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Newsroom FeedInterviews
Peter Beinart on American foreign policy hubris
26 August 2010
Peter Beinart is a recognised expert on American foreign policy. An associate professor of journalism and political science at the City University of New York, Beinart is also a senior political writer for the popular blog The Daily Beast. In this interview Beinart explains the title of his most recent book, The Icarus Syndrome: a history of American hubris, and discusses the challenges facing President Obama which include two unfinished wars and the attempted revival of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Watch Online
Allison Pugh: US Studies Centre postdoctoral fellow
25 August 2010
Allison Pugh is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, and for the next 12 months will be one of six postdoctoral fellows based at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. In this interview Allison Pugh discusses her award winning book Longing and Belonging, and discusses her plan to research how people in the US are handling the dual trend of insecurity in both the work and domestic sphere. Watch Online
Obama, Capitol Hill and the November midterms
18 August 2010
Michael Kranish is a Washington based political correspondent for the Boston Globe newspaper. In this interview he discusses what the mood is like on Capitol Hill, what issues will feature between now and November and what the likely implications are for the Obama presidency. Michael Kranish is in Australia as a visitor of the US Studies Centre. Watch Online
The Cold War battle for homes and lifestyles
18 August 2010
The Cold War is best known for nuclear brinkmanship, top secret spying and controversial campaigns involving Vietnam, Afghanistan and Latin America. However, Greg Castillo has written a book about the post-World War II Marshall Plan's efforts to introduce American lifestyles and consumption patterns to the people of Europe. In this interview Castillo gives his insights into the discovery that led him to write about this intriguing propaganda war in his book, Cold War on the Homefront. Watch Online
US intelligence since 9/11 and Wikileaks
12 August 2010
Amy Zegart is a recognised voice on intelligence reform in the US. In 1999 she wrote Flawed By Design, a book examining the weaknesses in America's national security agencies. Her award winning 2007 work Spying Blind: The CIA, the FBI and the Origins of 9/11 was the culmination of five years of research. In this interview Zegart notes that while there have been some improvements since 9/11, reform of the US intelligence community is stalling in important areas. Zegart also discusses the recent Wikileaks controversy and says that the news from it is not all bad for America's national security system.
Obama: The exception to prove the rule?
14 July 2010
Despite claims to the contrary, Barack Obama's presidency does not herald a post-racial America or a new black politics, according to US Studies Centre visitor, African-American cultural expert, Professor Kevin Gaines. Gaines is the Director of the Center for Afro-American and African Studies, and Professor of History at the University of Michigan and in this interview he discusses the topic of Barack Obama and African American politics. Watch Online
Dr Mark Geiger on 'Financial Fraud and Guerrilla Violence in Missouri's Civil War, 1861-1865'
14 July 2010
In this interview, author Mark Geiger discusses his book about the guerrilla conflict that raged in the state of Missouri during the American Civil War. Geiger gives an overview of the reasons for the extreme violence in Missouri, what made it distinct from other regions in the war. He also provides an insight into parallels with other civil wars and the potential errors that historians can make by overlooking certain types of evidence in their reconstruction of the past. Watch Online
Top secret leaks, executive power and democracy
8 July 2010
Judith Ehrlich co-directed the Academy Award nominated documentary The Most Dangerous Man In America which tells the story of US government official Daniel Ellsberg's leak of classified information about five Presidents' involvement in the Vietnam War. Known as the "Pentagon Papers", Ehrlich says that the leak changed the relationship between US citizens and their government. In this interview Ehrlich also discusses the continued significance of leaks and how executive power remains highly concentrated in the Obama administration. Watch Online
Susan Vogel on African art
8 July 2010
In this interview Susan Vogel, documentary filmmaker and Professor of Art History at Columbia University, discusses the reasons for the popularity of antiquated and contemporary African art in the United States. Vogel says it is America's racial composition more than racial politics that explains the growth in its popularity. Vogel also discusses how collections and exhibitions in America are funded. Watch Online
Obama, attitudes toward race and the Tea Party movement
30 June 2010
In this interview Harvard University's Professor of African American Studies, Jennifer Hochschild, considers the impact that the Obama presidency is having on racial attitudes in America. As part of this discussion, she notes that the impact of geography on attitudes towards race is not talked about as much as it should be. Turning to the controversy surrounding the Tea Party movement, Professor Hochschild argues it is very difficult to tease out racial hostility as an independent factor motivating their cause. Watch Online
VIDEOS & INTERVIEWS
The first black president may be the exception that proves the rule of a racially divided United States, says Professor Kevin Gaines.
Dr Mark Geiger discusses the previously unknown financial conspiracy which funded guerrillas during the Civil War.
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