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StocktonAfterClass

334 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 39 ratings

Ron Stockton was a professor of political science at the University of Michigan-Dearborn for 48 years. His specialty was non-western politics and political change. He taught classes on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Religion and Politics, the Politics of Revolution, Non-Western politics, and American politics. He also taught in the Honors Program, focusing upon foundational readings from the 18th and 19th centuries. He has an interest in religion and politics and in the role of religio-ethnic groups in the political system. The listener can anticipate talks on Arab-Americans, Jews, African-Americans, the Scots-Irish, and Evangelicals. He has lectured and written on American politics, public opinion, and voting behavior and on the role of religious organizations and ideologies in the political system. There will be occasional discussions of books and films that address serious issues. And he has lectured and published and even taught a class on gravestones, especially those of different ethnic and religious groups such as Muslims, African-Americans, Jews, and Native Americans. The goal of the podcast series is to provide analysis and commentary by a political scientist to explain and make accessible political, historical, and cultural developments in the United States and around the world, and to give the listener analytical tools to understand those developments. It is also to entertain the listener.

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Episodes

Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The Moral Giant, who created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

December 27, 2021 05:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MB

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was one of the three indispensable people whose actions saved South Africa from a violent transition when that country went to majority rule.  He created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an alternative to prosecutions and vengeance.  He also believed that the Black struggle in South Africa and the Palestinians struggle were very parallel.  He once said, we cannot be free if they are not free.  I hope you will find this podcast to be  morally challenging and...

A Christmas Gift For You. The Story of The Rudolph Song. With Commentary

December 24, 2021 02:00 - 7 minutes - 5.25 MB

This is the story of the song  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and how it came to be, with some commentary along the way by me.  I hope you do not find that distracting.  I forgot to mention that when this came out, we kids were a bit upset that the other reindeer were so mean to Rudolph.  We expected better of them.   But it turns out ok in the end.  In case you don't remember all the words, here they are.  You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donner and B...

A Christmas Gift For You. The Story of The Rudolph Song. With Commentary

December 24, 2021 02:00 - 7 minutes - 5.25 MB

This is the story of the song  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and how it came to be, with some commentary along the way by me.  I hope you do not find that distracting.  I forgot to mention that when this came out, we kids were a bit upset that the other reindeer were so mean to Rudolph.  We expected better of them.   But it turns out ok in the end.  In case you don't remember all the words, here they are.  You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donner and B...

Christmas Songs: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

December 21, 2021 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.43 MB

Christmas Songs:  Who?  What?  When? Where?  This is a discussion of the fifty-one most popular Christmas songs, when they were written, what themes they contain, and how the patterns of favorite Christmas songs changed over the centuries.  This is short, but you might find it an interesting approach to Christmas songs.  Please remember I am a social scientist.  I count things for a living.  I hope you enjoy this.  And don’t forget, “melekelekemaka is the island way . . . “  (And I hope...

Christmas Songs: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

December 21, 2021 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.43 MB

Christmas Songs:  Who?  What?  When? Where?  This is a discussion of the fifty-one most popular Christmas songs, when they were written, what themes they contain, and how the patterns of favorite Christmas songs changed over the centuries.  This is short, but you might find it an interesting approach to Christmas songs.  Please remember I am a social scientist.  I count things for a living.  I hope you enjoy this.  And don’t forget, “melekelekemaka is the island way . . . “  (And I hope...

Christmas Songs: Who? What? When? Where?

December 21, 2021 03:00 - 13 minutes - 9.43 MB

Christmas Songs:  Who?  What?  When? Where?  This is a discussion of the fifty-one most popular Christmas songs, when they were written, what themes they contain, and how the patterns of favorite Christmas songs changed over the centuries.  This is short, but you might find it an interesting approach to Christmas songs.  Please remember I am a social scientist.  I count things for a living.  I hope you enjoy this.  And don’t forget, “melekelekemaka is the island way . . . “  (And I hope...

Vatican II: The Catholic Church Transformed

December 17, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 53.9 MB

When John XXIII became pope in 1958, he was a compromise choice.  The powerful cardinals who wanted the job figured they could choose the elderly and sickly Cardinal  Roncalli of Venice.  They suspected he would not last long and then they could step in.  Little did they know that he would become one of the most significant popes.   John decided that the church had become stuffy and the windows needed to be opened to let in some fresh air.  He convened all the bishops to Rome to began a pro...

Vatican II: The Catholic Church Transformed

December 17, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 53.9 MB

When John XXIII became pope in 1958, he was a compromise choice.  The powerful cardinals who wanted the job figured they could choose the elderly and sickly Cardinal  Roncalli of Venice.  They suspected he would not last long and then they could step in.  Little did they know that he would become one of the most significant popes.   John decided that the church had become stuffy and the windows needed to be opened to let in some fresh air.  He convened all the bishops to Rome to began a pro...

Roe v Wade. The Mississippi Challenge Now Before the Supreme Court

December 06, 2021 15:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MB

   On December 1, 2021 the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Mississippi law that would effectively gut Roe vs Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.  This podcast discusses those arguments and some of the issues surrounding that case.  There is a discussion of Roe and also of Casey, the Supreme Court case that allowed modifications of Roe.  There is a discussion of some constitutional principles, of data on abortion, and of public opinion on the issues....

Roe v Wade. The Mississippi Challenge Now Before the Supreme Court

December 06, 2021 15:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MB

   On December 1, 2021 the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Mississippi law that would effectively gut Roe vs Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.  This podcast discusses those arguments and some of the issues surrounding that case.  There is a discussion of Roe and also of Casey, the Supreme Court case that allowed modifications of Roe.  There is a discussion of some constitutional principles, of data on abortion, and of public opinion on the issues....

Closing a Church. A unique and significant Dearborn congregation that was doing things that no other congregation was doing.

November 22, 2021 20:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MB

Closing a Church  Littlefield Avenue Presbyterian congregation has existed for 91 years.  On November 21, 2021 we closed the church building for good.  While the membership was fading, it was really the floods of 2021 that made the decision necessary.  In Presbyterian terminology, what happened is called decommissioning.  To Presbyterians a building is just a building until it is dedicated for a religious purpose.  It remains a religious space until it is decommissioned.  Then it is once ag...

Closing a Church. A unique and significant Dearborn congregation doing things no other congregation was doing.

November 22, 2021 20:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MB

ing a Church  Littlefield Avenue Presbyterian congregation has existed for 91 years.  On November 21, 2021 we closed the church building for good.  While the membership was fading, it was really the floods of 2021 that made the decision necessary.  In Presbyterian terminology, what happened is called decommissioning.  To Presbyterians a building is just a building until it is dedicated for a religious purpose.  It remains a religious space until it is decommissioned.  Then it is once again...

Closing a Church. A unique and significant Dearborn congregation doing things no other congregation was doing.

November 22, 2021 20:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MB

ing a Church  Littlefield Avenue Presbyterian congregation has existed for 91 years.  On November 21, 2021 we closed the church building for good.  While the membership was fading, it was really the floods of 2021 that made the decision necessary.  In Presbyterian terminology, what happened is called decommissioning.  To Presbyterians a building is just a building until it is dedicated for a religious purpose.  It remains a religious space until it is decommissioned.  Then it is once again...

From the Other Side of the Desk. Stories of Memorable Students.

November 21, 2021 13:00 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MB

Memorable Students  Did you ever wonder how life looks from the other side of the desk?  This is your chance to find out.  During my last semester, my wife suggested that I prepare two farewell lectures discussing my career.  One would focus upon Memorable Students, one upon Memorable People I have encountered.  This is the talk on Memorable Students.   This was a zoom lecture for my classes.  It was recorded on my computer so the sound is not perfect.  You may have to turn up the volume ...

From the Other Side of the Desk. Stories of Memorable Students.

November 21, 2021 13:00 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MB

Memorable Students  Did you ever wonder how life looks from the other side of the desk?  This is your chance to find out.  During my last semester, my wife suggested that I prepare two farewell lectures discussing my career.  One would focus upon Memorable Students, one upon Memorable People I have encountered.  This is the talk on Memorable Students.   This was a zoom lecture for my classes.  It was recorded on my computer so the sound is not perfect.  You may have to turn up the volume ...

Biography of a Graveyard. What you can learn from 829 gravestones dating back 16 decades.

November 14, 2021 01:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MB

Biography of a Graveyard  Back in 2001 I had just published a book and had no projects on my plate.  I decided to use part of my summer to create an inventory of all of the gravestones in my home town graveyard.  This is Horse Prairie graveyard in Sesser, Illinois about 500 miles south of Detroit.  It is a very lovely graveyard, surrounded by farmland and rolling hills.  It is where many of my relatives are buried  -- grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and now p...

Biography of a Graveyard. What you can learn from 829 gravestones dating back 16 decades.

November 14, 2021 01:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MB

Biography of a Graveyard  Back in 2001 I had just published a book and had no projects on my plate.  I decided to use part of my summer to create an inventory of all of the gravestones in my home town graveyard.  This is Horse Prairie graveyard in Sesser, Illinois about 500 miles south of Detroit.  It is a very lovely graveyard, surrounded by farmland and rolling hills.  It is where many of my relatives are buried  -- grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and now p...

Biography of a Graveyard. What you can learn from 829 gravestones dating over 16 decades.

November 14, 2021 01:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MB

Biography of a Graveyard  Back in 2001 I had just published a book and had no projects on my plate.  I decided to use part of my summer to create an inventory of all of the gravestones in my home town graveyard.  This is Horse Prairie graveyard in Sesser, Illinois about 500 miles south of Detroit.  It is a very lovely graveyard, surrounded by farmland and rolling hills.  It is where many of my relatives are buried  -- grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and now p...

Religion And Politics 11. Rerum Novarum. The 1891 Papal Encyclical that Pulled the Church into the Modern Age.

November 07, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 49 MB

Rerum Novarum For those of you who are Catholics, I have bad news for you.  There was a time in the 1800s when your church went over the edge, in terms of what you value today.  It renounced reading of unapproved books, it renounced what you would think of as education, it renounced curiosity, and it even renounced the existence of Germany and Italy.  (The pope had a vested interest in the non-existence of Italy given that he was the ruler of his own state, which got absorbed into Italy.  A...

Religion And Politics 11. Rerum Novarum. The 1891 Papal Encyclical that Pulled the Church into the Modern Age.

November 07, 2021 02:00 - 1 hour - 49 MB

Rerum Novarum For those of you who are Catholics, I have bad news for you.  There was a time in the 1800s when your church went over the edge, in terms of what you value today.  It renounced reading of unapproved books, it renounced what you would think of as education, it renounced curiosity, and it even renounced the existence of Germany and Italy.  (The pope had a vested interest in the non-existence of Italy given that he was the ruler of his own state, which got absorbed into Italy.  A...

Why Sexual Misconduct Investigations Go Wrong (Please read the introduction)

October 28, 2021 02:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MB

Some decades ago, I was involved in a church that had a destructive conflict.  Congregational and regional officials mismanaged the conflict in a way that escalated it.  The conflict went through an ecclesiastical court system. (Few members even knew such courts existed, much less that individual members could file accusations against other  members).  There were formal accusations, and counter-accusations.  Ultimately the conflict ended up in the civil courts.  The damage was deep and serio...

Why Sexual Misconduct Investigations Go Wrong (Please read the text)

October 28, 2021 02:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MB

Some decades ago, I was involved in a church that had a destructive conflict.  Congregational and regional officials mismanaged the conflict in a way that escalated it.  The conflict went through an ecclesiastical court system. (Few members even knew such courts existed, much less that individual members could file accusations against other  members).  There were formal accusations, and counter-accusations.  Ultimately the conflict ended up in the civil courts.  The damage was deep and serio...

Why Sexual Misconduct Investigations Go Wrong (Please read the introduction)

October 28, 2021 02:00 - 53 minutes - 36.5 MB

Some decades ago, I was involved in a church that had a destructive conflict.  Congregational and regional officials mismanaged the conflict in a way that escalated it.  The conflict went through an ecclesiastical court system. (Few members even knew such courts existed, much less that individual members could file accusations against other  members).  There were formal accusations, and counter-accusations.  Ultimately the conflict ended up in the civil courts.  The damage was deep and serio...

General Colin Powell. Some Reflections and Thoughts

October 18, 2021 20:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MB

General Powell was one of the great men of his age.  He could have been President.  He made one serious mistake in his career and it tarnished his reputation.  Every single comment on his life will mention it.  These are my thoughts.  Note:  Factual error. Sorry about that.   It was 1996 that General Powell announced that he would not be a candidate.  He had appeared ready to declare but then he backed off.  He would have been running against Bill Clinton who was trying for his second ter...

General Colin Powell. Some Reflections and Thoughts

October 18, 2021 20:00 - 18 minutes - 13 MB

General Powell was one of the great men of his age.  He could have been President.  He made one serious mistake in his career and it tarnished his reputation.  Every single comment on his life will mention it.  These are my thoughts.  Note:  Factual error. Sorry about that.   It was 1996 that General Powell announced that he would not be a candidate.  He had appeared ready to declare but then he backed off.  He would have been running against Bill Clinton who was trying for his second ter...

Four Fun Stories. Two about Halloween

October 15, 2021 18:00 - 15 minutes - 11 MB

These are four stories, just for fun.  I call them Bad Hair Day Crazy Lady on the Phone A Halloween Misadventure Gato's Halloween The stores are all ahead of the curve in terms of selling Halloween decorations so I figured I might as well get ahead of the curve with stories about Halloween.  I hope you like them. 

Four Fun Stories. Two about Halloween

October 15, 2021 18:00 - 15 minutes - 11 MB

These are four stories, just for fun.  I call them Bad Hair Day Crazy Lady on the Phone A Halloween Misadventure Gato's Halloween The stores are all ahead of the curve in terms of selling Halloween decorations so I figured I might as well get ahead of the curve with stories about Halloween.  I hope you like them. 

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 22. Suppressing Dissent.

October 12, 2021 22:00 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MB

Suppressing Dissent                               This is not an easy topic.  It was a lecture delivered to my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in November, 2020. It focuses upon how difficult it is to engage in serious discussion of the conflict and of how there are organized efforts to disrupt or silence debate.   One issue is that there are groups trying to define the word anti-Semitism in a way to weaponize it for use in political struggles.  That will require a different podc...

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 22. Suppressing Dissent.

October 12, 2021 22:00 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MB

Suppressing Dissent                               This is not an easy topic.  It was a lecture delivered to my class on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in November, 2020. It focuses upon how difficult it is to engage in serious discussion of the conflict and of how there are organized efforts to disrupt or silence debate.   One issue is that there are groups trying to define the word anti-Semitism in a way to weaponize it for use in political struggles.  That will require a different podc...

Religion and Politics 10. How a Pope is Elected

October 06, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 48.9 MB

How a Pope is Elected    This is a discussion of a papal election, with special attention to the election of John Paul II.   This was a classroom lecture and is an hour and ten minutes long.   There is a discussion of the ideological factions in the church, and the regional divisions.   The successful candidate is able to put together a coalition of votes that incorporates the ideological factions and the geographic divisions.  The candidate also has to be able to address the issues facing...

Religion and Politics 10. How a Pope is Elected

October 06, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 48.9 MB

How a Pope is Elected    This is a discussion of a papal election, with special attention to the election of John Paul II.   This was a classroom lecture and is an hour and ten minutes long.   There is a discussion of the ideological factions in the church, and the regional divisions.   The successful candidate is able to put together a coalition of votes that incorporates the ideological factions and the geographic divisions.  The candidate also has to be able to address the issues facing...

Why are Darwin and Evolution So Controversial, and So Politicized, in the US?

September 29, 2021 22:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MB

This podcast has two parts.  The first part is a discussion of the Scopes Trial of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.  Tennessee had passed a law restricting the teaching of evolution and a science teacher named John Scopes decided to challenge it.  The second part is a talk I delivered at a conference on Religion and Science.  Interesting Factoid:  Those who argue against evolution say that there is no way natural evolution could have produced the human eye, for example.  There must have been an "...

Why is Evolution So Controversial and Politicized in the US?

September 29, 2021 22:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MB

This podcast has two parts.  The first part is a discussion of the Scopes Trial of 1923 in Dayton, Tennessee.  The second part is a talk I delivered at a conference on Religion and Science.   There are references to the Leopold and Loeb Trial, Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, the Tennessee law regulating the teaching of evolution, John Scopes (who decided to challenge that law),  the Fundamentals of the Faith, H. L. Mencken, Nietzsche, Malthus, and the Bible.  There is also a discu...

Why is Evolution So Controversial, and So Politicized, in the US?

September 29, 2021 22:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MB

This podcast has two parts.  The first part is a discussion of the Scopes Trial of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.  Tennessee had passed a law restricting the teaching of evolution and a science teacher named John Scopes decided to challenge it.  The second part is a talk I delivered at a conference on Religion and Science.  Interesting Factoid:  Those who argue against evolution say that there is no way natural evolution could have produced the human eye, for example.  There must have been an "...

Why are Darwin and Evolution So Controversial and So Politicized in the US?

September 29, 2021 22:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MB

This podcast has two parts.  The first part is a discussion of the Scopes Trial of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.  Tennessee had passed a law restricting the teaching of evolution and a science teacher named John Scopes decided to challenge it.  The second part is a talk I delivered at a conference on Religion and Science.  Interesting Factoid:  Those who argue against evolution say that there is no way natural evolution could have produced the human eye, for example.  There must have been an "...

Why are Darwin and Evolution So Controversial and So Politicized in the US?

September 29, 2021 22:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MB

This podcast has two parts.  The first part is a discussion of the Scopes Trial of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee.  Tennessee had passed a law restricting the teaching of evolution and a science teacher named John Scopes decided to challenge it.  The second part is a talk I delivered at a conference on Religion and Science.  Interesting Factoid:  Those who argue against evolution say that there is no way natural evolution could have produced the human eye, for example.  There must have been an "...

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 21. The Palestinian Refugees of 1948. A Detailed Briefing. Third podcast of three on the Palestine War of 1948.

September 22, 2021 14:00 - 1 hour - 43.3 MB

The Palestinian Refugees of 1948 This is an extremely important topic surrounded by false narratives and inflammatory rhetoric.  I have put off preparing a podcast for some time, but not because it is sensitive.  I deal with quite a few sensitive topics.  It goes with the territory.  But in this case, a reason for my hesitation is that I have a written briefing document that is the basis of this podcast.  It is very thorough and is fully available to anyone through Deep Blue.  (See the sepa...

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 21. The Palestinian Refugees of 1948. A Detailed Briefing. Third podcast of three on the Palestine War of 1948.

September 22, 2021 14:00 - 1 hour - 43.3 MB

The Palestinian Refugees of 1948 This is an extremely important topic surrounded by false narratives and inflammatory rhetoric.  I have put off preparing a podcast for some time, but not because it is sensitive.  I deal with quite a few sensitive topics.  It goes with the territory.  But in this case, a reason for my hesitation is that I have a written briefing document that is the basis of this podcast.  It is very thorough and is fully available to anyone through Deep Blue.  (See the sepa...

Hannah Arendt. A Great Intellectual and a Controversial Woman. (Suggestion: Watch the movie, Read the book).

September 16, 2021 14:00 - 11 minutes - 7.86 MB

Hannah Arendt was one of the great intellectuals of the twentieth century.  She was a German Jew.   Some of her books were targeted to academics and other intellectuals but her book on Eichmann in Jerusalem was published in the New Yorker and achieved wide readership.   It also plunged her into deep controversy, if that is even an adequate word for the vilification she experienced.  Anyway, here are some thoughts on this amazing woman.  

Hannah Arendt. A Great Intellectual and a Controversial Woman. (Suggestion: Watch the movie, Read the book).

September 16, 2021 14:00 - 11 minutes - 7.86 MB

Hannah Arendt was one of the great intellectuals of the twentieth century.  She was a German Jew.   Some of her books were targeted to academics and other intellectuals but her book on Eichmann in Jerusalem was published in the New Yorker and achieved wide readership.   It also plunged her into deep controversy, if that is even an adequate word for the vilification she experienced.  Anyway, here are some thoughts on this amazing woman.  

September 11. Part II. After 9/11. A Talk to the Campus. A Talk to the Archdiocese. Reactions.

September 09, 2021 21:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MB

September II.  Part two.  September 13.  This is podcast two on the topic of September 11.  The first podcast focused on the day itself. This one focuses upon what happened next.  I spoke to a campus gathering.  I spoke to the Archdiocese of Detroit.  And I spoke to many people whose stories and experiences are reported here. 

September 11. Part Two. September 13 and Beyond. A Talk to the Campus. A Talk to the Archdiocese. Reactions.

September 09, 2021 21:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MB

September II.  Part two.  September 13.  This is podcast two on the topic of September 11.  The first podcast focused on the day itself. This one focuses upon what happened next.  I spoke to a campus gathering.  I spoke to the Archdiocese of Detroit.  And I spoke to many people whose stories and experiences are reported here. 

September 11. Part II. After 9/11. A Talk to the Campus. A Talk to the Archdiocese. Reactions.

September 09, 2021 21:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MB

September II.  Part two.  September 13.  This is podcast two on the topic of September 11.  The first podcast focused on the day itself. This one focuses upon what happened next.  I spoke to a campus gathering.  I spoke to the Archdiocese of Detroit.  And I spoke to many people whose stories and experiences are reported here. 

September 11. Recollections and Reflections from That Day in 2001

September 08, 2021 03:00 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MB

September 11.  Recollections and Reflections from 2001   Back in 2001 I was keeping a journal.  These are some things I recorded on one of the worst days in American history.   Two days later, on September 13, the Chancellor held a commemoration event on campus and I was asked to speak.  That will be a separate podcast.  Oops.  A glitch.  I said the 1973 bombing of the World Trade Center.  I meant the 1993 bombing.     Some films Fahrenheit 9/11 Flight 93 World Trade Center  

September 11. Recollections and Reflections from 2001

September 08, 2021 03:00 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MB

September 11.  Recollections and Reflections from 2001   Back in 2001 I was keeping a journal.  These are some things I recorded on one of the worst days in American history.   Two days later, on September 13, the Chancellor held a commemoration event on campus and I was asked to speak.  That will be a separate podcast.  Oops.  A glitch.  I said the 1973 bombing of the World Trade Center.  I meant the 1993 bombing.     Some films Fahrenheit 9/11 Flight 93 World Trade Center  

September 11. Recollections and Reflections from That Day in 2001

September 08, 2021 03:00 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MB

September 11.  Recollections and Reflections from 2001   Back in 2001 I was keeping a journal.  These are some things I recorded on one of the worst days in American history.   Two days later, on September 13, the Chancellor held a commemoration event on campus and I was asked to speak.  That will be a separate podcast.  Oops.  A glitch.  I said the 1973 bombing of the World Trade Center.  I meant the 1993 bombing.     Some films Fahrenheit 9/11 Flight 93 World Trade Center  

Religion and Politics 9: Abram Leon. A Marxian Analysis of The Jewish Question

September 06, 2021 18:00 - 1 hour - 53.6 MB

Abram Leon, The Jewish Question.  Abram Leon was a Jewish intellectual and activist.  He was a Marxist of the Trotskyite tendency.  He was also a Zionist.  He lived in Palestine for a time as a child but his family returned to Europe and he moved from Poland, where he had been born, to Belgium.  The Nazi movement plunged him into reflections on why there had been such tension around and hostility to Jews throughout European history.  He was not convinced that this was simply a matter of rel...

Religion and Politics 9: Abram Leon. A Marxian Analysis of The Jewish Question

September 06, 2021 18:00 - 1 hour - 53.6 MB

Abram Leon, The Jewish Question.  Abram Leon was a Jewish intellectual and activist.  He was a Marxist of the Trotskyite tendency.  He was also a Zionist.  He lived in Palestine for a time as a child but his family returned to Europe and he moved from Poland, where he had been born, to Belgium.  The Nazi movement plunged him into reflections on why there had been such tension around and hostility to Jews throughout European history.  He was not convinced that this was simply a matter of rel...

The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy. Introducing Mearsheimer and Walt, Two of America's Premier Strategic Thinkers

September 02, 2021 16:00 - 15 minutes - 10.7 MB

The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy  Back in 2007 two of America's great strategic thinkers wrote a book entitled The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy.  They were John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard.   This book, which was extremely readable,  became a sensation, as you might guess.   It even became a best seller, which is amazing for a book that is 484 pages long, including 106 pages of footnotes.  And it came under the predictable assault f...

An English Vacation in the Lake District: Meeting the Queen (well, almost), Visiting Wordsworth's Grave and a Stone Circle, and Climbing The Mighty Helvelyn

September 01, 2021 11:00 - 17 minutes - 11.9 MB

This podcast is just for fun.  It is about a vacation we took in England, in the Lake District.  We went with our dear German friend, Sibylle Laurischk.  It was a special vacation.  We met the Queen.  (Well, sort of.  She came while we were there and we were able to see her and Princess Anne).  We also climbed the mighty Helvelyn and avenged an earlier defeat when we had tried to climb it,  and failed.  We also learned the story of the Faithful Dog, who, as it turns out, was not all that fai...