March 1, 2017: Eric Bennett
Hosts Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller are joined by a remarkably talented scholar and novelist whose work, whether for academic or popular audiences, traces the role of both narrative and truth in public life, Eric Bennett.
Story in the Public Square: Season 1
March 6, 2017: Irvin Scott
Everyone who has ever gone to school has something to say about teachers, about schools, and about education in general. But is popular opinion—fueled, often, by myth and anecdote—as valid as the considered judgments of educators and researchers? To help us make sense of the education debate, we’re joined by educational leader Dr. Irvin Scott this week on Story in the Public Square.
February 6, 2017: Jonathan Alexandratos
How we play and how we teach our children to play are tremendously important narratives in public life. Jonathan Alexandratos argues that “toys are texts,” and we should read them with the same analytical eye we bring to books, movies, songs, and other media.
February 15, 2017: Marc Smerling
Politicians and voters may hate crime, but American audiences can’t get enough of shows like CSI or Law and Order. This week, we’re joined by Emmy-winning filmmaker Marc Smerling, who has intimately chronicled some of America’s most notorious criminals.
February 3, 2017: Dan Fagin
Science is simultaneously celebrated, ignored, and criticized in public life. In this episode of “Story in the Public Square,” hosts Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller sit down with Pulitzer-Prize winning science journalist Dan Fagin to better understand the power of science to explain the world around us, whether we like what it’s telling us, or not.
January 23, 2017: Lorén Spears, Christian Hopkins
One of the big stories of the last six months has been the protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline. This week on “Story in the Public Square,” two Native American activists talk about events on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation and the role of storytelling in native culture.
January 18, 2017: Tom Nichols
The United States finds itself in the midst of an information war with an old adversary. This week, national security analyst Tom Nichols will help us understand the contours of that conflict, the role of storytelling in it, and also the implications of what he calls “the death of expertise.”