Deep Background with Noah Feldman

Latest Episodes:

Live Episode: Noah Feldman and Malcolm Gladwell Sep 21, 2019

Show notes

Noah Feldman speaks to author and Pushkin co-founder Malcolm Gladwell about his new book "Talking to Strangers" in Boston, MA, at an event organized by the Harvard Bookstore. They discuss everything from spy craft, to the current political climate, to compliment sandwiches.

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Trump's "Dangerous" Iran Policy Sep 14, 2019

Show notes

Is Donald Trump leading the US into war with Iran? Middle East scholar Vali Nasr says it definitely seems like it.

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A Solution for Algorithmic Bias Sep 07, 2019

Show notes

Algorithms can determine everything from what ads you see on the internet to the interest rates on your loan. And they aren't always exactly fair. Nicol Turner Lee, a fellow at Brookings, and Talia Gillis, a Harvard graduate student, discuss what to do about algorithmic bias. Plus, Noah reflects on the latest Brexit news.

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Affirmative Action Isn't Enough Aug 30, 2019

Show notes

This year, only seven black students were accepted to Stuyvesant, one of New York's most prestigious public high schools. Harvard Law Professor Randy Kennedy says that to address the racial inequities in our education system we need to think radically. Plus, Noah discusses the recent protests in Hong Kong.

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The Party of Ideas Aug 25, 2019

Show notes

The Republican party used to tout itself as the party of ideas. Now it seems to be the party of Donald Trump. Conservative thinker Peter Wehner explains what he thinks happened. Peter Wehner's Suggested Reading List: -Losing Ground by Charles Murray -The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom -The Naked Public Square by Richard John Neuhaus -Crime and Human Nature by James Q. Wilson and Richard J. Herrnstein

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A Genetic Engineer's Perspective on "Designer Babies" Aug 18, 2019

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A Chinese scientist reportedly edited the genes of two baby twin girls last year to protect them from the AIDS virus. Harvard geneticist George Church believes we will be hearing many more stories like this soon.

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Inside MS-13 Aug 11, 2019

Show notes

Hannah Dreier won a Pulitzer for her ProPublica investigation “Trapped in Gangland” about the international criminal gang MS-13. She says we can’t beat the gang if we don’t understand it.

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Disappearing Species Aug 04, 2019

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According to a new UN report, a million species are at risk of extinction. New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert says you should be seriously worried -- even if you don't like animals.

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What is a Concentration Camp? Jul 28, 2019

Show notes

Andrea Pitzer, the author of "One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps," argues that the US government is currently operating a concentration camp system along the southern border.

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Democracy's Midlife Crisis Jul 21, 2019

Show notes

Cambridge professor David Runciman thinks that democracy is in an midlife crisis. He also thinks that might not be bad.

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