Topics 2010

January 7 — Entropy and feel-good solutions to environmenal problems

January 14 — Status of the bailouts.  Are they working?

January 21 — Particle accelerators’ role in astronomy

January 28 — Germany’s contributions to Western culture

February 4 – What is the scientific method/  How is it used?

February 11 – What is the Federal Reserve?  What does it do?

February 18 – Amnesty International and the death penalty

February 25 – President Obama’s year one report card.

March 4 – Israel and Iran:  Is a military clash inevitable?

March 11 –  Understanding the Latest Theories on Origin of the Universe.

March 18:  Why did the USSR collapse?

March 25 – Understanding Epicureanism

April 1 – The Future of U.S. Catholicism

April 8 – Zero Population Growth and the Demographic Transition

April 15 – Is language innate?

April 22 – Understanding the Hare Krishnas

April 29 – What lies beyond capitalism and socialism?

May 6 – Do psychological therapies work?

May 13 – Understanding the philosophy of Karl Popper

May 20 – What’s new in San Diego politics?

May 27 – The fall of Rome.

June 3 – Understanding modern diplomacy

June 10 – What exactly is “time?”

June 17 – Are we still living in “the Enlightenment?”

June 24 – Is authoritarianism making a comeback in U.S. politics?

July 1 – Is modern humor too mean-spirited and dumbed-down?

July 8 – Who are the most influencial philosophers and why?

July 15 – Why is the United States so involved in other nations’ political business?

July 22 – How have volcanoes affected human history?

July 29 – Modern Brazil; A Success Story?

August 5 – What does separation of church and state mean?

August 12 – The politics of food.

August 19 – Can we have immigration reform that satisfies everyone?

August 26 – Decline of the traditional family.

September 2 – Energy conservation or “drill, baby, drill?”

September 9 – Do we have to cut Social Security and other entitlements?

September 16 – How real are human energy fields and other metaphysical ideas?

September 23 -Do we have a Constitutionasl right to privacy?

September 30 – Do we have free will?

October 7 – What is sin?

October 14 – How should cooperation and competition coexist?

October 21 – November’s Ballot Propositions

October 28 – What If Voting Were Mandatory?

November 4 – Are the tea parties here to stay?

November 11 – Prohibition: What did we learn?

November 18 – Is when life begins all that matters?

November 25 – Thanksgiving, no meeting.

December 2 – How hard is it to build or obtain a nuclear weapon?

December 9 – Facebook and the future of friendship.

December 16 – Why do Americans hate taxes?

December 23 – Is the rich/poor gap a ticking time bomb?

December 30 – Crime and Punishment, or rehabilitation?