The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions Audio Archive The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI) was founded by Robert Maynard Hutchins and was based in Santa Barbara, California, from 1959 to 1987. During that time it brought together many of the most capable and distinguished minds of the times to discuss vital issues facing American society of the day. Political and academic leaders, scientists, social scientists, legal scholars, journalists, theologians, labor and community leaders focused on topics such as peace and war, democracy, dissent, community action, ecology and the environment, elections and the electoral process, immigration, international relations, law and order, the media, race and ethnicity, and religion. Prominent participants included Senator Alan Cranston, Upton Sinclair, Milton Friedman, Mortimer Adler, Cesar Chavez, Aldous Huxley, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, Sander Vanocur, and Gunner Myrdal among many others. Thanks to donors Neal Linson, Ceil Pulitzer, and Stanley Sheinbaum, a project has begun to digitize and make accessible on the web some of the most important conference proceedings, talks, and dialogues recorded by CSDI. These have been grouped by broad topic areas. Click on the following topics for a list and description of the digitized tapes, and to listen to the digital files. Tapes will be added on an ongoing basis. Program Topics Democracy and Freedom Dissent Education First Amendment Rights/Freedom of the Press Government and Politics Hutchins [Robert Maynard] and the History of CSDI Immigration International Issues Law and Order The Media Peace and War Race and Ethnicity Religion Science and Technology Social and Economic Issues Help with listening to the audio files, credits and copyright information Graphic from the cover of Center Magazine, March/April 1985. Detail of painting by Douglas Meyer. Used with permission. Page author: David Seubert. Last modified: 11/20/06 02:40:59 Direct questions or comments about this page to the author or to the Web Administrator. This is an official University of California, Santa Barbara Library web page.