Building Bridges: Abrahamic Perspectives on the World Today
with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, Season II
Now Available on a 3-DVD Set
A first-ever 15-part series conceived by a rabbi for Bridges TV-American Muslim TV Network, the show brings together religious leaders of the three major Abrahamic faiths to grapple with the divisive issues splitting our traditions and country. Fast paced and tied to today's news, it gives viewers a deeper understanding of how people of faith see the world, and each other, with live interviews from the American public.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, Incivility In The Healthcare Debate:Joe Wilson interrupted President Obama during a speech on health care reform earlier this week by yelling out "you lie". Is the level of public discourse out of control? Is this outrageous behavior driven by fear or conservatives that hate the president? Of course there may be legitimate fears of change, however, a moral stain on the conservative thinking and politics of this country is continuing to unfold. Susan Davis, Reporter for the Wall Street Journalhelps us understand what drives this behavior and the undercurrent of anger.
Also, Education Curriculum And The Culture Wars New Front - Texas:Science, intelligent design, creation and evolution have all been hot topics for debate within our public schools. Now with the school back in session a new debate has arisen in Texas. How much God should be taught as part of the history curriculum? Is this a moral and spiritual civil war? What is the precedent for this kind of devotional religion finding it's way into public schools? Jonathan Zimmerman, Professor Educational History at New York University shows us both sides of a democratic way to disseminte information to our young people. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, Westin Survey: Sleep or Sex: If you had the choice between a good night sleep or great sex what would you choose? Fifty one percent of respondents to a study chose a perfect night sleep over sex and more men than women chose sleep to sex. As a society we are becoming more sleep deprived and we are pushed harder and farther. What can we do about this? What are the health costs? Are we hiding a deeper conversation which we should be having with our partner? Dr. Lisa Shives, Sleep expert and founder of North Shore Sleep Medicinehelps us take into account what is really imporatnt in our love lives and in our daily lives.
Also, Believers and Atheists Find Common Ground With Natural Selection: This country is still at ground zero with the war between science and religion. The levels of fear, hostility and polarization continue to rise and are not going away. How do we engage the process of personal transformation and diagnose what it is that fans the flames so furiously. John F. Haught, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Science and Religion at Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University is the author God After Darwin. Dr. Haught joins this discussion. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, Ted Kennedy: 'The Work is Unfinished' & The Compassionate Release Of A Lockerbie Bomber?: Even if Edward Kennedy advocated for issues we didn't all agree with, we still lost a great political leader. In the age of mean spirited politicians, Ted Kennedy maintained respective friendships with conservative members of the Senate and had the passion and civility to hold onto a vision for a better America and world. PLUS: The release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is a colossal failure by the Scottish Department Of Justice to invoke genuine compassion for the survivors and family of Pan Am Flight 103, and in taking responsibility for those imprisioned. In what ways did they fail and whay could they have done differently?
Also, Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino has been known for pandering to our desire for violence, and as much, audiences are responding to his new film. Set in World War II, the film uses history as a reference to connect with that experience, however this is history his way, by no means a documentary.Owen Gleiberman, Film Critic for Entertainment Weekly helps us understand Tarantino's vision of the past with the vengeance and redemption we perhaps may have longed for. Listen Below.
Also, The Science of Pleasure:What is the distinction between desire and pleasure? Learn how to diversify your pleasure portfolio and find happiness without harming yourself and undermining your relationships. Paul Martin, Author of Sex Drugs and Chocolate: The Science of Pleasure gives us three tools to embrace the mind, body and spirit of pleasure. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, Virtual Currencies: A social network company in China has sold 66 million dollars of virtual goods, and Facebook has sold 40 million in virtual gifts according to analysts. What is real? Are we sending and selling feelings that have been monetized? The perceived value between two people expresses a reality and the bonds that exist are genuine. So are we more evolved by sending these virtual gifts as expressions of love? Cary Rosenzweig,President and Chief Executive Officer of Virtual World, IMVU, helps us understand these questions.
Also, Couples Choosing Not To Wed: A record breaking 40% of babies born since 2007 have been to unmarried parents. These are people committed to having relationships, families and living together as cohabiting couples. What does this say about marriage, commitment and parenthood in the 21st Century? Is marriage becoming the last step to adulthood instead of the first; a celebration instead of an act of permission? Are we beginning to transcend marriage? Andrew Cherlin is a Sociologist and professor at Johns Hopkins and is the author of the new book, The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage and the Family in America Today. Today he helps us understand the changing dynamic of marriage.Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, A Life Extending Drug And It's Implications: Humanity use to have precious little control over how long we would live and die, but that is radically changing. A drug given to organ transplant patients has proven in mice to prolong life by 13%. Would you take it? Does this change the meaning of marriage and life? Does living longer mean living better and would we be personally satisified? Daniel Callahan, Ph. D., Senior Research Scholar and President Emeritus of the Hastings Center, helps us understand these questions knocking at our door.
Also,Assisted Suicide: Who decides who lives and who dies? Oregon has become a leader in balancing and safeguarding the individual rights of the terminally ill. There are legitimate reasons to be concerned by the Death and Dignity Act, however can we also see the benefits? This issue has become more involved than the fear of the government hinging our freedoms.Bonnie Steinbock, Ph. D., is aBiomedical Ethics Specialist and Professor of Philosophy at University at Albany/State University of New York. Dr. Steinbock shows us both sides of this issue and how Oregon can be a model for the rest of the country. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, The Workplace Religious Freedom Act: Who could objectto a law giving people the right to express themselves religiously in their place of work? Well it seems in the case of teachers that religious neutrality may be turning into hostility towards religion. This law leaves the teachers out in their personal expression of religion. Do we think teachers are evangelizing, or do we not trust our students to appreciate different beliefs?Charlie Haynes, Senior Scholar at The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center lends his thoughts.
Also, Do It Yourself Services: Is the recession over? People are still out of work and even those with jobs are cutting back and acting cautious with their spending patterns. People are becoming more independent and doing more with less. Do it yourself weddings, growing your own food and even burying your own dead have become more and more popular. Carley Roney, Editor in Chief of The Knot.comshares her insight on this growing trend. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, The Birthers Movement: A groupcalled the Birthers Movement claims it is dedicated to the rebirth of the constitutional republic. They are using urban myths and rumors to attack President Obama's personal approval rating, integrity and patriotism. It seems profound anger and resentment is propelling this group to claim Barack Obama is not a natural born or naturalized citizen and therefore should not be President. How can complete factless information like this take root? Patricia Turner, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies at UC Davis studies rumors and shares her expertise about these disturbing fabrications.
Also, 1st Communion on the Moon: This month marks the 40 year anniversay of the first lunar landing and the first communion on the moon.However, Nasa silenced that part of that communication. How far have we come in 40 years for religious neutrality and other expressions and freedoms? Why aren't we building a culture with a place for religious discourse? What can the act of communion teach us all about rights, expression and making room for those we disagree with and that disagree with us? Mark Cooper, Senior Pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church, where Buzz Aldrin was an elder at the time of his communion on the moon,joins this discussion. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, Calculating Consumer Happiness: Can you be manipulated? Can people or advertising sell you anything? If we give ourselves permission to trust our taste, rather than purchasing due to being uninformed or to social status, we become happy consumers. We cheat ourselves and get manipulated when we don't trust our own taste. Know what you want and why you want it because a happy consumer is an informed consumer.
Also, Science and Creationism: Somewhere between thirty and fifty million has been spent in Petersburg, Kentuckyon a structure called the Creation Museum. This museum is devoted to teaching people the earth was created in 6 days about 6,000 years ago. Not only that, but those who don't believe are the reasons for the planet's problems. Why is this being driven by fear? What does this say about meaning in our lives and in the world? This has become more than an issue of science and creation. What about the the sacredness of surprise?Arnold Miller, Professor of Geology at University of Cincinnati, shares his experience on his recent visit to the museum. Listen Below.
This week on Intelligent Talk Radio, The Largest Generation Gap Since The 60's: New research shows that not since the Vietnam War has there been such a gap in values by people of different ages in our society. Eighty percent of people believe there's a significant difference of point of view between young and old people. That's the highest it's been since 1969, and the percentage is actually higher now than it was then. What does this say about the values of the young and old regarding acceptance, exposure and understanding of key issues in our society? Paul Taylor, the Executive VP at Pew Research Centershares his thoughts.
Also, A Surprising Number Of Teens Expect To Die Young: Why do we take risks? An alarming fifteen percent of teenagers think they're going to die young. How do they get that despondent? The leading premise use to be that teenagers felt invulnerable. However, evidence now shows quite the opposite. It seems our teens have a more fatalistic attitude towards life. Is the fatalistic attitude causing young people to take risks or is there a more rational, cost benefit analysis going on in the minds of our teens? Valerie Reyna, Professor of Human Development and Psychology at Cornell Universitylends her opinion. Listen Below.
The Al Gainey Show, WDUN (Northern GA), CPAC Conference - Young people who are conservative seem less attached to some social issues than their older religious counterparts, 2/26/10
