Podcasts
Recordings of Sunday Platform addresses
How can the asylum seeking process inform U.S. citizens and public discussions about dignity, collaboration, and social change? Utilizing over three years of field work with a group of 48 Central American and Mexican asylum seekers (named Migrantes Unidos), who are committed to ending the use of ankle monitors and other forms of detention in immigration enforcement, Adriano Udani will discuss how the asylum seeking process impacts organizations, social service provision, and everyday life. In the U.S. immigration system that is intentionally designed to punish people through isolation, Adriano Udani argues that what is starkly missing and most needed are opportunities for accompaniment which provides opportunities for asylum seekers to co-pursue dignity, mutual support, opportunities for critical thinking, and collaboration for action.
Adriano Udani specializes in the study of political attitudes toward immigrant groups and policy decisions that affect immigrant treatment in the United States. He also studies public misperceptions of immigration enforcement and its impact on immigrant communities. His research is published across various fields of public administration, public policy, public policy, ethics, and race and ethnic politics. Adriano’s current work contributes to the emergence of “Civically Engaged Research” in political science, which aims to reciprocally collaborate with people and groups beyond the academy to co-produce, share, and apply knowledge related to power and politics. His current project involves partnering with immigrant service providers, attorneys, and asylum seekers to abolish detention of all forms. Adriano Udani received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and his M.P.A. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
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The presentation focuses on the ethical dimensions of modern international conflicts in which all aspects of society have become the battlefield. The modern format of international conflicts, called ‘gray zone’ conflicts, rarely involve direct military-to-military confrontation. Rather, contemporary conflicts can generally be characterized as low-intensity, perpetual hostilities that involve governments, civil society, and individuals. The media, cyberspace, educational institutions, and local organizations have become an inseparable part of the global great power competition. Illiberal regimes such as China and Russia have used these as platforms to proliferate their political interests into liberal democracies like the United States. This raises the question of how can the United States, and other democracies, counter these authoritarian influences without resorting to ‘democratic backsliding,’ for example through censorship.
Dani Belo is a teacher and scholar of international relations specializing in conflict management, diplomacy, and international security. He is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Webster University in St. Louis, MO, USA, and a Fellow and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa, Canada. Dani’s research focuses on gray zone conflict management, grand strategy and foreign policy, armed and unarmed interventions in fragile ethnically-divided societies, the impact of foreign policy crises on decision-making, causes of ethnic-based mobilization, as well an analysis of non-state actors’ role in hybrid warfare.
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Misinformation continues to be a growing threat in our society. Why do we fall for misinformation and what can be done about it? In this lecture, I’ll briefly describe some of the sociology that explains our susceptibility for believing false information. Then I will focus on 5 steps that can allow us to have more productive conversations with those who have developed misperceptions. Finally, I will share a few examples of when I applied these strategies in my own life.
Matthew Facciani, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Notre Dame Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and he previously served as a postdoctoral researcher at Vanderbilt University in the Medicine, Health, and Society. He received a BA in psychology from Westminster College and MA and PhD in sociology from the University of South Carolina. His research areas include media literacy, misinformation, and political polarization. Facciani’s forthcoming book, Misguided, describes the psychological and sociological processes that explain why we are susceptible to political and health misinformation. Facciani is also interested in evidence-based policy and works with the Research-to-Policy Collaboration at Pennsylvania State University.
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Post-Dispatch Metro Columnist Tony Messenger will share some of the daily ethical challenges he faces as a journalist, and will explore how the profession might change in the future.
Tony Messenger is the Pulitzer Prize-winning metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In 2019 he won the Pulitzer in commentary for his series of columns on debtors’ prisons in Missouri. His first book: Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice, was published by St. Martin’s Press in December. Tony lives with his wife and two teenagers in Wildwood. He has four grown children and 9 grandchildren.
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What future did you imagine growing up? Did you imagine we would have flying cars by now? Hoverboards, perhaps? Often, when we imagine the future, we focus on technology: the cool toys we will get to play with, the innovations which will make our lives easier. But what about our ethical future? What innovations in living together will we develop? And, more important, what are we doing now, which we shouldn’t be? Join James Croft for an inspirational exploration of the future of ethics!
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Raji Laxman will offer an objective view of casteism, its origins and its societal impacts in India, drawing parallels to the similar “-ism”s and their impacts in the West. Born and raised in South India in a traditional and religious family, Raji moved to the United States in the mid 90s after her marriage. She has been a member of the Ethical Society for the past two years and has been working for Washington University in St. Louis for the past 16 years.
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Nikki Nienhaus will offer a brief history of racism in American medicine, how it has evolved and changed, and what the outlook is moving forward. She will include practical ways that individuals can recognize their own biases as well as those of the healthcare workers they encounter, and begin to change them. And lastly, she will offer actions that can be taken to create change on the global level.
Dr. Nikki Nienhaus has been practicing as a chiropractor since 2016, both in private practice and as the chiropractor at Jamaa Birth Village, St. Louis’ first Blackowned midwifery clinic. Nikki and her husband Kyle have been members at the Ethical Society since 2013. They have one daughter, Lorelai.
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Jonathan describes his start with the Ethical Society, his current situation, and anthropology.
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No Roe in MO! Allison Hile, an expert in the fields of abortion care and sexual health education, will answer your burning questions: How could this have happened? What are people doing now? What can I do? And a few positive things on the horizon! Allison Hile has a master’s degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in human sexuality. She is the retired executive director of a statewide organization training adults to be better sexuality educators. She has worked in the fields of abortion care and sexual health education for over 30 years. She is a founding board member of the Missouri Abortion Fund and their current board secretary. Allison and her husband are longtime members of the Ethical Society of St. Louis.
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See the related slide show (PDF, 550kb).
Unedited Video
We live in a world, and a nation, beset by enormous challenges. Rising extremism, political dysfunction, and social polarization have created an increasingly mean and rancorous public square. Events like the overturning of Roe v. Wade suggest that American society is moving further from the progressive ideals the Ethical Society represents, while the attack on the Capitol showed how sick American democracy is. In such a challenging climate, how can Ethical Humanists live their values? Should we fight fire with fire, or should we be peacemakers?
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Unedited Video
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