CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [video]

Carlos Fernando Chamorro is the son of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, editor of the independent daily La Prensa who was assassinated during the Somoza dictatorship. Chamorro is among the nation's most respected TV journalists, and a leading voice for press freedom and the protection of independent journalism in Nicaragua.

A talk by Yuki Tanaka, Professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute. Dr. Tanaka examines the question of the criminality of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the responsibility of American political and military leaders who were closely involved in the decision-making and execution of the order to drop the bombs. Criminality is examined in accordance with international law effective at the time that the bombs were dropped and in the light of the Charter of the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. The lecture also examines the history and present situation of indiscriminate aerial bombing of civilian populations. It examines how the use of this tactic started, what kind of military logic was used to justify it, and why it is still being widely sanctioned despite the fact that large numbers of civilians are repeatedly victimized in various war-torn regions of the world. It further explores how we should utilize the result of the International Peoples' Tribunal of Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to increase understanding of the fact that killing civilians is a crime against humanity, regardless of the asserted military justification. The Center for East Asian Studies 2009 Najita Distinguished Lecture.

A talk by Arvind Panagariya. Arvind Panagariya discusses his new book, "India: The Emerging Giant", a history of the economic development of India since independence and the "definitive book on the Indian economy" according to Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria. Panagariya is Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy, International and Public Affairs, and Economics at Columbia University. He is also a former chief economist at the Asian Development Bank and an adviser to several multilateral financial institutions including the IMF and the WTO. The author or editor of several books and numerous scholarly articles, Panagariya also writes a monthly column in the Economic Times, India's top financial daily, and contributes to multiple media outlets including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, India Today, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and CNN (Asia). From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

A talk by Bernard Lown, MD. Physician, author, and Nobel Prize-winning peace activist Bernard Lown discusses his new memoir, "Prescription for Survival: A Doctor's Journey to End Nuclear Madness". The inventor of the defibrillator, Dr. Lown was also a peace and anti-nuclear activist, participating in the founding of Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1960 and of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in 1981. In 1985, IPPNW was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Lown is currently Professor of Cardiology Emeritus at the Harvard School of Public Health. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

A talk by Robert Pape, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. In their book "Cutting the Fuse", Robert A. Pape, James K. Feldman and the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism examine every suicide terrorist attack worldwide from 1980 to 2009, nearly 2200 attacks in all. In this talk, Robert Pape presents their finding that contrary to popular and dangerously mistaken belief, religion alone motivates only a tiny minority of these attacks. Instead, the root cause is foreign military occupation, which triggers secular and religious people to carry out suicide attacks.