Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations

Professor Richard Ashby Wilson of Princeton on Anthropology, Hate Crimes, and Human Rights

Professor Richard Ashby Wilson joins us for a timely and important conversation on human rights, hate crime enforcement, authoritarianism, and the widening gap between laws written on paper and justice experienced in everyday life. A longtime colleague and friend of Professor Bert B. Lockwood, Richard is currently Professor of Anthropology and Co-Director of the Princeton University Human Rights Initiative.
Prior to Princeton, he founded and directed the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut, where Bert also serves on the board. One of the world’s leading legal anthropologists, Richard is the author of eleven books examining transitional justice, international criminal tribunals, incitement, and the failures and possibilities of legal systems.
Richard’s journey into human rights began in 1983 when, as an 18-year-old pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University, he learned that U.S. tax dollars were funding death squads in Central America. That moment changed the course of his life and led him into anthropology, determined to document stories and communities too often ignored or erased from public view.
Over the next four decades, his work would take him from Mayan communities rebuilding after genocide in Guatemala to South African townships navigating the aftermath of apartheid and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In this episode, we discuss Richard’s groundbreaking research on hate crime enforcement in the United States and the alarming reality that, despite more than 150 years of hate crime legislation, only a small percentage of actual hate crimes are ever charged or prosecuted. We explore why targeted communities often do not trust the systems meant to protect them, how police discretion and prosecutorial practices shape outcomes, and what these failures reveal in America today.
Also, we discuss Richard's work helping draft hate crime reform legislation in Connecticut, as well as the growing pressures facing democratic institutions around the world.
SHOW NOTES
Episode Transcript PDF
Professor Richard Asby Wilson, Princeton University Department of Anthropology
Princeton University Human Rights Initiative
UConn Human Rights Institute
Key Publications and Scholarship
The (Non)Enforcement of Hate Crime Laws in the United States,Richard Ashby Wilson, Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2025
New Legal Realism at 20: Rethinking Law in an Era of Populism and Social Movements
Richard Ashby Wilson, Jeffrey Omari, and Pablo Rueda-Saiz, Connecticut Law Review, 2024
Incitement on Trial: Prosecuting International Speech CrimesRichard Ashby Wilson, Cambridge University Press, 2017
Writing History in International Criminal TrialsRichard Ashby Wilson, Cambridge University Press, 2011
The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South AfricaRichard Ashby Wilson, Cambridge University Press, 2001
Maya Resurgence in Guatemala: Q’eqchi’ ExperiencesRichard Ashby Wilson, University of Oklahoma Press, 1995
Hate Crime Laws & Reform
House Bill 6872: An Act Revising and Consolidating the Hate Crimes Statutes
UConn Today Law: UConn Law Professors Lead Drafting of New Proposed Hate Crimes Bill
Organizations to Support
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
ACLU: Immigrants’ Rights
National Immigration Law Center
 

Dina Francesca Haynes: Refugee Protection, Immigration Law, and the Responsibility to Defend Democracy

We are thrilled to welcome Professor Dina Francesca Haynes, Executive Director of the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School, and a nationally recognized expert in immigration and refugee law, human trafficking, and gender and conflict.
Her work has taken her to some of the world’s most challenging environments, including Rwanda, Bosnia, and Afghanistan, where she worked alongside international institutions to support displaced communities and strengthen legal protections in fragile settings. She has clerked on the Constitutional Court of South Africa and represented hundreds of clients seeking asylum in the United States, bringing both legal rigor and compassion to her practice.
Dina studied under Professor Bert Lockwood as both a student and an Urban Morgan Human Rights Fellow at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, a connection that makes this conversation especially meaningful across generations.
Dina has spent her career showing up, in airports, in courtrooms, in conflict zones, and in classrooms, and the body of work she has built stands as a powerful testament to what conviction, courage, and compassion can achieve.
In our conversation, she shares insight into the realities facing migrants and asylum seekers, the legal challenges shaping immigration policy today, and the responsibility lawyers carry when institutions are under strain.
SHOW NOTES
Episode Transcript PDF
Professor Dina Francesca Haynes, Executive Director, Schell Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law School
Schell Center for International Human Rights, Yale Law School
Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights, University of Cincinnati College of Law
Books
On the Frontlines: Gender, War, and the Post-Conflict Process, Oxford University Press
Handbook on Gender and Conflict: Edited by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Naomi Cahn, Dina Francesca Haynes, and Nahla Valji, Oxford University Press
Article
Celebritizations of Human Rights: Dina Francesca Haynes: This article examines how celebrity advocacy can shape public attention, policy conversations, and funding priorities in the human rights field, while also raising important questions about representation, accountability, and the voices of affected communities.
 

Joe Tomain: Energy, Infrastructure, and the Decisions Shaping Our Future

In this episode of Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations, we welcome Professor Joe Tomain, former Dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Law and the Wilbert and Helen Ziegler Professor of Law, a distinguished scholar in energy law and policy and a longtime colleague and supporter of the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights.
Drawing on decades of leadership in higher education and public policy, Professor Tomain reflects on the evolving relationship between energy systems, climate policy, and democratic governance. Our conversation explores the increasing demands on energy infrastructure driven by emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and data centers, and the policy choices that will shape environmental sustainability and economic stability in the decades ahead.
We also revisit a defining historical experience shared by Professor Tomain and Professor Bert Lockwood – traveling to South Africa in 1994 as legal observers during the country’s first democratic elections, when citizens, including hospital patients, waited patiently in long lines to cast their ballots in the country’s first democratic vote.
Together, this conversation offers thoughtful reflection on leadership, public service, and the responsibilities of institutions navigating the interconnected challenges of energy, climate, and democracy.
Show Notes
Professor Joe Tomain: University of Cincinnati College of Law
Books and Publications Referenced
Energy Law and Policy (4th Edition, 2026)Joseph P. Tomain, Lincoln L. Davies, Alexandra B. Klass, Uma Outka, Hari M. Osofsky, Elizabeth J. Wilson
Energy Law in a Nutshell (4th Edition, 2022)A foundational text examining the structure of modern energy systems and the transition toward clean and net-zero energy policy.
Smart Energy Paths: How Willie Nelson Saved the Planet (2006)Joseph P. Tomain
Institutions Referenced
Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights — University of Cincinnati College of Law
International Commission of Jurists

Mark Gibney: Human Rights and Film

This week, we welcome Professor Mark Gibney to the show.
Mark Gibney is the Carol G. Belk Distinguished Professor at UNC Asheville, longtime director of the Political Terror Scale, and one of the leading voices in international human rights scholarship. He is a longtime friend and colleague of Professor Bert Lockwood, marking more than 40 years of friendship this year. Meredith’s own friendship with Mark is rooted in a shared passion for storytelling through human rights film and documentary, which frames this conversation.
In this episode, we explore the intersection of human rights, storytelling, and global accountability through the lens of Mark’s extraordinary career. We discuss the Political Terror Scale and the role of data in documenting torture, disappearances, political imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings, as well as his recent scholarship calling for a more nuanced system of graded responsibility in international law.
We also examine the power of film as a human rights tool through Mark’s course on human rights cinema and a wide-ranging discussion of documentaries, including The Alabama Solution, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Collective, and Darwin’s Nightmare. Together, we reflect on how film can expose hidden abuses, humanize legal frameworks, and expand public understanding in ways traditional institutions sometimes cannot.
Grounding the conversation in the realities of this moment, we also discuss human rights challenges unfolding in the United States and around the world, from democratic backsliding and prison abuses to the crises in Iran and Palestine, and where Mark sees possibilities for accountability and change.
We hope this discussion encourages our listeners to reflect on how one measures injustice, how we bear witness, and how law, storytelling, and civic engagement can work together in the pursuit of international human rights.
Show Notes
Episode Transcript PDF
Professor Mark Gibney, UNC Asheville
Political Terror Scale (PTS)
“Taking Human Rights Obligations (More) Seriously,” Human Rights Quarterly (Vol. 47, 2025)
Films & Documentaries 
The Alabama Solution
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Collective
Darwin’s Nightmare
Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk
The Lives of Others
Flint’s Deadly Water, Frontline PBS Video
Resources & Article
AP News Article: Sonny Burton’s commutation
Epstein Exposed

Catherine Filloux: Award-winning Playwright and the Power of the Arts & Activism

"The theater places stories in front of hearts and minds as an experience that is living and transforming." These words from award-winning playwright and librettist Catherine Filloux capture the visceral power of the arts in the pursuit of human rights. For over 30 years, Catherine has used her creative compass to navigate the complexities of genocide, displacement, and environmental justice. An alumna of New Dramatists who received her M.F.A. at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Catherine has been honored with the 2019 Barry Lopez Visiting Writer in Ethics and Community Fellowship and the 2017 Otto René Castillo Award for Political Theatre.
In this episode, the conversation explores Catherine’s prolific body of work, which spans from the history of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to the urgent, present-day crisis of climate change. As a co-founder of Theatre Without Borders, Catherine has spent decades building bridges between artists in conflict zones, ensuring that dialogue survives even when legal and political structures fail. Having taught playwriting at institutions including Vassar, Wesleyan, and Bennington College, she brings a deep pedagogical perspective to how we witness history through performance.
The discussion examines the three-dimensional prism of the stage and the unique chemistry of a live audience. Catherine also shares the inspiration behind her newest play, Olivia, which centers on a mother-daughter rift over fossil fuel dependency; a theme that resonates deeply with the intergenerational mission of this podcast.
From the "oil spilled rainbows" of environmental destruction to the "psychosomatic blindness" of war survivors, Catherine’s work serves as a form of accountability and a source of hope. She transforms the stage to become more than a space for performance, but a vital instrument of accountability, transforming the most complex global crises into a shared, human experience.
Show Notes
Episode Transcript PDF
Catherine Filloux Website
Theatre Without Borders
Catherine Filloux Archive, held at the Ohio State University Libraries
Resources and References
Fellow Travelers Opera: 10 year anniversary
Sir Trevor McDonald Interview: A raw perspective on systemic issues through interviews with incarcerated women in America

Lacey Stone: United Nations Refugee Agency, Building Futures for Refugee Women and Girls

We are honored to welcome Lacey Stone to Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations. As the Chief Development Officer at USA for UNHCR, the U.S. partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency, she works at the intersection of philanthropy, partnerships, and global humanitarian impact. With more than two decades of experience across organizations, including UNICEF USA, PATH, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Lacey has built a career grounded in connecting people, resources, and ideas to create meaningful change.
In this conversation, Lacey shares what it means to bear witness to the stories of refugee women and girls and to help translate those stories into action, visibility, and support. We discuss the DAFI scholarship program, the Building Better Futures campaign, and the urgent need to invest in higher education, mentorship, and wraparound support for refugee women and girls as they rebuild their lives and strengthen their communities.
Lacey also reflects on the evolving nature of philanthropy, from transactional giving to transformational partnerships, and why storytelling must remain at the center of that shift. This episode is a powerful reminder that education is more than access. It is dignity, agency, leadership, and a pathway toward long-term change.
From Lacey’s own journey as a first-generation college student to Bert’s perspective on the legal evolution of the 1951 Refugee Convention, this episode examines what happens when philanthropy becomes a relational partnership aimed at fueling the next generation of global leadership.
We encourage our listeners to take action by supporting USA for UNHCR and the Building Better Futures initiative. By contributing, you are providing more than a scholarship; you are ensuring that courageous students have the resources to secure their human rights, reclaim their narratives, and build a more equitable future for displaced communities worldwide.
Show Notes
Show Transcript PDF
USA for UNHCR
USA for UNHCR Website
UNHCR Donate
Building Better Futures
Building Better Futures Video 
DAFI Scholarship Program
2024 DAFI Annual Report
Referenced in Conversation
Article: Fundraising Wasn’t Built for Women. So We Built Something New, Inside Philanthropic
Study Trust (UNHCR partner in South Africa)

Dr. Xanthe Scharff of The Freedom Fund: Ending Modern Slavery and Supporting Frontline Communities

This week, we welcome Dr. Xanthe Scharff to the show. She is the Managing Director for External Affairs and Editor-at-Large at the Freedom Fund, where she works to strengthen global efforts to end modern slavery by supporting and investing in frontline partners who are closest to the problem and best positioned to drive lasting change within their own communities.
With more than 20 years of experience across journalism, research, and nonprofit leadership, Xanthe brings a powerful perspective to this work, one grounded in storytelling, partnership, and systems change. At the Freedom Fund, she plays a critical role in advancing solutions that address the often hidden and disproportionate exploitation of women and girls, ensuring that local leaders have the resources, visibility, and support they need to prevent exploitation and help survivors rebuild their lives.
In our conversation, Xanthe helps unpack the reality that modern slavery is not a thing of the past, but a growing global crisis, with an estimated 50 million people affected worldwide. From forced labor and domestic servitude to trafficking within the United States and the complexities of global supply chains, she brings clarity to both the scale of the issue and the pathways toward sustainable change. She also reflects on her earlier work as co-founder of the Fuller Project, where she helped reshape how stories about women are told and understood across the globe.
This episode is an invitation to deepen awareness and to take meaningful action by supporting organizations like the Freedom Fund and the courageous frontline leaders working every day to prevent exploitation, protect human dignity, and build safer futures for women and girls around the world.
Show Notes:
Show Transcript PDF
The Freedom Fund
2025–2030 Strategic Plan
To Make a Donation
Research Library
Featured Article
‘Invisible’ children born in the brothels of Bangladesh finally get birth certificates, The Guardian
National Human Trafficking Hotline
Call: 1-888-373-7888
Text: 233733
Website
Learn More
U.S. National Human Trafficking Prevention Month
1926 Slavery Convention: 100th Anniversary
The Fuller Project - Website
Further Reading & Resources
Women’s Empowerment and Child Labor in Cocoa: Ghana & Côte d’Ivoire
Child Labor is Helping Power the Clean Energy Transition
Voice of Change Podcast, “Empowering Change: The Syrian Women’s Political Movement”
Bonded by Brick documentary, The Centrum Media

Julie Leftwich: Peacebuilding and the International Peace and Security Initiative

In this episode of Human Rights: Conversations Across Generations, we are joined by Julie Leftwich, founder of the International Peace and Security Initiative at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and a deeply respected voice in peacebuilding, international law, and human rights.
Julie brings to this conversation a remarkable body of work shaped by years of engagement with conflict, diplomacy, refugee and immigrant rights, and the urgent questions facing our world today. She speaks with extraordinary candor and moral clarity about the realities of this moment, from freedom to protest and immigration to the human stakes of conflict and peacebuilding.
Our conversation also explores the vision behind the International Peace and Security Initiative, which is dedicated to preparing and mentoring the next generation of leaders committed to global justice, international cooperation, and conflict resolution. Julie reflects on the importance of education, dialogue, and principled leadership in a world that increasingly demands all three.
This is a powerful and thoughtful episode, and we are grateful to Julie for the generosity, conviction, and firsthand insight she brought to the conversation.
SHOW NOTES
Transcript PDF
Support and Donate to the International Peace and Security Initiative at the University of Cincinnati College of LawClick Here to Donate
Julie Leftwich's Website
Judge Thomas Buergenthal, memoir: A Lucky Child

Professor Mark Godsey: The Ohio Innocence Project and the Human Cost of Injustice

Professor Mark Godsey has spent his career confronting one of the most profound human rights failures within the legal system: the incarceration of innocent people.
A former federal prosecutor and longtime professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Mark is the co-founder and director of the Ohio Innocence Project, one of the nation’s leading innocence organizations. Through his work alongside students and legal advocates, he has helped secure freedom for individuals who collectively lost more than 900 years of their lives to imprisonment for crimes they did not commit.
In this powerful conversation, Mark reflects on his transformation from prosecutor to advocate, the systemic forces that contribute to wrongful convictions, and the urgent need for reform. He also shares how storytelling, including his book Blind Justice and the opera Blind Injustice, has helped bring national attention to the human cost of injustice.
This episode offers a profound look at justice, accountability, and the role each of us can play in protecting fundamental human rights.
Show Notes
Show Transcript PDF: available here
This episode was recorded in mid-2025. We encourage listeners to support the ongoing work of the Ohio Innocence Project and organizations nationwide dedicated to defending the rights of innocent individuals.
Professor Mark Godsey: Faculty Profile, University of Cincinnati College of Law
Author, Blind Justice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions
Ohio Innocence Project
Learn more and donate: https://foundation.uc.edu/OIP
Ohio Innocence Project 20th Anniversary Video
Innocence Project (National)
Blind Injustice Opera: A groundbreaking opera based on the stories of Ohio Innocence Project exonerees
Articles and Media Coverage
The New Yorker: “An Opera for the Wrongfully Convicted”
The New York Times: “‘Blind Injustice,’ an Opera Inspired by Exonerees”
 
 

Leah Watson: ACLU Senior Staff Attorney, Racial Justice Program

In this powerful multigenerational conversation, we are honored to welcome our dear friend and civil rights attorney Leah Watson, whose work at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) places her at the forefront of defending constitutional rights and advancing racial justice across the United States. Leah’s advocacy focuses on protecting freedom in education, challenging classroom censorship, and confronting systemic inequities embedded within our legal and social systems.
Leah’s path to this work reflects both excellence and intention. After studying at Vanderbilt University and earning her law degree from Harvard Law School, she began her career in corporate litigation before making the decision to dedicate her legal expertise to public interest law. Her work now addresses some of the most urgent civil rights issues of our time, including anti-DEI legislation, racial disparities in education and healthcare, and the protection of free expression.
This conversation also explores the personal experiences that shape Leah’s commitment to justice. Raised by two physicians and deeply influenced by family, mentorship, and lived experience, Leah brings both intellectual rigor and profound humanity to her work. Her integrity, clarity of purpose, and unwavering dedication to justice have been a meaningful source of inspiration in my own life.
This conversation offers both timely insight and enduring perspective on the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Leah’s story reminds us that the work of justice is carried forward through personal commitment and grows through collective action.
Show Notes
This episode was recorded in 2025, and we encourage listeners to support the ACLU’s ongoing work defending fundamental rights. You can learn more and donate here: ACLU Donate Page
Show Transcript PDF: available here
Books, Articles, and Academic References
Leah Watson: “The Anti-‘Critical Race Theory’ Campaign: Classroom Censorship and Racial Backlash by Another Name”
Leah Watson: “We Have to Reclaim Race and Racism” (ACLU)
Deborah Archer: President of the ACLU, her book, Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality
Aryeh Neier: Taking Liberties: Four Decades in the Struggle for Human Rights
New Kid by Jerry Craft
Paul Castle, author and illustrator
Pringle & Finn (The Pengrooms) by Paul Castle
Human Rights Quarterly (HRQ) — A leading academic journal focused on human rights law, policy, and practice worldwide
People and Organizations Mentioned
James McClure: South African journalist and novelist (1939–2006) best known for his Kramer and Zondi detective series, which examined the realities of apartheid-era South Africa through crime fiction and explored themes of race, justice, and inequality. Author page: https://sohopress.com/authors/james-mcclure/