Watch our interviews with musicians from Heartbeat, an international, interfaith nonprofit organization that “creates opportunities and spaces for young Israeli and Palestinian musicians to work together, hear each other, and amplify their voices to influence the world around them.” Based in Jerusalem, Heartbeat “unites musicians, educators, and students to build mutual understanding and transform conflict through the power of music.” This performance–made up mostly of songs composed by members of the band, from “I said why won’t you let this go?” to “What’s the wall good for?”–was part of a recent US tour. It took place at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC. Video by Murray Pinczuk. Edited by Fred Yi. Interviews by Missy Daniel.
Author Archives: Fred Yi
Landmark High Court Decisions, Reaction, and Analysis; One Million Bones
We analyze and discuss the Supreme Court’s decisions on marriage equality, affirmative action, and voting rights; talk to religious leaders for reaction to the historic rulings on same-sex marriage; and interview the founder of One Million Bones, a public art project recently installed on the National Mall in Washington, DC to raise awareness of genocide.
Supreme Court Decisions
“Within five years we will bring marriage equality to all 50 states in this vast county,” said Chad Griffith, a board member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights.
Analysis of Supreme Court Decisions
“The vote on the Defense of Marriage Act was very interesting. You had five justices saying this denies gays and lesbians equality and liberty guaranteed by the Constitution, and I think that says an awful lot because that will carry down the road in other cases. I think this may be a precursor for a ruling that says any discrimination based on sexual orientation by the state is suspect and will only be upheld in extraordinary circumstances.” Watch our conversation with correspondent Tim O’Brien, managing editor Kim Lawton, and host Bob Abernethy.
Religious Reaction to Same-Sex Marriage Decisions
“This has energized the movement for marriage redefinition, and at the same time it’s energized those of us who believe marriage is the union of a man and a woman for the sake of their children,” said Kim Daniels, an attorney and a spokeswoman for the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
One Million Bones
One Million Bones was a public art installation of 1,000,000 bones on the National Mall in Washington, DC, over the weekend of June 8-10, 2013. It served as “a visible petition” and “a collaborative site of conscience,” according to organizer The Art of Revolution, to raise awareness of genocides and atrocities around the world and to remember victims and survivors in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Somalia, and Syria.
Affirmative Action, Civil Rights 50th Anniversary, Prisons and Mentally Ill
We examine the decision facing the Supreme Court on the issue of affirmative action; look back at some of the key moments of the civil rights movement in 1963 with historian Taylor Branch; and visit a Chicago jail to look at the moral and financial costs of relying on prisons to care for the mentally ill.
Taylor Branch Extended Interview
“I call Dr. King a modern founder in the sense that he was doing just what Jefferson and Lincoln and the other American founders were doing in their most spiritual moments…which was to confront very stubborn forms of evil and subjugation and figure out a way to transform them into equal citizenship.” Watch additional excerpts from our interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch about the many pivotal events of 1963 in the struggle for civil rights.
Prisons and the Mentally Ill
It doesn’t make moral, ethical, or fiscal sense, according to Cook County sheriff Tom Dart, to house people who are mentally ill in jails and prisons.
Ethics of Government Data Collection, Russell Moore, Irish Reconciliation
The morality of balancing national security and privacy rights; the new president of the SBC’s office of public policy issues; and bridging divides between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
