UNDER THE RADAR with Host Frank Fear

The year is 1981 and two colleagues— Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory —play themselves in a loosely based autobiographical enactment. The film’s theme is basic but elusive: a person can benefit from spending time with a fundamentally different person. That theme is as relevant today as it was four decades ago.  

Each year I wager a guess at which mid-major men's college basketball teams might surprise during the opening weekend of March Madness. Here are teams to watch this year. (Cover photo, Grand Canyon's Asbjorn Midgaard as published in the Arizona Republic )

A viable Independent candidate may enter Florida's 2022 gubernatorial race. He is David Jolly, formerly elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, who left the Republican Party with fanfare. While an Independent running for statewide office rarely makes headline news, this time it is. Here's why and what it could mean for Florida and beyond.

Each year I wager a guess at which 'mid-majors' might surprise during the opening weekend of March Madness. Here are teams to watch this year.

Nothing. Silence from the public Left about Cuomo is no different from silence from the public Right re Trump's transgressions.

Omar H. Ali’s, In the Balance of Power: Independent Black Politics and Third-Party Movements in the United States, could carry the title, “What We Should Have Learned in High School, But Didn’t.” And you can engage Professor Ali virtually on Sunday, February 21, 7 p.m. ET, when he talks about his book at The Politics for People Book Club. Register here to participate (no-cost). 

It’s easy to get carried away with rankings, but I don’t think that posture applies this time. I’m talking about America’s international standing in 2020 as measured by The Social Progress Index . We’re ranked #28 in the world. Why are we falling in the rankings? What can be done to reverse it? Here's what I think.

It's not a government program, and it's not a non-profit offering either. It's the product of citizen resolve--The Edgewood Village Scholars Program. Starting in elementary school, students living in resource-limited households are prepped for college. Launched in 2008, the program is yielding college graduates. Located in the Lansing, MI area, the program is assisted by Michigan State University...

It's not a government program, and it's not a non-profit offering either. It's the product of citizen resolve--The Edgewood Village Scholars Program. Starting in elementary school, students living in resource-limited households are prepped for college. Launched in 2008, the program is yielding college graduates. Located in the Lansing, MI area, the program is assisted by Michigan State University...

Kadin McElwain of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, joins me in reflecting on 2020 and what we might do to make 2021 a better year for ourselves and others. We draw on thoughts authored by somebody famous--Charles Dickens--and somebody not, Vera Hogan of Fenton, MI.  Both offer wise observations, indeed.

Caryl Churchill’s play, Top Girls , was w ritten in the early 1980s and first performed in 1982. An outstanding piece of socio-cultural satire, it was also a timely response to Neoliberalism. When Churchill wrote the play, Neoliberalism was being foisted full-stop on Britain by its enthusiastic practitioner, Margaret Thatcher. That was then. Today, her critique continues to stand tall.  

In today's podcast, I draw on the work of 20th Century dramaturgist J.B. Priestly in his mid-century play, An Inspector Calls . Published in 1945 and set in 1912 Britain, it’s one of Priestley’s best-known works. As a social commentator, Priestley puts a mirror before us and asks, “What do you see?” Although written during a very different era, Priestley’s portrait applies today. It’s one reason w...

Shared governance and faculty voice--then, now, and for the future--is a panel presentation/discussion hosted by Ruben Martinez. Topics and panelists are: 'History Erased' with Frank Fear, professor emeritus; 'Faculty Voice in Shared Governance” with Andaluna Borcila, associate professor; and '“Rebuilding Shared Governance” with Stephen Gasteyer, associate professor. Drs. Martinez. Fear, Borcila,...

What began with economic liberalism--rooted in Adam Smith’s 18th Century classic book, The Wealth of Nations-- has evolved and morphed well beyond economics, first to public policy and, today, to the socio-cultural sphere. Berkeley’s Wendy Brown asserts that Neoliberalism has become a 'saturating reality principle in society.’ Much has been written about the impact of Neoliberalism on higher educa...

Music is entertainment and more. For social activists, music is an anthem for change. It also inspires, stimulates, educates, galvanizes/connects people, celebrates, agitates, truth-tells, and does much more. In this video, Paul Babladelis and Jennifer HudsonPrenkert join Frank Fear to discuss music as change agent. They illustrate the discussion with four of Paul's performances: My Own Two Hands...

It’s a force that few in the general public recognize and even fewer call it by name. But the 'it,' Neoliberalism, has changed society. And as Neoliberalism keeps evolving and morphing, it becomes increasingly destructive, encroaching on democracy and on many other issues/matters that progressives hold dear. I make the case drawing on Wendy Brown's recent book, In the Ruins of Neoliberalism

Times change. Human behavior? That’s another story. Never seen anybody like Donald J. Trump? Well, there have been others. In 1875, British novelist Anthony Trollope wrote about one of them in his classic, The Way We Live Now. The character’s name was Augustus Melmotte.

Welcome everyone to “Bailey at 20,” celebrating the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program at Michigan State University. In the mid-1990s, Dean Fred Poston asked faculty to design a program that would complement and supplement students' undergraduate majors. What emerged was the Bailey Scholars Program. In this podcast, you'll hear multiple reflections about the...

Have I snarked? Mea culpa! It's one reason I decided to write this essay, which is an attempt to elevate understanding of what has become a ubiquitous but poorly understood phenomenon. America isn’t divided when it comes to 'snark.' Right, Center, Left ... Republican, Democrat, Independent, Other ... Urban, Suburban. Rural .... East, West, North, South ... Profession or trade... It doesn’t ma...

With the global rise in Populist activity, it's a good time to get a better handle on what Populism means, including who Populists are, what they believe, and what they do.

Stimulated by a new book authored by John. B. Judis, The Socialist Awakening .

Review of a new book: Katherine M. Gehl and Michael E. Porter, The Politics Industry (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2020).

Authored by Professor Amos N. Guiora and published by American Bar Association Publishing (2020).

For years, storylines about sexual assaults have focused on perpetrators and victims/survivors--and for very good reasons. There's a related storyline, too. It's about institutional affiliates who either observe or know about sexual assaults but do not take appropriate action on the victims' behalf. Omissions make it easier for perpetrators to get away with assaults, for assaults to continue, and...

Tom and Diane have speaking roles on 'Duley Acknowledged,' but it only seemed right to offer them extended time so that they could express their admiration and thanks to John Duley, whom they've known for 50 years. Here are Tom and Diane Emling.