Russ Feingold will be a guest at a live taping of Philosophy Talk; Stanford community invited to come join the fun

Russ Feingold

Does the growing power of corporations threaten our democracy?

Former U.S. Sen. RUSS FEINGOLD, a Democrat from Wisconsin, will address that question tonight, Thursday, March 15, at 7 p.m. during a live recording of Stanford’s nationally syndicated radio program, Philosophy Talk. Free and open to the public, the taping will take place in Cubberley Auditorium. Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the discussion. The recorded show will air on stations nationwide in April.

Feingold, author of the recently released book While America Sleeps: A Wake-up Call for the Post-9/11 Era, is currently a distinguished visitor at the Haas Center for Public Service.

Philosophy Talk co-hosts JOHN PERRY and KENNETH TAYLOR will press Feingold on the influence of corporations on democratic institutions and explore the philosophical tensions resulting from the mixture of money and politics. They also will discuss the effect of corporate power on government, and consider whether global capitalism and democratic self-governance can be reconciled or are destined to remain fundamentally at odds.

The trio also will examine the Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that granted corporations free speech rights “on the grounds that corporations are people and hence covered by the Bill of Rights,” said Perry, the Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus.

Taylor, the current Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy, says he wants to discuss the obligations corporations have in society, particularly in the context of the Supreme Court decision.

Philosophy Talk, “the program that questions everything, except your intelligence,” is in its ninth season. Heard in nearly 300 regions nationally, the program celebrates the value of the examined life.

Ken Taylor and John Perry of Philosophy Talk