Pepperdine People Podcast

Dennis Donohue is the former three term Mayor of Salinas, California, and current President of Royal Rose LLC. He sat down with Pete Peterson, director of the School of Public Policy's Davenport Institute for Public Leadership and Civic Engagement, to talk about his work as a public figure and how California issues statewide can affect local governments.

Vance Hickin served as the California digital director for the campaign to reelect President Barack Obama. He sat down with Pete Peterson on the occasion of his Davenport Discussion to explore how Obama for America utilized the online space throughout the campaign.

On the occasion of the film release of Anna Karenina, John Struloeff, author, poet, and director of Pepperdine's creative writing program, caught up with Craig Detweiler to offer his expertise of the classic novel by Leo Tolstoy. Struloeff also shed light on his own biographical novel, Anna, which dramatizes Tolstoy's spiritual transformation while writing Anna Karenina.

Troy Senik (MPP '07), Senior Fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom, editor at Ricochet, and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, sat down with Pete Peterson on the occasion of his Davenport Discussion to talk about his recent article published in City Journal, "The Worst Union in America: How the California Teachers Association Betrayed the Schools and Crippled the State."

Ken Hampian, interim city manager for the troubled city of Bell, Calif., spoke with Pete Peterson, director of the Pepperdine University Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership, about rebuilding trustworthy leadership and civic trust and engagement in Bell.

Scottish playwright Peter Arnott and Scottish composer John Kielty sat down with Cathy Thomas-Grant, director of the theatre department's Edinburgh Summer Program, to discuss their collaborative theatre project, Why Do You Stand There in the Rain?, due to be performed by Pepperdine students this summer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Kirsti Westphalen, consul general of Finland, sat down with Colleen Graffy, director of Global Programs at the School of Law, to discuss the role of women in public policy. Westphalen visited Pepperdine to speak to the Women in Public Policy about her career path and how she came into government service.

William Voegeli, a visiting scholar at Claremont McKenna College's Henry Salvatori Center, sat down with Pete Peterson, director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at the School of Public Policy, to discuss his essay, "Not a Penny More," in defense of what he calls "antitax absolutism" published in the winter 2012 issue of City Journal.

Sonia Nazario, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Enrique's Journey, sat down with Joel Fetzer, Seaver College professor of political science, on the occasion of her on-campus lecture exploring the story behind her award-winning work.

Steve Malanga is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the senior editor of City Journal. He sat down with Pete Peterson, director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at the School of Public Policy, to discuss the causes of, and solutions for, California's declining job market.

'Through a Glass Dimly: Christian Knowing in a Pluralistic World' was the topic of the 32nd annual William M. Green Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture. Monte Cox, dean of the College of Bible and Religion at Harding University, sat down with Jerry Rushford, director of Church Relations, to discuss the epistemological shift driving worldview-level changes in Western culture and offered a Christian response to those changes.

School of Law dean Deanell Reece Tacha shares memories from the bench with fellow judges Carolyn Dineen King, Dorothy W. Nelson, and Rosemary Barkett in an exclusive interview for Pepperdine Magazine, conducted by Shelley Saxer, professor of law and director of Pepperdine's Byrne Judicial Clerkship Institute.

Hundreds of scholars gathered at Pepperdine University June 16-18 for the 31st annual Christian Scholars' Conference. In between lectures, excursions, panel discussions, and more, plenary speakers and internationally recognized thinkers Reverend John Polkinghorne and Ted Peters sat down with Craig Detweiler, director of the Pepperdine Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture, to discuss the perceived gap between science and theology.

Robert H. Tuttle served as the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James (UK) between July 2005 and February 2009. He sat down with Colleen Graffy, director of Pepperdine's Global Programs, to discuss his approach to public diplomacy throughout his post.

Lee Ohanian is a professor of economics and director of the Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research at UCLA, as well as an advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He sat down with Luisa Blanco, professor of economics at the School of Public Policy, to discuss how the current economic crisis compares with earlier crises.

Kay S. Hymowitz is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. She sat down with Pete Peterson, the executive director of the Davenport Institute at the School of Public Policy, to discuss her provocative new commentary on gender in 21st Century America for her most recent book Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Is Turning Men Into Boys.

Joseph Sargent is an Emmy Award-winning feature film and television director and Pepperdine University's first Distinguished Filmmaker-in-Residence. He sat down with Craig Detweiler, associate professor of communication at Seaver College, to discuss what it takes to be a successful filmmaker.

Scott Sumner is a professor of economics at Bentley University, prolific essayist for publications such as the Journal of Macroeconomics and the Bulletin of Economic Research, and economic blogger for his own publication, The Money Illusion. He sat down with Luisa Blanco, professor of economics at SPP, to discuss the current state of the stock market following the crash of 2008.

"A Call for International Religious Freedom" was the topic of a recent conference at Pepperdine's Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics. Representative Frank Wolf, who gave a keynote address, sat down to discuss key issues with Colleen Graffy, director of global programs, associate professor of law, and former deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. State Department.

John D. Witvliet is the director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and teaches worship, theology, congregational studies, and music at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary. Witvliet sat down with Jerry Rushford, director of Church Relations, on the occasion of his Frank Pack Lecture concerning the importance of disciplining the creativity of music and the arts in Christian worship.