journalism gives you a license to be nosy and to act on your nosiness.” (8:50)
“Why do people do this? I’ve interviewed many, many dissidents - former political prisoners, political prisoners to be. Why do they stick their neck out this way; why do they risk so much? They usually can’t tell you. They just feel compelled. Why do they do things that they know will lead to their imprisonment and torture and possibly murder? Why? They can’t tell you. They feel compelled. They also think, 'If I don’t do it, who will?' They’re a special breed." (12:50)
“I’m for less politics on campus rather than more, myself. I think colleges should be places of learning, growing, discovery; there’s plenty of time for politics later. I don’t think there has to be politics on campus, and I say that as someone who is a political nut!” (15:20)
“I would also dart and anesthetize my baboons using blow gun systems, and there's a bunch of people in DC where I would love to put a big hefty dart in their rears, and maybe put in some ear tags and find out what's going on with their hormone levels.” | Professor Robert Sapolsky, biologist and neuroscientist, on the natural processes behind today’s decision-makers.
Sapolsky sat down with Shiv and Wes to discuss his path to neuroscience, human compassion, and effective strategies for talking about science in political and social terms.
Biography:
One of the preeminent neurobiologists in the world, Robert Sapolsky is a professor at Stanford University where he holds joint appointments in the Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery departments. After being raised in Brooklyn, he graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a Bachelors in Biological Anthropology and later went on to get his PhD from Rockefeller University in Neuroendocrinology. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship genius grant in 1987 and the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award. For decades he has been traveling to Africa every year to observe a group of baboons as part of his work on stress and gene degeneration.
Quote Preview:
“A large percentage of social mammals can be divided into what’s called pair-bonded species: they mate for life, males do a lot of child-care, females choose males who are good partners, there’s not a whole lot of aggression. Or tournament species: males are much bigger than females, and big sharp canines, ornamentation, they fight tons…. So what about humans? By every measure you could come up with from cultural anthropology to literally what sort of genetic diseases we have, we are halfway in between… and this explains like 90% of poetry and divorces... We are incredibly confused species in that regard.” (9:30)
“People have a lot of trouble imagining that whatever it is right now is going to change as much in the next ten years as whatever it was ten years ago.” (12:59)
“We have to not only not despair, but do everything possible to hasten the end of the political regime that was about to come in.” (13:50)
“If Donald Trump does not destroy the planet with some of his plans, he certainly is going to destroy research and science and a lot of medical work. I think that the cuts that he is proposing, the hostility he has to things like global warming, the hostility that he has to fact, to cause and effect, basically I think puts us all in great danger. But if you happen to be somebody that happens to traffic in truth and facts for a living, particularly so.” (14:02)
“We do weird things like invent sheepishness about status, or being embarrassed about the wealth we come from, or things like that.” (16:00)
“At a place like this, with really smart and really privileged people, who are gonna have all sort of options down the line, I guess the clearest thing I wish I had had hammered into me more is: get a really good sense if you can of what you’re gonna have to give up for your ambition, and is it worth it?” (18:39)
“The same fear and trepidation I saw in South Africa amongst the whites I see here.” | Timothy Wright '77 on Trump and contemporary America.
Wright, a CMC alum and lawyer, sat down with Zach and Melissa to discuss his path to CMC, time in South Africa, and insights about success.
Biography:
Since his time at Claremont McKenna College, where he played varsity football for four years, and graduated in 1977 with a dual degree in Economics and Political Science, Timothy has been exceptional. At the UCLA School of Law, he became the first African American Chief Justice of the UCLA Moot Court Honors program and was chosen to deliver the commencement address at the 1983 UCLA Law School graduation. At some point in his long career, Timothy worked in every branch of the United States government and worked for Presidents H.W. Bush, Clinton, and W. Bush. In addition to his work domestically, he also served as a legal participant on the U.N. Council for Namibia and was an international election monitor for South Africa’s first free elections in 1994.
Quotes Preview:
“I remember working here during the summer. ... I was ticketed and taken to jail and jumped on by 9 police officers --white police officers -- in Pomona and beat up and charged with assault. Ultimately they dropped the charges, but you know what that has an invaluable impact on one’s psyche and who one is.” (8:19)
"I got 7 siblings, I’m number 6, and I was the first to go to college.” (9:11)
“What I saw [in South Africa] were people that were willing to make a change. They knew that apartheid was bad.” (14:37)
“When they came to the table to talk, I saw the vestiges of apartheid that were like 800 pounds ... on the peoples’ back … and why they didn’t want to give up power, they were full of trepidation about what would occur … but they also knew that what they were doing was not good stuff.” (15:14)
"I think opiates elected Donald Trump," opines award-winning journalist Sam Quinones (22:40). Sam chatted with Skip and Kate, covering his career path in journalism, the opioid epidemic, Trump’s election and presidency, and border security.
Biography: Sam Quinones is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist and author of three books of narrative nonfiction. His latest book is Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic. Dreamland was selected as one of the Best Books of 2015 by publications including the Seattle Times, Boston Globe, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Before writing Dreamland, Quinones was a reporter with the L.A. Times from 2004-2014 focusing on immigration, gangs, drug trafficking, and the border.
Quote preview: “One day I find a series of stories over six months of people dying of black tar heroin in the town of Huntington, WV. That pushed a number of buttons. First of all, black tar heroin is only made in Mexico, and it...doesn’t cross the Mississippi river…[West Virginia] has the lowest percentage of foreign-born people of any state in the union, so what is all this black tar heroin doing in a state with no mexicans in quantities large enough to kill a dozen people in six months when they’d had one overdose in ten years?” (11:30)
“And then [law enforcement] says: “and [all the drug dealers are] from the same town.” And I come forward in my chair and I go “really? Which one?” I had this overwhelming surge of knowledge that there was a small town somewhere in Mexico where everybody came to Columbus, OH to sell heroin like pizza. It was just a matter of finding it.” (12:45)
“I think Opiates elected Donald Trump. One of the major facts of life in (the areas Trump won) is opioid addiction...Opiates bring with them a fatalism, a negativity...they create a feeling that things are falling apart....There is a dread of the future [in these areas]...he won because those counties swung the states they were in.” (22:10)
“The kind of climate that is being created in our country right now, I think, is going to negatively affect in terms of people coming forward and reporting those [human trafficking-related] crimes.”
Skip and Zach sat down Maria Trujillo, CMC alumna and Human Trafficking Program Manager at the Colorado Department of Public Safety, about her experiences abroad and the fight against human trafficking today.
Biography:
Maria A. Trujillo ’01 serves as the Human Trafficking Program Manager at the Colorado Department of Public Safety in the Division of Criminal Justice, specifically the Office for Victims Programs. In this role, Trujillo coordinates the efforts of the Colorado Human Trafficking Council. Trujillo spent the previous six years in Houston as the executive director of the non-profit organization United Against Human Trafficking, whose mission is to prevent and confront human trafficking by raising public awareness, training front-line professionals and empowering the community to take action. Trujillo graduated as an International Relations major from Claremont McKenna College in 2001. She obtained her master’s degree in International Communications from American University.
Quote Preview:
"Fear over immigration status) is a big way in which traffickers keep people under their control...” (6:00)
“People want to be heard and they want to know that you’re trying to appreciate their perspective and find solutions together.” (7:00)
“A shift in policy and administration doesn’t necessarily change that individual that you have a relationship with--they’re still the person that you can talk to and work out these issues with. It’s not them; it’s policy.” (13:23)
“Art and business are central to democracy. What does that mean?”
Author, artist, and entrepreneur Amy Whitaker sat down with Zach and Jackie to talk about the intersections of art, life, creativity, and democracy.
Biography:
Amy Whitaker is an author, artist, and entrepreneur who is currently an assistant professor of Visual Arts Management at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She teaches at the intersection of business, creativity, and everyday life and thinks that art and business are both vital to democracy.
Quote Preview:
“The whole idea that art has to be big and bold, to me, is part of the myth of artistic genius.” (5:10)
“Everyone was dealing with what I was dealing with, just in a different way… Most people had a duty-bound sense of being practical but also a creative life” (8:36)
“I basically explained the conceptual basis of the market economy to my classmates (at an art school).” (10:40)
“You go to college, you have to invest a lot in your education, you’re thinking about getting your money’s worth and a job after college, and I’m trying to say to people, you know what, all of us, our education, our careers, our lives - they’re all art projects. Like it or not, we’re inventing Point B all the time.” (12:35)
“If Leonardo da Vinci were alive today, what do you think he’d be doing?” (17:11)
“The polling industry is one of the most collegial. Like everything to do with 2016, there were conspiracy theories galore, and I can tell you because I know all these people, they were just trying their best to get things right. The idea that they were spinning the results to try to hurt or help a candidate is just ludicrous.”
Polling expert Larry Rosin sits down with Wes and Skip to discuss the nature of the polling industry and its role in the 2016 election.
Biography:
Larry Rosin is the president of Edison Research, which he co-founded in 1994. Edison is best known as the company that performs exit polls for all U.S. Elections for the National Election Pool (a consortium of ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the Associated Press). Rosin has been a primary force in building the company into one of the world’s most respected survey research companies, with a particular specialization in media and election polling. Rosin is a graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in Public and International Affairs, and received an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Quote Preview:
“If you think of voting behavior, it’s not that different than picking the toothpaste you prefer off the shelf or picking any kind of consumer product...Maybe the import of what you’re picking is different and at a higher level, but ultimately what makes someone pick choice A over choice B, I’d say that’s very similar, even if it feels wrong to compare it to choosing between packaged goods.” (4:30)
“On election day, we had a very strong sense by noon that it was going to be extremely close and [Trump] had a very good chance to win. No one else outside of the quarantine we set up would have known that early. ... After the data started coming in, we had Clinton winning Minnesota by 2, and we knew that she was in trouble in Michigan and Wisconsin.” (9:50)
“The other big factor about this election is that both of these candidates were extremely unpopular. Going back to the consumer goods example, if Coke tasted like swill and Pepsi tasted like poison, you would just not drink that stuff. But we had a huge number of people who did go out to vote despite disliking both candidates and that creates a certain level of volatility that is difficult for pollsters to nail down.” (13:50)
“There are these conspiracy theories that [pollsters] are somehow part of the fix. If we were, I wouldn’t be here with you guys today. I would sell out democracy, but my price would be so high that I wouldn’t be here, I’d be living on my private island somewhere.” (18:00)
“The agency had no problem having me working 12- or 13- or 14-hour shifts as an analyst, but would not allow me the opportunities to lead, because ‘my loyalties would be divided [as a mother]’.”
Fran Moore, a retired CIA senior officer, spoke with FF4T about her experience cracking the glass ceiling in the CIA, sorting though vast amounts of data in the internet age, and her personal definition of success.
Biography:
Fran Moore is a retired Central Intelligence Agency senior officer with 32 years of leadership and intelligence analysis experience. She served in a number of senior positions at the agency, including most recently as Director for Intelligence from 2010 to 2014. Fran now runs FPM Consulting, LLC, and serves on the board of Threat Deterrence Capital, guiding businesses that support US intelligence, security, and law enforcement needs.
Quote Preview:
“I was told, 'We think your loyalties will be divided between home and family and work, and we’d rather have someone who we know can give 100%.'” (2:10)
“If you think about how hard national security challenges are for the US, if you don’t have the smartest mind regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or creed at the table, you’re not actually going to be able to solve those hard problems” (7:45)
“The agency was out ahead in some respect for technologies that would allow us to sort through that data and bin it so that the most important information rose to the top. ... [However,] the deluge of volume [of information] has always outpaced our brilliance at those concept maps [for organization] to pull the most information forward.” (16:45)
“If you’re an expert on Russia or China, you know enormous amounts. Sifting all of that big head, that big brain, into the tiny thimble-full of the most important things you want to put in front of a busy policy maker that’s relevant and useful to the decisions they are making is tough.” (17:00)
“In business it’s all about mitigating risk and exploiting opportunity, well what intelligence analysis does is that tradeoff for policy rather than for the bottom line.” (18:10)
“When [one guy we tested] got these results he literally started crying. He said, “Now I know why I feel connected to these different groups. It really gives me a sense of belonging.’”
Spencer Wells, population geneticist and former explorer in residence for National Geographic, wants to create an app for people to discover their genetic makeup. Hear Wells’ thoughts on DNA sequencing, his Emmy award, and the future of consumer genomics.
Biography:
Wells is a population geneticist and former explorer in residence for National Geographic. He directed the Genographic Project, which tells the story and tracks the movement of humans since their origin. His other titles include adjunct professor at UT Austin, author, and entrepreneur: using his expertise to help and found consumer genomic companies.
Quote Preview:
“We’re so diverse as a species, different skin colors and hair types, and shapes of our noses and all these things. How did those differences arise? How do they connect us in some way?” (10:00)
“My latest company is called Insitome. We’re involved in trying to build what will become the app store for consumer genomics. The idea is that very soon everybody is going to have their DNA sequenced and it’s going to live up in a vault, but we don’t know everything about what all that material means yet."
“I remember we tested a guy who was originally from Colombia a few years ago but he was adopted by a Dutch family living in New York and had grown up in New York with a Dutch name. He knew essentially nothing about his background except for Colombia so we tested him. He had ancestry, of course from Native Americans in South America, but also European ancestry from several places, Spain and Italy, he had a Y Chromosome that was all likelihood from an Ashkenazi Jewish person, he had sub-Saharan African ancestry, and when he got these results he literally started crying. He said, ‘Now I know why I feel connected to these different groups it really gives me a sense of belonging.’”
Amnesty International’s Adotei Akwei sat down with Melissa and Shiv to discuss making human rights about human beings, the power of “click activism,” and his life path.
Biography:
Adotei Akwei is managing director of government relations for Amnesty International USA. Since 1988, he has worked with a focus on human rights and U.S. foreign policy toward Africa, working at CARE USA, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the American Committee on Africa, and The Africa Fund.
Description:
How can activists personalize human rights abuses to garner the attention of the world? Akwei discusses the influence of Nelson Mandela on his life path, the role of journalism and social media in exposing truth, the role of NGOs and government, and his personal definitions of success. He touches upon universal trends in human rights work as well as Trump's Muslim ban and the role of social media activism in this round of cabinet nominations.
Quote Previews:
“The power of journalism to make things very immediate is incredibly important. We at Amnesty do something like that. When the organization was founded in 1961, it was found to fight for the rights of individuals, and it wasn’t just that individuals were having their rights abused but it was also that it humanized human rights. Up until then, human rights were the work of governments - governments sign treaties, governments adhere to treaties, governments broke treaties - and the rest of us were just casual observers. And what Amnesty did, which is the most significant, was it made human rights about human beings - about individuals. And it made it very personal. “ (6:40)
“Social media, particularly Twitter, is the realm of engagement. May not be a good thing, but we can’t ignore it.” (10:40)
“This is where both the NGOs and the governments are failing: is that they see themselves as adversaries and I think that’s something we got to try to figure out how to get by, to get beyond.” (18:10)
Wes and Kate sit down with author and journalist Linda Hervieux to hear about her backstory and research on African-American soldiers in World War II.
In a “post-truth” era, how can we make sure to rely on credible information grounded in empirical evidence? Dr. Lee Jussim sits down with Zach and Wes to discuss the dangers of relying on unsubstantiated claims -- for example, how do we know that stereotypes really are inaccurate? -- and his journey from public housing in Brooklyn to the forefront of social psychology research.
Skip and Kate sit down with Cornell Brooks, President and CEO of the NAACP, to discuss his beginnings as a social justice advocate, racial progress made in the Obama years, and how to channel energy from the Women's March into a sustained political movement.
Skip Wiltshire-Gordon '19 sits down with Kim Munoz (Class of 2010) to talk about her time at CMC, the Silicon Valley Program, and her current work with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Check it out!
Shivani and Kate sit down with Brandi Hoffine, a CMC alum and assistant press secretary and spokesperson for the White House.
Shivani and Kate sit down with Michael Shear, White House correspondent for The New York Times’ Washington bureau.
Shivani and Skip sit down with Peter Wagner, Executive Director of the Prison Policy Initiative, to chat about prison policy reform and mass criminalization.
Shivani and Zach sit down with Eddie Huang, a celebrated author, chef, and restaurateur (among other things), to chat about conscious consumerism and food representation.
Kate and Skip sit down with Professor Jack Rakove, the William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies and professor of political science at Stanford University, to chat about his thoughts on pressing constitutional questions.
Shivani and Melissa sit down with Paul Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies, to talk about his work with oxytocin (the "moral molecule").
Nisha and Melissa sit down with Professor Stephen Macedo to talk about the future of marriage.
Lauren and Janine sit down with damali ayo to talk about her art and favorite forms of storytelling.
Shivani and Melissa sit down with human-rights activist John Prendergast to talk about peace in Africa.
Shivani and Lauren sit down with Naomi Tutu, daughter of Desmond Tutu, to talk about her work in race & gender in South Africa.
Melissa and Nisha sit down with Jinhee Park, award-winning architect, to talk about architecture in urban spaces.
Melissa and Shivani sit down with Senator Robert Hertzberg of the California State Senate to talk about leadership within government.
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Nisha and Melissa sit down with Edward Latessa to discuss misconceptions and effective solutions surrounding recidivism.
Lauren and Shivani sit down with Robert Whitaker, award winning journalist, to talk about mental health and psychiatric drugs.
Shivani and Janine sit down with President Michael S. Roth of Wesleyan University to talk about the value of a liberal arts education.
Janine and Lauren sit down with Professor Pardis Mahdhavi from Pomona College to talk about her research in Iran's sexual politics.
Janine and Nisha sit down with Chris Temple, co-founder of Living On One studios to talk about his new documentary: "Salam Neighbor".
Melissa and Shivani sit down with Professor Randall Kennedy from the Harvard Law School.
Nisha and Lauren sit down with Thomas Sanderson to talk about his work at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.