With the advent of new therapies, people with HIV and AIDS are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. But that happy result is revealing something far less promising, and the group that seems to be affected more than most is right here in New York City. We talk with Fordham psychologist Monica Rivera Mindt about the situation, why it's developed and what can be done about it. Also, visiting the AIDS quilt.

We may not realize it when we're eating mince pie, decorating the tree, and singing carols, but a lot of our Christmas traditions come from the Medieval world. And so too does the modern world—at least according to Thomas Cahill. We speak with him about his book "Mysteries of the Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern World."

This week on Fordham Conversations, climate change, evolution and resurrection with Fordham plant biologist Steve Franks. Also, a look at why companies seem so much greener than they used to be...even though they might not be.

When Georgia and Russia suddenly went to war this summer, many had their suspicions about the war's real causes--was this a proxy war between Russia and the US? Was it all about oil? Or, was it because Russia can't get no respect? This week on Fordham Conversations, we speak with journalist, former CBS Moscow Bureau chief and Fordham professor Beth Knobel: She covered the war for CBS, and who says it's more about the latter than we might imagine.

A couple of days ago, most of us sat down and ate a huge meal in honor of some of the first immigrants to America... but what about more modern immigrants? We'll talk about one aspect of acclimation – housing – and look at how immigrants, and their children and grandchildren, fare in the New York housing market.

When you see the latest teen pop vixen, you might worry for the future of teen girls...but maybe they're savvier than we think. We talk with Fordham Anthropologist Oneka LaBennett about how one group of girls, West Indian teens in Brooklyn, use pop music, TV and even their accents to their own ends.

Hello, Clarice! From Sam Spade to Hannibal Lecter, we look at crime novels, that thing they do to us, and what they say about the way we look at families. Lenny Cassuto, Fordham english professor and the author of "Hard Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories", joins me in the studio.

What makes a man? And are you a 98-pound weakling if you decide to go to the doctor when you have a cold? And is your answer to that last question different depending on whether you're black, white or Asian? We look at health, ideas of masculinity, and race, with Fordham psychologist Jay Wade.

We try to answer this question, and look at how we might know, with voter behavior expert Monika McDermott. And, just when we think we can't take it anymore, a little comic relief.

In honor of Halloween, we talk about terrifying women in poetry and literature: Poet Janet Kaplan reads some of her favorite poems about witches, sirens and creepy nighttimes, and author Jeffrey Weinstock talks about scary stories, and the women who write them.

With the economic climate being what it is at present, many of us may find ourselves with less flexible work schedules than we once had. But if we find ourselves working night shifts, or different shifts every week, how will it effect our families? We talk with Fordham sociologist Chris Morett about his work on shiftwork and work-life balance.

Culture and community, over a beer: We visit KGB bar in the east village—where they've been hosting free readings most nights for years—and talk with owner Denis Woychuk about changes in the neighborhood, his colorful clientele, and why culture should be free.

We look at the idea of “greening” New York, through green space and green architecture. Also, a look how one guy is using New York’s already-existing park space.

We look at the recent changes in the legal status of the Guantanamo detainees, and at the process of determining what's happened to former detainees who may have been psychologically effected by their experiences.

What do we see when we look in the mirror? We talk about the new anthology "About Face" (Seal Press) with editor and Fordham writer in residence Christina Baker Kline, and contributor Jennifer Baumgardner—she talks in the book about her ill-fated outing into the world of beauty pageants.

Do video games rot kids' brains, or do they make them smarter? And how do you even figure out what kids know, anyway? Computer gaming and academic testing, this week on Fordham Conversations.

Does the fact that you bought that Prada knockoff bag on Canal Street mean that you got a fabulous bargain, or just that you get what you pay for? With Fashion Week clomping all over the city's catwalks in its super high heels this week, we'll take a look at fashion and the law.

This Labor Day weekend, we look at an event that was a catalyst for both labor organizing and factory safety improvements, and the worst workplace disaster until September 11, 2001: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911.

What inspires you to travel? Fun, adventure, maybe a desire to learn something about someplace different? This week on the show, we look at what it takes to do research in exotic locales, with Fordham biologist Alan Clark--he's just returned from the Costa Rican rainforest.

When we think of the internet, our vision is often of something of an e-utopia of personal freedom, albeit one marred by annoying pop-up ads. But is the internet actually making us less free, at least from our past indiscretions? 

Maybe in the last few years, you've noticed more Mexican restaurants around and tortillas for sale in the supermarket, or seen people playing a different kind of music in the subway...They're all part of the explosion in New York's Mexican population that's been occurring in the last two decades. We talk with CUNY's David Badillo about this newer wave of immigration and how Mexicans are making New York theirs.

Dispatches from foreign lands: We talk with reporter and author Bryan Mealer about his time in Congo--His book "All Things Must Fight To Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo" is out from Bloomsbury--and we hear from filmmakers Doug Carr and Eddie Boyce. They traveled with Fordham Law School’s Crowley Scholars on their 2007 mission to Malawi to study the effects of AIDS on women there...and they reported back with the 2007 film "The Face of AIDS".

On October 4, 1947, “Leave it to Beaver” premiered on US television…and space travel premiered in the USSR as the Soviets launched the first Sputnik. We take a look at the roots of Soviet space travel, and America’s response to it, with Fordham History professor Asif Siddiqi.

When we think of bullies, we tend to think of things like bigger boys stuffing a smaller boy into a locker. But when girls bully, it's a lot more covert, and some say a lot crueler. We'll talk with JoAnne Dornfeld Januzzi, the principal of Henry H. Wells Middle School in Brewster, about her research on how girls bully, and what we can do about it.

Most of us know about those Galapagos island finches, but we may not be as aware that Charles Darwin was an avid botanist. We look at an exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden that explores the role plants played in Darwin's framing of his theory; and we hear about one of the more interesting animal adaptations around--penguin song.

We look at the summer scourge of ticks with Fordham researcher Thomas Daniels--and we hear about some of the possible long-term effects of a tick's bite.

We look at the world of New York's longshoremen, and the classic movie it inspired, with Fordham Theologian and author James Fisher--his forthcoming book is "The Irish Waterfront and the Soul of the Port", from Cornell University press.

We visit the murals of Philadelphia with theologian Maureen O'Connell, and Lincoln monuments around the country with James Percoco--his book, "Summers with Lincoln", is out from Fordham University Press.

Sure, you can bring home the bacon, and fry it up in a pan, but if you have to do it through shiftwork will it mess up your kids? We talk with sociologist Chris Morett about work-life balance and how nontraditional work schedules affect children.

Pollinators Good, Pollen Bad—2 of 2. This week on Fordham Conversations, we’ll talk about what the pollen count actually means and what seasonal allergies do to us…and we’ll get out onto one of New York’s more surprising natural areas—the Bronx River.

Pollinators Good, Pollen Bad, part 1 of 2: We speak with bee and butterfly researcher Kevin Matteson about looking at New York through insects' eyes; and we learn about a new project that turns New Yorkers into bee researchers. Next week: Pollen Bad!

Brand names and identities are more in our lives than ever before--but they're not in the public domain. We look at branding, "anti-branding", and the legal issues both carry with them, with Fordham Law Professor Sonia Katyal.

This week on the show, we get a little arty with it: The Bronx, the immigration experience, and the pleasures of wordplay, with poet Janet Kaplan.

Whether you think he's a fabulous throwback, a dangerous dictator or just another politician, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has changed the discourse about Latin American politics--and oil. We talk with reporter Bart Jones, whose book "Hugo! The Hugo Chavez Story, from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution", is out from Steerforth Press.

Although living in New York can be wonderful...sometimes we all dream of escape. We speak with author Christina Baker Kline about her "escape from New York" novel, "The Way Life Should Be", and we find out where New Yorkers would most like to escape to.

A crash course in Low Power FM, media activism, pirate radio and why we should care about it...with Christina Dunbar-Hester, of  Fordham's McGannon Communication Research Center.

This week on Fordham Conversations…school anxiety! We talk bad study habits, exam nightmares, and the uncertain role of universities in American life. Also…cutting class and getting caught.

Is green the new black? Is mother nature in fashion...and does that mean that being "green" might go out of fashion? The environment and consumer culture, with Fordham media analyst Robin Andersen.

For many of us, summer in New York means Coney Island…and for a lot of people, Coney Island means the freak show. We speak with Fordham English professor Leonard Cassuto about the history of the American freak show, why we liked it and why we stopped liking it…and why Oliver Sacks might be a kinder, gentler PT Barnum.

We like to talk about how New York is vibrant and alive...but the flipside of that is that it's NOISY. We visit noise researcher Arline Bronzaft to chat about why noise is so bad in the city and how it affects us; also, we try to hear about what New Yorkers think about noise in their lives.

When you're feeling depressed, do you go to the movies? In the 1930s, that's what America did! We'll revisit the films of the depression, and talk about what they meant to people.

97 years ago this week, more than 100 workers died when New York’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire. The fire was a catalyst for both labor organizing and factory safety improvements, and the worst workplace disaster until September 11, 2001. This week on Fordham Conversations, we look back on that fire…and talk about what we can take from it today.

When you think of the beginning of the modern world…you don’t tend to think of the middle ages. But author Thomas Cahill says that’s just when it began. We talk with him about his book Mysteries of the Middle Ages—it’s out in paperback this week from Anchor Books.

Sure, we all know that the President is one of the most important people in the world...but what does the Presdident DO, exactly? As we get ready for another round of primaries and eventually to actually vote a new one in, we look with Fordham Political Scientist Jeffrey Cohen on what the job really entails. Also, we talk with some New Yorkers about what they think the president does--and should be doing.

From gas pump rage to phone bill bewilderment, we all know what it feels like to feel unfairly charged...We talk about unfair pricing with Fordham Professor Sarah Maxwell. Her new book is "The Price is Wrong: Understanding What Makes a Price Seem Fair and the True Cost of Unfair Pricing."

Keeping housing affordable, and making affordable housing greener. 

 

Women’s magazines and other guilty pleasures, with Fordham Professor Amy Aronson.

We look at how human activities are affecting some of our more--and less--photogenic flora and fauna.

New York City's no longer known as one of the crime capitals of America...but for Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, crime--and police corruption--are still very much on the radar. His new crime novel, "Triple Homicide", looks at the Blue Wall of Silence.

One of your new years resolutions might have been to get more in touch with your heritage...but if you're Irish-American, what does that mean exactly? We talk with author Peter Quinn about Irish-American identity; and we look at what playing the tin whistle does for your Irishness.

There doesn't seem to be too much hassle every year with the birth of the New Year (except for the hangover)...but Fordham sociologist Jeanne Flavin says that birth is one of increasingly few that's allowed to go unmolested by the criminal justice system. In her new book, "Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing of Women's Reproduction in America (NYU Press, 2008)" Flavin argues for a rethinking of the idea of reproductive rights.