Open Culture » Politics

Lawrence Lessig Speech Streamed Live Today

Dan Colman — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:42:23 +0000

A quick heads up…

Flumotion and the Open Video Alliance will be streaming a live event on Thursday, February 25^thfeaturing Lawrence Lessig, the foundational voice of the free culture movement. The 45-minute speech will be delivered live from Harvard Law School via Flumotion’s Streaming Platform, and will explore the relationship between copyright, fair use, politics and online video. The speech takes place at 6:00 PM local time (23:00 GMT) and [can be watched live here.]

Get more details from Flumotion here.

PS On a related note, TEDxNYED will stream talks live on March 6th. Speakers will include Lawrence Lessig, Henry Jenkins, Jeff Jarvis, Michael Wesch and others. Looks like a great event. Get more details here.

Lawrence Lessig Speech Streamed Live Today is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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The Science/Liberty Nexus

Dan Colman — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:11:02 +0000

You can’t get good democracy without science, and you can’t get good science without democracy. That’s why great political and scientific revolutions have historically gone hand-in-hand. It’s an intriguing argument that Timothy Ferris (UC Berkeley) makes in his new book, The Science of Liberty, and debates in an interview with Michael Krasny, aired last week on KQED in San Francisco. You can stream the interview below, or access it via mp3 or iTunes.

The Science/Liberty Nexus is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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Lessig on Political Corruption in America

Dan Colman — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:59:36 +0000

Public confidence in the U.S. House and Senate is at an all-time low, and, after last week’s Supreme Court decision, it’s bound to sink even lower. On January 19th (the day before the decision), Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig returned to Stanford and highlighted the degree to which “institutional corruption” — in the form of lobbyists and corporate influence — pervades Congress, dictates legislation, and brings large sums of money to campaigns and, yes, even representatives’ personal bank accounts. (Roughly 50% of U.S. Senators become lobbyists, working for industries they once assisted politically, and earn substantial incomes.) The talk, accompanied by a rapid fire PowerPoint presentation, runs a solid hour and details various instances in which lobbyists have shaped unfathomably bad legislation. Happily, the talk also ends with Lessig outlining possible solutions. Policy changes can offer some answers. But, a lot of it comes down to this: getting the passive privileged to rein in a corrupted elite.

Note: To see Lessig’s immediate response to the SCOTUS decision, look here.

Lessig on Political Corruption in America is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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Faith and Globalization: Tony Blair Teaches at Yale

Dan Colman — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:45:31 +0000

After he left office in 2007, Tony Blair went across the pond and spent time teaching at Yale. Exit Prime Minister Blair. Enter Professor Blair. During the 2008-09 academic year, Blair and Miroslav Volf co-taught “Faith and Globalization,” a course designed to help students understand the two intertwined forces shaping our world. In some ways, religion is the real focus here, and it is Blair’s argument (above, for example) that “If you cannot understand the world of faith, whether you are in business, or in public affairs, or in politics, then you actually cannot understand the world.” The full course can be accessed on Yale’s YouTube Channel, and we have also added it to our large collection of free courses from top universities. (Just look under the Politics and Religion sections.) For more information on this course, please visit Yale’s Faith and Globalization website and also be sure to access Yale’s Open Course initiative.

Faith and Globalization: Tony Blair Teaches at Yale is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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This American Life Demystifies the American Healthcare System

Dan Colman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:18:59 +0000

When the global financial system collapsed last year, This American Life and its sister program, Planet Money (iTunes - RSS Feed - Web Site) began doing something that few others could pull off. They took very complex problems and made them understandable, often demystifying difficult concepts in a reliably engaging way. Now, they’re at it again. This time, they’re breaking down the American healthcare system and getting at the core question. Why can’t we control ever-rising healthcare costs? That’s what the raging healthcare debate is effectively all about. And, if you want to be an informed participant in the debate, it’s worth listening to these two episodes that tease things out. The first episode, called More is Less, looks at doctors, patients, insurance companies and their tangled relationship. (Click here, then scroll down and find the “Full Episode” icon.) The second episode, Someone Else’s Money, gets you inside the world of drug and insurance companies and patients. Have a listen, and thanks to Bob in Brooklyn for the tip here.

This American Life Demystifies the American Healthcare System is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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A New Politics of the Common Good

Dan Colman — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:26:16 +0000

A quick heads up: The BBC is featuring a series of lectures with Michael Sandel (Harvard Professor of Government) that will collectively talk about “the prospects of a new politics of the common good.” Sandel is a very popular professor at Harvard. Some 15,000 students have taken his courses over 30 years. In the first lecture, Sandel takes a look at the morality of the markets (a timely topic, to be sure) and “considers the expansion of markets and how we determine their moral limits.” You can listen here.

Also, note that you can find another mini-course by Sandel on the Harvard website. Justice: A Journey in Moral Reasoning (Video) is one of the very few courses that Harvard has produced and made available to the public. You can find it otherwise listed in our collection of Free University Courses.

A New Politics of the Common Good is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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Free Presidential Biographies on iTunes: FDR and Beyond

Dan Colman — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:41:17 +0000

Thanks to PBS, you can now download from iTunes a four-hour definitive biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR guided the US through the Great Depression, then World War II, serving as president for an unprecedented four terms. The video podcast run a good four hours, and it’s part of a series called American Experience: The Presidents. Other presidents featured in this series include Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. You can watch more videos from The American Experience series online by clicking here.

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Free Presidential Biographies on iTunes: FDR and Beyond is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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Download Michael Moore’s New Film For Free

Dan Colman — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:00:44 +0000

Michael Moore is getting wise to the virtues of free/open culture. Starting September 23, you can download his new film – Slacker Uprising – via the web for free. The unfortunate rub is that this download will only be available to US and Canadian residents, and it will remain free via the web for three weeks. You can get more info and sign up to download the film here. Below, you can also preview the film, which (surprise, surprise) ties into the American election.

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Download Michael Moore’s New Film For Free is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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When Comedy Keeps American Politics Honest

Dan Colman — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:50:34 +0000

A rather sad commentary on the integrity, depth and sincerity of the American politics. But, it’s funny and it’s Friday, so here it goes. Take it away John Stewart (and thanks for the tip Larry):

PS Check out this WSJ article, The Biology of Ideology, which suggests that our political choices may be shaped by genetics.

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When Comedy Keeps American Politics Honest is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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The Future of Tibet: Does It Have One?

Dan Colman — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:25:01 +0000

In response to China’s vigorous crackdown on Tibet (see this photojournalism account), a group of experts were convened to discuss Tibet and its future. The panelists included Robert Thurman (famed Buddhism scholar at Columbia University), John Kenneth Knaus (Harvard University), John Tkacik (Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation), and Amit A. Pandya (Henry L. Stimson Center). You can listen in on the discussion here — MP3 – iTunes – Web Site.

On a related note, China shut down YouTube during its Tibetan crackdown, offering proof of a simple point made in MIT’s Technology Review: “Web 2.0 tools can seem at times like vehicles for the self-absorbed, but the fear that they inspire in oppressive governments is a powerful demonstration of how useful and vital they can be.”

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The Future of Tibet: Does It Have One? is a post from: Open Culture. Visit us at www.openculture.com

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