Minnesota Public Radio

Ted Widmer on Minnesota Public Radio | 'War and Diplomacy'

Articles — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:10:00 -0400

New America in the News:

The notion that America is an "exceptional" nation has guided our foreign policy from the earliest days of the Republic. But critics say that idea has been used to justify some questionable adventures abroad. This is the latest discussion in Midmorning's election-season series examining the debates that define and inspire our country, using Howard Fineman's "The Thirteen American Arguments" as a guide.

Guests:

Marilyn Young: Professor of history at New York University, and co-editor of "Iraq and the Lessons of Vietnam."

Ted Widmer: Director of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, and a fellow at the New America Foundation. He was a foreign policy speech writer for President Clinton. His newest book is "Ark of the Liberties."

LINK to audio

Rajan Menon on Minnesota Public Radio | 'What Does a Peace Agreement Mean for Georgia's Future?'

Communications — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:06:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Though a cease fire agreement has been signed between Georgia and Russia, there are conflicting reports as to when hostilities actually will stop. Russian troops plan to stay in a security zone in the region.

Featured Guests:

Rajan Menon: Professor of international relations at Lehigh University and a fellow at the New America Foundation.

Jeffrey Mankoff: Adjunct fellow for Russian Eurasian Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

LINK to audio

Minnesota Public Radio Quotes Afshin Molavi on Islam, Media

Communications — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:58:00 -0400

New America in the News:

St. Paul, Minn. — In recent years, many people have been hearing more about Islam because of 9/11 and the war in Iraq. In recent days, it may be because of the controversy over Muslim taxi drivers in the Twin Cities who don't want to carry passengers with alcohol. Sometimes, those stories can reinforce negative and misleading stereotypes...

There are more than a billion Muslims in the world. It's estimated that only about four million of them live in the United States. But many Americans know little about the small minority of people who practice Islam in this country. Much of the discussion last night focused on American ignorance about Islam and how to change it.

Afshin Molavi, a fellow at the New America Foundation said that the media play a large role how Islam is perceived. He's says news organizations must become more responsible.

"I think there is an element of lazy journalism out there. It's just a lot easier to take one extreme side, pit it against the other extreme side and then that's on-the-one-hand/on-the-other-hand journalism. We lose that vast middle ground," he said...

To listen to the audio and for the full transcript, please visit the Minnesota Public Radio website.