PODCAST · education
The Common Thread Podcast
by The Howard Thurman Center
The Common Thread Podcast is recorded and produced by undergraduate students at Boston University. Our goal is to seek out and discuss topics important to our community.
Episodes
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Bob Hildreth on Student Debt
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…
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Dr. Bacevich and the Niebuhrian Critique of American Power
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...
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William McKeen on Hunter S. Thompson
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…
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Lawrence O'Donnell on the 1968 Election
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...
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Brother Larry Part 2: Protestantization of Confucianism
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...
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Brother Larry Part 1: Protestantization
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...
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A Veteran's Transformation: The Story of Steven J. Mandile
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,...
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WBUR's Meghna Chakrabarti
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...
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BU's 30 Under 30: Me Too, Part 2
“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,...
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Foreign Aid as Enforcement Power
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...
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Just Cannabis Regulation
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...
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BU's 30 Under 30: Me Too, Part 1
“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,...
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Current Affairs Magazine — Part 2
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…
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Spanish Regional Nationalisms and Political Strategies — Part 2
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...
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Spanish Regional Nationalisms and Political Strategies — Part 1
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...
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Current Affairs Magazine — Part 1
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.
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Lata Nott — Washington DC Series
See background information at www.bucommonthread.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...
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Luke Hartig — Washington DC Series
See background information at www.bucommonthread.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…
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Nora Bensahel — Washington DC Series
See background information at www.bucommonthread.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...
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Katie Zezima — Washington DC Series
See background information at www.bucommonthread.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…
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Terri Tanielian — Washington DC Series
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...
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Adrian Atizado — Washington DC Series
See background information at www.bucommonthread.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....
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Ethan Glick — Washington DC Series
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…
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Aaron Frank — Washington DC Series
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...
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Mika'il Petin — Washington DC Series
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…
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Experiential Education Part 2
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…
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Experiential Education Part 1
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...
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Peace Corps Adventures at Middle Age
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...
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Nadeem Mazen and Community Politics
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…
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LGBTQ Youth Homelessness
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.
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Student Labor Action Project
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...
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Chicago's History Episode 2: The Political Machine
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.
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North Korea and Asia Pacific Security
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.
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Turkey's Referendum in Context
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...
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Chicago's History Episode 1: MLK and Civil Rights
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....
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Confucianism Series, Episode 3: Dr. Bin Song (Continued)
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....
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Confucianism Series, Episode 2: Dr. Bin Song
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…
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Confucianism Series, Episode 1: Boston Confucianism with Dr. Neville
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...
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Edge of Activism
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,...
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One BU Gala
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, bucommonthread.com
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Bob Dylan
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...
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Beyond Vietnam
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"...
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Urban Planning in NYC
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...
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French Presidential Election
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.
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Conservative Climate Action
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...
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Oscars Roundtable
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.
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Summer in Palestine
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...
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BU College Republicans
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...
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Independent Learning
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...
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Sanctuary Campus
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...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Common Thread Podcast is recorded and produced by undergraduate students at Boston University. Our goal is to seek out and discuss topics important to our community.
HOSTED BY
The Howard Thurman Center
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Common Thread Podcast have?
The Common Thread Podcast currently has 55 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Common Thread Podcast about?
The Common Thread Podcast is recorded and produced by undergraduate students at Boston University. Our goal is to seek out and discuss topics important to our community.
How often does The Common Thread Podcast release new episodes?
The Common Thread Podcast has 55 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Common Thread Podcast?
You can listen to The Common Thread Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Common Thread Podcast?
The Common Thread Podcast is created and hosted by The Howard Thurman Center.
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