Episode 199: The Open Door welcomes logician Professor Gary Mar of SUNY at Stony Brook (May 6, 2021)

This week (Thursday, May 6) on The Open Door we explore the multi-faceted legacy of Asian Americans. In recent months, as we know, they have increasingly become the targets of hate crimes. A range of other issues also come to mind: international study abroad programs, charges of intellectual espionage, and the influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Our special and welcome guest is the distinguished logician Professor Gary Mar of SUNY at Stony Brook. The following are among the questions that we asked him. 1. Prof. Mar, Gary if I might, could you tell us a bit about your background? You are from California, are you not?2. You are an activist as well as an academic. Why have you become both and what led you to conjoin the two?3. Are you personally familiar with any hate crimes against Asians?4. There is a widespread perception of Asian Americans as "the model minority." Is this perception a misperception? What problems does it foster?5. How has your own university-recognized Asian American students and faculty? What support have friends of the university provided?6. Until the past few years, a great many Asian students have come to study in the United States. What has given rise to this phenomenon?6. Some Chinese academics, it seems, have engaged in intellectual espionage in the country. What prompts them to do so?7. As a visitor to China, you made contact with Chinese Christians. Could you tell us about that experience?8. What do you know about how Christians are faring in China today?9. Are there universal human rights? If so, what is their foundation? 10. Chances are that, for you, "retirement" will lead to even more opportunities to "speak the truth." What's ahead, Prof. Mar?