Curated Video
Historical Context
Author and independent scholar Pankaj Mishra warns us not to essentialize, urging us to place the notion of "Asian Values" in historical context.
Curated Video
Historical Ambiguities
Karl Gerth, Professor of History and Hsiu Chair in Chinese Studies at UC San Diego, muses on the question, When did “Modern China” begin?’
Curated Video
Harnessing a Crisis
Author and independent scholar Pankaj Mishra explores how finding ourselves in a prolonged societal crisis can force us to grapple with vital political, economic and environmental issues.
Curated Video
Grounding and Anchoring
Philosopher Brian Epstein (Tufts University) explains how his grounding and anchoring model of social ontology works.
Curated Video
Global Morality
Political scientist Mark Bevir (UC Berkeley) describes the inevitable moral questions that arise when taking global governance seriously.
Curated Video
Frozen Languages
Linguist Carol Padden (UC San Diego) explains how sign languages evolve just like any other language.
Curated Video
Freedom and Social Justice
Intellectual historian Quentin Skinner (QMUL) describes how egalitarian principles in Scandinavian societies might be said to provide greater freedom to their people .
Curated Video
Found In Translation
UCLA Chinese cultural studies expert Michael Berry describes how he launched himself on the path to becoming a Chinese translator by spontaneously contacting Yu Hua to translate his renowned book To Live, and relates the joys and...
Curated Video
Fostering Social Change
University of Michigan business professor Andrew Hoffman relates how, in order to promote societal awareness of climate change, we need social entrepreneurs to consistently make public links to related events to disrupt people’s common...
Curated Video
Flaunting the Laws
Legal scholar Emilie Hafner-Burton (UC San Diego) describes why the zone of applicability of human rights laws and treaties is so small.
Curated Video
Finding Your Niche
MacArthur Fellowship-winning luthier and acoustical researcher Joseph Curtin describes how he became a violinmaker.
Curated Video
Exploring Punishment
Legal scholar Nita Farahany (Duke) discusses the different rationales we have for criminal punishment, along with some alternatives.
Curated Video
Examining Networks
Political scientist Mark Bevir (UC Berkeley) describes a network form of social organization and governance.
Curated Video
Engaging the Media, Responsibly
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo (Stanford) discusses the importance of packaging key psychological insights so that the media can pass it on to society at large.
Curated Video
Embodiment
Linguist Carol Padden (UC San Diego), describes how sign language might afford new perspectives on the notion of linguistic embodiment.
Curated Video
Elite Capture and Societal Inequality
Classicist and political theorist Josiah Ober (Stanford) describes two concerns that were as important in ancient Athens are they are today: elite capture and political inequality.
Curated Video
Educational Value
Ben Nelson (Minerva) discusses how the educational value of his university and branding are linked.
Curated Video
Discovering Buddhism
Author and independent scholar Pankaj Mishra describes how, despite being born not far from where the Buddha lived and preached, he had to make a special effort to learn about Buddhism.
Curated Video
Dignity and Democracy
Classicist and political theorist Josiah Ober (Stanford) highlights the importance of dignity for a well-functioning democracy.
Curated Video
Digging Deeper
Historian Nile Green, UCLA, describes why the notion of a “Clash of Civilizations” between the West and the Islamic world is inappropriate, while describing how the model of “religious economy” can help us improve both understanding and...
Curated Video
Different Modalities
Linguist Carol Padden (UC San Diego), describes how gesture is used in both sign languages and spoken languages.
Curated Video
Denying Death
Poet and independent scholar Jennifer Michael Hecht describes how our modern society is “putting away death” and the negative aspects that has on community.
Curated Video
Democracy vs. Revolution
Political theorist John Dunn (Cambridge) contrasts the societal advantages of representative democracy with unpredictable revolutions.
Curated Video
Dangerous Purity
Historian Martin Jay (UC Berkeley) discusses how societal purification movements to eliminate truth often have terrible consequences.