Media Edge

"Heidi Boghosian on Privatized Security" (10 minutes)

The CIA, NSA and the Pentagon rely on outside contractors to much of their work, but what if big corporations could use them as well to spy on activists opposed to their actions?  Corporations aren’t bound by the constitution like government agencies and therefore aren’t required to honor the same rules when it comes to surveillance.  How will free speech suffer if corporations can ally themselves with government spy agencies and private security firms to intimate and silence those who questions them?

"James Bamford on the NSA" (10 minutes)

The disclosures about the NSA’s secret surveillance programs shocked the nation. But how did the NSA get so powerful in the first place? The NSA began in absolute secrecy and has remained that way most of it’s life.  How does an institution like exist within the framework of an open society and is it a threat to the very values it claims to be protecting?

"Stephen Kinzer on Regime Changes" (9.5 minutes)

The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are fresh in our memories.  However, the list doesn’t end there, invasions and overthrows are more common than we think, stretching from Panama to Kosovo.   The United States has long held the view that the world is mess and we need to “fix it.”  But do we really know what’s best for the rest of the world, or even have the means to change it effectively?

"The Great Divide with Joseph Stiglitz and Robert Reich" (57.5 minutes)

Economist Joseph Stiglitz and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich reminisce about opposing “corporate welfare” during their days in the Clinton Administration and talk here about problematic trade deals, income inequality and Stiglitz’s new book, “The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them.” Recorded at UC Berkeley on April 29, 2015.

"TED Talks: Bryan Stevenson" (23.5 minutes)

In an engaging and personal talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness.