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CORVALLIS, Ore. - The nationally syndicated public radio show "Philosophy Talk" will visit Oregon State University on April 2 for a live taping.

Show hosts Ken Taylor and John Perry, both of Stanford University, will discuss "The New Surveillance Society: Big Brother Grows Up." Their guest will be Christopher McKnight Nichols of the School of History, Philosophy and Religion in OSU's College of Liberal Arts.

The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Austin Auditorium at the LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St., Corvallis. It is free and open to the public, and there will be an opportunity for audience participation.

"One of the most pressing issues today is the increasing surveillance of individuals by the government as well as by corporate entities," said Nichols, an assistant professor of history and author of Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age. "This is not new. It has a history that helps explain how and why we have arrived at this point."

Among the questions to be considered on the show: How should we treat whistleblowers that break the law for moral or political ends? How do we strike a proper balance between national and corporate security and individual rights? What rights and responsibilities does a proactive citizenry have when confronted with transgressions committed by the state and others?

"The central issue is privacy rights and how very often in U.S. history those rights have been curtailed in wartime," said Nichols. "I want us to interrogate the legal, diplomatic, and intellectual history of 'wartime' to better understand the decisions that have propelled the rise of a surveillance state."

"Philosophy Talk" airs on dozens of public radio stations internationally, including on the radio network of Oregon Public Broadcasting. On OPB, the show is broadcast at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

Perry and Taylor will continue their trip to Oregon with two Portland events. They'll take calls live on the air on OPB at 9 p.m. Thursday, April 3, when they talk about conspiracy theories with Brian Keeley of Pitzer College.

On Saturday, April 5, "Philosophy Talk" will record a new program at the First Congregation United Church of Christ in downtown Portland. The topic is "Remixing Reality: Art and Literature for the 21st Century," with special guest David Shields, author of Reality Hunger: A Manifesto.