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.
When Comedy Keeps American Politics Honest
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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Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show” Now Online: 1999 — Present
The Future of Tibet: Does It Have One?
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.”
History, Power and our Global Society
Here’s a new, free course from Stanford University. Taught by James Sheehan, the History of the International System (iTunes) offers a historical view of international politics in the 20th century, exploring how international players have attempted to project their will and protect their interests, all while negotiating fluid and not always manageable external forces. The course looks back at communism, fascism and liberalism, then moves through the Cold War to the present day, and ends with current events in Iraq. An important historian and one of Stanford’s finest lecturers, Sheehan was recently President of the American Historical Association. So far four lectures have been posted (see here), and there will be more to come.
NOTE: This course has been added to our collection of Free Online Courses, where you can find about 120 top-notch courses.
David Mamet on Politics
His essay appearing in The Village Voice: Why I Am No Longer a ‘Brain-Dead Liberal’
Samantha Power & the Obama Controversy
It’s rare that professors find themselves at the center of a political firestorm. But that’s where Samantha Power, Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard, found herself last week when, during an off-the-record conversation with a reporter, she referred to Hillary Clinton as a “monster” and then had to resign as senior foreign policy to adviser to Barack Obama.
Until then, Power had been riding a big wave of success. Only 37 years old, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her first book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. She’s also now promoting her second book, Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World. (Watch a clip from the book tour here). And until this high profile slip-up, she was clearly helping shape Obama’s foreign policy. You can hear Power’s influence in how Obama answered the highly publicized question last summer — would you, as president, negotiate directly with Iran’s Ahmadinejad? (He said yes.) Power’s thinking on international diplomacy gets articulated fairly well in this lengthy interview. Below, we’ve also posted a clip (from FORA.tv) of Power speaking about Obama and the question of negotiating with enemies. (Get the full talk here.)
The Dearth of Conservative Professors Explained
Liberals outnumber conservatives in the academy. That’s a known fact. What explains this divergence? Some have attributed it to liberals creating a hostile environment for conservatives. But new research calls that view into question and offers an intriguing alternative explanation.
As described in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Matthew Woessner (a conservative academic) and April Kelly-Woessner (a liberal academic) looked at surveys completed by 15,569 college seniors, and what an analysis of the data suggests is that “the personal priorities of those on the left are more compatible with pursuing a Ph.D.” “Liberalism is more closely associated with a desire for excitement, an interest in creative outlets, and an aversion to a structured work environment. Conservatives express greater interest in financial success and stronger desires to raise families. From this perspective, the ideological imbalance that permeates much of academia may be somewhat intractable.” Or, put differently, this imbalance may not be going away any time soon.
To delve further into their research, you can read their report online here.
Don’t Forget to Vote
If you’re a resident of a Super Tuesday state, we hope you can find some time to pull the lever tomorrow. Also, we hope you’ll forgive (at least) one more political post before Super Tuesday. Whatever your political affiliations, the video below is a compelling example of new media at work. According to the New York Times’ political blog, the lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas rounded up 30 or so celebrities and put together this video set to the soundtrack of Barack Obama’s concession speech in New Hampshire. Because the group worked for free and edited the video on their own, they turned the project around in two days. The effect is powerful (and the video is added to our YouTube Playlist). You can see Obama’s original speech here.
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