On this week’s Fordham Conversations, Marjuan Canady discusses the history of African-American Images in film.  The actress is a 2008 Fordham Graduate who holds degrees in theatre, African and African-American studies. We also find out what parents and kids have to say about the controversy surround the new Disney Film “The Princess and the Frog.”

Are you thankful for 600-year-old choirbooks?  Carmelite priest and musicologist James Boyce gives us a look and a listen.  Followed by sober career advice from Shasa Dobrow, who says your sense of calling is out to get you.

Vince Lombardi is one of football's most accomplished and respected coaches.  The Brooklyn native and Fordham University Alum is known for his inspirational speeches and no-nonsense coaching methods that helped transform under-dog teams into successful winners. On this week’s Fordham Conversations, Author John Eisenberg discusses his new book “That First Season,” and explains how Lombardi took the worst team in the NFL, The Green Bay Packers, and set them on the path to glory.

Move over Anne Rice.  On this week’s Fordham Conversations we’ll hear Host Robin Shannon’s interview with a vampire…writer!  Author and Fordham Grad Andrew Valentine takes us on a mysterious journey in his latest novel “Bitter Things.”  We also discuss vampire history, culture and the reason he decided to use Fordham University as a backdrop in his story.

The Internet has shaken the foundations of both politics and news.  Are colleges next?  So says Zephyr Teachout, former director of online organizing for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign.  Then, a story of getting started--from journalist Beth Knobel.  Host: Mary Wilson.

The Bronx, the immigration experience, and the pleasures of wordplay, with poet Janet Kaplan.

We talk with author Christina Baker Kline about her new novel, “Bird In Hand" (William Morrow), kids, adulthood, and moving to New Jersey. 

We all joke about stalking people or having stalkers...but what,actually, is stalking? And how can we stop it or at least reduce the risk that it will escalate into violence? We speak with Fordham psychologist Barry Rosenfeld about his work with stalking offenders.

The Grand Concourse at 100: We look at the Concourse as an inspiration for art, with the Bronx museum's Sergio Bessa; and we look back at the history of the street with author Constance Rosenblum.

Comics: Good or Evil? We speak with comics author and editor Alisa Kwitney about Young Adult comics for girls; and with author David Hajdu about the comic book-related panics of the 1940s and ‘50s.

To kids' consternation and many parents' relief, it's time again for school...this week, we look at schooling in some less-explored corners of America--at immigrants and education with Fordham sociologist Emily Rosenbaum, and at Teach for America in one of the nation's toughest schools, with author Donna Foote.

This week on Fordham Conversations, we go on a bee hunt in New York City's largest park, with Fordham biologist and pollinator expert Kevin Matteson.

This week, we look at how retailers, the government and others know so much about us--an exploration of data mining, with Fordham computer scientist Gary Weiss. Also, the future of reputation in the internet age.

Do you get your news from Jon Stewart? Do you know the meaning of the word "truthiness"? You're not alone – satire shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report inform the way we think like never before. We talk with Fordham communication and media studies professor Jonathan Gray about the phenomenon, why it's happening, and why now. He's one of the editors of the book Satire TV (NYU Press).

Vaccinations are more than just a necessary “ouch” for kids and flu-avoidant adults…they’re a major public health issue, especially right now. We talk with Fordham economist Troy Tassier about what we know, and what we think we know, about epidemics and vaccines. Also, saying goodbye to one of the Bronx’s most high-flown residents.

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.

New York City's schools are notoriously troubled, but within that we can find stories of scrappy schools that turned themselves around. One such school is Brooklyn elementary school PS 335, in Bedford Stuyvesant. We speak with principal Laverne Nimmons about the school, the neighborhood and how they're helping their students overcome often-difficult circumstances.

This week on the show, we look at intellectual property law, where it's going, and why we should be nervous about that--my guest is James Boyle, the author of "the Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind" (Yale).  Also, how to avoid your summer being an endless nightmare of mosquito bites, with Fordham researcher Tom Daniels.

Now that the seemingly endless rain has (knock wood) let up, we step outside again, with conversations about green building, and about how common plants are being affected by climate change.

This week on Fordham Conversations, two looks at what housing speculation does to neighborhoods. My guests are Beryl Satter, author of "Family Properties: Race, Real Estate and the Exploitation of Black Urban America" (Metropolitan Books), and Jim Buckley, the executive director of the University Neighborhood Housing Program in the Bronx.

If someone were to ask you to describe yourself, what would you say? If you're a member of an ethnic or racial minority, chances are it's more likely to include your race...but that might change at different times of the day. We talk with Fordham psychologist Tiffany Yip about ethnic identity among New York City teens.

We talk about angels—and why they’re probably not what we think—with Fordham theologian Clair McPherson. Also, getting to know Brooklyn’s Hasidic community with Fordham anthropologist Ayala Fader.

Allen Jones grew up in the projects in one of the nation's most famously tough neighborhoods, dealt drugs, went to prison, went to prep school, and played European pro basketball...and now he's a banker in Luxembourg. His memoir, co-written with Fordham professor Mark Naison, is forthcoming from Fordham University Press--we talk with Naison about Jones' strange life trajectory, the early day's of NYC public housing, and the massive importance of schoolyard basketball.

From Harriet the Spy to Harry Potter, books for young readers are not only a big part of our childhoods, but also big business. This week on Fordham Conversations, we talk about writing young adult fiction with Fordham professor and author James VanOosting. He's the author of several young adult novels. Also, remembering what we read as kids and why it stays with us now.

A lot of people would joke that the phrase "legal ethics" is an oxymoron, but in fact it's the subject of a great deal of debate among legal scholars. We speak with Fordham Law professor and legal ethicist Bruce Green about how our system works, what lawyers have to do to be ethical, why it's such a complicated area, and why it's so hard for those who've been wrongly convicted to get out of prison.

Before waterfront redevelopment, and before waterfront decay, New York's waterfront was a world of its own. As part of WFUV's new Strike a Chord campaign, we look at that world--New York's longshoremen, organized crime, and how it inspired a classic film. Our guest is James Fisher--his book "The Irish Waterfront and the Soul of the Port", is forthcoming from Cornell University press.

Do you get your news from Jon Stewart? Do you know the meaning of the word "truthiness"? You're not alone--satire shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report inform the way we think like never before. We talk with Fordham Communication and Media Studies professor Jonathan Gray about the phenomenon, why it's happening, and why now. He's one of the editors of the new book "Satire TV".

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.

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.

We hear a lot about Afghanistan, but how much do we really know about
it? We speak with Matthew McGarry--he's the Country Representative for
Catholic Relief Services in Afghanistan--about the challenges facing
the country and relief workers, and what life's like for average
Afghanis.

A look at education in some less-explored corners of America--at immigrants and education with Fordham sociologist Emily Rosenbaum, and at Teach for America in one of the nation's toughest schools, with author Donna Foote.

With its plastic grass, egg-carrying bunnies, and profound religious meaning, Easter is a strange mix of the ancient and the modern. We’ll look at the ancient roots of some of our modern traditions with author Thomas Cahill. We’ll also look at one very modern Jewish tradition—Passover Coke.

Planning on spending Saturday watching movies in the dark, eating bon bons and feeling tragic? This is just the show to start your day--we talk unrequited love, melodrama, campiness and Morrisey with author Daniel Contreras. He's the author of "What Have You Done To My Heart?: Unrequited Love and Gay Latino Culture."

With the Catholic church struggling to recruit and retain clergy, it may be harder than ever for those "in the religious life" to explain their decisions to the public, and to their families. David Ranghelli's film "The Calling" explores this question. This week on Fordham Conversations, we speak with Ranghelli about his film and its subjects.

We all joke about stalking people or having stalkers...but what, actually, is stalking? And how can we stop it or at least reduce the risk that it will escalate into violence? We speak with Fordham psychologist Barry Rosenfeld about his work with stalking offenders.

You may know New Zealand mainly as the stunning setting of the "Lord of the Rings" films, but it's a real place with real problems--including domestic violence, of which it has one of the highest rates in the developed world. With researchers from Fordham Law School's Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, we visit New Zealand to look at what the nation's Maori communities are doing to combat that violence.

The economy has many of us thinking hard about what we buy, why, and
the place that buying stuff occupies in our lives. We talk with
theologian Tom Beaudoin about consumption and faith--Beaudion is the
author of the book "Consuming Faith: Integrating Who We Are With What
We Buy." Also, a look at consumer needs and the Sabbath. 

Comic books today are a bigger part of mainstream popular culture than they've been for a very long time. But comics have often been both subversive, and scandalous! We speak with author David Hadju about the comic book scare of the 1940s and '50s, and we talk about the relationship between horror comics and political protest in Brazil.

One of Barack Obama's first acts as President
was to issue an executive order requiring the closure of
Guantanamo--but that's a lot more complicated than it sounds. We talk
with Fordham Law professor Martha Rayner about the complexities,
rights, and wrongs of shutting Guantanamo down.

What's the point of marriage? Well, sure, there's love...but in many places and times marriage has served lots of different purposes, from making business contacts to playing politics. We talk with historian Carina Ray about the complexities of love, marriage and commerce in the Colonial British Gold Coast, and we travel to Queens and the
village to look at how young South Asians are looking for love.

When we settle in with our fried snacks and beer to watch the BIGGEST FOOTBALL GAME OF THE YEAR tomorrow, what will we really be looking at? We speak with Fordham anthropologist Hugo Benavides about why we love football so much, and what that says about the way we think about race, manhood and war.

We hear a lot about the stress that kids are under today--too many activities, too much pressure to get into college, but what kind of stress does it cause if you're a kid who's abused, or who's a witness to violence, or whose parents are heavy drug users? We speak with Fordham social work professor Tina Maschi about teenagers in the justice system, what they've been through, and what we can do to better deal with the situation.

Does what's going on with the economy, the bailout and Bernard Madoff make you so mad you just want to scream and throw things? Well, in 1999, that's how tens of thousands of people felt about the World Trade Organization, and their protests of its Seattle conference--and the extraordinary police response--became known as the Battle of Seattle. A look at those protests and what they mean to us today, with Fordham sociologist Heather Gautney.

Is that a glass ceiling above my head, or am I just seeing things? We speak with Fordham management professor Roslyn Chernesky about women in management today, and why she says we haven't made as much progress as expected.

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.