Joseph Vogel: The Cultural Legacy of Michael Jackson
Joseph Vogel discusses the cultural legacy of the King of Pop in his book, Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson. Vogel is a PhD student in the Department of English and an instructor in the college writing center. He also writes about popular culture, music and politics for The Huffington Post.

David Primo: Constitutional Rules to Curb Spending (Bloomberg News)
Political science professor David Primo discusses the role that a constitutional ammendment would play in the budget, spending, and debt ceiling debates in Congress. Primo's research areas include campaign finance, government spending and budgets, judicial appointments, and legislative rules.

Richard Ryan: Is Coming Out Always A Good Thing? (ABC News)
Richard Ryan finds the psychological benefits of revealing one's sexual identity are limited to supportive settings. Ryan is a leading professor of psychology, psychiatry, and education whose work on human motivation has been featured worldwide.

Daniel Beaumont: The Life and Times of Son House
Professor Daniel Beaumont, author of "Preachin' the Blues: The Life and Times of Son House," discusses Delta blues musician Son House and how the blues influenced American culture. Beaumont teaches courses in both Religion and Classics and in History. His courses range from Arabic language and literature to the blues.

Thomas Gibson: Spread of Protests in the Middle East
Creator of the course Islam and Global Politics, anthropology professor Thomas Gibson says the rapid spread of popular protests throughout the Middle East can be linked to both new technology and an older pan-Arab, pan-Muslim identity. Those shared religious and cultural traditions make the lines of nationalism "fuzzier" in the region.

Curt Smith: Rhetoric and Politics
Can public speaking make or break a political candidate? Former presidential speechwriter, Curt Smith, explains the connection between politics, rhetoric, popular culture, and public speaking. Smith is a senior lecturer in the Department of English, and an acclaimed author, radio/TV host and columnist.

John Covach: Are Tribute Bands Rock Music's Future?
Professor John Covach explains how tribute bands play an important role in preserving rock's musical legacy. Covach is chair of the music department at the University of Rochester. He is often quoted in the press on history of rock and roll, popular music and The Beatles.

Emil Homerin: Rise of Anti-Islamic Incidents in America
Professor of religion, Th. Emil Homerin speaks about the history of religious persecution in America and the recent rise of Anti-Islamic incidents in the Unites States as a result of the debate over the proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero. A specialist in Islam and Islamic culture and history, he is widely published on the subject.

Joanne Bernardi: Film Preservation
Joanne Bernardi, associate professor of Japanese culture and film and media studies, explains how the study of film preservation leads to a better understanding of the social, cultural and historical value of motion pictures and national film cinemas. Bernardi’s research and courses include subjects such as Godzilla and Japanese animation.

Duncan Moore: Entrepreneurship vs. Small Business
Duncan Moore, vice provost for entrepreneurship at the University, discusses the difference between entrepreneurship and small business and why the two terms are not interchangeable. Moore served as associate director for technology in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 1997 to 2000.

Adam Frank: Faith and Science
Astrophysics professor Adam Frank argues that science and religion are not the polar opposites that popular culture suggests. Frank writes on the intersection of science and culture, most recently in his book "The Constant Fire: Beyond the Science vs. Religion Debate," and on NPR's blog 13.7: Cosmos and Culture.

John Jaenike: Adaptation via Symbiosis
John Jaenike discusses his discovery of a clear example of a new mechanism for evolution: adaptation via symbiosis in fruit flies. Without any mutation in their own genes, the flies have rapidly developed a defense against an extremely harmful parasite simply by co-opting another organism and passing it along generations.

Andrew Elliot: Red Attracts Women to Men
When women see red it triggers something deep and probably biologically engrained, says Andrew Elliot, professor of psychology and author of a study showing that women are more attracted to men when they wear the color red.

Valeria Sinclair-Chapman: The
historic implications of Obama's win
An assistant professor of political science, Ms. Sinclair-Chapman is a member of the Center for the Study of African-American Politics, and associate member of the Frederick Douglass Institute and the Susan B. Anthony Institute. (CNN)

Tom DiPiero: The 50th Anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird
An authority on race and gender and author of “White Men Aren’t”, Professor Thomas DiPiero has taught To Kill a Mockingbird at the university level and describes it as his favorite work of literature.

Nick Bigelow: 50th Year of the Laser
Nick Bigelow's laboratories use lasers to cool atoms down to a state millions of times colder than the coldest areas of deep space. At these temperatures, the group of atoms begins to operate like a single super atom, allowing Bigelow to probe mysteries of the atomic world on the scale as large as a grain of sand.

Randall Stone: IMF Strength and Weakness
Author of two books on the IMF, Randall Stone frequently comments on the workings of the 65-year-old financial organization. The IMF, says Stone, acts as a kind of credit union for countries. Although IMF assistance can help countries resolve currency crises, Stone points out that it is unable to enforce meaningful economic reforms.

Thomas Hahn: ‘Robin Hood in Film and Popular Culture’
Author of Robin Hood in Popular Culture, Thomas Hahn specializes in medieval literature and popular culture, including film. He is a founding member of the International Association for Robin Hood studies and frequently comments on the interpretation of Robin Hood in film, literature and as a creature of the media.

Steven Landsburg: Why Protectionism is a Lot Like Racism
Author of The Armchair Economist and most recently The Big Questions, economist Steven Landsburg is credited with putting the "pop in popular economics long before Freakonomics came along." Here, he spars with Fox News over the politically thorny question of whether the government should protect American jobs from foreign competition. (FOX News)

Jack Werren: Wasps and Genetics
Jack Werren is a professor of biology whose work helps to boost the understanding of genetics and evolution. His work with parasitic wasps was featured in the journal Science (Jan. 15, 2010) and uncovered features of the insects that may be useful in pest control and medicine. Read more about this video...

Chad W. Post: Literature in Translation
Chad Post is the director of Open Letter Books, a press dedicated to publishing literature in translation, and Three Percent, an online blog and review site focused on international literature. He can provide commentary on publishing, the cultural impact of literature in translation and the NBC TV show, Lost. Read more about this video...

Paul Burgett: Black History Month
Paul Burgett, a scholar of African-American music and vice president of the University, recounts the origins of Black History Month and explains why the celebration remains relevant and necessary, even with an African-American president in the White House, and why “we are all much better for it and, in fact, I think we are better Americans for it.”

David Primo: Campaign Finance
David Primo, an expert in campaign finance laws, discusses the Supreme Court’s decision to allow corporate and union spending around elections. Primo cautions that although the ruling gives companies new freedom to spend freely in the political process, it is unlikely that corporate money will drown out the voices of citizens.

Joan Saab: Celebrity children and the power of celebrity
Joan Saab is the director of visual and cultural studies, a professor of art history, and an expert on popular culture, cultural studies, and aesthetic categories and values. She is the author of several studies and articles on celebrity including, Motherhood and Hollywood, Gucci Babies, and History goes Hollywood and Vice Versa.