UNIVERSITY PARK – Covering issues as diverse as Guantanamo Bay, neuroscience and warfare and emerging diseases, a new WPSU series airing on the Big Ten Network features in-depth conversations with remarkable people, many of whom have performed trailblazing work in their field and drawn international attention.
“Conversations from Penn State,” hosted by veteran interviewer Patty Satalia, airs next at 9 p.m. on Thursday (June 11) on WPSU with Gregory S. McNeal, assistant professor of law at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, sharing insight on the pros and cons of closing Guantanamo Bay, and the challenges of creating new detention policies.
McNeal is also an academic fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. He has done extensive research on counterterrorism with a focus in criminal law and procedure, national security law and international criminal law. He has advised Congress on counterterrorism issues, advised the prosecution team in Guantanamo Bay and helped write counterterrorism legislation for the members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Up next in the series is Peter Hudson, Willaman Professor of Biology and director of Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, discussing the dynamics of infectious diseases, their spread and their transmission from human to animals. That episode will air on the Big Ten Network at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16; 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 18; and 9 a.m. on Friday, June 19. It will also air on WPSU at 9 p.m. on June 18.
Ambassador Richard Butler, a nuclear arms control and disarmament expert who served as the United Nations’ chief arms inspector of Iraq between 1997 and 1999, sits down with Satalia for a discussion on America’s role in the world and why a world without nuclear weapons is vital at 7 p.m. on July 7 on the Big Ten Network. The show also airs at 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 9 on WPSU. Butler is a Distinguished Scholar for international peace and security in Penn State’s School of International Affairs.
Mary Patillo, one of the leading sociologists on race and class in the 21st Century, talks about the rarely studied and often overlooked African-American middle class at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21 on the Big Ten Network, with the show also airing on WPSU at 9 p.m. Thursday, July 23. A professor of sociology and African-American studies at Northwestern University, Patillo will offer a look into the history of the black middle class, conflicts between middle class and poor African-Americans, and how the election of President Obama has altered the dialogue.
Grandma Aggie, spokesperson and eldest member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, speaks about the grandmothers’ hope to change the direction of the world, save Mother Earth and ensure peace and prosperity for all following generations, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28 on the Big Ten Network and 9 p.m. Thursday, July 30 on WPSU. A descendant of political and spiritual tribal leaders of the Rogue River Valley of southwest Oregon and one of the founding members of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, Grandma Aggie has been honored as a “Living Treasure” and a “Living Cultural Legend,” whose no-nonsense eloquence has touched people around the world.