Berkeley Talks

Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer Elizabeth Kolbert in conversation with David Ackerly, dean of UC Berkeley's Rausser College of Natural Resources, and Geeta Anand, dean of Berkeley Journalism, as part of the 2021 Horace Albright Lecture in Conservation. Elizabeth Kolbert is the author of The Sixth Extinction , for which she won a Pulitzer Prize in 2015, and Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man...

In episode 130 of Berkeley Talks, Eva Paterson, president and co-founder of the Equal Justice Society, talks in 2017 with Savala Nolan (then Savala Trepczynski), director of Berkeley Law's Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, about when Paterson first realized the need for social justice, litigating implicit bias and why she loves — and hates — America. This conversation first appeared...

Lewis Feldman, UC Berkeley professor of plant biology and executive director of the UC Botanical Garden, explores why some leaves appear to change color in the fall season — exhibiting reds, oranges and yellows — and the environmental influences that affect the brilliance of these colors. He also explains the evolutionary benefits of a tree losing its leaves. Listen to the episode and read a trans...

A panel of artists, organizers and academics discuss UC Berkeley professor Eric Stanley's 2021 book that interrogates why, in a time when we're told LGBT rights are advancing in the U.S., anti-trans violence continues to rise. Panelists include: Angela Y. Davis, professor emerita, UC Santa Cruz Dean Spade, professor, Seattle University School of Law Eric A. Stanley, associate professor, UC Berkele...

A panel of scholars explore how technology is changing how and when we practice religion, as well as our notions of religious community, religious doctrine and what it means to be religious. Panelists at the Nov 2. event included: Steven Barrie-Anthony, research associate at the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion Kelsy Burke Associate professor of sociology at the University of Ne...

In episode 126 of Berkeley Talks, evolutionary biologist Erica Bree Rosenblum, a professor in UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, tells a story about when she held a little frog — the last known member of its species — in her hand as it died. "I am a scientist who studies extinction," says Rosenblum. "I am a scientist who thinks about biodiversity and intercon...

A panel of leading Berkeley experts describe the harms of disinformation and potential solutions to its spread, from measures to strengthen old-school local news media to government regulation of tech titans like Facebook and Twitter. But there’s a critical obstacle: Efforts to directly block disinformation could challenge core American values, such as free speech and freedom of the press. Scholar...

Judith Butler, a professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at UC Berkeley, and Mel Y. Chen, an associate professor in Berkeley's Department of Gender and Women’s Studies and director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Culture, joined in conversation about Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive's expansive exhibition, New Time: Art and Feminis...

In his inaugural address, President Biden called for Americans to unite more than any other U.S. president. But UC Berkeley experts say unity is unrealistic — at least, right now — and offer other ways to create a more just society. "Where we are today is a result of decades upon decades of systemic and structural race, class and gender-based injustice," said Sandra Bass, associate dean of student...

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, discusses happiness — what it means, where it comes from and how we can enhance it in each of our lives — during a Science at Cal lecture on July 28, 2021. Listen to the episode and read the transcript on Berkeley News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 121 of  Berkeley Talks,  graduate students Sierra Edd (Diné) and Ataya Cesspooch talk about their experiences at UC Berkeley as Native American students and reflect on the history and future of the Hearst Museum and Berkeley’s relationships with Indigenous communities. Edd and Cesspooch are co-hosts of Indigenous United, a podcast from Native American Student Development at Be...

Longtime venture capitalist Roger McNamee discusses how he, an early Facebook investor and former adviser to Mark Zuckerberg, came to realize the damage caused by the social media giant and others like it, and how he's committed to try to stop them. Listen to the episode and read the transcript on Berkeley News. (Photo by Alessio Jacona via Flickr) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

In episode 119 of Berkeley Talks, Shane McCrae, a poet born in Portland, Oregon, who was kidnapped by his maternal grandparents at age 3, reads new works about his experience as a child growing up with his captors. The April 1 reading was part of the UC Berkeley Library’s monthly event, Lunch Poems. Listen to the episode and read the transcript on Berkeley News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Berkeley's associate vice chancellor for research discusses the measures being taken to repatriate Native American ancestral remains and sacred artifacts held by the campus. Listen to the episode and read the transcript on Berkeley News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we're sharing an episode from 2019: Brown v. Board of Education was hailed as a landmark decision for civil rights. But decades later, many consider school integration a failure. UC Berkeley professor Rucker Johnson's 2019 book,  Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works,  shows the exact opposite is true. The book looks at decades of studies to show that students of all...

In this episode of  Berkeley Talks , Bay Area labor lawyer Bill Sokol discusses the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. "What I want to talk about," began Sokol, "is what I think is an incredibly spectacular piece of legislation, perhaps the largest, deepest, broadest piece of social legislation since the New Deal. And certainly, since...

In this episode of Berkeley Talks , Berkeley Journalism Dean Geeta Anand and New York Times reporter and UC Berkeley alumnus Edward Wong discuss international reporting on China and the interplay among journalism, public opinion and government policy. Listen to the episode and read a transcript on Berkeley News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of  Berkeley Talks, Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and UC Berkeley alumnus, delivers the keynote address at Berkeley's commencement on Saturday, May 15. "The Berkeley community is made up of people that show up in all the places where decisions and history tend to be made," said Adeyemo. "In fact, when I received the e-mail...

In this episode of Berkeley Talks , British filmmaker and video artist Steven McQueen, best known for his Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave,  talks about his first experience at Tate Modern in London as an 8-year-old, how he's never pursued a project for the money and why he thinks experiencing art in the world — and not on a small screen in your hand — is so important. This March 3...

California state legislators share their visions of California and the policies needed to achieve that future. The panel discussion, sponsored by UC Berkeley's Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, includes senators Anna Caballero and Nancy Skinner and assemblymembers David Chiu and James Ramos. Listen to the episode and read a transcript on Berkeley News . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

In this episode of Berkeley Talks , Berkeley Law professor Franklin Zimring, author of the 2017 book When Police Kill , discusses why police kill far more citizens in the United States than in other developed countries. "About 1,000 times a year in the United States, civilians are shot and killed by local police, and the authorities say that such killings were either necessary or at least justifie...

In this episode of Berkeley Talks , Bess Williamson, associate professor of art history theory and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and author of Accessible America , explores the history of design and its response to disability rights, from the end of World War II to the present day. Listen to the episode and read a transcript on Berkeley News . Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

"I think that part of why we are lost is that we've forgotten we have to study where we've come from and what we're doing," said novelist Alice Walker at a UC Berkeley event last month. "And I just can't stress enough how much I want our people — all people, but, you know, our people — to really get a grip on how you have to understand where you've been in order to know where you are or where you'...

In this episode of  Berkeley Talks,  Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, former Google design ethicist and star of the 2020 Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma,  discusses how fake news spreads faster than factual news — a result of citizens sharing emotionally resonant misinformation or disinformation, often weaponized for profit and propaganda purpos...

In this episode of Berkeley Talks , Charles Henry, professor emeritus of African American studies at UC Berkeley and author of Long Overdue: The Politics of Racial Reparations,  discusses why reparations are gaining mainstream support, why he believes they are a solution and what could enable Black Americans to feel "acknowledged, redressed and with closure." This talk, given in October of 20...