The Common Thread Podcast

Over 44 million people in the US have student debt, according to the Federal Reserve. The class of 2017 owes, on average, nearly $30,000 in student loans, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. This kind of debt can be a huge weight on young college graduates. So what can you do when student loans are the "new normal"? Grace and Erica sat down with Bob Hildreth, founder of the Hildreth Institute, a new nonprofit fighting for debt-free college. He shared his knowledge about the student debt crisis and what could help to end it.

Professor Emeritus Andrew Bacevich, a veteran of the Vietnam and Gulf wars, has spent his academic career writing about American imperialism. He gave a well-regarded university lecture in 2007 about the "illusions of managing history," arguing for the contemporary relevance of 20th c. theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. In this episode we explore his career and intellectual evolution. He articulates a rather profound dissent to the employment of American military power, and discusses how Niebuhr's The Irony of American History impacted his worldview. Dr. Bacevich is also the author of works such as Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country and America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History, among others. In this interview we heavily reference a work he edited and contributed an article to, The Long War. We are very grateful to Dr. Bacevich for his time. For a further exploration of Reinhold Niebuhr see our episode with Rev. Julian Cook. If you are interested in having conversations like these you can find out about applying at bu.edu/htc and finding Common Thread under the programs tab.

William McKeen is the a professor of journalism and author of 7 books, one of which includes "Outlaw Journalist," a biography of gonzo journalism maverick Hunter S. Thompson. McKeen helps paint the broader picture of Hunter S. Thompson from his childhood, the beginning of his career, into his later years. Here he discusses not just who Hunter S. Thompson was to the world, how he contributed to literature and journalism, but who Hunter Thompson was to himself. We try to make sense of Thompson's story, a rebel and lifelong political dissident, a walking contradiction—gun-toting, America-loving, yet fiercely, wildly on the side of liberal reform in the 60s and 70s.

Lawrence O'Donnell is the host of MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell and the author of the new book Playing With Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics. We speak with him about his book, the enduring relevance of that election and its effect upon modern day journalism. Mr. O'Donnell is also the author the 1983 book Deadly Force: The True Story of How a Badge Can Become a License to Kill, a writer and producer of the TV drama West Wing and former Capitol Hill aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. If you're interested in having conversations like these, please see http://www.bu.edu/thurman/programs/the-common-thread-podcast/ for more info on The Common Thread and how you can potentially join the team.

In the first part of our conversation with Brother Larry, University Chaplain for Community Life, we discussed the phenomenon of protestantization. Here we look at the case study of Confucianism that he addresses in his work. First, we take you through a crash course on the development of its ideas. Then, we talk about how protestantization may change the tradition. We also briefly address other religious traditions in the latter part of this discussion. We would like to thank Brother Larry for his time and insight. If you're interested in having conversations like these, please see http://www.bu.edu/thurman/programs/the-common-thread-podcast/ for more info on The Common Thread and how you can potentially join the team.

Lawrence Whitney, better known on campus as Brother Larry, is the University Chaplain for Community Life. His academic work is in comparative theology, focusing on Christianity and Confucianism. In this episode we discuss Protestantization, a phenomenon that affects non-native traditions within democratic-capitalist societies. This episode takes us through the historical development of Protestantism and Protestantization. Part II in the series will address the case study of Confucianism––first, we will look at its historical development in China and East Asia, then how it might change in a Protestant context. We would like to extend our thanks to Brother Larry for generously spending time with us discussing his work. If you're interested in having conversations like these, please see http://www.bu.edu/thurman/programs/the-common-thread-podcast/ for more info on The Common Thread and how you can potentially join the team.

Steven J. Mandile is an Iraq war veteran who was injured at the age of 27. He came home with Traumatic Brain Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and a spinal cord injury. He couldn't find help in the army medical system, and the Veterans Administration prescribed him 57 drugs over 5 years, including 9 opiates. He found his way out when he found cannabis, which allowed him to get off powerful opiates like fentanyl. This is story of transformation. Listen to hear how Mr. Mandile became an activist, sleeping outside of the State House and rallying communities to support legal cannabis. He has founded Veterans Alternative Healing Inc. and is working to make sure veterans and communities of color have access to the legal market, and access to the business side of the industry as well. Please see his organization's website: https://vahinc.org/services And "like" their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/veteransah/

Radio Boston host Meghna Chakrabarti's career has coincided with one of the most fast-paced periods of change in the journalism industry. She began her career in the years where the post-9/11 world took shape, and has since seen field transform as it adapts to new media. On this episode, we talk with her about making decisions in the modern newsroom, about how she discovered her craft, and how one can begin to make sense of the information landscape. We would like to extend a thank you Ms. Chakrabarti for sharing her time with us. We encourage you to tune in to 90.9 or go to WBUR's website to find Radio Boston and other programs.

What do we get for our foreign aid money? Even the cynic can admit that some part of our foreign aid is given to ease human suffering, but we also must consider the power foreign aid projects over the recipient nation states and how it advances US national interests. We sat down with Professor Henry Pascoe, an american professor at IE (Instituto Empresa) in Madrid, to discuss his work on how foreign aid works as an informal enforcement mechanism for international counterterrorism treaties. We look at the logic of states entering these agreements and the strategies recipient and donor states employ to get what they want out of these interactions.

Legal cannabis is soon to come to Massachusetts, but ensuring the launch goes well is key to its success. We sat down with Dr. Marion McNabb (SPH '17) who started the Cannabis Community Care and Research Network (C3RN) to advocate on Beacon Hill and in municipalities around the state. We discuss her work, social disparities, research licenses, small cannabis businesses. opioid treatment and more. Her organization is hosting an event at Roxbury Community College on Monday February 26th which she calls a "job skills fair for cannabis." It is that and more: there will be experts covering all aspects of the issue. To find out more information about the event and how to go email Joe Gilmore of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at joe[at]massreccouncil.com. We will follow up on the event when we speak with Mr. Gilmore in March. This event focuses on the social disparities aspect, and the April event (if you miss the first) will focus on opioid addiction treatment.

“BU's 30 Under 30” is a Boston University bi-weekly podcast featuring a panel of the brightest Boston-area scholars under the age of thirty (30). Panelists represent a wide array of disciplines and specialties, and offer insightful, relevant, and in-depth analysis of current events, politics, education and community life within a 30-minute timeframe. Presented by the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground and co-hosted by Crystal Castro and Julian Cook. We apologize for the last minute of the conversation being cut off due to recording problems.

“BU's 30 Under 30” is a Boston University bi-weekly podcast featuring a panel of the brightest Boston-area scholars under the age of thirty (30). Panelists represent a wide array of disciplines and specialties, and offer insightful, relevant, and in-depth analysis of current events, politics, education and community life within a 30-minute timeframe. Presented by the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground and co-hosted by Crystal Castro and Julian Cook. We apologize for the last minute of the conversation being cut off due to recording problems.

Part 2 of Patrick's talk with Nathan J. Robinson, editor in chief of Current Affairs Magazine, a publication dedicated to staying true to "what actually affects people." Here, Nathan and Patrick discuss the shortcomings of other print media such as the New Yorker and the Economist, before venturing more broadly into the purposes and aims of writing (political or otherwise) in contemporary times.

This discussion is the second segment of an episode with Professor Oscar Martinez-Tapia Nebrija University and IE [Instituto Empresa] in Madrid. Here we move from regional nationalisms in Spain to a broader look at how populism is shaping western democracies, and how habits of life are changing with modernization. The episode drifts nicely from how the central Spanish government is dealing with Catalonia into a broad social commentary that sums up our time with professor Martinez-Tapia. Our thanks to him for his time.

We sit down with Professor Oscar Martinez-Tapia of Nebrija University and IE [Instituto Empresa] in Madrid to discuss his work on political party formation in two of Spain's autonomous regions––Basque Country, also referred to as País Vasco in the episode, and Catalunya. The discussion, geared towards American listeners, will trace the history of the nationalist sentiment and political party formation, then turn to the current strategies of nationalist politicians. It will look comparatively at the two cases. This is the first segment of our discussion with Professor Martinez, the latter of which will be published separately and look at populism in Spain more broadly.

Part one of Patrick's phone call with Current Affairs magazine editor in chief Nathan J Robinson. Here they discuss the recent state of the media and the problems and responsibilities Nathan and Current Affairs are trying to solve in the portrayal of current events.

See background information at www.commonthreadpodcast.com/washington-dc. Lata Nott is the Executive Director of the Newseum's First Amendment Center. At the Newseum, a museum dedicated the history of media and free expression, her role is to educate the public about the the first amendment and related issues. She comes to the project with a background as a lawyer: she graduated Columbia Law School and worked at major New York law firms, as well as at Georgetown University Law Center.

See background information at www.commonthreadpodcast.com/washington-dc. Luke Hartig, an alum of Boston University, is the former Senior Director of Counterterrorism for the National Security Council during the Obama administration. He is currently the Executive of the Network Science Initiative at the National Journal and a fellow at New America. He writes for the Just Security blog, and is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. As a former Presidential Management Fellow, he has held positions in the Department of Defense, Office of Management and Budget, and elsewhere in Government. He also volunteered for the Peace Corp.

See background information at www.commonthreadpodcast.com/washington-dc. Nora Bensahel is a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at American University. She is an expert in defense policy, military operations and force structure. She has also held positions at RAND Corp. and Center for New American Progress. She frequently co-writes a column with General David Barno, Strategic Outpost, for the War on the Rocks blog. In this episode we discuss the role of women in the military and the existing impediments to leadership roles. We go on to discuss veterans, the future of warfare and touch on cybersecurity.

See background information at www.commonthreadpodcast.com/washington-dc. Katie Zezima, a Boston University alum, is a national correspondent for the Washington Post. In her career she has covered some of the most important stories in the country, including the Sandy Hook shooting, the abuses of Catholic Church in Boston, the capture of Whitey Bulger and more. She was on a fellowship at the University of Michigan looking into the opioid epidemic shortly before it garnered national media attention. In this episode we discuss her impressive career, the opioid epidemic, and the evolution of journalism in the 21st century.

Terri Tanielian, a Boston University alum, is a Senior Behavioral Scientist for the RAND Corporation. She focuses on the psychological effects of war, with a particular focus on the veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. She co-directed a study for RAND called Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences and Services to Assist Recovery. In this episode we discuss her work in the context of a really interesting anecdote about her evolving relationship to George W. Bush. She also takes the time to describe RAND Corp., its mission and how it operates.

See background information at www.commonthreadpodcast.com/washington-dc. Adrian Atizado is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War. He has spent the last 17 years working for Disabled American Veterans, a veterans service organization (VSO) dedicated to advocating for veterans injured during their service. After recounting his path to his current position––Deputy National Legislative Director––he helps us deconstruct the history and role of VSOs in Washington DC, dating back to the First World War. He then helps us understand in more specific terms some of the legislative fixes he sees as necessary to making the system work better for our former service members. We also address Gulf War Illness, a difficult-to-diagnose condition observed in veterans of that war that is often difficult to claim benefits for.

Ethan Glick is a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department. Currently he is the Deputy Director of the Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism within the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. He has served tours of duty in Brussels, Afghanistan, Russia and Libya among other places. In this episode we discuss his career, his current work and the practice of diplomacy.

Aaron Frank, a Boston University alum, works on war games at RAND Corp., intelligence and other security issues. He has also worked at BAE Systems and Booz Allen Hamilton. We discuss his work in computational social science at RAND Corp, which involves various projects in creating predictions for policymakers in DC, particularly involving predictive models for conflicts and foreign affairs. He also discusses the interaction of intelligence agencies in DC, and the interesting dynamics that occur.

Mika'il Petin, formerly a professor of Cultural Studies at George Mason University, is now the associate Dean of Student Success at Illinois College. He has focused heavily on the representation of black muslim males in media in the post-9/11 era. We use part of his thesis work, concerning the film Five Fingers, to launch a discussion about representation and the interplay of of religious, racial and other factors in how we tell stories.

A continuation from part 1. Erin sat down with Professor Hutch Hutchinson to dig deeper into experiential education. They focus on the history of summer camp and its role in breaking apart barriers - just the beginning of all that Hutch can discuss on outdoor education. Be prepared to be bewildered by him.

After working with Professor Hutch Hutchinson during BU Orientation this summer, Kobe and Erin sat down with him to dig deep into experiential education. The Common Ground program, in which new students use GPS mapping to explore the city, visit historical sites, and get to know each other, is built upon these principles. Although one of the key components of experiential education is outdoor education, principles from summer camp, high ropes courses, backpacking trips, and outdoor teambuilding retreats are applicable in all settings, for all groups of people.

Team members Erin and Patrick met Diane Gallagher, the Nursing Archivist at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. We learned that not only did she serve in the Peace Corps in Cape Verde when she was 53, but won the Lillian Carter Award from President Jimmy Carter and has met with Michelle Obama. Her book, Lure of Service (now on the shelves of the Howard Thurman Center), is an entertaining memoir of her time in Cape Verde - the projects she worked on, who she loved, and what she learned from the Cape Verdeans. A New York City native, Diane now is a host mother for Harvard's international student program and continues to be involved with the Peace Corps. We sat down and chatted about her beliefs on whining, grit, learning about other cultures, caring for people, humility, and what BU means when it says we need to be global citizens. We hope you enjoy her insight and jaw-dropping stories as much as we did.​

Nadeem Mazen is a two term city councilor in Cambridge, as well as an entrepreneur and community organizer. In this conversation we discuss issues of education and housing in Cambridge, along with civic engagement, money in politics and more. Due to a self-imposed term limit, he plans to leave the council after this term, but will continue working on community issues through JetPac Inc. a non-profit aimed to train and equip Muslims and people from other underrepresented communities to run for office.

Erin and Kobe spoke with Mike DeSocio, COM '17, who published a photojournalism piece on LGBTQ youth homelessness for his Senior Keystone Project at BU. His story traces the path of Liniste, a trans youth in Boston who has had her share of encounters with both shelters and advocacy groups.

Thread members Mac and Varsha talked with Marwa Sayed and Matt Thacker about their revitalizing of SLAP, the Student Labor Action Project, which serves as a solidarity movement to support the workers at Boston University. They discuss the different groups and unions they've worked with, and how they're seeking to grow the group from here.

Continuing our conversation with Reverend Julian Cook, we discuss the political machine of Chicago, and the political history behind former major Harold Washington and activist Jesse Jackson.

Naomi Carolan, an undergraduate international relations student, has an extracurricular interest the North Korea. Matthias and Kobe sat down with her to discuss recent developments in the region and larger geopolitical issues as well.

Dr. Houchang Chehabi, professor of international relations at BU, was in Turkey during the failed coup attempt last summer. We wanted to sit down with him after April 16th's referendum, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan codified and consolidated dictatorial powers. We discuss Dr. Chehabi's experience in Turkey, the political trajectory of President Erdogan, and the international impact of this sea change in Turkish politics.

Chicago has come up frequently in the national political conversation, mostly to serve as a negative example for everything that's wrong with the country and society today. Matthias sat down with Reverend Julian Cook for the first episode of a series on Chicago's history from 1966 to present day. This episode focuses on the social conditions that motivated MLK JR to take the Civil Rights movement to Chicago, the turbulence of the sixties, and Chicago as an economic hub amongst other things. We hope the conversations will provide some insight into the spirit of the city, its challenges, its aspirations and the historical dynamics that made the city what it is today.

A continuation from episode 2. Dr. Bin Song is pursuing a second PhD in religious studies. He has a deep knowledge of the Confucian tradition, which we draw on for Parts 2 and 3 of this series. Here, we discuss the compatibility of Confucian values with Western societies, Confucianism in 20th C. China, and what Confucianism has to say about education.

Dr. Bin Song is pursuing a second PhD in religious studies. He has a deep knowledge of the Confucian tradition, which we draw on for Parts 2 and 3 of this series. Here, we discuss the compatibility of Confucian values with Western societies, Confucianism in 20th C. China, and what Confucianism has to say about education.

Boston Confucianism, which argues for the applicability of Confucian values globally, rather than just in East Asia, is an intellectual movement pioneered by Dr. Robert Neville (former Dean of Marsh Chapel and the School of Theology; currently a professor of Philosophy, Religion and Theology at BU). Here, we discuss the inception of Boston Confucianism and the many potential points of contact between Confucianism and the west.

In a spontaneous moment, Mac, Matthias and Kobe find themselves in a room with some of today's biggest activists and ask them one important question. Then the activists take the mic. Spin this Thread to unwind their wisdom. Learn more about the activists you hear on our website, commonthreadpodcast.com/edge-of-activism

We sat down with Luis Castro and Sophie Brandigham to discuss the One BU gala held this Saturday April 8th. You can find a description and a link to the event on our website, commonthreadpodcast.com

Team members Kobe and Evan sit down with literary scholar and BU professor Sir Christopher Ricks to discuss the works of Bob Dylan. They ask Sir Christopher Ricks about topics in his book, Dylan's Visions of Sin, and go into deep analysis of several of Dylan's songs. Bob Dylan is known for his socially-charged music of the 1960s, and notably was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016.

Today, on the 50th anniversary of MLK's historic “Beyond Vietnam” address, The Common Thread podcast is re-releasing a segment of our very first episode. On April 4th of last year, we looked at the radicalism of MLK between 1965 and 1968. This segment concerns the context of the "Beyond Vietnam" speech, its content and its fallout. If you'd like to listen to more of our MLK content beyond this segment, you can scroll down in our archive to the very first episode. The segment you hear here is from 22 to 35 minutes in.

When considering major issues like housing affordability and gentrification, it is the challenge of the city planner to recognize the fine line between furthering economic development and preserving historically cultural and ethnic communities and institutions. On a trip to New York, fellow team member Varsha got to sit down with Purnima Kapur, the Executive Director of City Planning of New York City, where they discussed the city's current policy addressing these issues as well as other resolutions in resiliency and sustainability. Spin this thread to hear insights from the woman behind the development of one of the world's biggest cities.

On this episode we sit down with two Parisians to discuss the import of the upcoming French presidential election. Spin this Thread to learn about the candidates, the issues, and why this election is a major test for the post-WWII international order.

Recently, the Climate Leadership Council brought together some prominent establishment conservatives––including several former cabinet officials––to release a novel plan to combat climate change: "The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends". This prompted us to sit down with James Baldwin, a lecturer in the Earth and Environment Department at Boston University. We discuss his ongoing research, explore the range of possible outcomes for the species and analyze this plan in its political context.

Four Thread team members, Lucas, Varsha, Elliot and Kobe, sit down with Annalise Lamberty, a BU filmmaker, and Elliot Masters, an actor from Emerson, to break down this year's best picture nominees.

This episode features a conversation with recent Boston University graduate Maya Gazhal, who shares his experiences and perspectives about spending a summer in Palestine as an activist, teacher and IT guy. Given how controversial and charged the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, we approached this episode with the intent of understanding why one of our peers would go to Palestine and what he observed while he was there. We hope you find it interesting, as we did. The views articulated in this interview are those of the speaker and are not representative of the opinions of the Common Thread Podcast and Howard Thurman Center.

The Republican Party is now in power across our federal government, holds the majority of governorships and of state legislative bodies. Yet, in the wake of President Trump's rise and all the coverage of his personality and character, it can seem like we're still an election season rather than a season of governance. We wanted to drive to the root of substantive issues so we spoke with Corey Pray, President of BU College Republicans, and Anastasia Koartes, Secretary of BU College Republicans. This discussion covers a lot of ground, from the diversity of conservative thought, Republican methods of appealing to millennials, foreign policy, and other prevalent issues.

HTC Ambassador Yash Kothari sat down with Noam Chomsky because he had the guts to simply email him and ask for an appointment. This initiative fascinated us, so we asked Yash to talk. Yash, who will graduate in May, has a totally unique philosophy on independent learning in college. Spin this Thread if you want to hear about how you might also become an ambitious learner too.

Listen to us talk with Marwa Sayed, a student activist who launched a petition late last year to make BU a 'sanctuary campus'. We define actions cities and campuses can take, discuss the potential limitations and delve into the way activism is changing by the day as events unfold. If you want to zoom in on the grassroots in the Trump Era, spin this Thread.

In this episode of The Common Thread Podcast, we interview BU student Smaranda Tolosano who visited the refugee camp in Calais, France a few days before its shutdown.