Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James Traub about education and democracy. They talk about the distinctness of American education, history evolving into social studies, the Classical model, and charter schools. They discuss the 1619 Project, “Wokeness” in schools, “Anti-wokeness” in schools, Hirsch’s core model, and many more topics.
James Traub is a journalist and scholar specializing in international affairs. He is a columnist and contributor to the website foreignpolicy.com. He worked as a staff writer for The New Yorker from 1993 to 1998 and as a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine from 1998 to 2011. He has also written extensively about national politics, urban affairs, and education. He has written many books, such as, True Believer: Hubert Humphrey’s Quest For A More Just America and the most recent, The Cradle of Citizenship: How Schools can help save our Democracy. He teaches classes on American foreign policy and on the history of liberalism at NYU Abu Dhabi and at NYU. He is a fellow of the Center on International Cooperation and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Substack: James Traub


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kathryn Paige Harden about the genetics of human behavior. They discuss how genetics research can helps us understand human behavior, responsibility, human reason and moral responsibilities, therapeutic relationships, and cooperation. They talk about Christian dogma for morals, nature and nurture, selfhood, eugenics and IVF, and many more topics.
Kathryn Paige Harden is a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she leads the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and serves as Director of Clinical Training. Harden received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Virginia and completed her clinical internship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She has been honored by the American Psychological Association for her distinguished scientific contributions to the study of genetics and human individual differences. She has published over 150 scientific papers on the nature and nurture of human behavior. She is also the author of two books: The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality and Original Sin: On the genetics of vice, the problem of blame, and the future of forgiveness.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Uğur Ümit Üngör about genocides and the recent Syrian Civil War. They define genocide, buildup to genocide, and the Armenian genocide. They also talk about the Syrian gulags, different types of Syrian intelligence agencies and prisons, Tadamon massacre, Syria’s transition government and future, and many more topics.
Uğur Ümit Üngör is Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Amsterdam and NIOD. His main areas of interest are the global history and sociology of genocide and mass violence, with a particular focus on the modern and contemporary Middle East. He has written many books including, Genocide: New Perspectives on its Causes, Courses, Consequences, Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk Seizure of Armenian Property, The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950, and The Syrian Gulag.
Website: https://www.ungor.nl/


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Ini this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daniel Neep about a modern history of Syria. They discuss internal and external divisions in Syria, various ethnic and religious communities in Syria, Bilad al-Sham, Tanzimat reforms, Kingdom of Syria, and French rule. They discuss military rule, Ba’ath Party, Nasser and United Arab Republic, 30 years of Hafez al-Assad, 24 years of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s future, and many more topics.
Daniel Neep is Senior Editor at Arab Center Washington DC and a non-resident fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. He has taught Middle East politics at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and the University of Exeter, and was previously Syria research director with the Council for British Research in the Levant. He is the author of the latest book, Syria: A Modern History.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ken Feder about Native America and First Peoples. They talk about the various labels for Native Americans, land acknowledgements and Columbus Day. They discuss the earliest origin date for First Peoples coming to America, White Sands, human adaptations, diverse nation groups, infighting among nations, genocide and schools, and many more topics.
Kenneth Feder is professor emeritus of anthropology at Central Connecticut State University. His books include Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology, The Past in Perspective: An Introduction to Human Prehistory, Native American Archaeology in the Parks: A Guide to Native Heritage Sites in Our National Parks and Monuments, and the most recent, Native America: The Story of the First Peoples.


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