Fordham Conversations

We like to talk about how New York is vibrant and alive...but the flipside of that is that it's NOISY. We visit noise researcher Arline Bronzaft to chat about why noise is so bad in the city and how it affects us; also, we try to hear about what New Yorkers think about noise in their lives.

When you're feeling depressed, do you go to the movies? In the 1930s, that's what America did! We'll revisit the films of the depression, and talk about what they meant to people.

97 years ago this week, more than 100 workers died when New York’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The fire was a catalyst for both labor organizing and factory safety improvements, and the worst workplace disaster until September 11, 2001. This week on Fordham Conversations, we look back on that fire…and talk about what we can take from it today.

When you think of the beginning of the modern world…you don’t tend to think of the middle ages. But author Thomas Cahill says that’s just when it began. We talk with him about his book Mysteries of the Middle Ages—it’s out in paperback this week from Anchor Books.

Sure, we all know that the President is one of the most important people in the world...but what does the Presdident DO, exactly? As we get ready for another round of primaries and eventually to actually vote a new one in, we look with Fordham Political Scientist Jeffrey Cohen on what the job really entails. Also, we talk with some New Yorkers about what they think the president does--and should be doing.

From gas pump rage to phone bill bewilderment, we all know what it feels like to feel unfairly charged...We talk about unfair pricing with Fordham Professor Sarah Maxwell. Her new book is "The Price is Wrong: Understanding What Makes a Price Seem Fair and the True Cost of Unfair Pricing."

Keeping housing affordable, and making affordable housing greener.   

Women’s magazines and other guilty pleasures, with Fordham Professor Amy Aronson.

We look at how human activities are affecting some of our more--and less--photogenic flora and fauna.

New York City's no longer known as one of the crime capitals of America...but for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, crime--and police corruption--are still very much on the radar. His new crime novel, "Triple Homicide", looks at the Blue Wall of Silence.

One of your new years resolutions might have been to get more in touch with your heritage...but if you're Irish-American, what does that mean exactly? We talk with author Peter Quinn about Irish-American identity; and we look at what playing the tin whistle does for your Irishness.

A look at the “mommy wars?, and how—and why-- we look at working mothers the way we do today. My guest is Fordham historian Kirsten Swinth.

Christmas time is toy time...but what are we playing at when we talk about toys? An look at the emergence of the modern toy industry with Fordham historian David Hamlin. Also, we'll look at why it is that jingles are so memorable.

We take a look at--and pay a visit to-- the Hasidic neighborhood of Boro Park, Brooklyn. Our tour guide is Fordham anthropologist Ayala Fader--she's working on a book about Yiddish among Hasidic girls and women.

Did you ask for an X-Files box set for christmas this year? Spending Hanukah with your giant Darth Vader cutout? Mapping out your holiday drive so that you never lose NPR reception? Then you might be...a fan. We explore fandom with Fordham professor Jonathan Gray. He’s one of the editors of the book “Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World.?

This week on Fordham Conversations...Birdsong. We speak with Fordham Biologist Alan Clark about the songs that penguins sing to each other--and we visit a canary singing competition in Michigan.

Feel like taking a walk? How about a 275 mile walk? We’ll speak to author and Fordham grad Chris Lowney about his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela; and for those of us who can’t even seem to get out of bed on these wintry mornings, a look at how seasonal light affects our bodies, and what we can do about it.

A crash course in Low Power FM, media activism, pirate radio and why we should care about it, with Christina Dunbar-Hester, of  Fordham's McGannon Communication Research Center.

We get our freak on with a post-halloween conversation about the American Freak Show, with Fordham English professor Leonard Cassuto.

We look at AIDS in Malawi, with filmmakers Doug Karr and Eddie Boyce. Their new film follows Fordham Law School’s Crowley Scholars on their 2007 mission to Malawi to study the effects of AIDS on women there.