This is a program about the dangers of mining, handling, and transporting coal. Our presenters are Betty Kaplan and Laura Stevens. Ms. Kaplan heads the steering committee of the “Beyond Coal” campaign. Ms. Stevens is the same campaign’s field organizer. Both women are leaders in the Sierra Club.
An exploration of issues surrounding the death penalty given by Ron Steiner, chairperson of Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Steiner comes to Oregon from New Mexico where he was instrumental in helping to change the law there.
Kathy Bobula, who teaches in the Department of Psychology at Clark College, looks at the neuroscience of bias. How do we develop biased attitudes about others who are different from us? This presentation addresses how bias is acquired, both consciously and unconsciously, by looking at both the neuroscience of bias and learning theory. After taking a look at the brain and how it works, we examine how bias is processed and how bias can be reversed or removed. What the brain can learn, the brain can re-learn in a different way. New imaging techniques have allowed researchers to discover what is happening in the brain when we acquire biased attitudes and stereotypes. With this understanding comes hope for change – the brain is dynamic, so let’s work with it and “take a bite out of bias”!
Presentation by Roy Speckhardt and Maggie Ardiente of the American Humanist Association (AHA). Speckhardt is executive director of the AHA where he actively promotes the humanist perspective on progressive political issues. Ardiente is director of development and communications at AHA and is editor of the AHA's weekly e-zine Humanist Network News.