Public Affairs (Audio)

UC Santa Cruz developed a computational tool known as UShER that enables real-time SARS-CoV-2 tracking and helps researchers identify new lineages of the virus. The easy-to-use tool and online server creates an evolutionary tree that helps scientists understand genomic mutations by creating new branches, showing the relationships between virus samples and the order in which mutations happened alon...

TecHype is a groundbreaking series that cuts through the hype around emerging technologies to get to what matters. Each episode debunks misunderstandings around emerging tech, provides insight into benefits and risks, and identifies technical and policy strategies to harness the benefits while mitigating the risks of emerging technologies. This episode of TecHype features Prof. Hany Farid from UC...

The Visualizing Abolition Initiative seeks to change the narrative linking prisons to justice, contributing instead to the unfolding collective story and alternative imagining underway to create a future free of prisons. The initiative is a collaborative effort with artists, scholars, poets, lawyers and activists, and through public exhibitions and educational genres. Series: "UC Santa Cruz News"...

Researchers deployed a fleet of 100 semi-autonomous vehicles to test whether a new AI-powered cruise control system can help smooth the flow of traffic and improve fuel economy. In a massive traffic experiment, scientists tested whether introducing just a few AI-equipped vehicles to the road can help ease “phantom” jams caused by human behavior and reduce fuel consumption for everyone. (Video: Rox...

UC Berkeley drills a 400-foot borehole to explore geothermal heating on campus. UC Berkeley plans to decommission its 40-year-old cogeneration plant and replace its current steam heating system with a new system that uses water pipes to heat and cool buildings on campus. While the cogeneration plant burns natural gas to produce electricity and steam heat for the campus, the new system will use ele...

Eva Pacheco's journey as an advocate for quality bilingual education programs and parental engagement within school communities began with her experiences as a teacher in Mexico. When she moved to the US, she noticed the limitations of the American school system in supporting bilingual learners like her own children, who had limited resources. Determined to make a difference, Eva became passionate...

Big cities create big opportunities for innovation in design and planning that transform daily life and shapes the future. Their complexity and scale also create unique challenges for integrating design and planning, both in terms of processes and outcomes. In this program, Harriet Tregoning explores the connection between good design and effective transportation systems, and Samuel Assefa examine...

What does "dignity at work" mean for educators and school staff? What are the primary challenges faced by school faculty and staff? How can administrators and decision-makers effectively address these issues? Join Jeffrey M. Siminoff from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, along with Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona from Roybal Learning Center and Timothy Stiven from Canyon Crest Academy, as they delve dee...

Did you know that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals directly reflect human rights standards? Dr. Leighangela Brady, superintendent of National School District, shares how her district brings these goals and human rights work into the classroom, addressing real world problems with engaging learning opportunities. Series: "Education Channel" [Public Affairs] [Education] [Show ID: 3901...

What can be done to prioritize diversion options for youth instead of filing criminal charges? Steven P. Dinkin (National Conflict Resolution Center) s joined by, Lisa Weinreb Delgadillo (San Diego District Attorney’s Office), Breea Buskey (National Conflict Resolution Center), Monica Felix (Rady Children's Hospital San Diego), and Sunny Chang (Outdoor Outreach) for an in-depth conversation on eff...

Writer/director Maysoon Pachachi joins moderator Mona Damluji for a discussion of her film "Our River...Our Sky," which tells the story of ordinary people living in Baghdad under occupation. Pachachi details the origin of the project and the film’s early development, including casting considerations and lessons learned from her documentary work. She also discusses the political contexts of the fil...

How can colleges and universities ensure faculty and students reflect the diversity of the U.S. as courts and legislatures dismantle affirmation action? In this program, Stella M. Flores, Ph. D., a professor of Higher Education and Public Policy at the University of Texas, Austin, discusses her research on the effects of state and federal policies on college access and completion outcomes for low-...

Olympic champion Erin Jackson, director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Laurie Leshin, and professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at USC and author Natalia Molina sit down with Lynn Sherr for a wide-ranging discussion of women and society, personal journeys and hopes for the future. Series: "Education Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 37973]

The China beat is one of the toughest in journalism and one of the most important. How the U.S. media has covered the country has profoundly influenced American government policy and shaped public opinion in the U.S. and around the world. Journalist Mike Chinoy, author of the new book "Assignment China," and a former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief, talks about the experience reporting in China. His book...

What's the future look like with a changing climate? And who will lead the way to help us mitigate the environmental, economic and social impacts? In this program, internationally acclaimed author Kim Stanley Robinson talks about what motivates him to write science fiction that focuses on the environment. Robinson is author of more than 20 books, including "The Ministers for the Future," the "Mars...

A thought leader and former professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University, Francisco O. Mora serves as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States. Ambassador Mora discusses the challenges and opportunities within the Americas. In prior positions, Ambassador Mora served as Director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center as Deput...

Focused on training native youth in tribal law and restorative justice practices, the Intertribal Court of Southern California Tribal Youth Court (TYC) aims to create positive change in communities. Learn how the court came to be, how it functions, and how is is transforming the lives of all involved. Series: "Education Channel" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 38892]

How can we better serve native youth that find themselves in trouble? The Intertribal Court of Southern California founded the Tribal Youth Court (TYC) to answer that question. TYC empowers youth to engage in tribal restorative justice practices. Tribal leadership, judges, and students share why this model, rooted in culture and community, has been effective. Series: "Education Channel" [Public Af...

UC San Diego's School of Biological Sciences presents another event in their Deep Look series focusing on Earth Day. UC San Diego researchers will offer perspectives from a range of scientific disciplines relevant to the planet and its future. How are wildflowers adapting to climate change? How can humans sustainably co-exist with one of the world’s largest vertebrates, the Asian elephant? How is...

Since the mid 1970s, California policy makers have attempted to address the ever-growing problem of homelessness and incarceration of people with serious mental illness. Despite these efforts, the numbers of people who are homeless and incarcerated with mental illness have reached unprecedented highs. In this program, Dr. Joel Braslow, professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and History...

What's California doing to address the issue of chronic homelessness? Some say nothing while others point to many efforts at the local and state levels. In this discussion, Dr. Margot Kushel, State Senator John Laird, and Dr. Toby Ewing explore the ways in which California is addressing the problem of the chronically unsheltered, what barriers remain, and how innovative solutions might restore som...

As the delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia in 1789, there was no experience, anywhere in the world, of a successful republican executive over an extensive nation — one with sufficient authority and independence to make things work on a national scale, but without the risk of becoming a monarch. This Jefferson Memorial Lecture shows how the delegates, and especially...

Just a hundred miles to the east of San Diego, one of the largest inland lakes in the West is drying up as a result combined human activity and climate change. The exposed lake bed is rapidly turning into a source of dust, worsening the frequent dust storms that impact the people who live in the surrounding areas. Learn about the intersection of architecture and science in this stark but magnifice...

By many accounts, the global fate of democracy is in question. Half of the world’s democracies are in retreat. The number of countries moving toward authoritarianism far outweighs the number moving toward democracy. And it has become common for elected leaders around the globe to use their power to weaken democratic institutions from inside the system. As part of our Democracy Talks series, Emilie...

In the past few years, America’s democracy has faced formidable challenges, just as it has at other critical junctures of our history.  But our democracy has so far proven resilient, with one of the key sources of resilience being the officials who administer elections in states and counties across our nation.  As part of our Democracy Talks series, Thad Kousser, professor of political science at...