Working Ethics Podcast Series

There are so many ways to present the fascinating curatorial work, teaching and original research of Finn Brunton, Assistant Professor of Information at the University of Michigan School of Information, and author of the forthcoming book--Spam: A Flood, A Theory, A History (MIT Press). 

In America, we rely on multiple institutions and as many pathways to train new educators in the fundamentals of the teaching craft. Reformers have routinely called for more systematic approaches, prominent among them transforming teacher education to model the clinical training, research practices and mentoring of doctors.

At A2Ethics.org we aspire to be influential community educators about ethics matters.Given that education is central to our mission, we are also fortunate to know about the work of Emily Richmond. 

Erin Mattimoe is a young nonprofit professional with a special talent for building leaders in youth organizations. She is currently a program specialist in the Ann Arbor and Jackson Regions of Girl Scouts--Heart of Michigan. When we began our conversation, we thought we already knew about Girl Scouts.

Sometimes, when we ask people to talk about the ethics of their work and the pathways they have taken to be where they are, they offer up their best linear moves and memories. Many of our listeners are interested in learning the point-a-to-b directions people follow as well as the google maps they rely on along the way. 

In October 2010, A2Ethics.org had the distinct honor of hosting Bede Sheppard, the senior researcher in the children's rights division of Human Rights Watch. We know it as the Sheppard conference. Not only did Bede visit Ann Arbor to give a keynote lecture for our Ethics Without Borders Education Project, he taught a class of high school students about his work, talked again about it at lunch, and then attended a reception and dinner, where we asked him the same questions.

There was a time, we suppose, when telling someone you were a development officer for any organization would have elicited this knowing response, "oh yes, fund-raising." Or when having this position may well have required a spirited defense, including taking out a full page ad in the New York Times to respond to any and all critics: "Why I Am Proud to Be A Development Officer."

Concussions. Dehydration.  Fraternization with players.  Pressures from coaches, parents and athletes to give the nod to go back into the game after getting injured.  Athletic trainers have a lot of ethical issues to worry about. How are they able to balance and deal with the many dilemmas they face? And what are athletic trainers for anyway? What are their roles and obligations on the field and off? 

Barton Bund talks with Arborist Jack Richardson, founder and CEO of Guardian Tree Experts. The Ann Arbor tree care company approaches the work from a scientific point of view, helping clients preserve their trees, not just cut them down. The young entrepreneur talks about how he started his business on the right ethical foot, and where he sees it growing. Environmental ethics and business ethics are a constant balancing act, in a town with as many trees as this one.

Our talk with City Council Member Christopher Taylor. After a mini-fracas involving emails and emoticons between Council Members, Taylor discusses with Bart and Jeanine how this small event speaks to the peaks and valleys of public service. Now that the dust has settled and the small matter seems to have blown over, the conversation turns to the role of the representative and his approach to ethical governance. This lively and fascinating discussion was recorded Thursday, July 2, 2009.

Social workers are teachers, therapists, advocates, and police all rolled into one. They are in the trenches at the center of the school system, caught between the faculty, administration, students, parents, and school board. Join Bart and Jeanine in their hour-long discussion with Jennifer Cotter of the Livonia Public Schools.

Join us for our audio podcast with Katharyn Hanson and Elizabeth Bridges. Two professional archaeologists debunk the myths of the profession, and give us a picture of what archaeology is today.

Local dog groomer, Chelle Kilmury, a partner-in-business at Groom N Go, not only takes care of dogs the right way. She is also an excellent mentor to younger people interested in going into the animal grooming business. We talked with Chelle, and her apprentice, Zeke Askew about the craft and skills involved in grooming the many dog breeds that Ann Arbor area residents have been bringing to the shop for appointments that last the dog's lifetime.

Like many others who are in public service, David Behen, the Deputy Administrator for Washtenaw County, would like to encourage others, and especially people in their 20s and 30s to join him. And when a2ethics.org talked with David, his honest and forthright appraisal of the ethics of his work, made us want to give civil service a new look. Yet, these are hard times. So, how does an administrator who has to make tough decisions that are economically-driven because of diminished resources and money, determine what is the right thing to do?

Last spring, the Huron High Boys Swimming team ended a 20 year drought by winning the state championship. As Coach Kelton Graham, now in his second year there, tells it, it was all about teamwork and motivation. He is too humble by half. A2ethics.org's interview with Coach Graham, told us otherwise: his motivational skills and trust in his swimmers were also vitally important to the team's success.

This interview features local social entrepreneur, Mary Wessel Walker, owner of the Community Farm Kitchen. Mary is in her early 20s, and started the Community Farm Kitchen when she saw a way to fill a social need: preparing meals for busy families from local and biodynamically grown food. A2ethics.org talked with Mary about her ideals and vision for the Community Farm Kitchen.

The Ypsilanti, Michigan water tower landmark. Is our food heritage also worth saving? Catharine Dann Roeber and Hanna Raskin, food "preservationists" and co-owners of American Table Culinary Tours join us at the Ann Arbor area's iconic Washtenaw Dairy for some donuts and a provocative discussion about food and its moral  role in our culture.

In Washtenaw County, we all know that education is our major industry. Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Washtenaw Community College, Concordia University, Cleary University are all options. Given the large number of education choices, why is college admissions so hypercompetitive? And when higher education degrees have become a ticket not just to the good life, but the ticket to a life that just allows you to make ends meet, the ethics of college admission take on a whole new importance.

A2ethics.org discusses how the photojournalist outsider becomes an insider in a community and the ethical problems becoming an insider can pose. Jack Bridges, a freelance photographer, spent over four years taking pictures of the residents of the Robert Taylor Homes, a public housing development in Chicago, while the city debated how to tear the Homes down.

Most people just assume actors take any part they can get. And that actors will do anything, including acting unethically, to get a part. But, as it turns out, actors may have limits too. Or do they?Find out by listening to the a2ethics.org-sponsored panel discussion hosted by Barton Bund, artistic director and co-founder of the Blackbird Theatre and a cast of veteran actors that he gathered to tell us what matters ethically to actors.The actors in the panel discussion are: Jon Bennett, Oliver Darrow, Dana Sutton,Lynch Travis, and David Wolber.