Professor of Anthropology and History, University of Illinois
Professor of Anthropology and History at the University of Illinois, and Director of its Program in Jewish Culture and Society; incoming Artistic Director of the Chicago Humanities Festival and author of Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Hatreds Old and New in Europe
Germany Ignites Debate on Multiculturalism, Integration Memories of the Holocaust made Germany sensitive to ethnic discrimination after the Second World War. But the demand for labor has led to the immigration of two million Turks who are now living in ethnic ghettos. A new book saying immigrants of inferior intelligence are changing the nation has become a best seller, and this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel told a political meeting that "multiculturalism has failed, totally."
Germany's Identity Crisis Memories of the Holocaust made Germany sensitive to ethnic discrimination after the Second World War. The country's demand for cheap labor has produced a Turkish minority two million strong in a nation of 80 million. New immigration laws allow Germany citizenship, but the Turks are living in ethnic ghettos, featuring women in veils and street signs in Turkish. Chancellor Angela Merkel says "multiculturalism" is a failure and that it's time for a change. Have the Turks refused to assimilate, or are they unwelcome? A best-selling anti-Islamic book has raised fears of a right-wing nationalism that's all too familiar given Germany's Nazi past.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.