WBEZ's Worldview

We look back at Hanukah with Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He’ll talk about the deepest meaning of the holiday for the religious, as well as the non-religious. He’ll also talk about how the human spirit can provide healing in light of the Newtown, CT massacre.

Archbishop Lazar Puhalo, Abbott of All Saints Monastery in British Columbia, tells WBEZ's Worldview about how during Christmas we've missed the essence and heart of Nativity. See more from Archbishop Lazar on his YouTube site: http://www.youtube.com/user/allsaintsmonastery

The Maya Long Count calendar’s great cycle comes to an end on December 21, 2012. People around the world fear that date signals a cataclysmic disaster that might bring about the end of mankind. Cynthia Robin, professor of anthropology at Northwestern University has taught a special edition of her Maya civilization class this semester and she’ll be here. So, just what did the ancient Maya really predict?

Worldview film contributor Milos Stehlik weighs in on the controversy surrounding Katherine Bigelow’s latest film Zero Dark Thirty. The film stars Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain.

Global citizen Nari Safavi helps listeners plan their international weekend. He’ll tell us where to go to celebrate doomsday.

K. Sujata, president of the Chicago Foundation for Women tells us why only seven percent of all institutional funding is directed to women and girls.

On today's show: a doomsday quiz, a look at Zero Dark Thirty, and this Weekend's Passport.

For our Global Activism segment, WBEZ's Steve Bynum, asks Mona Purdy of Share Your Soles to reflect upon her tumultuous 2012 and her hopeful and exciting 2013.

On today's show: Steve Bynum sits in for Jerome to discuss low rates of philanthropy for women, the spiritual origins of Hanukkah and hopes for the new year.

Korea held presidential elections today. Voters decided between the conservative Saenuri Party's Park Geun-hye and the left-leaning Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party, with Park winning the election late this morning. This makes Park Korea's first female president. Bruce Cumings, a history professor at University of Chicago and author of The Korean War: A History, joins us to discuss the race.

Jerome McDonnell and Radio M and Morning Shift host Tony Sarabia share their picks for best international holiday tune. Listener Lionel Bottari will also join us. He’ll tell us all about the music that everyone in Italy is listening to this time of year. It’s bagpipe music played on an instrument known as the zampogna. Julian Hayda, a member of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, also shares his pick "The Good News in Bethlehem."

On Today's show: A discussion of the coming elections in South Korea and a holiday-themed Global Notes.

In 1996, a gunman in Port Arthur, Tasmania opened fire at a resort, killing 35 people and wounding twenty-three. Less than two weeks later, the Australian government passed sweeping gun control laws. There hasn’t been a mass shooting in Australia since. We’ll speak with David Hemenway, director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, about how Australia managed to significantly curb its gun violence.

Earlier this year, an investigation by Chris Woods from the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed that U.S. drones targeted rescue workers and other civilians in Pakistan. His work has spawned a U.N. investigation into possible war crimes. Last month, Woods returned to Pakistan, where he met with villagers who witnessed drone attacks, as well as one of the girls who was shot along with Malala Yousafzai in the Swat Valley. He’ll share details of his trip and discuss the impact of U.S. drone policy on the ground in Pakistan.

Chavez is still recovering but over the weekend voters in Venezuela re-elected his main rival, Henrique Capriles Radonski, as governor of one of the country’s most populous states. Candidates loyal to Chavez won the governorship in 19 other states. We’ll speculate about possible successors to Chavez with Javier Corrales, professor of political science at Amherst College and co-author of the book, Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the political economy of revolution in Venezuela.