Key Conversations with Phi Beta Kappa

Latest Episodes:

Amy Cheng Vollmer: The Unofficial Ambassador for Good Bacteria Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, welcomes professor Amy Cheng Vollmer from Swarthmore College. A microbiologist whose research centers on how bacteria react to different types of stresses, discusses her ongoing fascination with bacteria, why failure is important in her field, the need for STEAM, not just STEM, and what it means to her to be a Chinese-American woman in the sciences.

We Ask Literature Professor Ayanna Thompson "What Would Shakespeare Say?" Oct 22, 2018

Show notes

Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, welcomes professor Ayanna Thompson. She specializes in Renaissance drama and issues of race in performance. She discusses the universality of Shakespeare while honing in on how he would have reacted to racialized readings of his work. Would he recognize that race plays a role in his plays? Would he agree with Thompson that one of his characters delivers "the first Black-Power speech in English"? What would he think of "Hamilton" and its non-traditional casting? These and other fascinating questions make for a memorable conversation with one of the country's premiere Shakespeare scholars.

Legal Scholar Harold Hongju Koh Talks International Law and College Cafeterias Sep 10, 2018

Show notes

In our first episode, Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, chats with his longtime friend, professor Harold Hongju Koh from Yale Law School. Professor Koh is a distinguished former diplomat and a renowned authority on public and international law. Their intimate and revealing conversation covers Koh's expansive knowledge of foreign affairs, his views on the state of our nation, and the lasting influence of a father whose curiosity and capacious mind still inspire him.

Key Conversations with Phi Beta Kappa Trailer Aug 30, 2018

Show notes

The Phi Beta Kappa Society presents Key Conversations with Phi Beta Kappa, a podcast that features intimate and in-depth conversations with scholars and experts across many fields, including international law, Shakespeare, microbiology, economics of science, and astronautics. Listeners get a seat at the table to learn about the featured scholar's background, research, and how their respective paths have led them to where they are today. Produced by Lantigua Williams & Co.