 |
The Scholars' CircleAuthor: The Scholars' Circle
Insight into Today's Most Pressing Issues Language: en-us Genres: Courses, Education, News, News Commentary Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Scholars’ Circle – LA Mayoral Race; Author Interview on “Smuggler: Drugs, Gangs and Refugees at America’s Northern Border” – October 18, 2026
Monday, 19 October, 2026
The midterms are fast approaching and here in Los Angeles where we record our show, the city braces for a much anticipated mayoral race. Incumbent Karen Bass, who initially expected to glide into re-election, is facing off with city councilwoman Nithya Raman, who narrowly defeated reality show participant Spencer Pratt in a contentious primary. While the polls show Raman leading, the vast number of undecided voters have left the race for leadership in America’s second largest city up in the air. We will discuss the mayoral race, with its non-partisan primary process, the different coalitions in a city famous for quickly shifting political sands, and the issues being raised in the race. [ dur: 24mins. ] Isaac Hale is Assistant Professor of Politics at Occidental College. He is co-author of “Interest Group Influence on Preferences for New Voting Rights Legislation in a Polarized Environment” and “Resentment & Democratic Politics: The Role of Racial Resentment in Motivating Electoral Participation.” Mike Bonin is Executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State Los Angeles. He is the host of the podcast What’s Next Los Angeles, and a former Los Angeles City Council member. When we discuss borders in the US, we usually turn our attention to the southern border with Mexico. However, the US shares the world’s longest border in the world with Canada, and the narratives surrounding this border are essential to understanding not only the relationship between the two nations, but the individual stories of the people living on it. On today’s show we will turn our attention to the northwestern most point in the lower 48: Blaine, Washington. We will learn the story of Bob Boule and his role in smuggling and policing the US-Canadian border. [ dur: 34mins. ] Reece Jones is Professor of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. He, along with his co-author Greg Boos, has written a new book detailing the story of Bob Boule entitled Smuggler: Drugs, Gangs and Refugees at America’s Northern Border. This is one of four other award winning books on the border, entitled Nobody Is Protected on racial profiling in the US, White Borders, on the relationship between race and immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Trump era. Violent Borders takes readers on a journey to hot spots of global migration to make the case that borders are inherently violent. And Border Walls (2012, Zed) draws on interviews with people impacted by walls built by the United States, Israel, and India. This program is produced by Doug Becker, Maria Armoudian, Ankine Aghassian, Anna Lapin and Sudd Dongre. Economics, Politics and Activism, Society and Culture, Elections, Refugees, Canada, Borders, Los Angeles
