Posted on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Video of my Interview on WLOV of Tupelo

As promised, I’m posting here below my interview on WLOV of Tupelo’s This Morning show with Katrina Berry. Also, below that is a photo of the nice layout that Reed’s Gumtree Bookstore setup for the book signing later that day.

Katrina was a lovely person who was kind and encouraging. As I said, she drove home the fact that on WLOV they like to support local authors. It was a great experience, and also featured the fastest turnaround I’ve experienced for getting a video of the broadcast. All around, great trip.

Oh, and here’s Reed’s Gumtree Bookstore’s nice setup before the book signing. Very nice people there too. They’ve got signed books from John Grisham, George Will, and many more. Great people.

If you know of TV or radio stations that would be interested in an interview about Uniting Mississippi, or groups looking for a speaker, contact me on Twitter, Facebook, or via my info on my Contact page.

Posted on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Had a Great Visit with Katrina Berry on WLOV Tupelo

Despite the torrential rain this morning, I made it on time to meet with Katrina Berry of WLOV Tupelo’s This Morning show.

Berry is an impressive, award-winning journalist and TV anchor. Her award was from the Associated Press for her weekly series, Heavenly Helpers. When I first got a chance to talk with her, she explained that they aim to support local authors on the show, which was great.

It can seem strange to most scholars to put a lot of effort into securing and participating in a 3 minute interview, which is what it came out to be. Consider how much advertisers spend on 30 seconds or 1 minute of television, however, and all of a sudden, you can appreciate better what 3 minutes of air-time means, in financial terms. One source estimates that even on a local show, ads can cost from as little as $200 to as much as $1,500 for 30 seconds. So a 3 minute interview could be valued from anywhere between $1,200 and $9,000. That’s worth the drive to Tupelo, MS. Those aren’t funds that come to me, of course, but they are value that the show offers for getting the word out about Uniting Mississippi.

After a few nice questions about the book, Berry asked me about the book signing that I’ll be holding from 12-1:30 pm today at Reed’s Gumtree Bookstore, here in Tupelo. Here are a few photos I snagged of my visit to WLOV. When I get a clip of the video of the interview, I’ll post it to my site also. It was a great experience.

Know a TV station that might be interested in hearing about Uniting Mississippi? Let me know on Twitter or on Facebook.

Leaders of the John Dewey Society asked me to organize a panel workshop on public philosophy for the 2016 American Educational Research Association meeting. The conference them is: “Public Scholarship to Educate Diverse Democracies.” 2016 is also the 100th anniversary of the release of Democracy and Education. More info once details are finalized.

Date:	April 8, 2016—April 10, 2016
Event:	Leading - Public Philosophy Workshop: Building on Dewey's Example
Topic:	"Public Scholarship to Educate Diverse Democracies."
Sponsor:	The John Dewey Society
Venue:	American Educational Research Association's Annual Conference
Location:	Walter E. Washington Convention Center Washington, D.C. USA

If you're in D.C. and would like to meet, or if you have a group that is looking for a speaker, visit my Contact page.

Excited to announce that I’ll be heading to UNC Charlotte to give a talk in April 2016. The audience will be made up of folks from “philosophy, American Studies, and perhaps also an interdisciplinary mix of public policy faculty and graduate students.” Sounds great. Some of the details I’ve listed are tentative for now. I’ll post more definitive details soon.

Date:	April 4, 2016
Time:	02:00-03:00 p.m.
Event:	Giving an Invited Talk at UNC Charlotte
Venue:	The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Location:	Charlotte, NC USA
Public:	Public

On Wednesday, November 18th, I’ll be heading to Reed’s Gum Tree Bookstore in Tupelo, MS, for a book signing for Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South, from noon until 1:30 pm.

Earlier that morning, I’ll be giving an interview on WLOV’s This Morning show in Tupelo, MS. If you’re in Tupelo that day, the signing will be at lunch time, so come on by!

Date:	November 18, 2015
Time:	12:00-01:30 p.m.
Event:	Uniting Mississippi Book Signing at Reed's Gumtree Bookstore
Topic:	Uniting Mississippi Book Signing
Venue:	Reed's GumTree Bookstore (662) 842-6453
Location:	111 S Spring St. Tupelo, MS 38804 USA
Public:	Public

Learn more about the book here. Please share this announcement with them and spread the word!

Excited that I’ll be interviewed on WLOX Biloxi’s News at 4 program to talk about Uniting Mississippi. With my publisher’s help, we’ve set up a book signing that day at the West Biloxi Public Library.

Date:	December 7, 2015
Time:	04:00 p.m.
Appearance:	Interview for the News at 4 show on Uniting Mississippi
Outlet:	WLOX, Biloxi, MS, Channel 3
Location:	Biloxi, MS
Format:	Television

I'll be talking about Uniting Mississippi, which you can learn more about here.

Katrina Berry of WTVA has kindly invited me for an interview on WLOV Tupelo’s This Morning, to talk about Uniting Mississippi.

Date:	November 18, 2015
Time:	07:45-08:00 a.m.
Appearance:	Interview on Uniting Mississippi with WLOV’s This Morning
Outlet:	WLOV, Tupelo, MS, Channel 27
Location:	Tupelo, MS
Format:	Television

I'll be talking about Uniting Mississippi, which you can learn more about here.

Posted on Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Senator Sasse’s Moving Senate Speech

Public Policy Leadership alumn Elliott Warren kindly sent me a link to this maiden address from Senator Ben Sasse, Junior Senator from Nebraska (R). It was an incredibly kind compliment for Elliott to say that this Senator’s speech reminded him of my classes here at the University of Mississippi. Senator Sasse calls for a renewal of the virtues of deliberation that the Senate is supposed to embody. He explicitly points to Socrates for insight, and to the methods of Socratic dialogue. He calls on his colleagues explicitly to avoid straw man fallacies and other errors of reasoning. It was the most elegant speech I have heard from a Senator in years.

The speech is 29 minutes long. You may not have that time right now. At some point, though, you will be glad that you watched Senator Sasse’s speech. I urge you all to find the time. Here’s his speech on C-SPAN.

MS Prof Sees Hope for His State in Students’ Symbolic Flag Victory

The Hechinger Report
November 3, 2015

Here’s my first piece in the Hechinger Report. It’s again on the subject of the students’ request to take the state flag down. In this case, I’ve written to a national audience, rather than just to a Mississippi audience (Clarion Ledger). Check it out.

Posted on Monday, November 2, 2015

U. of MS SOPHIA Chapter Interest Survey

People in and around Oxford, MS,

The Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) is now a member and chapter organization. We are founding our chapter in Oxford this academic year and are gathering information from people who might be interested in participating in our chapter. SOPHIA is a national nonprofit that has been around since 1983. Our aim is to use the tools of philosophical inquiry to improve people’s lives and enrich the profession of philosophy through conversation and community building.
If you are interested in learning more or know you’d like to participate in our SOPHIA chapter here in Oxford,

Please fill out this SURVEY.

(It’s short)

We have plans for a first gathering on Friday, December 11th, to have a short, relaxed conversation on the nature of and challenges for community. Dr. Andrea Houchard will be our invited facilitator, and she has had great success building a chapter in Flagstaff, AZ.