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The groundbreaking science fiction series Battlestar Galactica was quickly hailed by fans and critics as one of the most interesting and entertaining series on television. Battlestar Galacticas visions and well executed themes about war, human rights and terrorism also had an unlikely fan, the United Nations! 
In March of this year the United Nations co-hosted a much talked about Battlestar Galactica panel at their headquarters. The panel was hosted by UN ambassador and huge Battlestar fan Whoopi Goldberg and the goal was to explore themes which are relevant to both the UN and the series – human rights, terrorism, children and armed conflict, and reconciliation between civilians and faiths. Stars and creators of the show, like Edward J Olmos and Ronald D Moore joined together with UN panelists such as Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Craig Mokhiber of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for an interesting discussion before an audience of UN representatives, journalists and high school students. The discussion serves as the launch of the UNs Creative Community Outreach Initiative, in which the UN will partner with the international film and television industries to raise awareness of global issues. The UN has already partnered with TV Law and Order and the movie Che! These new collaborations between organizations such as the UN and the entertainment industry to spread messages and understanding through popular culture is an interesting development and goes to show the importance of film and television in our lives today. 
I am very honored for this interview with Mr. Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Public Information about the Battlestar panel and the role of popular culture in the UNs important work!
Link to UN webcasts and Battlestar panel:
http://www.un.org/webcast/SE2009.html
Mr Richard Tofel was formerly the assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal and he has authored several books including 
This week, on the podcast I interview documentary filmmaker Alexandre Philippe about his new movie The People vs George Lucas, set to be released in the spring of 2010. The movie explores the passionate feelings expressed by fans and foes of the legendary film icon George Lucas. George Lucas is one of most debated filmmakers in history, he is adored by millions but his films have also disappointed many, especially the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Who can forget Jar Jar Binks!
