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Faculty Podcasts
The Brown Alumni Association is pleased to offer selected Meeting of the Minds/faculty speakers presentations for you to enjoy at your convenience.
The BAA would like to thank our colleagues in Advancement Information Services for capturing these events.
Podcast Topics:
- America’s Continuing Problem with Evolution - Professor Kenneth Miller ’70
- The Quantum Mechanics of Global Warming - Professor Brad Marston
- The Story of Global Health at Brown - Dean Edward J. Wing
- The Continuing, Growing Financial Crisis - Professor Ross Levine
- Navigating the Ever-Changing Landscape of College Admissions - Dean James Miller ’73
- Architecture of the Night - Professor Dietrich Neumann
- Recounting and Forecasting Election 2008 - Assistant Professor Jennifer Lawless
- Democratic Rights - Associate Professor Corey Brettschneider
- Saints and Sinners in American Politics - Professor James Morone
- Election 2008 - Professor Darrell West
- Race, Immigration Reform and the 2008 Election - Associate Professor Matthew Garcia
- Brown's Impact on the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Kenya - Assistant Professor E. Jane Carter
- Intellectual Diversity and the Essence of Brown - Professor John Tomasi
- Using 3D X-Ray Video to Visualize Bones and Joints in Motion - Professor Elizabeth Brainerd
- Children At Play: An American History - Professor Howard Chudacoff
- How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President - Visiting Fellow Lincoln D. Chafee ’75
- Mass Incarceration and American Ideals - Professor Glenn Loury
- Reflections on Brown's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice - Associate Professor James Campbell
These lectures are presented as part of the intellectual discourse that characterizes Brown's commitment to learning through an open dialogue of diverse opinions. The opinions of the speaker are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Brown University or the Brown Alumni Association.
Darwin, God, and Design - America’s Continuing Problem with Evolution
Kenneth Miller ’70, Professor of Biology
Is it time to replace “Darwinism” with ideas like “intelligent design” or, at the very least, to introduce criticisms of evolution into our educational system? In this presentation Kenneth Miller ’70, professor of biology, assessed the state of this conflict in America today and suggested ways in which the scientific and educational communities can respond.
Watch video of Professor Miller’s remarks at Brown Reunion Weekend on May 23, 2009.
The Quantum Mechanics of Global Warming
Brad Marston, Professor of Physics
Quantum mechanics plays a crucial, albeit often overlooked, role in determining the Earth’s climate. Brad Marston, professor of physics, presents a simple physical picture of what will happen to the Earth as the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide continue to increase.
Watch video of Professor Marston’s remarks to the Brown University Club of Central New Jersey on March 7, 2009.
Changing the World: The Story of Global Health at Brown
Edward J. Wing, Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences
Dean Edward Wing described how Brown faculty and students are changing the world today, and his vision of the future of global health at Brown. A veteran of international medicine, Dr. Wing talked about programs in Kenya, the Dominican Republic, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Russia that provide direct care to patients while offering educational opportunities.
Watch video of Dean Wing’s remarks to the Brown Club of Rhode Island on April 22, 2009.
The End of the Beginning: The Continuing, Growing Financial Crisis
Ross Levine, Professor of Economics
The financial crisis has affected world financial markets and is likely to have acute and enduring implications. In this presentation, Ross Levine describes the current state of affairs, offers some thoughts about where things are headed, and discusses options available to the Obama Administration.
Ross Levine is director of the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, housed at the Watson Institute. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a frequent consultant at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He is editor of the Journal of Financial Intermediation and associate editor of the Journal of Economic Growth. He received his PhD in economics from UCLA.
Watch video of Professor Levine’s remarks to the Brown University Club of Boston on January 31, 2009.
(1 hr 20 mins)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
On the Inside Track: Navigating the Ever-Changing Landscape of College Admissions
James Miller ’73, Dean of Admission
Dean of Admission James Miller ’73 addresses many of the recent changes in the college admissions process. Gender balance, shifts in geographic representation, the elimination of early admissions at select institutions, the role of alumni volunteers, and changes in financial aid policies are some of the topics covered.
James Miller was previously dean of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College, and director of financial aid at Harvard University. Miller has an A.B. in American history from Brown and a master’s degree in communications from Michigan State University.
Watch video of Dean Miller’s remarks to the Brown University Club of New York on September 20, 2008.
(70 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Architecture of the Night
Dietrich Neumann, Professor, History of Art and Architecture
Dietrich Neumann, professor of history of art and architecture, explores the history of architectural illumination since the introduction of electric light as a "new building material," showing both historic and contemporary examples and discussing the interesting theoretical debates that accompanied this development.
Professor Neumann studied Architecture at the Technical University in Munich, and at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. He came to Brown in 1989. His research concentrates mostly on late 19th and early 20th Century Architecture. He has published on the history of building materials, German skyscrapers of the 1920s and the history of film set design and architectural illumination, as well as curated a number of exhibitions.
Watch video of Professor Neumann’s remarks to the Brown Club of Columbus on October 4, 2008.
(44 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Fourteen Months Down, 72 Days to Go: Recounting and Forecasting Election 2008
Jennifer Lawless, Assistant Professor, Political Science and Public Policy
The 2008 presidential election is truly a landmark race. The winner will shape U.S. foreign and domestic policy for generations, appoint at least one Supreme Court justice (probably two), and face challenges like the housing crisis, health care reform, Social Security solvency, and the war in Iraq. But the road to the White House has been no easy path this year. What role did the media play in shaping the current landscape? What can we expect over the next 30 days? How will the next president navigate taking office following the lowest approval ratings any U.S. president has ever seen? In this presentation, Jennifer Lawless examines the dynamics of the 2008 election, highlighting the good, the bad, and the ugly, and she will assess the prospects for victory and governing for each candidate.
A nationally-recognized expert on women’s involvement in politics, Jennifer Lawless has published articles in various political science journals and has issued a policy report on the barriers that oftentimes preclude Americans from running for office.
Watch video of Professor Lawless’ remarks to the Brown Club of Fairfield County on August 24, 2008.
(51 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Democratic Rights
Corey Brettschneider, Associate Professor of Political Science
In this talk, Corey Brettschneider offers an alternative to the traditional divide between procedural theories of democracy and substantive theories of justice. He argues that democracy itself is fundamentally about a core set of values: political autonomy, equality of interests, and reciprocity with both procedural and substantive implications. He contends that what are often thought of as distinctly liberal substantive rights to privacy, property, and welfare can be newly understood within a theory of democracy.
Corey Brettschneider teaches courses in political theory and public law. He has also been appointed Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard Law School for the Winter Term 2009. Brettschneider received a PhD in Politics from Princeton University and a JD from Stanford University.
Watch video of Professor Brettschneider’s remarks to the Brown Club of Rhode Island on August 16, 2008.
(32 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Hellfire Nation: Saints and Sinners in American Politics
James Morone, Professor of Political Science
The American Constitution firmly separates church and state. Yet religion lies at the heart of American politics. How did America become a nation with the soul of a church? In this talk, Professor James Morone shows how religious and moral fervor ignites our fiercest social conflicts -- and how it moves dreamers to fight for social justice. Moral crusades inspired abolition, women’s suffrage and civil rights even as they led Americans to hang witches, enslave Africans and ban liquor. Today, moral arguments touch everything from the Iraq War to the electric campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama.
Morone has been on the faculty of Yale University, The University of Chicago, and the University of Bremen in Germany. His first book, The Democratic Wish, was named a “notable book of 1991” by the New York Times and won the Political Science Association’s Kammerer Award for the best book on the United States. His most recent book, Hellfire Nation: the Politics of Sin in American History was nominated for a Pulitzer prize.
Watch video of Professor Morone’s remarks to the Rocky Mountain Brown Club on May 31, 2008.
(50 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Election 2008
Darrell West, Professor of Political Science
Darrell West has been at Brown since 1982 and recently left the University to become vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. Professor West has been a valued presence in the Rhode Island media for many years with his insightful political commentary. In this talk, and subsequent conversation, he describes Election 2008 as an important turning point in American history and shares his prediction of the election results.
West was the Director of Brown’s Taubman Center for Public Policy and Department of Political Science and John Hazen White Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Political Science. West specializes in technology policy, electronic government mass media, and elections. He is the developer of the website, InsidePolitics.org, which features in-depth information on state and national politics.
Watch video of Professor West’s remarks to the Brown Club of Rhode Island on June 4, 2008.
(44 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Race, Immigration Reform and the 2008 Election
Matthew Garcia, Associate Professor of American Civilization, Ethnic Studies and History
Recent discussions about U.S. immigration legislation reflect, in part, the dependence of the U.S. economy on Mexican labor. Both President George W. Bush and former Mexican President Vicente Fox have articulated a solution that involves a temporary guest worker program for Mexican workers. Such a program existed from 1942-1964, known then as the Bracero Program. Professor Matthew Garcia is currently working with the Smithsonian Institution and the Center for History and New Media to create a web-based oral history archive and traveling exhibition about the Bracero program. In this presentation, Professor Garcia discusses this history and reflects on proposals for immigration reform in Congress leading up to the 2008 Elections.
Garcia has also served as the Interim Director for the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. His research interests include Chicano/Latino identity and community formation, race and ethnicity in the U.S, labor history, Latina/o education, American popular culture, and urban/suburbanization.
Watch video of Professor Garcia’s remarks at Alumni Of Color Campaign Kickoff in New York City on April 9, 2008.
(36 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Many Hands, One Dream: Brown's Impact on the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Kenya
E. Jane Carter, Assistant Professor of Medicine
In this presentation, Dr. E. Jane Carter describes in vivid and captivating detail the efforts of the Brown/Kenya program, and its impact on the HIV/AIDS Crisis.
The Brown/Kenya Program began in 1996 and Brown has been an integral part of the ASSANTE Consortium. Brown faculty, residents and medical students do 1-2 month rotations staffing the wards and teaching at the medical school during 2 dedicated months yearly and on an ongoing basis. Brown also hosts Kenyan medical students, physicians and public health professionals for advanced training. In addition to the exchange, Brown is involved in research programs and public health disease identification, treatment and control efforts including the development of AMPATH, the largest HIV care program in East Africa. Many program participants are actively engaged in the provision of medical supplies, programmatic support and significant philanthropic contributions.
Watch video of Professor Carter’s remarks to the Brown Club of Rhode Island on May 14, 2008.
(35 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Intellectual Diversity and the Essence of Brown
John Tomasi, Associate Professor of Political Science
Professor John Tomasi is Director of the Political Theory Project - a vibrant new research center at the University. The mission of the Political Theory Project (PTP) is to broaden and deepen the discussion of social and political issues at Brown University. He believes students at America’s colleges and universities need exposure to a full range of opinions and viewpoints to establish their own independent thinking about fundamental political questions. The PTP creates intellectual spaces on campus where students of good faith and diverse viewpoints can gather to debate one another, freely and passionately, about the most pressing political problems of our day.
Tomasi received his B.A. from Colby College, his M.A. from the University of Arizona, and his B. Phil., D. Phil. from Oxford University. He has had previous appointments at Princeton University and Stanford University. His specializations are political theory and ethics and public policy.
Watch video of Professor Tomasi’s remarks to the Brown Club of France on May 27, 2008.
(23 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Using 3D X-Ray Video to Visualize Bones and Joints in Motion
Elizabeth Brainerd, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Brown University researchers are creating a technology that will allow doctors and scientists to do the seemingly impossible: see inside living humans and animals and watch their bones move in 3-D as they run, fly, jump, swim and slither. This high-resolution, high-speed imaging system will contribute to better treatments for knee, shoulder, wrist and back injuries and help scientists understand the evolution of complex movements, from the flight of birds to the leap of frogs. Professor Elizabeth Brainerd is overseeing development of the new system.
Brainerd came to Brown in 2005. She has an A.B. in Biology and a Ph.D in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard.
Watch video of Professor Brainerd’s remarks to the Brown Club of Southern California on March 9, 2008.
(62 minutes)
Please note, audio distortions in the beginning of this podcast are remedied after approx. 5 minutes
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Children At Play: An American History
Howard Chudacoff, Professor of American History and Urban Studies
Professor Howard Chudacoff’s new book, Children At Play: An American History, has been featured twice in The New York Times and has generated considerable debate on radio talk shows across the country. Focusing on the tensions between what adults wanted children to do and what children wanted to do for themselves, Chudacoff traces the history of how children have played and raises questions about how much freedom children have had, and should have, in their play.
Chudacoff has been a member of the Brown faculty since 1970. He is now George L. Littlefield Professor of American History and Professor of Urban Studies. His other books include How Old Are You? Age Consciousness in American Culture; The Age of the Bachelor: Creating an American Subculture; and The Evolution of American Urban Society. He also is co-author of the U.S. history text, A People and a Nation, now in its 8th edition.
Watch video of Professor Chudacoff’s remarks to the Brown Club of Oregon on March 27, 2008.
Lecture(34 minutes):
Q & A (22 minutes):
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Mass Incarceration and American Ideals
Glenn Loury, Professor of Economics
In this presentation, Professor Glenn Loury argues that Americans should recognize a kind of social responsibility for the massive expansion of the incarceration complex in American life over the past two generations. Society at large is implicated in the wrongful acts freely chosen by individual persons, because we have acquiesced in - perhaps actively supported, through our taxes and votes, words and deeds - arrangements which shape his consciousness and sense of identity in such a way that the choices he makes, which we may condemn, are nevertheless an entirely understandable response to circumstance.
Loury has contributed to a variety of areas in applied microeconomic theory: welfare economics, game theory, industrial organization, natural resource economics, and the economics of income distribution. His essays and reviews on racial inequality and social policy have appeared in journals of public affairs in the U.S. and abroad.
Watch video of Professor Loury’s remarks to the Brown club of Boston on March 13, 2008.
Lecture (55 minutes):
Q & A (20 minutes):
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President
Lincoln D. Chafee ’75, Visiting Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies
Former Senator Lincoln D. Chafee ’75, distinguished visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, delivers a multifaceted discussion on his experiences over seven years in the U.S. Senate. The presentation includes Senator Chafee’s perspectives on the following major political occurrences during this seven-year period; the vote to go to war in Iraq, Bush’s tax cut program, the 2004 election and the return of Congress to a Democratic majority.
Chafee served two terms on the Warwick City Council, was elected Mayor of the City four times, and was appointed to fill the unexpired term of his father, the late Senator John H. Chafee. During his term in the U.S. Senate, he was a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.
Watch video of Former Senator Chafee’s remarks to the Brown University Club in New York on March 6, 2008.
Lecture (41 minutes):
Q & A (18 minutes):
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
'A Long Time Ago': Reflections on Brown's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice
James Campbell, Associate Professor of American Civilization, Africana Studies and History
In 2003, Brown University President Ruth Simmons appointed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice to investigate the University’s historical relationship to slavery and the slave trade. The committee was also charged to organize public programs that would help the Brown community reflect in a serious, sustained way about the complex historical, political, legal and moral questions that this history raises. The committee presented its final report to President Simmons and the Brown community in October 2006.
In this presentation, Professor James Campbell, who chaired the Steering Committee, discusses the committee’s findings and entertains questions, comments, criticisms, and suggestions about its work. The final report is available online, along with an archive of historical documents and video excerpts of committee-sponsored programs.
Campbell received a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Yale University. His research focuses on African American history and the wider history of the Black Atlantic. His most recent book, Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005, was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in History. In 2009, James T. Campbell returned to his alma mater, Stanford University, as the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in United States History.
Watch video of Professor Campbell’s remarks to the Brown Club of Georgia on January 31, 2007.
Segment 1: Why the Committee was created; its goals (16 minutes)
Windows Media | QuickTime | iPod Download (191 MB)
Segment 2: Overview of the Committee's work and discoveries (11 minutes)
Windows Media | QuickTime | iPod Download (135 MB)
Segment 3: Voyage of the slave ship "Sally"; conclusions (19 minutes)
Windows Media | QuickTime | iPod Download (228 MB)
About the BAA Podcasts
The BAA would like to thank our colleagues Bandith Vorasane, Senior Web Designer, and Stephen Crocker, Video & Web Content Editor in Advancement Information Services for capturing these events.
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