Recent Videos

• 

  Matthew Bowman on the Mormon Moment We’re in

  May 8, 2012 / Faith Complex

  In 2001, Newsweek magazine first coined the term “Mormon moment” to refer to the LDS Church’s sudden thrust into the spotlight. The Mormons have flitted in and out of the national consciousness since the community’s founding in the 19th century, according to Matthew Bowman, Professor of Religion at Hampden-Sydney College, but Mitt Romney’s campaign for the presidency may be the biggest Mormon moment yet. Professor Bowman is the author of the recently released The Mormon People: The Making of an [...]

  Continue reading »

• 

  Robert Lieber on Why America Is Great

  May 6, 2012 / Faith Complex

  The world financial crisis and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has led commentators to conclude that the United States is slipping from its position as global hegemon. In today’s Faith Complex, Robert J. Lieber, Professor of Government and International Affairs at Georgetown University, joins new host Mitchel Hochberg to discuss why America is not destined to decline. In his just-released book, Power and Willpower in the American Future: Why the United States Is Not Destined to Decline, Dr. Lieber argues [...]

  Continue reading »

• 

  Jerusha Lamptey on Wearing the Hijab in the USA

  April 24, 2012 / Faith Complex

  On March 21, 2012, Shaima Alawadi, an Iraqi-American mother of five, was found savagely beaten in her California home, and died three days later. Next to the body, according to her son, was a note reading: “This is my country. Go back to yours, terrorist.” Understandably, the killing has been viewed by many as an Islamophobic hate crime. Although the circumstances of the crime remain unclear, the tragedy does raise many questions about religious tolerance, especially towards Muslim-American women who [...]

  Continue reading »

•  
• 

  Hannah Rosenthal on Current Trends in Anti-Semitism

  March 13, 2012 / Faith Complex

  How do you differentiate between legitimate criticisms of the Israeli state and anti-Semitic sentiment? And how do you promote freedoms of expression while still curtailing anti-Semitic hate speech? Hannah Rosenthal, State Department Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Semitism, joins Jacques Berlinerblau on Faith Complex to explain how her office deals with these and other difficult questions. Created by a 2004 Congressional mandate, the Office of the Special Envoy aims to monitor the status of anti-Semitism and Jewish communities in [...]

  Continue reading »

• 

  Tawfik Hamid on the Jamaa Islamiya and the Arab Spring

  March 6, 2012 / Faith Complex

  Last year’s Egyptian revolution and ouster of Hosni Mubarak has created new political opportunities for previously marginalized groups. Among these is the radical Islamist Jamaa Islamiya (literally “Islamic Group”), which has been accused of ties to Al-Qaeda and is treated as a terrorist group by American and European governments. As Egypt moves forward, a power struggle between secular and religious factions, including hardline Salafis, is becoming increasingly significant. In this Faith Complex, Dr. Tawfik Hamid discusses his history with the [...]

  Continue reading »

• 

  Asra Nomani Analyzes the Egyptian Blue Bra Revolution

  February 28, 2012 / Faith Complex

  During the Tahrir Square uprisings in Cairo, onlookers captured this extremely disturbing video of Egyptian military police brutalizing a female protester, dragging her along the street so that her blue bra becomes visible in the course of the beating. The incident sparked a wave of solidarity across Egypt and the unnamed “blue bra girl” has become an icon and rallying cry. Crucially, the Blue Bra Revolution also turns the spotlight on what the role of women will be in the [...]

  Continue reading »

•  
• 

  Chaim Levin on Jewish Orthodoxy and Homosexuality

  February 21, 2012 / Faith Complex

  Last year, Crown Heights native Chaim Levin participated in making an It Gets Better video for gay Orthodox Jews. He was subsequently pilloried for perceived “self-indulgence.” In response, Levin authored his own piece detailing his struggles with reconciling his religious upbringing and homosexuality. Chaim Levin kindly agreed to travel down to Washington, DC in order to participate in Faith Complex. In this episode with Jacques Berlinerblau, he discusses the challenges facing LGBTQ youth in the Orthodox community, the controversial JONAH [...]

  Continue reading »

• 

  “What Makes a Russian Jewish American Writer?” An Interview with Author Lara Vapnyar

  December 6, 2011 / Literature Live

  Up-and-coming author Lara Vapnyar shares selections from her writing that are amusing, poignant, and wonderfully evocative of the Russian-Jewish-American corner of Brooklyn she once called home. From the elderly Russian babushkas who stagger dramatically around New York to the single immigrants looking for love in English language classes, her characters come to life in this interview by PJC Director Jacques Berlinerblau. Lara Vapnyar emigrated from Russia to New York in 1994 and began publishing short stories in English in 2002. [...]

  Continue reading »

• 

  Bruce Hoffman Analyzes bin Laden’s Death

  November 4, 2011 / Faith Complex

  On May 2, 2011, Navy SEALS cornered and killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, nearly ten years after the so-called War on Terror was first declared. Bin Laden’s death leaves unanswered questions such as: Who will inherit al-Qaeda’s leadership? What is the future of the Taliban insurgency? And will this lead to greater stability in the region? Bruce Hoffman joins Professor Sarah Fainberg to discuss these problematics in this Faith Complex. Dr. Hoffman is Director of the Center for Peace [...]

  Continue reading »

•