Filed under: Radio | Tags: Captain Britain, Comic Books, Ethnic Conflict, Ian Paisley, IRA, MI-13, Norman Osborn, Northern Ireland, Politics, Scott Nicolson, Sociopaths, Spiderman, The Green Goblin, Tony Novosel, Torture, UK, Unionists, University of Pittsburgh
Scott, in Avatar Form
University of Pittsburgh offers a class on the politics of Northern Ireland every semester. Tony Novosel teaches it with the intention that it will be the most challenging – and most involving – class the students will ever take.
The veterans of the class — like Scott Nicolson, heard here — leave with an intricate understanding of the Troubles, as well as some insight into the unexpected comic book connections + psychological conditions of the province.
produced for The Politics Show
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Belfast, Socialism, Politics, BBC, Afghanistan, Islam, Orange Order, Religion, Art, Pakistan, Gerry Adams, Northern Ireland, Architecture, Philadelphia, Environmentalism, Love, Mad Magazine, Thomas Nast, Laziness, Cartoons, Ian Knox, Tae Kwan Do, Hearts and Minds, The Irish News, Sky News, Gordon Brown, Terry McLaughlin, Seamus Kilters, Sammy Wilson, Global Warming, Fenian Elements, Journalism, Ahmad Seyar Zia
Ahmed Seyar Zia
Ahmad Seyar Zia is, as he has proclaimed himself to be, the King of Love. He is a young Afghan man, studying abroad in India now. Born in Kabul, raised in different places around Afghanistan and Pakistan, he has developed his own life philosophies that, he finds, hold him apart from most other young people around him.
In today’s interview, Ahmad talks about growing up in the tumultuous past decades of Aghanistan, of the religious and philosophical system he’s developed, of taking up Tae Kwan Do after his brother lost his leg in a mine explosion, and why he’s intent on returning to his country.
Ian Knox is one of Northern Ireland’s premier political cartoonists. After studying for a career in architecture, he made his way into the world of cartooning and now contributes to a whole array of outlets – including The Irish News, Hearts & Minds, Sky News, and The Guardian. He talks about why he likes to annoy people, how he knows if his cartoons succeed in their attempts to shove his opinions down the audience’s throats, which politicians he most likes to draw, and how he survives his daily threat of a heart attack.
Filed under: Radio-Video | Tags: American Tourists, Belfast, Black Taxi, Loyalism, Michael Leonard, Northern Ireland, Paramilitaries, Politics, Religion, Republicanism, The Troubles, Titanic, Tourism, Violence, West Belfast
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a film by Michael Leonard
Filed under: Radio-Video | Tags: Alcohol, Arsenal, Belfast, Castle Court, Conformity, Consumerism, Czech Republic, Deeply Divided Societies, Ethnic Minorities, Football, Foreigners, Gentrification, Guyana, Ignorance, India, Mainstream, Manchester United, Northern Ireland, Politics, Racism, Redevelopment, South Belfast Northern Ireland Supporters Club, St. George's Market, Stereotypes, The Arcade, The Troubles, UK
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Filed under: Radio, Radio-Video | Tags: Activism, American optimism, Androids, Aristotle, Atheism, Belfast, Britain, Christianity, Conservatives, Creationism, Cults, David Cameron, Debauchery, Democracy, Denmark, Depression, Economists, Education, Egoism, Environmentalism, Epicurius, Eudaimonism, Family, General Well-Being, God, Graeme Watson, Gratitude, Happiness, Hatred of Motherly Virtues, Hedonists, Hippie Lovefest, Humanism, Ibiza, Introversion, Ireland, L. Ron Hubbard, Libertarian Socialism, Lord Richard Laird, Low-grade hedonism, Marriage, Mental Health, Middle Class Lefty Guardian Readers, Narcissism, New age, New Economics Foundation, Northern Ireland, Nutrition, Patriarchy, Pessimism, Philosophy, Physical Education Teachers, Pleasure, Political Theory, Politics, Post-Humans, Prospect Magazine, Public Policy, Queen's University Belfast, Rationalists, Richard Dawkins, Scientology, Secular Society, Social Justice, Social Science, Social Virtues, Socialism, Souls, Sweden, The Enlightenment, Theory of The Good, Tony Blair, Tories, Tragedy, Twee, UK, USA, Utopia, Voting Behavior, Welfare, Well-being, Workplace Democracy
Graeme's Chosen Image of Happiness: Picasso's Joie de Vivre
Episode 27 has Graeme Watson talking about the philosophy of happiness and the politics of well-being. He’s finishing his PhD in political theory at Queen’s, examining different approaches to achieving happiness and how politicians (especially those in the UK) have brought the notion from twee to power.
Graeme discusses the ascendancy of the notion ‘Well-Being’ into a watchword of Tony Blair’s New Labor and David Cameron’s New Tories, as well as predictions that it will be one of the ‘Big Ideas of the 21st Century’. He explains how the personal is being made political and how the consumer industry of happiness is feeding into a new kind of politics — attracting Middle Class Lefty Guardian Readers, among others.
Plus, Graeme offers some visions of our coming post-human future, his low-grade hedonism, some secrets to happiness, and his planned cult.
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Filed under: Radio | Tags: Activism, Belfast, Carribean, CIA, Citizenship, Colonialism, Cults, Decolonization, Ethnic Minorities, Family, Film, Global South, Globalization, Guyana, India, Jim Jones, Jonestown, Michael Mahadeo, Migration, National Geographic, Northern Ireland, Ormeau Avenue, Pakistan, Politics, Radicalism, Social Problems, Socialism, Southern Command, Student Protest, Teaching, Television, The Troubles, USA
Michael Mahadeo
Michael Mahadeo has lived in Northern Ireland since the mid 1980s, when he moved here from British Guyana. He speaks about growing up in Guyana during its decolonization, and about the most notorious part of the country’s recent history — the Jonestown massacre, in which hundreds of American citizens killed themselves on a compound in rural Guyana. Michael also discusses being an ethnic minority in Northern Ireland, adjusting to the Troubles, and whether it’s ever possible to become a local here.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Alcoholism, Asylum Seekers, Belfast, Catastrophe, Chocolate, Christmas, Ethnic Minorities, EU, Family, Health, Homelessness, Hostels, Mental Illness, Migrant Workers, Pennsylvania, Pickles, Politics, Puddles, Retirement, Simon Community, Social Problems
The Original Wilma
In the first half hour, Mandy Jones and Julie Rea of the Simon Community NI discuss why homelessness is on the rise in Belfast, how their group works to address it, and what results they’ve seen. In the second half, Carla Pflueger talks about owning and working in Wilma’s Candy & Fudge Factory over the past twenty-some years. She and her husband Harold started the business in the basement of their home in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania and sold it 2 years ago. Carla talks about the art of making candies, the catastrophes that can happen in a chocolate factory, and what life after chocolate holds for her.
The Pfluegers
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Afghanistan, Belfast, Christmas, Democratization, EU, Humanitarianism, Ireland, Islam, Kidnapping, Michael Semple, Middle East, Pakistan, Politics, Reconciliation, Taliban, Tea, Terrorism, UN
Back briefly in Belfast, Michael Semple speaks about his experiences in Afghanistan, including those which recently put him in the headlines. Semple was expelled from the country on Christmas last year, after the Afghan President alleged that he engaged in unauthorized activity in the country. He works for the EU’s Special Representative in Afghanistan, focusing on reconciliation and democratization processes in the country. Semple speaks about his past decades of work in Afghanistan, the expulsion, and the notoriety that came with it.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Belfast, Bipolar Disorder, Black Taxi, Britney Spears, Falls Road, Health, Hospital, Hostage, Johns Hopkins, Loyalists, Manic Depression, Mental Illness, North Belfast, Obesity, Politics, Race, Schizophrenia, The Troubles, Tourism, USA, Vivien Leigh
Peace Walls of Belfast
This week, the program goes to the Falls Road for an interview with a black taxi driver about his experiences giving tours and being taken hostage.
In the second half, Claire Hagan discusses her work with people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder at Johns Hopkins medical center in Baltimore.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Ethnic Minorities, Pittsburgh, Politics, Social Problems, The Troubles, Tourism, Orange Order, Election, Campaign, City Council, Race, Parades, Superheroes, Baltimore, John Hopkins, Northern Ireland, Rust Belt, Gentrification, Community Redevelopment, Orangefest, David Hume, Patrick Dowd, Cronyism, Lawrenceville
Orangefest
Episode 9 considers local politics: of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland and the City Council of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the first half, David Hume talks about the future of the Orange Order, including its new superhero figure and tourism initiatives. Mid-July has been rechristened as ‘Orangefest’ and the Orange Order has big plans for brining more foreigners and locals together for the parades and activities around the 12th. Hume also discusses the Order’s international links, in Canada, the US, and Africa, along with its concerns for attracting young Northern Irish men to join its ranks.
In the second half, Patrick Dowd explains how he won a seat on Pittsburgh’s City Council and his plans for the city. He went from graduate student to teacher to politician, but his victory was not an easy one. Winning a seat as a Democrat but initially without the endorsement of Pittsburgh’s Democratic Party, Dowd had to mobilize the grassroots of the community, going from door to door to door and fount out a tremendous amount about the Pittsburgh neighborhoods he now represents.
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Ethnic Minorities, Restaurant, Politics, EU, Serbia, Democratization, Islam, Turkmenistan, Mexican food, Boojum, Botanic Avenue, Elections, Radicals, Nationalism, Burritos, Boris Tadic, Vojislav Kostunica, Zoran Djindjic, Turkmenbashi, Belgrade, Balkans, Migration, Central Asia, Immigration, Philadelphia
Boojum's owners
Episode 8 has Dusan Spasojevic explaining why he is afraid of Serbia’s presidential election; John Blisard on his new Mexican restaurant, Boojum, on Botanic Avenue; and Bayram, the first person from Turkmenistan to live in Northern Ireland, on adjusting to life here.
Bayram in Lady Dixon Park
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Activism, Answers in Genesis, Atheists, Bible, Catholic Church, Cincinnati, Creationism, David Menton, Dinosaurs, Earth, Islam, Ken Ham, Kentucky, Museum, Politics, Religion, Science, USA
At the Creation Museum
The program visits Kentucky’s Creation Museum and interviews Dr David Menton, who lectures there. He belongs to Answers in Genesis, a Creationist group working to publicize and explain the ‘Young Earth’ view of the origin of the universe, which follows a strict interpretation of the Bible. Dr Menton discusses how he reconciles Creationism and science; how the museum was established in the face of local protests; how he deals with people who criticize and mock Creationists; and why he believes that dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth together.
Security
Filed under: Radio | Tags: Afterlife, Anthropology, Communism, Corpses, Death, Embalming, Funerals, Kremlin, Lenin, Notre Dame, Obituaries, Patrick Gaffney, Politics, Purgatory, Red Square, Religion, Russia, Russian Orthodox, Socialism, Soviet Union, Stalin
Fr. Gaffney in Russia
Fr. Patrick Gaffney, a professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame, talks about the changing cultures of death in Russia. Professor Gaffney explains how Russians have dealt with corpses, funerals, and the afterlife during the past two centuries. He tells of the journeys to heaven and hell that souls took during the Tsarist era, why the Soviet ‘red funerals’ failed, what happened to Lenin and Stalin’s corpses, and why there are so few obituaries or funeral homes in modern Russia.
