“Ideas and Issues,” a weekly interview show on WETS-FM (89.5), ETSU’s National Public Radio affiliate station, begins its seventh year on Sunday with a year-long series on “Citizen, State, and World.”
“Ideas and Issues,” which airs each Sunday at 11:30 a.m., is hosted by Dr. Hugh LaFollette, a professor in the ETSU department of philosophy and humanities.
The series is comprised of four sub-series: “Nations and Nationalism,” “Cooperative Relations between Govern-ments,” “Adversarial Relations between Governments” and “International Justice.”
The series features guests discussing the nature of citizenship, the status of nations, and our international responsibilities in an increasingly globalized world.
The first sub-series begins with two interviews that set the stage for the remaining shows in the series.
In the first, Arend Lijphart, professor of political science at the University of California-San Diego, explains the basic differences between competing political systems.
The following week, on Sept. 9, philosopher Jonathan Wolff, chair at University College, London, covers the basic differences between competing economic systems.
The next four shows explore the nature of citizenship, especially in our world of diverse – and sometimes conflicting – cultures.
Joyce Goodfriend, author of Before the Melting Pot and professor of history at the University of Denver, discusses the idea of the melting pot on Sept. 16. “Should we aim toward a society in which people from different backgrounds meld into a single culture?”
The following week, Sept. 23, Jacob Levy, author of The Multiculturalism of Fear and professor of political science at the University of Chicago, talks about citizenship in a multicultural state.
On Sept. 30, Amitai Etzioni, founder of the Communitarian Network and University Professor at George Washington University, expounds on the significance of community.
Then Richard Mulgan, professor of public policy at the Australian National University, points out the special issues that arise in countries with indigenous populations – countries like the United States, Australia, and Canada – on Oct. 7.
The Oct. 14 and 21 shows will focus on the nature and moral significance of nationalism. In the first, Judith Lichtenberg, research associate with the Institute for Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, airs her misgivings with nationalism, while the following week, David Miller, professor of politics and international relations at England’s Oxford University, explains the importance of nationalism.
The first sub-series ends with two shows on immigration.
On Oct. 28, Alan Kraut, professor of history at the American University and president of the Immigration and Ethnic Studies History Society, argues that we should maintain fairly open borders.
The following week, Richard Lamm, director of the Center for Public Policy at the University of Denver and former governor of Colorado, advocates substantially closing our national borders.
Topics in later sub-series include NAFTA, the United Nations, the European Union, the International Court of Justice, humanitarian intervention, economic sanctions, war, world hunger and international rights. This series features people from three continents and from diverse academic disciplines, as well as a long-time member of the European Parliament, and representatives of several “think tanks.”
Lists of current and previous guests, as well as RealAudio copies of more than 50 previous shows, is available online at www.etsu.edu/philos/wets.htm.
The show can now be heard by anyone in the world with a computer, an Internet connection and the free RealAudio player. It is also rebroadcast by KKSR in St. Cloud, Minn. For more information, contact LaFollette by phone at (423) 439-6625 or by e-mail at lafollet@etsu.edu.

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