Remembering Explorer, Scientist And Activist S. Allen Counter
September 17 2017
When Dr. S. Allen Counter died in July, the world mourned a man whose celebrated career took him on an unlikely journey, from the small town of Americus, Ga., to the hallowed halls of Harvard University via a remote Greenland village and the upper echelon of influence in Sweden. Dr. Counter was a neurobiologist, an ethnographer and a mission-driven advocate who spent the last years of his life leading the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. This week, we deliver a radio tribute to Dr. S. Allen Counter, a Renaissance man who guided generations of Harvard students and expanded the university's vision of community.
Guests
- David Evans, senior admissions officer at Harvard University and a member of the Harvard Foundation's Faculty Advisory Council.
- Dr. Bruce Price, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, chief of the department of neurology at McLean Hospital and also a member of the Harvard Foundation's Faculty Advisory Council.
- Cary Williams, a 2016 Harvard graduate and a former intern for the Harvard Foundation.
'Chokehold' Examines The Stifling Of Black Men By America's Criminal-Justice System
October 8, 2017
A chokehold is defined as a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air or blood from passing through the neck. Author, professor and former prosecutor Paul Butler says this term -- "chokehold" -- is also representative of the oppressive and strangulating American criminal-justice system and its treatment of black men. With such notions in place, how can society begin to move away from its learned fear of black men and a law-enforcement system that actively works against black men? Professor Butler and former prosecutor and criminal-justice activist Adam Foss discuss this deep-rooted bias against black men, how this discrimination has evolved over generations and throughout our country, and the true reasoning behind the #TakeAKnee protest movement in professional football.
Guests
- Paul Butler, author of " Chokehold: Policing Black Men."
- Adam Foss, criminal-justice activist and the founder of Prosecutor Impact. Follow Adam Foss on Twitter.
Octavia Butler's Sci-Fi Legacy Revisited, Reimagined
March 19, 2017
You've heard of Offred and Katniss Everdeen, but do you know Lauren Olamina? She’s the heroine in Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” and “Parable of the Talents.” Butler’s books call into question the notion held tight by many dystopian novels of today: The future is violent, oppressive and predominantly white. Octavia Butler, whose work earned her a MacArthur Genius Grant, had a different take on science-fiction – one that talks about race and community and a hopeful future. We discuss the recent resurgence and adaptations of her work.
Guests
- Nettrice Gaskins, afrofuturism scholar and the director of Boston Arts Academy’s STEAM lab. Follow Nettrice on Twitter.
- Claire Curtis, member of the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society and professor of political science at the College of Charleston.
- Damian Duffy, co-adapter of Octavia Butler’s “Kindred” from a novel to a graphic novel and adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Follow Damian on Twitter.
