Podcasts about hauenstein center

If you're applying to a new job or graduate school program, it's a safe bet that “leadership skills” will appear high on the list of applicant qualifications. But we have to ask: what is a leader, and what skills define one? Why is it one of the most-asked-for skillsets from supervisors? And perhaps the most burning question: what does a candidate include on a resume to show they're a leader? If you've also been scratching your head while trying to answer these questions, you've found the right podcast! In today's episode of Work Like A Laker, host Megan Riksen sits down with Megan Rydecki, the Director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, to unravel the mystery surrounding leadership once and for all. Read the full transcript here. Resources: Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies Cook Leadership Academy #gvsu #gvcareers #applicationadvice #leadershipskills #jobsearch #whatdoemployerslookfor #whatisaleader

Shane Phillips is a housing policy expert and author of The Affordable City. After a couple questions from the famous BOQ, Shane shares with Maddy about his career path, including the story of how he didn't graduate from high school, going to undergrad for biochemistry, and making the switch to urban planning and public administration. Shane also talks about being car-free for 15 years, his blog Better Institutions and about his ongoing podcast called UCLA Housing Voice. This is a great episode you will not want to miss! Check out our event Housing Solutions: What's Next? Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

This podcast features Brooke Oosterman, the director of policy and communications at Housing Next, which is an organization that works to provide equitable housing right here in Grand Rapids, an area where rent is high and demand continues to outpace development. Maddy interviews Brooke about her time at Michigan State University, her incredible work experience and something she is most proud of. Brooke also shares why she thinks her work with Housing Next is important and her advice for women in business. All of this and more - listen today! Come to our event Housing Solutions: What's Next? on Thursday, March 16 at 6 pm! Brooke Oosterman LinkedIn | Housing Next website Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

Journalist and author Kate Andersen Brower joins the Hauenstein Center for their Presidents' Day Celebration. Maddy interviews Kate about her childhood, choosing her major and her knowledge on the former presidents. The two also discuss Kate's most recent book, a biography of Elizabeth Taylor, the most famous movie star of the twentieth century. The episode ends with Kate discussing a challenge she faces in her career: being in a male-dominated field. This is a great episode - listen now! Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

This episode is a conversation between Maddy Miller and the Hauenstein Center's keynote speaker for their Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration event. Dr. Mary Frances Berry is historian, writer, lawyer, professor and activist. She has done so much throughout her lifetime, winning many awards, writing several books and being an activists for civil rights, gender equality and social justice in our nation. On the podcast, Dr. Berry talks about her time working for the Jimmy Carter administration (including a funny story about a buffalo getting loose), her relationship with Coretta King, and her advice for people wanting to live a life of activism. This is one you won't want to miss - listen today! Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

Adam Liptak, supreme court correspondent for The New York Times, joins Maddy Miller on the podcast today. The two start out with some questions for the famous BOQ. Then Maddy asks Adam about his first job as a copyboy at The Times, going to law school after getting a degree in English, and about bias and misinformation in his field of work. In the end, Adam shares about his relationship with Floyd Abrams and his best advice for someone wanting to go into a similar field of work. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

James Romoser, editor of SCOTUSBlog, is in Grand Rapids for the Hauenstein Center event about the supreme court, and he joins Maddy on this episode of the podcast. James' twitter bio says "Briefly was a lawyer until I remembered I like journalism too much" and the two talk about his journey from law school back to journalism, along with the freedom of information in our country. James also shares about his other project Circuit Breaker and about his most energizing court cases to talk about. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

This episode of The Rewind is from the Hauenstein Center's event on November 17, 2022. Dennis Rasmussen, author of Fears of a Setting Sun, offers important narratives that look at the era immediately following the signing of the Constitution, reevaluating the historical, social, political, and economic stakes following our nation's founding. 00:01:19-Introduction 00:02:24-Keynote 00:46:29-Moderated Conversation 00:53:03-Live audience Q&A To learn more about this event, visit gvsu.edu/hc/dennisrasmussen. Check out his episode of⁠ ⁠⁠Off The Stage Podcast⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook

This episode is a conversation between Maddy Miller and author, professor and researched Dennis Rasmussen. Dennis shares about growing up in Michigan, switching majors in college, his bone to pick with Lin Manuel Miranda and his best advice for someone wanting to go into political theory. The two also discuss Michigan sports and the disappointment that comes along with being a fan. Listen now! Learn more about Dennis Rasmussen here! Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

This episode of The Rewind is from the Hauenstein Center's event on November 11, 2022. In celebration of Veterans day, we hosted Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz, author of the book Breaking Ice & Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters. 00:01:26-Introduction 00:02:52-Keynote 00:42:07-Moderated Conversation with Jill Wolfe 00:54:10-Live audience Q&A To learn more about this event, visit gvsu.edu/hc/veteransday22. Check out her episode of ⁠⁠Off The Stage Podcast⁠⁠. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Facebook

Thanks for listening to our new podcast series, Off The Stage Podcast! Maddy Miller, media specialist for the Hauenstein Center, sits down with retired Vice Admiral of the United States Coast Guard, Sandra Stosz. Sandra is the author of Breaking Ice & Breaking Glass: Leading in Uncharted Waters, where she talks about her leadership journey through the Coast Guard and breaking down barriers, especially for women. In this episode, the two discuss Sandra's life and her accomplishments, like being the first woman to lead a United States service academy when she was chosen as the superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy. This episode is packed with great stories of Sandra's time in the Coast Guard and her sharing her life outside her career. Listen today, you won't want to miss it! Learn more about Sandra Stosz here! Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

This episode of The Rewind is from the Hauenstein Center's event on October 27, 2022. This event featured a panel of experts from the community to provide an analysis of the 2022 electoral landscape with a focus on our state races. 00:01:18-Introduction 00:03:26-Moderated Conversation 00:51:18-Live audience Q&A To learn more about this event, visit ⁠⁠gvsu.edu/hc/22election. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Facebook

This episode of The Rewind is from the Hauenstein Center's event on September 30, 2022. This panel features 5 alumni from the Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy at Grand Valley State University. They give insight into the lessons they took away from their time in the CLA and how it applies to life after graduation. 00:01:06-Introduction 00:04:11-Moderated Conversation 00:20:18-Live audience Q&A To learn more about this event, visit gvsu.edu/hc/claalum22. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Facebook

This episode of The Rewind is from the Hauenstein Center's event on September 22, 2022. Authors of the book The People's Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union, John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington III, take the stage to talk about the United States Constitution. 00:01:34-Introduction 00:06:39-Moderated Conversation 00:55:15-Live audience Q&A To learn more about this event, visit ⁠gvsu.edu/hc/constitutionday22. Check out their episode of ⁠Off The Stage Podcast⁠. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook

Thanks for listening to our new podcast series, Off The Stage Podcast! Maddy Miller, media specialist for the Hauenstein Center, sits down with co-authors John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington III, who published the book The People's Constitution: 200 Years, 27 Amendments, and the Promise of a More Perfect Union. Maddy asks them questions about their favorite places in New York, how they became interested in constitutional law, the process of writing a book together, and much more. The episode is ended with some great advice from John and Wilfred themselves - you won't want to miss this episode! Learn more about their book here! Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

This episode of The Rewind is from the Hauenstein Center's event on September 8, 2022. Hal Brands, professor, author and scholar talks about the current geopolitical landscape and creates a better understanding of the broad reach of authoritarianism. 00:01:04-Introduction 00:02:01-Keynote 00:37:12-Q&A To learn more about this event, visit gvsu.edu/hc/halbrands. Check out Dr. Brand's episode of Off The Stage Podcast. Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: ⁠Website⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Facebook

Welcome to the first episode of the new podcast series, Off The Stage Podcast! Hal Brands, a distinguished professor, scholar, historian, author and columnist, sits down and is interviewed by the Hauenstein Center's media specialist, Maddy Miller. Hal is asked questions about his perfect Saturday, what got him interested in foreign affairs and political science, his writing skills, how he stays positive despite having a somewhat gloomy professional expertise, his relationship with his dad, H. W. Brands and more. Thanks for listening! Want to learn more about Hal's work? Visit his website! Learn more about the Hauenstein Center here: Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

All you need to know about The Hauenstein Center's new podcast series, right here! Click here for more information on The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies! The speaker in this trailer is the Hauenstein Center's media specialist, Maddy Miller.

This episodes features two guests from the Cook Leadership Academy. Gleaves Whitney is the Executive Director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the former Director of Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center where he worked with many college students in the Cook Leadership Academy. Fresta Tori Jan is a Cook Leadership Academy participant, and is studying Political Science and Pre-Law at Calvin College. Freshta grew up in Afghanistan.

Gleaves Whitney is joined by H.W. Brands in an extended edition of Lunch & Learn with Gleaves. Bill is a long-time friend of the Hauenstein Center, a renowned historian, and best-selling author. He will join Gleaves to discuss his new book, Dreams of El Dorado: A History of the American West.

Gleaves Whitney is joined by Hank Meijer. Hank is the executive chairman of Meijer, Inc, a scholar-associate of the Hauenstein Center, and biographer. Hank, author of Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century, joins Gleaves to discuss Frank Murphy, who was mayor of Detroit, governor of Michigan, US attorney general, and justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.

#85: Amity Shlaes by The Hauenstein Center at Grand Valley State University

In this episode, Josh interview Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. Gleaves explains the history of the Common Ground Initiative, the value of finding common ground with those on an opposing political position, and outlines the unique debate methods used by the Common Ground Initiative at Grand Valley State University. Gleaves is also a Senior Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, and towards the conclusion of the episode Gleaves explains Kirk's role in American intellectual history. Enjoy! And if you have questions or feedback, email us at WhatsTheRes@gmail.com!  

In this podcast special edition of the show Justin broadcasts the 2008 public debate between Christopher Hitchens and his brother Peter Hitchens. Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was one of the four so-called ‘horsemen of the new atheism’, well known for his colourful anti-theistic polemical writing and speaking. In contrast his journalist brother Peter Hitchens is a Christian who converted from atheism in his adult years. In this classic public debate from 2008, hosted by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University, both men debate the Iraq war, the case for God and respond to questions from the 1,400 strong audience. For the Hauenstein Center: https://www.gvsu.edu/hc/ For Big Conversation videos, updates and bonus content sign up: http://www.thebigconversation.show Get signed copies of Unbelievable? the book and audiobook: www.unbelievablebook.co.uk For more faith debates visit http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable Join the conversation: Facebook and Twitter Get the MP3 Podcast of Unbelievable? Via RSS or Via Itunes

This week we hear Ian Millhiser, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, debate "Citizens United" with Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation. The Hauenstein Center hosted the debate in 2015; the issues the debate addresses are still relevant today. Here’s a quick brush up: In "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission," the Supreme Court decided that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures made by corporations and labor unions in elections. Those in favor of the decision say it’s a victory for political speech in this country; opponents say it gives corporations and the rich unlimited power over the democratic process. On December 7th, just a day ago, Andy Kroll suggested in Mother Jones that Citizens United has a lot to do with this tax bill the GOP has gotten through Congress. Kroll claims that the very political culture which supports and provides foundation for the Citizens United decision also justifies what he takes to be the worst aspects of this tax bill. Kroll writes “When I say that Citizens United explains the GOP’s tax-bill frenzy, I really mean the big-money political climate that Citizens United helped create and, broadly speaking, embodies.”

In this episode, we hear from Erik S McDuffie, professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois. Just the other day, the Hauenstein Center posted a call for papers for the fourth "Finding the Lost Region" conference to be held on June 6th, 2018. The problem the conference seeks to address is the lack of institutional support for the study of Midwestern history. Why don't more historians, and more cultural critics generally, acknowledge and discuss the importance of the Midwest to American history, culture, politics? In his talk, Erik S McDuffie argues that the Midwest plays a crucial role not just in African American history but in the history of black diaspora. A major focus of his talk: Garveyism, and the revolutionary role played by women such as Louise Little, the mother of Malcolm X.

Today, we hear, to begin with, a portion of a recently released documentary about President Gerald R. Ford. The documentary premiered on National Geographic. The portion we are about to hear was presented to a packed audience at the Hauenstein Center on October 3, 2017, as part of the Center’s Character and the Presidency Series. A sponsor of that series is also a producer of the Ford documentary: he’s former ambassador to Italy Peter Secchia. Secchia and President Ford were friends. Following the screening, Secchia gave brief remarks about President Ford’s character; he says he’s always thought that Ford’s presidency should be taken a bit more seriously by historians, and that Ford’s decision to pardon Nixon was a testament, in fact, to his character. That’s the view explored in the documentary. After Secchia’s address, we hear from David Brooks, who needs no introduction—everyone’s familiar with his widely read column in the New York Times as well as his bestselling book The Road to Character. Brooks talks with presidential historian Ronald White about character and the presidency generally. They ask what qualities a good leader, a good president, should have. Their discussion is moderated by Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center.

Today, we hear from Scott St. Louis not so much about the Common Ground Initiative itself, or about the Hauenstein Center. Instead, we hear from Scott about his decision, at least right now it’s his decision, not to work exclusively down the traditional career path of a tenure-track professor in the humanities--more specifically, down the path of a professor of history. It’s a significant decision to Scott because, for a long time, that’s precisely what he wanted to do: earn a tenure-track professorship in conventional fashion. But the academic job market for folks in the humanities, history or otherwise, isn’t right now, well, even a market. There are so few jobs; the jobs that do exist are generally adjunct professorships, which are contingent, pay very little, offer pretty much no benefits. There are so many terrific PhDs on the market who are forced to take these jobs. And there are just as many graduate students working right now who are facing the reality that, when they try to enter the academic job market, there might be even fewer positions available, and fewer prospects for doing any kind of fulfilling work in or around the academy. I wanted to talk with Scott to learn how his plans, his ambitions, have changed. I wanted to ask about the future he imagines for himself and strives for as a devoted historian. If the conventional path down the tenure track isn’t necessarily viable, what’s next for him? What’s next for any students of the humanities like him?

This week, we’re bringing you the first installment of a new series for the podcast. We’ll offer some clips taken from lectures given as part of the Hauenstein Center’s Wheelhouse Talk Series. In that series, Gleaves Whitney, along with the program manager of the Cook Leadership Academy, Chadd Dowding, invite leaders from the community—sometimes professors at Grand Valley, or folks in politics or law or business, to come and talk to undergraduate and graduate students about leadership. Now, speakers can take these talks in many directions: their goal is, simply, to bring to bear their own experiences on the question—what does it mean to be an ethical, effective leader. Sometimes speakers lay out a set of points or principles. But often, they talk about something more personal. Sometimes, and often in a really moving way, speakers use their talks as occasions to think about what it means to lead a good life.

From the archive! A conversation between Cornel West and Robert George. When they came to the Hauenstein Center in 2014, West and George were both professors of philosophy at Princeton. Beyond that, the two shared, and still share, quite little in common. West was and is a progressive political philosopher, race theorist, and democratic socialist. George is a conservative Catholic philosopher of jurisprudence and natural law. We hosted the two at the Hauenstein Center because they had established a reputation at Princeton as unlikely friends. They team-taught a class in which they read with students the works of St Augustine, Alexis de Tocqueville, WEB Du Bois, and others. We asked the two to come out and essentially model the kind of dialogue and debate that they have in class: we wanted them to show us how two politically opposed thinkers could examine a host of issues, maintain disagreement about most of them, but still in the end learn from one another.

From the archive! The Hauenstein Center hosted a debate in 2008 between Christopher and Peter Hitchens. Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein, did his best to moderate the brothers as they exchanged their quite distinct views about the Iraq War and the existence of God. The event was held in a large Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the crowd sometimes got involved.

On May 5th, right in the middle of the Hauenstein Center’s Conservative / Progressive summit, three writers and thinkers on the right met with three on the left to discuss the significance of election 2016. What did the victory of Donald Trump, as well as the rise of Bernie Sanders on the left, mean for American politics? Was the center being pulled apart, and could that, in their view, be a good thing? It comes as no surprise that our panelists, separated ideologically, don’t agree about many points of politics or, as we in fact hear in this episode, culture. Still, they do have in common a critique of the so-called neoliberal center, or at least most of them share a similar distrust for it. They haggle over some of the key differences between their respective positions. They also talk about the opportunities they see in building new coalitions post-2016, and how they go about articulating the alternatives to the political status-quo for which they advocate. Panelists include: Sarah Leonard at The Nation Bhaskar Sunkara at Jacobin David Marcus at The Nation Daniel McCarthy at The American Conservative Ingrid Gregg at the Archbridge Institute Winston Elliott III at The Imaginative Conservative

In this episode, we hear from Chadd Dowding, program manager of the Cook Leadership Academy at the Hauenstein Center. I ask Chadd how he goes about identifying emergent leaders in their early 20s and how he helps them develop their projects and initiatives. I also ask Chadd how the students he works with, especially those involved in politics, have responded to election 2016. We also hear from Micaela Cole and Matthew Oudbier, two student-fellows in the academy. Micaela is on her way to getting an undergraduate degree in political science, and Matt is about to start a phd program in philosophy. I ask how they define leadership in their respective fields. And they clue us in on the ways they’re trying to orient their work to the changing political climate in America.

Today we hear from Scott St. Louis, program manager of the Common Ground Initiative at the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. Scott explores what it would mean for the left and right to find, or even pursue, “common ground” in a time of political hyper-polarization, such as ours.

In this special episode of the podcast, we post for you an event hosted at the Hauenstein Center, in partnership with Grand Valley State University’s Division of Inclusion and Equity, that commemorated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On January 17th, 2017, two prominent writers and commentators, Nikole Hannah Jones of the New York Times, and Jason Riley of The Wall Street Journal, met at the Hauenstein Center in front of a packed audience of students, faculty, and members of the community for a dialogue about race and the American Dream. The central aim of the conversation was to explore the progress that has been made since the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the challenges that continue to exist, in the pursuit of a more equitable society.

In today's episode, Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, discusses President Trump's first month in office.

Today, we hear from Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center at Grand Valley State University and producer of this podcast. Gleaves discusses the results of the presidential election, and considers what a Trump presidency might mean, what it could look like, and how the Democratic and Republican parties will both have to change significantly to adjust to the new political and cultural landscape.

Most Americas seem to agree that our country is facing a kind of political and ideological realignment. This state of affairs has conservatives and progressives looking to the future, but also to the past—to the thinkers and activists both left and right who shaped their respective traditions. An important question to ask is whether we can, or should, resurrect the ideas of the past and apply them today? But then, we should also ask whether we can learn from the mistakes and the faults of past thinkers too. Gleaves Whitney, director of the Hauenstein Center, asks these questions about a major conservative thinker under whom he studied as a graduate student in history at the University of Michigan: the intellectual historian Stephen Tonsor. Even in the 80s, Tonsor seemed out of place as a conservative intellectual in a mostly liberal public university. But he found community among conservative thinkers of the day: William F Buckley and Russel Kirk, for instance. Gleaves explores Tonsor’s effect on American conservatism from the 60s to the 80s; he also discusses the many differences between the form of conservatism that Tonsor embraced, and the sorts of conservatism that are prominent today. This interview was recorded on October 25, 2016.

In this special episode of the Common Ground podcast, we’ll play for you a dialogue held at Grand Valley State University on September 8th, 2016, between two internationally renowned interfaith leaders: Abdullah Antepli, imam and Chief Representative of Muslim Affairs at Duke University, and Donniel Hartman, orthodox rabbi, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and author of Putting God Second: How to Save Religion from Itself. Hosted collaboratively by the Hauenstein Center and the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, the dialogue took up one of the most challenging questions facing the international community: might Israelis and Palestinians be able to find sufficient common ground to resolve their decades-old conflict? Antepli and Hartman pursue this question honestly, and admit some of their reservations. At least, they call attention to the many obstacles that need to be surmounted before either side could even glimpse some possible common ground and common purpose. Nevertheless, the conversation was civil, principled, and, for these reasons, deeply instructive. A special thanks to the Kaufman Interfaith Institute for partnering with us and for co-hosting this dialogue. To learn more about that terrific institute, visit gvsu.edu/interfaith. For more about the Hauenstein Center, visit www.hauensteincenter.org or follow HauensteinGVSU on Facebook and Twitter.

This episode is going to be just a bit different from the others. We’re going to play for you a series of short presentations by three historians--Raymond Haberski, Paul Murphy, and Natalia Mehlman Petrzela. These historians were on a panel at an April 16, 2016 summit, hosted by the Hauenstein Center, that entertained the possibility of common ground between progressives and conservatives, as we do. These three presentations were perfect for that summit—as well as for this podcast—because they took up certain relatively recent cultural debates that, in some cases, highlight the value of common ground between the left and right, but in others, reveal how such common ground might not always be possible or even valuable. For instance, in the first presentation, Raymond Haberski discusses what he calls America’s “civil religion of war,” and examines whether common ground between liberal and conservatives about war—particularly the Iraq War—is or has been all that valuable. Following that, Paul Murphy talks about key early 20th century American thinkers, together known as the New Humanists, who embodied the progressive/conservative split as we understand it today. Finally, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela talks about the culture wars, from the 60s to today, as they’ve played out in classrooms and at school board meetings across the nation.

In this introductory episode, we listen to a keynote address by Michael Ignatieff, the Edward R. Murrow Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and former Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, delivered at the Hauenstein Center in April, 2016. Ignatieff has a strong critique of American politics today – he condemns our politicians’ tendency toward spectacle over substance, especially this year, 2016, and accuses pundits on the left and right of exaggerating and exacerbating our differences. As remedy, Ignatieff prescribes a form of principled centrism. He revives and slightly revises the old idea of the vital center, defining it as the place where the left and right clash and collide, but sometimes do come together.

Common Ground, the podcast of the Hauenstein Center, explores the cultural and political landscape shared by the left and right. Every other week, Joseph Hogan, the podcast’s host, talks with public intellectuals, political leaders, scholars, critics, and writers-at-large about American life, ideas, and identities. Soon to be published, Common Ground can be found on iTunes by searching for “Common Ground Initiative.”

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

April 7, 2010 - The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies hosted Grand Valley's Sustainability Summit this spring featuring Mayor George Heartwell, Christina Keller of Cascade Engineering, Bob Synk of the Kent County Commission, and various Grand Valley faculty, staff, and students. For more information on the sustainability summit, visit www.allpresidents.org.

April 7, 2010 - The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies hosted Grand Valley's Sustainability Summit this spring featuring Mayor George Heartwell, Christina Keller of Cascade Engineering, Bob Synk of the Kent County Commission, and various Grand Valley faculty, staff, and students. For more information on the sustainability summit, visit www.allpresidents.org.

April 7, 2010 - The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies hosted Grand Valley's Sustainability Summit this spring featuring Mayor George Heartwell, Christina Keller of Cascade Engineering, Bob Synk of the Kent County Commission, and various Grand Valley faculty, staff, and students. For more information on the sustainability summit, visit www.allpresidents.org.

April 7, 2010 - The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies hosted Grand Valley's Sustainability Summit this spring featuring Mayor George Heartwell, Christina Keller of Cascade Engineering, Bob Synk of the Kent County Commission, and various Grand Valley faculty, staff, and students. For more information on the sustainability summit, visit www.allpresidents.org.

Center for Michigan and the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Center for Michigan and the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Dr. Jim Godde, Dr. Erika King, Dr. Heather Tafel, and Dr. Joel Westra

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

Hauenstein Center

Christopher Hitchens, one of the most controversial and compelling voices in Anglo-American journalism, has twice visited the Hauenstein Center -- once to give a talk on Thomas Jefferson, and once to debate his brother, Peter Hitchens, on subjects ranging from religion to the Iraq War. Hitchens has written twenty books, including biographies of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell, as well as scathing critiques of Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, and Mother Teresa. Most recently, he wrote the book on atheism, "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," and edited "The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever." A contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a frequent commentator on C-SPAN, he also writes regularly for The Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, Harper's Magazine, Slate, and The New York Review of Books.

Christopher Hitchens, one of the most controversial and compelling voices in Anglo-American journalism, has twice visited the Hauenstein Center -- once to give a talk on Thomas Jefferson, and once to debate his brother, Peter Hitchens, on subjects ranging from religion to the Iraq War. Hitchens has written twenty books, including biographies of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell, as well as scathing critiques of Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, and Mother Teresa. Most recently, he wrote the book on atheism, "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," and edited "The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever." A contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a frequent commentator on C-SPAN, he also writes regularly for The Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, Harper's Magazine, Slate, and The New York Review of Books.

Christopher Hitchens, one of the most controversial and compelling voices in Anglo-American journalism, has twice visited the Hauenstein Center -- once to give a talk on Thomas Jefferson, and once to debate his brother, Peter Hitchens, on subjects ranging from religion to the Iraq War. Hitchens has written twenty books, including biographies of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell, as well as scathing critiques of Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton, and Mother Teresa. Most recently, he wrote the book on atheism, "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," and edited "The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever." A contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a frequent commentator on C-SPAN, he also writes regularly for The Atlantic, The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, Harper's Magazine, Slate, and The New York Review of Books.

Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies - Ask Gleaves on Leadership

In addition to sharing DNA, both Christopher and Peter Hitches posses a passion for ideas, eloquence of speech and razor-sharp wit. But this is where the similarities end. Christopher Hitchens, author of "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" is an outspoken Atheist and defender of the Iraq War. His brother Peter is a devout Anglican Christian and anti-war journalist. After a recent reconciliation the two met for their first (and possibly last) public debate in nearly a decade. The result was a fantastic debate on God and war that left a bewildered audience wondering who to cheer for. With the help of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies & Center For Inquiry Michigan, Reasonable Doubts was able to seize a rare opportunity to interview both Hitchens brothers together in the peaceful moments just before things got ugly. Also be sure to check out www.doubtcast.org for video and pictures from the Hitchens vs. Hitchens debate and to hear more great interviews with todays top skeptical minds such as Susan Jacoby, Paul Kurtz, DJ Grothe and Taner Edis.Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.