IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices

Series produced by Guy Rathbun

Series image

This weekly show is devoted to political, social, economic, ecological, philosophical and religious ideas.

This series has been broadcast on public radio, and podcast on National Public Radio for the past 10 years, and has included such luminaries as Robert Reich, Chris Hedges, Michael K. Hudson, Vincent Buligosi, Richard Heinberg, and many more.


561 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Our Health Plan
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Jim Rickards
Health care spending in the U.S. was the highest of any nation in 2013. That includes countries with universal health care. But, medical profession...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Oct 27, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Ada Decades
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Paula Martinac
It’s not often I interview the author of a novel on this program. Sometimes, though, a work of fiction can give us insights and perspectives a non-...

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  • Added: Oct 20, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Forged in Crisis
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Piece image
Harvard historian Nancy Koehn began examining the qualities great leaders must have in order to gain the confidence of the people.

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  • Added: Oct 12, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
The New Roberts Court
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: U.S. Constitution
The framers’ of the US Constitution had a vision of a balanced system. The balance was to be between the public and private spheres, between govern...

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  • Added: Oct 04, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Mark & Deborah Parker
When someone spends their time flattering their boss or superior, they’re known as a sycophant. It’s also called the “slime effect.” Although it wa...

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  • Added: Sep 29, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Quakeland: On the Road to America’s Next Devastating Earthquake
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Kathryn Miles
Following the Mexico City 7.1 earthquake, we are again hearing about the need to stay alert in California and Washington. In reality, though, that ...

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  • Added: Sep 22, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
The Importance of Being Funny
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Al Gini
Political humorists are having a feeding frenzy. There seems to be more satire available than they can handle very day then they can handle.

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  • Added: Sep 14, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Girls Who Code
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Reshma Saujani
The world of technology is male driven. Very few women are represented in leadership roles. For decades now, there’s been a major gender diversity ...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Sep 06, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Fault Lines in the Constitution
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Sanford Levinson
The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification in 1788. After all of this time, many Americans take the words of the consti...

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  • Added: Sep 01, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Alger Hiss: Framed
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Joan Brady
It’s been nearly 70-years since the House on Un-American Activities Committee heard the testimony of Alger Hiss.

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  • Added: Aug 23, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Shaping the Future of Work
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Tom Kochan
America’s workforce and the economy are rapidly changing. As is the type of work we do. Flip that coin over and you’ll see that institutions and po...

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  • Added: Aug 15, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Stealth Communications
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Sue Jansen
The art of communication. We grow up thinking that we can talk and hear, or even sign, therefore we can communicate.

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  • Added: Aug 09, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
STEM for Girls
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Piece image
It probably won’t surprise you but boys and girls are not on a par with STEM programs: That’s the shorthand term for science, technology, engineeri...

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  • Added: Aug 02, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Dr. Peter Kalmus
We have a choice to fight the change, or be part of the change. That has never been more apparent than when we are watching ice caps melt, heat tha...

Bought by XRAY.fm and KCBX


  • Added: Jul 25, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Toxic Inequality
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Thomas M. Shapiro
Income and wealth inequality is now a regular topic of conversation. The standard of living for most Americans’ since the Great Recession is either...

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jul 20, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Sue Klebold
Guilt can haunt any parent whose child commits suicide. That’s especially true for a murder-suicide.

Bought by KVSC and KCBX


  • Added: Jul 12, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 2
Humility is the New Smart Age
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Edward D. Hess
If we were on a ship at sea, and learned of the impending tsunami, we’d do everything we could to prepare for the collision.

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  • Added: Jul 03, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Campus Confidential
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Jacques Berlinerblau
In the 1970s, over half of America’s university professors were tenured or on the tenure track. Today that figure is around 25-percent and falling.

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  • Added: Jun 27, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Democracy in Chains
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Nancy MacLean
When the term RINO is used in political circles today, it’s an acronym for Republican in Name Only. The basic translation is that the today’s GOP b...

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  • Added: Jun 21, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1
Kill It to Save It
From: Guy Rathbun
Series: IdeaSphere: A Platform for Today's Voices
Caption: Professor Corey Dolgon
American voters have been convinced to vote against their best interests for decades, according to sociology professors Corey Dolgon.

Bought by KCBX


  • Added: Jun 12, 2017
  • Length: 29:00
  • Purchases: 1

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