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Retired Professor at @nyucga, Senior Fellow at World Policy Institute.

The next episode of my podcast "On the Issues" is this upcoming Tuesday, August 18, at 1:00pm EDT with Hon. Lise Pearlman (ret.), the first Presiding Judge of the California State Bar Court and a former California trial lawyer. Following her retirement from the bench, Judge Pearlman has become a best-selling author and nationally recognized speaker on famous 20th century trials whose books have won multiple awards in the categories of law, U.S. History, and multicultural nonfiction.⁠
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Listeners can register for the live podcast recording on Zoom at the link in my bio/stories.⁠
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Archived episodes will be released the following day, on Wednesdays at noon. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, including Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify, to be sure to always get the latest episodes.

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Today’s podcast guest is Sam Ben-Meir, Assistant Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at City University of New York, College of Technology. He is the author of Ethical Interanimality: Toward a Relational Philosophy of Nature, which reflects on his longstanding effort to rethink our place in nature and the vulnerabilities that bind all life together.⁠
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In this episode, we discuss the interrelationship between humanity and nature, and the ethics of that relationship. In particular, we examine how viewing ourselves as living beings among other living beings changes how we think about politics, economics, technology, and in particular, the environmental crisis.⁠
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Listen now; link in bio.⁠
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Full bio⁠
Sam Ben-Meir is a writer, scholar, and teacher whose work explores the intersections of ethics, nature, and the human condition. He is Assistant Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at City University of New York, where he teaches ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of technology. He is the author of Ethical Interanimality: Toward a Relational Philosophy of Nature and has published widely on philosophy, literature, politics, religion, and environmental thought. His current research explores recognition, freedom, democracy, and the moral foundations of political community.

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Today’s podcast guest is Sam Ben-Meir, Assistant Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at City University of New York, College of Technology. He is the author of Ethical Interanimality: Toward a Relational Philosophy of Nature, which reflects on his longstanding effort to rethink our place in nature and the vulnerabilities that bind all life together.⁠
⁠
In this episode, we discuss the interrelationship between humanity and nature, and the ethics of that relationship. In particular, we examine how viewing ourselves as living beings among other living beings changes how we think about politics, economics, technology, and in particular, the environmental crisis.⁠
⁠
Listen now; link in bio.⁠
⁠
Full bio⁠
Sam Ben-Meir is a writer, scholar, and teacher whose work explores the intersections of ethics, nature, and the human condition. He is Assistant Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at City University of New York, where he teaches ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of technology. He is the author of Ethical Interanimality: Toward a Relational Philosophy of Nature and has published widely on philosophy, literature, politics, religion, and environmental thought. His current research explores recognition, freedom, democracy, and the moral foundations of political community.

Today’s podcast guest is Dr. Benafsha Yaqoobi, an attorney and civic society and human rights activist. Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, she worked as an attorney for the elimination of violence against women and as a Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. She currently serves as a prosecutor on the team bringing Afghanistan’s case before the People’s Tribunal for the Women of Afghanistan.⁠
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In this episode, we discuss the plight of people with disabilities in Afghanistan, particularly women and girls, the work that the Rahyab Initiative does in support of people with disabilities in Afghanistan, and the impact of the Taliban’s takeover on Afghanistan as well as its impact on receiving external support.⁠
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Listen now; link in bio.⁠
⁠
Full bio⁠
Dr. Benafsha Yaqoobi is a civic society and human rights activist, and currently serves as a prosecutor on the team bringing Afghanistan’s case before the People’s Tribunal for the Women of Afghanistan in 2025. She is the founder and director of The Rahyab Initiative in the UK and previously established the Organization of Rahyab for Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (ORRSB) in Afghanistan.⁠
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Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Dr. Yaqoobi worked as an attorney for the elimination of violence against women and later as a Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. She has consistently used national and international platforms to advocate for the inclusion of Afghan women in peacebuilding processes, with particular focus on women with disabilities.⁠
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Dr. Yaqoobi holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Lovely Professional University in India, with her dissertation examining democratic governance and women’s political rights in Afghanistan. She is currently pursuing doctoral research in sociology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.⁠
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Her contributions have been recognized internationally. In 2024, she was awarded the U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage Award, and in 2022 she received the Marca Bristo Fellowship from Human Rights Watch. In 2021, she was named among the BBC’s 100 most influential women.

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Today’s podcast guest is Dr. Benafsha Yaqoobi, an attorney and civic society and human rights activist. Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, she worked as an attorney for the elimination of violence against women and as a Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. She currently serves as a prosecutor on the team bringing Afghanistan’s case before the People’s Tribunal for the Women of Afghanistan.⁠
⁠
In this episode, we discuss the plight of people with disabilities in Afghanistan, particularly women and girls, the work that the Rahyab Initiative does in support of people with disabilities in Afghanistan, and the impact of the Taliban’s takeover on Afghanistan as well as its impact on receiving external support.⁠
⁠
Listen now; link in bio.⁠
⁠
Full bio⁠
Dr. Benafsha Yaqoobi is a civic society and human rights activist, and currently serves as a prosecutor on the team bringing Afghanistan’s case before the People’s Tribunal for the Women of Afghanistan in 2025. She is the founder and director of The Rahyab Initiative in the UK and previously established the Organization of Rahyab for Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (ORRSB) in Afghanistan.⁠
⁠
Before the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Dr. Yaqoobi worked as an attorney for the elimination of violence against women and later as a Commissioner at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. She has consistently used national and international platforms to advocate for the inclusion of Afghan women in peacebuilding processes, with particular focus on women with disabilities.⁠
⁠
Dr. Yaqoobi holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Lovely Professional University in India, with her dissertation examining democratic governance and women’s political rights in Afghanistan. She is currently pursuing doctoral research in sociology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.⁠
⁠
Her contributions have been recognized internationally. In 2024, she was awarded the U.S. State Department’s International Women of Courage Award, and in 2022 she received the Marca Bristo Fellowship from Human Rights Watch. In 2021, she was named among the BBC’s 100 most influential women.

Today’s podcast guest is Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, a blogger and activist who has written extensively since 2006 on environmental and human rights issues in Vietnam. She has been arrested twice for her activism, and received a 10-year prison sentence. She was released after two years, on the condition of exile from Vietnam.⁠
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In this episode, we discuss the current political status inside Vietnam and its status in the region, Quynh’s experience of activism and persecution, including her arrests and imprisonment, environmental and human rights issues in Vietnam, and what role the US has and can play in supporting democracy and freedom in the country.⁠
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Listen now; link in bio.⁠
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Full bio⁠
Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh is a blogger and activist who has blogged extensively since 2006 on environmental and human rights issues in Vietnam, publishing principled arguments to inspire change and greater transparency. Ms. Quynh co-founded the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers, an independent writers’ association that encourages members to “protect people’s rights and freedoms from restrictions and censorship.” She was arrested on October 10, 2016 under the charge of “conducting propaganda against the state” and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was released from prison on October 17, 2018, and sent into exile in the United States.⁠
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In 2014, she received a Human Rights Defender award from the Stockholm-based NGO Civil Rights Defenders, and was awarded the 2017 International Women of Courage Award by the US Department of State.

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