UNDER THE RADAR with Host Frank Fear

Welcome to a special recording,  ‘Duley Acknowledged,” acknowledging John Duley on his 100th birthday. You'll hear a variety of voices talking about John's life and work. You'll hear expressions of admiration and respect for what John has meant to them and how he has served the public good. Thank you, Ann Kammerer, Judy Gardi, Lynn Jondahl, David Hollister, Bob Green, Elaine Davis, Diane &amp...

In the 2 hours that follow, John Duley shares thoughts about his lifelong commitment to serving the public good. John's work spans his formative years as an Ohio State student, seminary education in NYC, sabbatical at Cambridge University, campus ministry work in Kalamazoo, Columbus, State College, and East Lansing. student development work at MSU & nationally, and in a variety of efforts undertak...

Nearly a century and a half ago, the major parties put partisan interests before country and, in the exchange, dealt African Americans a vicious blow.  Because hyperactive party politics and racial intolerance are as alive today as they were back then, could America revisit history later this year? Here's what happened nearly 150 years ago, what might happen this year, and what we can do in c...

It's rare to see public stakeholders/constituents involved in the decision-making process these days. Instead, executives announce decisions and then turn to public relations to ‘spin it’ in a positive direction. Engaging stakeholders has become a leadership exception rather than a leadership rule. Democratic Professionalism is a much-needed alternative.

1939 and 2020 seem so far apart, but they aren't when it comes to living in the Land of Oz. "Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!"

The literature has helped me better understand the political realities of living in 21st Century America. I've already discussed two books in this podcast series, Anand Giridharadas' ' Winners Take All' and Joseph Stiglitz's, 'People, Power, and Profits .' I'll discuss another book in this podcast, Isabel Wilkerson's recently released, ' Caste .' But as I read books like those I'm also struck by h...

Every time I think something is new, it isn’t. Sure, the characters change, and the plot twists aren’t the same, but there’s thematic similarity. Today’s back and forth is about public health in the face of a pandemic, but more than a century ago it was about government inaction to ensure food safety. Dr. Anthony Fauci meet Dr. Wiley—Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, that is—a government scientist who...

Two of my favorite historical figures--Lucy Burns and Alice Paul--were protagonists in one of my favorite stories in politics--how women activists pushed and pushed to secure women's right to vote. 70+ years it took, from start to finish. Burns and Paul weren't involved at the beginning, but they sealed the deal at the end. Along the way, they took on a sitting president...and won. In today's podc...

2020 and 1963 aren't far apart. (Excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King's 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail,' April 1963)

You’ve heard it said hundreds of times, ‘It’s worth fighting for.’ It's a reference to something that's really important—deep and personal—and something from which you can’t turn away. A cause is also worth fighting for--like hunger, which you can see; intolerance which you can taste; and sexism, or homophobia, or racism which you can feel. Some causes require valor, including the possibility of g...

I prepared this podcast for three reasons. First, Neoliberal is a cumbersome/dense concept. So I look at Neoliberalism in a way that's easier to understand—Margaret Thatcher’s TINA (‘There is No Alternative’). Second, I describe an alternative to Neoliberalism/TINA/-Progressive Capitalism—an approach advanced by Columbia University professor and Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz. Usin...

Jason Feirman (co-host of '3rd & 3' podcast) and Bill Rizzo (prof emeritus, U. of Wisconsin) join Frank to talk about the uncertain state of America's sports. From COVID-19 to systemic racism in sports/society to whether there should be sports this year, it's a conversation you won't want to miss.

Browsing through my library collection the other day, I came across Malcolm Gladwell’s 2000 book, The Tipping Point. Back then, Gladwell used an epidemiological model to describe and explain social change. It dawned on me that America is currently experiencing two pandemics--one is disease-related and the other is a people’s movement—and both are being spread by person-to-person contact. The natur...

"Positivity" is a word Kadin likes to use. "My purpose in life is to spread positivity in a negative world," he wrote recently. Kadin uses writing and music as tools to build that world. I Kadin through his writing. He writes just about every day, and he always has something important to say--about drug use, violence, responsibility, and doing the right thing. Today it's your turn to meet 16-year-...

America has awakened! But it's only the first step in the long road of change. Citizen protests--as important as they are--only go so far. Institutions need to change, too, and that’s no easy matter. And change is especially difficult when circumstances have become hardened--socio-culturally and institutionally--where longstanding demographics and institutional lethargy come into play. There's a w...

Tom Edens of Bellaire, Michigan died March 15 2020 at the age of 80 after a courageous battle with Lewy Body Dementia. Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University, Tom was a true north compass to his spouse, children, grandchildren, and lifelong friends. He was a brilliant collaborator, thoughtful listener, resourceful problem solver, and tinkerer. His subtle and dry sense of humor was everprese...

Roger Barbee's recent article, "Systemic Racism in College Sports is Only Part of the Story," is the point of departure for a panel discussion with Seth Isenberg, owner/publisher of The Journal-Herald (White Haven, PA), Roger, and me on the status and future of big-time college sports--football and men's basketball, specifically. 

Screenwriter and author Matthew Paris is also a film producer, director, and actor. His award-winning The Last Catch nabbed the Orsen Wells Award for Best Screenplay at the California Film Awards, and the Golden Reel Award for Best Short Film at the Canadian International Film Festival. As an author, Matthew's resume includes Eight Lanes to Glory, The Eyes on Me, and Two Hearts as One.  

We're living a New Gilded Age, not unlike America of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when people like Carnegie, Morgan, and Rockefeller held sway. With public funding in distress today, we look increasingly to elites to support programs and initiatives. Anand Giridharadas argues for an alternative--for citizen-engaged democratic work undertaken in egalitarian public institutions that serve...

In times of crisis, leaders need to act truthfully, decisively, and rapidly. That happened 80 years ago Tuesday. Called 'The Miracle of Deliverance,' bold action saved thousands of lives. Today, America needs its own brand of 'deliverance.' Here's why and how'

Sam Johnson has done so many meaningful things during this life--becoming an Emmy-winning local TV producer, engaging in public outreach work with the Federal government, appearing in Hollywood films, and writing historical and children's books, among many other things. You'll enjoy meeting Sam and learning more about his work and life.

Unrigged is a timely and relevant book, one that electoral reformers and democracy activists/scholars will enjoy reading. David Daley documents the work of everyday Americans who were unwilling to accept the status quo--and then worked to change it.

In 1995, Robert Barr and John Tagg published an article that launched a sea change in undergraduate education. Bob Barr reflects on the experience in this edition of 'Under the Radar.'

Written in 1971 by soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, it's called The Powell Memo (sometimes referred to as The Powell Manifesto). Powell created a Conservative call to arms. Decades later, you can see Powell's influence in enterprises like Fox News, in the work of the Koch Brothers, in ideas like 'Citizen United,' and in political initiatives like gerrymandering. 

In an important book for America, Institutional Racism and Restorative Justice (Routledge, 2020), Professor Emling helps us understand one of America's longstanding problems—institutional racism. She also recommends ways to achieve restorative justice.