1. Do Unto OthersEthics in America II
Must we house the homeless or report a child abuser? A panel including Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Faye Wattleton of Planned Parenthood, and Willard Gaylin of the Hastings Center discusses the question of community responsibility.
2. To Defend a Killer
What rights do the guilty have? Ethical dilemmas of our criminal justice system are discussed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, defense attorney Jack Litman, and philosopher John Smith of Yale.
3. Public Trust, Private Interests
Jeane Kirkpatrick, Joseph A. Califano Jr., Senator Alan Simpson, Peter Jennings, and others address the problems of trust — within government, between one public official and another, and between the government and the public.
4. Does Doctor Know Best?
Should you save the mother at the risk of losing the baby? Doctors from the National Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center discuss controversies created by modern medicine with C. Everett Koop, journalist Ellen Goodman, and others.
5. Anatomy of a Hostile Takeover
Merger mania presents an alarming array of ethical problems. Debating the issues are T. Boone Pickens; chief executives from Borg-Warner, Goodyear, and Berkshire Hathaway; economist Lester Thurow; and Senator Tim Wirth.
6. Under Orders, Under Fire (Part I)
How do we wage war when the enemy dresses as civilians and children throw bombs? Generals William Westmoreland, David Jones, and Brent Scowcroft, correspondents Peter Jennings and Mike Wallace, and others question the duty to follow orders and a commander's obligation to protect soldiers.
7. Under Orders, Under Fire (Part II)
The carnage of My Lai raises the issue of confidentiality between the soldier, his religious confessor, and military justice. Generals debate the clash between military tribunals and the right of confidentiality with Chaplain Timothy Tatum of the U.S. Army War College, the Reverend J. Bryan Hehir of the U.S. Catholic Conference, and others.
8. Truth on Trial
Is an attorney's first obligation to the court, the client, or the public? Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Judge Robert Merhige, attorneys Floyd Abrams and Stanley Chesley, philosopher John Smith, and others debate civil litigation's ethical dilemmas.
9. The Human Experiment
Does finding a cure justify putting test subjects at risk? C. Everett Koop is joined by Dr. Arnold Relman, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, and other distinguished panelists in a discussion of the medical research field.
10. Politics, Privacy, and the Press
What conduct on the part of a public official is relevant to "the public's right to know?" Panelists from both sides, including Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, Peter Jennings, Mike Wallace, and Geraldine Ferraro, debate this issue.
1. Three Farewells: Medicine & the End of Life(Fred Friendly Seminars Previously)
This program looks at the difficult choices a loving family makes as they confront the end of life. When a perfect pregnancy ends in unforeseen complications, and the newborn suffers very severe brain injury, how should the parents decide what is best for their baby? When, a few years later, the baby’s grandmother descends into dementia from Alzheimer’s, should her earlier wish to forego all medical treatment be honored, even though she may no longer understand — or agree — with the statements she made when she was competent? Still later, another family member receives a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. If she is terminally ill, should she be able to avail herself of medications to aid her in dying?
2. War Stories: National Security & the News
Four years previously, a coalition led by American forces invaded the Central Asian nation of Khaoistan, where warlords had destroyed the central government and were supporting major terrorist activities. Today, the process of rebuilding the nation and fighting off an insurgency continues, covered by a group of journalists based in the capital city. Meanwhile, back in the States, a journalist covering national security issues investigates allegations of illegal phone taps by the government. In each case, reporters are faced with dilemmas that go to the heart of their responsibilities as journalists, and as Americans.
3. My Brother's Keeper
In a neighborhood perhaps like your own, in a family perhaps not too different from yours, individuals struggle with their college applications, with promotions at work, with the actions of their neighbors, and try to determine what to do when important values about questions of fairness, loyalty, secrets, and trust conflict.
4. Choosing Justice: Elections and Judicial Independence
John Fairfield, a former prosecutor and respected state trial judge, is thinking of pursuing a life-long dream: a seat on the state Supreme Court. In Fairfield’s state, Centralia, all the judges are chosen in nonpartisan elections, with no limits on what can be spent — or said — in the process of campaigning. Fairfield wonders what will be required of him — especially regarding fundraising and political advertising in what will be a fiercely contested statewide campaign — and what the implications might be for the ethical integrity of the judiciary.
5. A Better Brain: The Ethics of Neuro-Enhancement
Maria and her daughter Camilla are meeting with several challenges in this difficult time in their lives, from the exhaustion of working two jobs, to the pressure and loneliness of being an average, unpopular kid at school. Yet it appears that some new pharmaceuticals may help each of them—if they choose to use them. New drugs have also found a place in the university setting where students find that Hype Pharmaceuticals' Alzheimer's drug, Rememberall, helps them study better, work faster and remember much more. By enhancing their performance this way, are they cheating? Are they possibly endangering themselves?
6. Risk, Reward, Responsibility: Ethics in Business
Should the executives at Casablanca Cruise Lines have asbestos removed from their ships by a company based in the former Soviet republic of Novostan? The cost would be $80 million less than if an American company were used, but Novostani standards of worker safety are far less rigorous. What should executives at MaxiCorp disclose about accidents in cars using their device, which doubles the mileage of cars in which it is installed, when they have no idea whether their device is contributing to the accidents? And what should executives at Wowie Info do when the authoritarian government of Jaigunda demands the name of a Jaigundan customer who has been using Wowie’s Internet services to criticize the government? In each case, panelists struggle to make sound business decisions while observing ethical imperatives in the changing global economy.
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These discussions are seriously great. You get a chance to see some people who have ended up representing some formative Western political thought of the last 30 years talking candidly about their personal beliefs. Like ... surprisingly candidly. I personally think the first series is superior, particularly episodes 2, 5, 8, and 10.
Fantastic post, troll. Thanks for doing this.
posted by penduluum at 4:58 PM on September 7, 2011 [3 favorites]