Tag Archives: activist

Arundhati Roy with Anthony Arnove, 3 May 2017 – Audio

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 3, 2017.

Arundhati Roy is an Indian author, actor, and political activist. She is well-known for her book The God of Small Things, for which she received the 1997 Booker Prize, and for her outspoken advocacy of environmental and human rights causes, which has often placed her at odds with Indian legal authorities and her country’s middle-class establishment.

She is the author of An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire; Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers; Capitalism: A Ghost Story; The End of Imagination (new edition);Things That Can and Cannot Be Said (with John Cusack); and The Doctor and the Saint: Caste, Race, and Annihilation of Caste, the Debate Between B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi.  A new novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, is forthcoming in June 2017.

Roy is the recipient of the 2002 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize.

This was an In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom event.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there (to be posted soon). Photos from this event are available on Flickr.

Arundhati Roy with Anthony Arnove, Conversation, 3 May 2017 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 3, 2017.

Arundhati Roy is an Indian author, actor, and political activist. She is well-known for her book The God of Small Things, for which she received the 1997 Booker Prize, and for her outspoken advocacy of environmental and human rights causes, which has often placed her at odds with Indian legal authorities and her country’s middle-class establishment.

She is the author of An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire; Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers; Capitalism: A Ghost Story; The End of Imagination (new edition);Things That Can and Cannot Be Said (with John Cusack); and The Doctor and the Saint: Caste, Race, and Annihilation of Caste, the Debate Between B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi.  A new novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, is forthcoming in June 2017.

Roy is the recipient of the 2002 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize.

This was an In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom event.

In this episode, Arundhati Roy joined Anthony Arnove in conversation. The companion talk is found here.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there (to be posted soon). Photos from this event are available on Flickr.

Arundhati Roy with Anthony Arnove, Talk, 3 May 2017 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 3, 2017.

Arundhati Roy is an Indian author, actor, and political activist. She is well-known for her book The God of Small Things, for which she received the 1997 Booker Prize, and for her outspoken advocacy of environmental and human rights causes, which has often placed her at odds with Indian legal authorities and her country’s middle-class establishment.

She is the author of An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire; Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers; Capitalism: A Ghost Story; The End of Imagination (new edition); Things That Can and Cannot Be Said (with John Cusack); and The Doctor and the Saint: Caste, Race, and Annihilation of Caste, the Debate Between B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi.  A new novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, is forthcoming in June 2017.

Roy is the recipient of the 2002 Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize.

This was an In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom event.

In this episode, Arundhati Roy was introduced by Anthony Arnove, then talked about her work. You will find the companion conversation online shortly.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there (to be posted soon). Photos from this event are available on Flickr.

Ru Freeman with John Freeman, 21 September 2016 – Audio

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 21, 2016.

Ru Freeman with John Freeman

Ru Freeman is a Sri Lankan-born writer and activist whose creative and political writing has appeared internationally. She is the author of the novels A Disobedient Girl (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2009) and On Sal Mal Lane (Graywolf, 2013), a New York Times Editors’ Choice. On Sal Mal Lane takes place off a major road in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, home to Sinhalese, Tamils, Burghers, and Muslims. Of their differences, Freeman writes, “To the untrained eye, the physical distinction between the Sinhalese and the Tamil races was so subtle that only the natives could distinguish one from the other, pointing to the drape of a sari, the cheekbones on a face, the scent of hair oil to clarify. But distinctions there were, and the natural order of things would eventually come to pass: resentments would grow…” Both of Freeman’s novels have been translated into several languages, including Italian, French, Hebrew, and Chinese. In 2015 she edited the anthology Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine, bringing together the work of 65 writers and poets. She blogs for the Huffington Post on literature and politics, is a contributing member of the Asian American Literary Review editorial board, and has been a fellow with the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the 2014 winner of the Sister Mariella Gable Award for fiction and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman. Freeman was a Lannan Residency Fellow in the winter of 2016.

This was a Readings and Conversations event.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also view the video recordings of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.

Ru Freeman with John Freeman, Conversation, 21 September 2016 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 21, 2016.

Ru Freeman is a Sri Lankan-born writer and activist whose creative and political writing has appeared internationally. She is the author of the novels A Disobedient Girl (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2009) and On Sal Mal Lane (Graywolf, 2013), a New York Times Editors’ Choice. On Sal Mal Lane takes place off a major road in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, home to Sinhalese, Tamils, Burghers, and Muslims. Of their differences, Freeman writes, “To the untrained eye, the physical distinction between the Sinhalese and the Tamil races was so subtle that only the natives could distinguish one from the other, pointing to the drape of a sari, the cheekbones on a face, the scent of hair oil to clarify. But distinctions there were, and the natural order of things would eventually come to pass: resentments would grow…” Both of Freeman’s novels have been translated into several languages, including Italian, French, Hebrew, and Chinese. In 2015 she edited the anthology Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine, bringing together the work of 65 writers and poets. She blogs for the Huffington Post on literature and politics, is a contributing member of the Asian American Literary Review editorial board, and has been a fellow with the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the 2014 winner of the Sister Mariella Gable Award for fiction and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman. Freeman was a Lannan Residency Fellow in the winter of 2016.

This was a Readings and Conversations event.

In this episode, she is joined in conversation John Freeman. The companion Reading episode may be found here.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.

Ru Freeman with John Freeman, Reading, 21 September 2016 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 21, 2016.

Ru Freeman is a Sri Lankan-born writer and activist whose creative and political writing has appeared internationally. She is the author of the novels A Disobedient Girl (Atria/Simon & Schuster, 2009) and On Sal Mal Lane (Graywolf, 2013), a New York Times Editors’ Choice. On Sal Mal Lane takes place off a major road in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, home to Sinhalese, Tamils, Burghers, and Muslims. Of their differences, Freeman writes, “To the untrained eye, the physical distinction between the Sinhalese and the Tamil races was so subtle that only the natives could distinguish one from the other, pointing to the drape of a sari, the cheekbones on a face, the scent of hair oil to clarify. But distinctions there were, and the natural order of things would eventually come to pass: resentments would grow…” Both of Freeman’s novels have been translated into several languages, including Italian, French, Hebrew, and Chinese. In 2015 she edited the anthology Extraordinary Rendition: (American) Writers on Palestine, bringing together the work of 65 writers and poets. She blogs for the Huffington Post on literature and politics, is a contributing member of the Asian American Literary Review editorial board, and has been a fellow with the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is the 2014 winner of the Sister Mariella Gable Award for fiction and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman. Freeman was a Lannan Residency Fellow in the winter of 2016.

This was a Readings and Conversations event.

In this episode, she is introduced by John Freeman and then read from her work. The companion Conversation episode may be found here.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.

Juan Cole with Phyllis Bennis, Conversation, 6 April 2016 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 6, 2016.

Juan Cole is a Middle East scholar, distinguished academic, and commentator who has, for three and a half decades, sought to put the complex relationship between the West and the Muslim world in historical context. He has written extensively on modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf and South Asia and is the author of Engaging the Muslim World and, most recently, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East. He has regular columns at The Nation and Truthdig, and blogs on Informed Comment at Juancole.com.

He holds a B.A. in history and literature of religions from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in Arabic studies/history from American University in Cairo and a Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, where he also serves as director for the Center of South Asian Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies.

Cole talked about the Middle East, highlighting ISIS and recent developments in the region, followed by a conversation with Phyllis Bennis.

This event was part of the In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom lecture series.

In this episode, he joined in conversation Phyllis Bennis. The companion Talk episode may be found here.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.

Juan Cole with Phyllis Bennis, Talk, 6 April 2016 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 6, 2016.

Juan Cole is a Middle East scholar, distinguished academic, and commentator who has, for three and a half decades, sought to put the complex relationship between the West and the Muslim world in historical context. He has written extensively on modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf and South Asia and is the author of Engaging the Muslim World and, most recently, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East. He has regular columns at The Nation and Truthdig, and blogs on Informed Comment at Juancole.com.

He holds a B.A. in history and literature of religions from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in Arabic studies/history from American University in Cairo and a Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, where he also serves as director for the Center of South Asian Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies.

Cole talked about the Middle East, highlighting ISIS and recent developments in the region, followed by a conversation with Phyllis Bennis.

This event was part of the In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom lecture series.

In this episode, he is introduced by Phyllis Bennis and then gave a talk. The companion Conversation episode may be found here.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.

Juan Cole with Phyllis Bennis, 6 April 2016 – Audio

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on April 6, 2016.

Juan Cole with Phyllis Bennis, 6 April 2016

Juan Cole is a Middle East scholar, distinguished academic, and commentator who has, for three and a half decades, sought to put the complex relationship between the West and the Muslim world in historical context. He has written extensively on modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf and South Asia and is the author of Engaging the Muslim World and, most recently, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East. He has regular columns at The Nation and Truthdig, and blogs on Informed Comment at Juancole.com.

He holds a B.A. in history and literature of religions from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in Arabic studies/history from American University in Cairo and a Ph.D. in Islamic studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan, where he also serves as director for the Center of South Asian Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies.

Cole talked about the Middle East, highlighting ISIS and recent developments in the region, followed by a conversation with Phyllis Bennis.

This event was part of the In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom lecture series.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also view the video recordings of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.

Winona LaDuke with Mililani Trask, Conversation, 24 February 2016 – Video

Recorded at the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe, New Mexico on February 24, 2016.

Winona LaDuke is an Anishinaabekwe (Ojibwe) enrolled member of the Mississippi Band of Anishinaabeg. She is an indigenous rights activist, an environmentalist, an economist, and a writer, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation and for sustainable development. She founded and for 25 years served as executive director of the White Earth Land Recovery Program, and is currently executive director of Honor the Earth, a national Native American foundation. She has served on the boards of the Indigenous Women’s Network and Greenpeace USA, and twice ran as the Green Party’s vice presidential candidate.

LaDuke has written extensively on Native American and environmental issues. Among her books are The Militarization of Indian Country (2011), All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life, and Recovering the Sacred (both books to be re-issued later this year by Haymarket Books).

LaDuke talked about climate change and climate justice in the indigenous peoples’ communities, followed by a talk with Mililani Trask.

This event was part of the In Pursuit of Cultural Freedom lecture series.

In this episode, she joins in conversation with Mililani Trask. The companion Talk episode may be found here.

You may learn more about this event on the Lannan website; you may also listen to the audio recording of this event there.

Additional photos of this event are available on Flickr.