Key Conversations with Phi Beta Kappa

The Civil War historian talks about combining intellectual, cultural, social, and economic history to truly grasp the U.S.’s past, especially events …

The Princeton University professor shares how instrumental one teacher was in her own path to college, and why the U.S. should do more to invest in …

The UCLA professor shares how the life-changing revelation that she could be a scientist, and work outdoors, led to her research on tree genomes and …

Growing up, Professor Maya Jasanoff was surrounded by academics and scholars—an environment she believes gave her the confidence to explore academia …

An assumption about life expectancy is that the richer the society, the longer and healthier the individuals in that society will live—but in the …

This special episode of Key Conversations is joined by Dr. Cristina Lafont, Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern …

The Michigan State University Professor of Integrative Biology shares how her early fascination for animals led to an extensive career in researching …

The Yale University Professor of Religious and American Studies thinks outside the box when it comes to religion, and shares why she looks at …

The UVA Spanish Professor dives into the literature and cartography of European expansion, including the colonial history of early modern Spain and …

The Macalester College Professor of Geography shares how his time in the Peace Corps in Mali led to his lifelong love of indigenous agricultural …

The Brown University professor of Environmental Studies shares his lifelong admiration of rivers and how he came to study many kinds of flowing water, including the melting glaciers of the Arctic. He encourages …

The Buddhist and Tibetan Studies professor at the University of Michigan recalls how a tumultuous period in U.S. politics led him to his area of …

The Yale professor of French and Humanities shares how cathedral fires “of suspicious origin” played a role in the transition from Romanesque to …

The UCLA professor shares how the life-changing revelation that she could be a scientist, and work outdoors, led to her research on tree genomes and …

The Princeton University professor shares how instrumental one teacher was in her own path to college, and why the U.S. should do more to invest in …

The Civil War historian talks about combining intellectual, cultural, social, and economic history to truly grasp the U.S.’s past, especially events …

The retiring editor of The American Scholar magazine reflects on decades producing literary journalism, why he always supported women writers, and …

The Lebowitz Award is presented each year to a pair of outstanding philosophers who hold contrasting views on a topic of current interest in the …

The UCLA scholar tries to understand the past on its own terms, while interrogating how we memorialize it. She speaks with Fred about the memory wars …

The multidisciplinary scholar’s wide-ranging interests led him to demography and population research early on. He speaks with Fred about what people …

The Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards are presented annually to three outstanding scholarly books published in the United States. The 2021 winners are Jenn …

The biophysicist has been running a discovery research lab for two decades at Johns Hopkins. She speaks with Fred about the randomness underlying all …

William "Bro" Adams, the former head of the National Endowment of the Humanities, and President of Colby College and Bucknell University brought the …

She’s a nationally recognized expert on policing. She speaks with Fred about the need to reimagine public safety and reform, the distinct American …

She has spent years studying displaced people living in refugee camps around the world. And has sometimes even been claimed by residents thanks to …

He studies a broad range of fundamental problems in chemical and biological physics, and thinks deeply about the course of scientific inquiry. And …

The moral philosopher ponders why being happy and acting morally may not be enough to satisfy us. She believes we need a vocabulary of meaning in …

His research focuses on human interactions with nature and the politics of natural resource management. The professor and dean at the University of …

The Lebowitz Award is presented each year to a pair of outstanding philosophers who hold contrasting views on a topic of current interest in the …

The writer, actor and director creates characters that resonate in the moment and speak compellingly to the day's dilemmas. From his collaboration …

She knew early on she wanted to be a scientist. Today, her research at the intersection of academic and industrial microbiology addresses some of the …

The Rutgers professor, who left a career in law to pursue literature, speaks with Fred about the role of poetry in social justice, documenting and …

The Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards are presented annually to three outstanding scholarly books published in the United States. The 2020 winners are Leah …

Former Special Assistant to President Obama for Energy and Environment, Professor Joseph Aldy is an expert in thinking creatively about how climate …

Brown University’s Corey Brettschneider has spent years studying constitutional law and the purpose and limits of the presidency. As the 2020 election draws near, he speaks with Fred about the likelihood of bringing …

As a critical reader and writer, Professor Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel at the University of Miami contextualizes colonial literature and contemporary …

The NYU's professor elaborates on how to better understand and live through today's social and moral turmoil by learning from the great theater works of antiquity. Meineck illustrates what Greek drama can teach us about …

While promoting her new book, an accomplished short story collection called Everything Inside, the PBK member and noted writer talks about her …

As a high school student, a college counselor created what Dr. Angel B. Pérez calls his “pivotal moment”—one that would set him on a path to college, …

He got a call to consult on the Hollywood film The Man Who Knew Infinity, starring Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel. The director was so impressed with his …

While writing his dissertation, Dan Simon began to wonder how judges make decisions not from a legal, sociological, or economic perspective but …

Much of Western culture and religious beliefs are grounded in a bifurcated notion of an epic power struggle between dueling forces, often defined as …

Professor Laura Brown’s endeavors as a literature reader and critical writer have provided a window into humans’ relationships with various species throughout history. She reveals to host Fred Lawrence what alterity, …

In this episode, Dr. Alfred Spector offers an optimistic take on the evolving relationship between the liberal arts and computer science. Reflecting …

The Phi Beta Kappa book awards are given annually to three outstanding scholarly books published in the United States. 2019’s winners are Imani Perry …

Dava Newman has spent her career figuring out how to get humans to space, and helping them not only to survive there, but also to thrive. She is the …

Philosophers Michael E. Bratman, from Stanford University, and Margaret P. Gilbert, from UC Irvine, are this year’s recipients of the Lebowitz Prize for Philosophical Achievement and Contribution, presented by the Phi …

While promoting her new book, an accomplished short story collection called Everything Inside, the PBK member and noted writer talks about her …

The human brain has 100 billion cells, and there’s still so much to discover about it. Brandeis University neuroscientist Susan Birren has dedicated her distinguished career to decoding the mysteries of how the brain …

As a college student, Professor Paula Stephan fell in love with economics as a way to understand and influence systems that impacted many people's …

Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, welcomes professor Ayanna Thompson.  Professor Thompson specializes in Renaissance drama and issues of race in performance. She discusses the universality …

In our first episode, Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, chats with his longtime friend, professor Harold Hongju Koh …

Her passion for Middle East studies was ignited during a college course with an intense teacher. She immersed herself in the region’s history and …

In this special extended episode, Phi Beta Kappa Secretary and CEO Fred Lawrence invites two experienced colleagues to a frank discussion about the …

Jefferson, Adams, Washington. Their names are synonymous with the bold experiment that was the United States in the late 1700s. But there is so much …

As a college student, Professor Paula Stephan fell in love with economics as a way to understand and influence systems that impacted many people's …

In this episode, Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, welcomes professor Amy Cheng Vollmer from Swarthmore College. A …

Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, welcomes professor Ayanna Thompson. She specializes in Renaissance drama and issues …

In our first episode, Fred Lawrence, Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, chats with his longtime friend, professor Harold Hongju Koh …

A podcast that features intimate and in-depth conversations with scholars and experts across many fields, including international law, Shakespeare, …