Pepperdine People Podcast

Alvaro Vargas Llosa is a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group and the author of the book Liberty for Latin America. He sat down with Luisa Blanco, professor of economics at the School of Public Policy, to discuss the role of Latin America on the international political stage.

Roger Farmer is the author of How the Economy Works: Confidence, Crashes, and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. He sat down with Luisa Blanco, professor of economics at the School of Public Policy, to discuss the current state of the American economy, reasons for the recent downturn, and methods to improve the situation.

Charla Griffy-Brown, associate professor of information systems and technology management, is a hugely successful woman in the field of technology and management and was recently named as director of Pepperdine's new Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. She sat down with Larisa Hamada, director of equal opportunity, for a discussion in honor of Women's History Month at Pepperdine.

Messiah College professors Rhonda and Douglas "Jake" Jacobsen are spending the Spring 2010 semester as distinguished visiting scholars at Pepperdine. They sat down with Michael Williams of the University's Center for Faith and Learning to discuss the Religion in the Academy project and their new book, The New Soul of the American University.

In honor of Girls in the Curl, Pepperdine’s first event celebrating women in surfing, Jerry Derloshon, executive director of PR at Pepperdine, chats with Heather Hudson, producer of the film The Women and the Waves. They discuss female surfing legends who paved the way for the many women ripping up the waves today.

Don Marshall is Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Seaver College, and teaches Samuel Beckett's famous existential play, Waiting for Godot. Jason Chanos is directing the Pepperdine theatre department’s spring production of the play. Together, they discuss this thought-provoking piece from a literary and theatrical perspective.

Prolific Christian scholar and Pepperdine Distinguished Professor Emeritus Richard Hughes returns to the Pepperdine campus to discuss his latest book, Christian America and the Kingdom of God. Hughes is joined by Chris Soper, the Blanche E. Seaver Chair in Social Science, who probes Hughes' perspective on the disparity between the Biblical vision of the "kingdom of God" and the values and actions of America as a superpower.

As the current sculpture chairman of the California Art Club, Christopher Slatoff is known for his life-size public sculptures. He was commissioned by Pepperdine to create a lifelike bronze sculpture of University founder George Pepperdine, the first of its kind. Joined by Michael Zakian, the director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Slatoff explains the process of bringing a beloved character to life in bronze.

Old Testament scholar Tremper Longman is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, and a prolific author of books on Christianity. On the occasion of his visit to Pepperdine University to give the Frank Pack Distinguished Lecture, Longman sat down with Jerry Rushford, director of Church Relations, to discuss the inspiration for his work.

Nootbaar Fellow and School of Law alumna Nidya Paredes (JD '09) interviews second-year law student Brittany Henry about her work with Pepperdine's Special Education Clinic. Through the clinic, Henry has helped numerous parents navigated public school systems to get students the assistance they need.

Celebrated American Indian actor and physician Evan Adams, is from the Siliamonn First Nation in British Columbia, Canada, and is best known for his role as Thomas Builds-the-Fire in the 1998 film, Smoke Signal. Adams sat down with student Mark Cruz, co-chair of the Native American Student Organization at Pepperdine, for a discussion to commemorate Native American Heritage Month.

Economist Jerry Ellig is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. In this episode of Pepperdine People, James E. Preiger, associate professor of economics at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, interviews Ellig about the nuts and bolts of how regulation currently works in Washington, DC, the trends over the past few decades, and the future the regulatory process.

Leslie Landis, author of The Art of Overeating: A Bellyful of Laughs About Our Food Phobic Culture, finds humor in the battle between two American extremes: an obsession with calorie counting and self-indulgence. Director of Media Relations Ted Garcia, sits down with the clinical psychologist and Graduate School of Education and Psychology graduate to discuss the book, the obesity epidemic, and mac and cheese.

Os Guinness, Christian writer, lecturer, and social scientist, speaks with second-year law student Blake Edwards about finding purpose in our lives. Guinness was a guest speaker at the first Veritas Forum at Pepperdine University.

Marshall Howard, author of Let's Have Lunch Together, is known as "the guru of relationship-based fundraising." He talks with Regan Schaffer, executive director of the American Humanics program about advancing relationships in the nonprofit sector.

Randall Holcombe, professor of economics at Florida State University, explains to Ted Garcia, director of media relations, why he believes that many of the programs put in place by the federal government in the face of financial crisis undermine the fundamental incentives that make the nation’s capitalist system work.

Roger Alford, director of the Diane & Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies at Pepperdine University, discusses with Director of Media Relations Ted Garcia the new institute's mission to promote inter-faith dialogue, understanding, and improved relationships.

Leonard Allen, director and editor-in-chief of the Abilene Christian University Press and Leafwood Publishing, speaks with Jerry Rushford, director of Church Relations, to discuss the world of Christian publishing and education. A nationally acclaimed scholar, Allen is the author or co-author of numerous books, including Discovering Our Roots: The Ancestry of Churches of Christ.

As college student in Los Angeles, Hector Tobar had one goal: to change the world. Today, as a a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, his work examines the evolving and interdependent relationship between Latin America and the United States. On the first day of Latin American Heritage Month 2009, Director of Media Relations Ted Garcia speaks with Tobar on the changing role of Latinos in America.

Chris Altrock, preaching minister for the Highland Church of Christ in Memphis, TN, didn't grow up in a Christian family. Raised in rural New Mexico, he became interested in the Christian faith as a teenager and found his calling at the campus ministry at New Mexico State University. He sits down with Jerry Rushford, professor of church history, to discuss preaching in postmodern, globalized culture.