Since the 1960s, multiculturalism has become a dominant feature of the political and intellectual landscape in the West. But multiculturalism rests on a frail foundation: cultural relativism — the notion that no culture is better or worse than any other, but merely different. However, the evidence demonstrates conclusively that when it comes to democratic continuity, social justice, and prosperity, some cultures perform far better than others. We’ll examine this fascinating topic.

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One major effect of China’s rising economy is an explosive rise in the prices of commodities and the high-profile promotion of “sustainable” business models. So it should be no surprise that recycling is suddenly one of the hottest businesses around. What are the implications and opportunities? We’ll explain.

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China’s two decades of explosive growth were crowned by the 2008 Summer Olympics. But now that the world is no longer watching, it faces a whole string of potential opportunities and threats that will impact not only its own people, but the global economy as well. What are these threats and opportunities? How are they likely to play out? We’ll provide the answers you can’t get anywhere else.

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Let’s face it, while the benefits of the Internet are enormous, the level of vulnerability and transparency it creates will transform our lives and our businesses in unprecedented ways. What are these threats and the related opportunities? How can we make the best of this situation? We’ll explain.

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A fundamental shift is taking place in the way companies obtain software and computing capacity. A host of providers is helping corporate clients use the Internet to tap into everything from extra server capacity to software that helps manage customer relationships. Assigning computing tasks to some remote location is referred to collectively as cloud computing, and it is catching on across corporate America. What’s ahead and what will it mean for you? Keep listening to find out.

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Twenty years ago, text-based computers limited our interactions to entering and reading strings of characters. Today, we can’t imagine life without a mouse, a touch pad, and a high-resolution graphical user interface (GUI). Soon, haptics, brain-wave interpreters, 3-D displays, surface computing, and gesture-based interfaces will join with other concepts that have not even been identified yet to change how we interact with the evolving digital world. How will these interfaces change the digital environment and how will they change us? What will this mean for you as a manager, investor, and consumer? We’ll show you.

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Information technology has rewritten the equations relating matter and energy to our quality of life. Computing, communications, biotech, and nanotech are enabling us to generate high levels of affluence with a tiny fraction of the physical resources once required. At the same, infotech is changing who we are and how we function. Inevitably, text messaging, e-mail, Google searches, and a wide range of other information technologies are transforming how we live and think. What are the implications? What are the opportunities and threats? Keep listening to find out.

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