On Shifting Ground

The idea of a “hungry farmer” should be an oxymoron. However among smallholder farmers in Africa for whom agricultural practices have not changed since the 1930’s, most do not produce enough to feed their families. Consequently every year they face what in Kenya is known as the wanjala—the hunger season—between when food from the previous harvest has run out and the next one is ready.

Join Roger Thurow for an exploration of the year he spent following four farming families in Western Kenya as they tried to dramatically change their farming techniques in an attempt to increase their harvest, and the challenges facing individual farmers striving to increase food production, as well as the macro-problems facing our global food supply chain.

Direct download: 6_26_12_Roger_Thurow.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Internationally acclaimed journalist and former member of the Brookings Task Force on US Relations with the Islamic World, Mr. Rami Khouri will analyze the complexities in Syria due to the convergence of three conflicts: the domestic battle for power between several government oppositions groups; the regional cold war spearheaded by Iran and Saudi Arabia; and the revived global struggle for influence in the region between the USA, Russia and China. Syria has become the main proxy battleground for these three conflicts. Events unfolding there also help shed light on the nature of the other citizen uprisings around the region, as they enter the middle of their second year in June.

Direct download: 6_20_12_Rami_Khouri.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

In order to ensure its economic development and survival, every country strives to secure and stockpile natural resources. Few countries are as aggressive with their resource campaigns as China. Join Dr. Dambisa Moyo, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Aid and How the West was Lost, for an in depth look at China’s unprecedented rush for resources and what it means for the rest of the world.

Direct download: 6_15_12_Dambisa_Moyo.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 1:00pm PDT

When President Obama came to office he was confronted with a world in turmoil. With two long standing wars, an economy on the brink of collapse, and unprecedented political polarization, Obama faced a set of challenges unique to American history. In his complex three and a half years as president, he has approached external threats with new technological tools and shifting global trends with alternative forms of American soft power.

Join Pulitzer Prize winner David Sanger for a discussion of his new book, Confront and Conceal, and an inside analysis of Obama’s idealism-turned-frustration, hopes for the Arab Awakening, pivot towards the Pacific, and efforts to retain America’s influence on the global stage.

Direct download: 6_14_12_David_Sanger.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

Lindsey Hilsum arrived in Libya when the fighting began and was there when Gaddafi was killed. During this time, she found Libyans of all ages opening up to her with stories of their lives that they were previously unable to share for fear of reprisal from the government. These were stories of torture, execution, loss, and of Libya’s slow decline under the Gaddafi regime from a country rich in oil and human resources to a political pariah on the world stage.

Direct download: 6_13_12_Lindsey_Hilsum.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

The top one percent of Americans controls 40 percent of the nation's wealth, and while those at the top enjoy the best health care, education, and benefits, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz argues they fail to realize that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live.

Drawing on his distinguished career in economics, Stiglitz will address America’s growing inequality and why, in his view, it is not inevitable. In an increasingly divided society, finding nuanced solutions to the most pressing global issues has become seemingly impossible; Stiglitz will examine this phenomenon and explore its implications for democracy, for monetary and budgetary policy, and for globalization.

Direct download: 6_11_12_Joseph_Stiglitz.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

In the age of nuclear nonproliferation policy, rogue nations seeking to develop their own nuclear technology, and an epic disaster in Japan, nuclear energy is a hot topic that many people are now familiar with. What many are unaware of is the story of what nuclear power could have been at the dawn of the atomic age. Join Richard Martin, Editorial Director at Pike Research and Contributing Editor for Wired magazine, for a thought provoking discussion about the history and future of thorium power.

Direct download: 6_6_12_Rick_Martin.mp3
Category:News & Politics -- posted at: 8:00pm PDT

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