University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

Yaron Singer, Vice President of AI and Security at Cisco, co-founded a company specializing in artificial intelligence solutions, which was acquired by Cisco in 2024. They developed a firewall for artificial intelligence, a tool designed to protect AI from making critical mistakes. No matter how sophisticated AI is, errors can still happen, and these errors can have far-reaching consequences. The product is designed to detect and fix such mistakes. This technology was developed long before ChatGPT and its competitors burst onto the scene, making it the hottest industry in tech investment. Join Singer as he sits down with UC San Diego professor Mikhail Belkin to discuss his work and the continued effort to make artificial intelligence secure. Series: "Data Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 40265]

As part of the 2025 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Sneha Dave talks about future healthcare as young adults with chronic and rare medical conditions grow older. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40606]

As part of the 2025 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Season Goodpasture, Founder and Executive Director, Acorns to Oak Trees, talks about improving access and equity in tribal communities. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40607]

Dr. Terence Friedlander reviews the various patient outcomes after hip fracture surgery. Series: "Excerpts" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40752]

The risk for many chronic diseases is directly linked to metabolic changes in the body and loss of muscle mass often associated with aging. In this excerpt, Dr. Natalie Marshall focuses on the role that muscles play in the body. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40685]

Imagine early civilizations - Roman, Greek, Egyptian and more – exploring the Mediterranean. How magical that we can see it all from orbit today in this perfectly timed flight path by astronaut and photographer Butch Wilmore from an extended stay on the ISS. Musician Randy Souviney created this timeless music with his electric guitar and wizardry in the recording studio as he watched this Earth flight. This movie is dedicated to America's first female astronaut Sally Ride. Series: "Earth Serenade" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40776]

As part of the 2025 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Amy Westling and Melissa Drake discuss the plan for developmental services from CalHHS and DDS. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40605]

Dr. Terence Friedlander discusses common issues brought on by osteoporosis. Series: "Excerpts" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40751]

Metamaterials are special structures made of tiny components that give them unique electromagnetic properties not found in nature. One key feature is a negative refractive index, which enables technologies like "superlenses" for ultra-detailed imaging and "invisibility cloaks." The concept began when Sir John Pendry theorized special rings (SRRs) that could manipulate electromagnetic waves. Later, Sheldon Schultz and David Smith proved this idea with real experiments. Since then, research on metamaterials has rapidly expanded, covering everything from microwaves to visible light. In this talk, Professors Pendry and Smith will share their experiences and discuss how metamaterials have shaped science and technology over the past 25 years. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 40534]

In collaboration with the Transnational Italian Studies Program, the Carsey-Wolf Center presents a discussion examining the long history of Black African life in Italy with filmmakers Daphne Di Cinto and Medhin Paolos and UCSB moderator Stephanie Malia Hom. They discuss the short films Il Moro and Asmarina. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40541]

Dr. Sean Spencer talks about the vast microbial world that lives within our guts — known as the gut microbiome — and how it supports our health. Dr. Spencer emphasizes the importance of a high-fiber diet in creating a healthy gut microbiome which increases overall health. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40761]

As part of our Earth Serenade series, we honor French organist and Bach specialist Andre Isoir, who died in 2016. Working with Isoir's son, Daniel, we bring you this lovely and serene Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, by Carl Philipp Emmanual Bach, the son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Cinematography by astronauts on Expeditions 71 aboard the International Space Station in 2024. It's a magical journey and tribute to Andre Isoir. Series: "Earth Serenade" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40758]

As part of the 2025 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Aaron Carruthers, Executive Director of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities, talks about the journey of moving forward after the COVID-19 pandemic. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40604]

The 3rd Annual Global Astrobiotechnology Hub focuses on advancing the intersection of space exploration, biotechnology, and innovation. The program brings together scientists, researchers, and space professionals to discuss how space technologies can accelerate scientific breakthroughs, particularly in fields like personalized medicine and bioengineering. Key themes include the challenges of conducting real-time research in space, the need for specialized astronaut-scientists, and the potential of space for groundbreaking experiments, such as organoid growth and in-space manufacturing. Experts underscore the importance of public access to scientific data and highlight the role of new media in engaging the public with space research. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40389]

Screenwriter and playwright Phyllis Nagy joins moderator Patrice Petro for a discussion of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 classic Strangers on a Train. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's debut novel, the film follows tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger), who meets the charming but disturbed Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) during a chance encounter on a train. Bruno proposes they “swap” murders—he'll kill Guy's wife, and Guy will kill Bruno's father—eliminating any obvious motive. When Bruno follows through, Guy finds himself caught in a dangerous game of blackmail and suspense. Known for its striking visual style and psychological complexity, Strangers on a Train is celebrated as one of Hitchcock's most influential thrillers, offering a masterclass in tension and moral ambiguity. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40542]

Scientists, leaders, and patients discuss the intersection of cutting-edge science and real-world impact. They explore the importance of patient perspectives in shaping medical advancements and how collaboration fuels groundbreaking research. Key scientific achievements in areas like regenerative medicine, cancer therapies, and space biology are highlighted. The group emphasizes the need for scientists to engage more with the public—through social media and media appearances—to help people understand and value the life-changing discoveries in science. Featuring: Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D. UC San Diego Sandra Dillon Patient Advocate Alexander Khalessi, M.D., M.B.A. UC San Diego Jana Stoudemire Celestial Strategy, LLC Alysson Muotri, Ph.D. UC San Diego Rebecca Moores Philanthropist and Patient Advocate Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 40519]

A Parent's Guide to San Diego Schools is a valuable, research-driven resource that helps families navigate school choices with confidence. This year, the guide takes a deeper look at the powerful role Career Technical Education (CTE) plays in shaping student success beyond the classroom. In a discussion led by Morgan Appel of UC San Diego, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Jakob McWhinney of Voice of San Diego highlight how CTE programs provide early, hands-on learning that builds practical skills, boosts confidence, and creates direct pathways to meaningful careers. Taylor Dunne of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation adds that when CTE offerings are matched with up-to-date labor market data, students are not just learning—they're preparing for real opportunities in San Diego's evolving job market. The panel agrees that while the guide offers important data and comparisons, there's no substitute for visiting schools and seeing where students truly thrive. Series: "Career Channel" [Business] [Education] [Show ID: 40597]

In our latest Earth Serenade, we bring you a meditative flight over the Sahara and an exploratory path over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe as we further explore Bach's Art of the Fugue. MDR Sinfonieorchester of Leipzig, Germany, brings us these two movements to accompany the visuals taken by ISS astronauts on Expeditions 67 and 69. Series: "Earth Serenade" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40754]

Nicholas Baer, author of Historical Turns: Weimar Cinema and the Crisis of Historicism, joins moderator and Carsey-Wolf Center Director Patrice Petro for a discussion of Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40537]

As part of the 2025 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Amged Soliman from the National Council on Disability provides an update on health disparities. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40603]

What's next for the battle over abortion? In this lecture, Mary Ziegler argues that undoing Roe v. Wade was never the endpoint for the antiabortion movement. Since the 1960s, the goal has been to secure recognition of fetuses and embryos as persons under the 14th Amendment, making abortion unconstitutional. The battle for personhood also aims to overhaul the regulation of in vitro fertilization and contraception, change the meaning of equality under the law, and determine how courts decide which fundamental rights Americans enjoy. Mary Ziegler is one of the world's leading historians of the U.S. abortion debate, and an expert on the law, history, and politics of reproduction, health care, and conservatism in the U.S. She is the author or editor of numerous articles and seven books on reproduction, autonomy, and the law. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 40704]

Paul Hoffman is the 2024 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Basic Sciences. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, has conducted groundbreaking research in the “Snowball Earth” (global freezing) hypothesis and plate tectonics occurring in the first half of the Earth's 4.6-billion-year history. After earning his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, Hoffman served the Geological Survey of his native Canada for 24 years followed by teaching at Harvard University and conducting related research in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has geologically demonstrated the occurrence of the postulated global freeze, so-called “Snowball Earth,” which drove the rapid diversification of animals in the Cambrian period approximately 520 million years ago. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 39991]

Under the direction of Steven Schick, Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) explores profound human emotions through music. Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40587]

William Forsythe is the 2024 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy. He is a choreographer whose work has extended ballet to a dynamic contemporary art form. In 1984, he began a 20-year tenure as director of Ballet Frankfurt. After the closure of the Ballet Frankfurt in 2004, Forsythe established a new, more independent ensemble, The Forsythe Company, which he directed from 2005 to 2015. Between 2015 and 2021 he served on the University of Southern California's faculty, where he helped establish the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Forsythe has broken the boundaries of conventional ballet style, challenging traditional artistic frameworks and developing improvisation techniques. His projects include installations and films presented in numerous museums, as well as dance documentation and education. Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 39992]

The risk for many chronic diseases is directly linked to metabolic changes in the body and loss of muscle mass often associated with aging. In this program, Dr. Natalie Marshall focuses on the importance of movement and exercise to improve metabolic fitness and overall wellbeing. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40681]

Let's celebrate the Universe – astoundingly beautiful and mind-boggling in scope. Space telescopes orbit Earth, turning their crisp optics to the stars of our Milky Way galaxy...and the hundreds of billions of galaxies beyond. Our minds cannot comprehend this vastness. Yet the beauty and diversity fill our hearts, as revealed by such stunning photos. For the music, we share Bach's immortal “Art of the Fugue” with organist Brian Hoffman. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40665]

Dr. Terence Friedlander discusses the various causes of bone loss. Series: "Excerpts" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40750]

Sir John Pendry is the 2024 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Advanced Technology. He serves as a professor of Theoretical Solid State Physics at Imperial College London. After earning his Ph.D. at University of Cambridge, Pendry's initial research concerned a low-energy electron diffraction theory for examining and measuring the surface of materials for practical purposes. He theoretically demonstrated that materials with electromagnetic properties not found in nature, such as negative-refractive-index materials (metamaterials), can be created by designing microstructures smaller than the wavelength of the target electromagnetic waves. This groundwork helped create innovative materials such as “superlenses” with subwavelength resolution and “invisibility cloaks.” Series: "Kyoto Prize Symposium" [Science] [Show ID: 39990]

Thirty years after the film's release, Fresh Kill has been remastered by the Fales Library & Special Collections of New York University. Fresh Kill director/producer Shu Lea Cheang traveled with filmmakers Jean-Paul Jones and Jazz Franklin on a nationwide roadtrip to screen the remastered 35mm print of the film at independent arthouse cinemas across the country, and to engage local communities on issues of environmental racism and activist resistance. Shu Lea Cheang joins moderator Jigna Desai from UCSB's Center for Feminist Futures to discuss the film. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40538]

The meteorology that causes atmospheric rivers is complex, but scientists at the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) are working to help better predict them and understand what they mean for rainfall and snowfall across the state. Join CW3E Deputy Director Julie Kalansky to learn the causes and consequences of these rivers in the sky. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 40658]

Cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern, but innovative approaches and community-based research are transforming prevention efforts, particularly immigrant communities. With over 600,000 new cases diagnosed annually, early detection and prevention strategies are crucial. However, accessibility and awareness gaps persist in immigrant communities due to language barriers, cultural stigma, and limited healthcare access. Community-based research plays a pivotal role in bridging these gaps. In engaging local populations through culturally sensitive outreach ensures that prevention strategies are accepted and effective. University of Miami Chief Health Equity Officer, Dr. Erin Kobetz, discusses how integrating cutting-edge technology with community engagement, moves us closer to reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates, fostering a healthier future for immigrant populations. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40464]

Filmmaker Madhuja Mukherjee joins moderator Bishnupriya Ghosh of UCSB's English and Global Studies Department to discuss Deep6. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40539]

For Earth Day, we release the glorious Earth Harmony Sonata. It features Earth photography by astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who just returned from their extended stay on the ISS. Wilmore captures a mesmerizing flight path from equatorial Africa, over the Sahara and Middle East and on up to Armenia. Williams took over 10,000 photographs, with a sensitive and artistic eye. Here are 60 favorites, covering the world. The music is Bach's Trio Sonata #5 for organ, played by maestro Brian Hoffman. Celebrate Earth Day with this feast for eyes and ears. We live on a beautiful planet – please love and care for it. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40664]

How can you make choices today that could help you live longer and feel better? Gordon Saxe, M.D., Ph.D., explores the ways to slow the aging process and live a healthier life. Series: "Stein Institute for Research on Aging" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40601]

“When anchors fail, people die.” This line has many meanings for author, motivational speaker and expert mountain climber Manley Feinberg. In this Osher Author Talk interview, Feinberg describes a harrowing climb of Yosemite's El Capitan in 2022, where he and his son saved the life of their companion while suspended on the face of the mountain. He incorporates his experience climbing mountains into his books and presentations to help people reach their fullest potential while supporting those around them. The interview is hosted by Henry DeVries as part of UC San Diego's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40432]

The risk for many chronic diseases is directly linked to metabolic changes in the body and loss of muscle mass often associated with aging. In this program, Dr. Natalie Marshall focuses on sarcopenia, low muscle mass, and the importance of strength training and body composition to improve metabolic fitness. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40684]

Working with award-winning educators Javier Montiel and Emi Bahena, students from the International Aerospace Academy made this delightful movie as part of our Earth Serenade series. The students are dancing as if in space, while celebrating five countries that sent astronauts to the International Space Station. Series: "Arts Channel " [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 40663]

Jesmyn Ward has been hailed as the standout writer of her generation, proving her “fearless and toughly lyrical” voice in novels, memoir, and nonfiction. She's been called “the new Toni Morrison.” Ward is a MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient and in 2017, she became the first woman and the first person of color to win two National Book Awards for Fiction—joining the ranks of William Faulkner, Saul Bellow, John Cheever, Philip Roth, and John Updike. Her books include "Let Us Descend," "Sing, Unburied, Sing," "Salvage the Bones," and "Navigate Your Stars." The professor of creative writing at Tulane University joins host Dean Nelson for this evocative conversation as part of the 30th anniversary of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 40217]

Historian and political commentator Heather Cox Richardson joins UC Berkeley professor of law and history Dylan Penningroth in a timely conversation about the reshaping of the United States' two major political parties. A professor of 19th century American history at Boston College, Richardson provides an incisive perspective on current politics to the more than three million readers of her nightly newsletter, Letters from an American. She has written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Guardian, and is the author, most recently, of the best-selling book "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America." Penningroth is the author of the award-winning "Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights." Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 40424]

At 120-feet long, and holding 36,000 gallons of water, the Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator (SOARS) is a unique facility at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. SOARS is much more than a wave generator, it allows scientists to replicate ocean conditions, including wind, waves, water chemistry, temperature, and light, in a controlled environment. By simulating ocean environments in a controlled laboratory setting, researchers are able to study ocean-atmosphere interactions, climate change, and more. Scripps Institution of Oceanography Lead Engineer Douglas Alden and Researcher Grant Deane give an inside look on how scientists are able to study how human activities are changing the ocean and atmosphere, and how these changes impact global climate and other areas like human health and marine life protection. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 40522]

John A. Pérez, Regent Emeritus of the University of California, sits down with Robert Williams, Ph.D., CEO and Finci-Viterbi Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, for a critical conversation about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. They explore how history shapes present-day challenges, the dangers of misinformation, and the role of higher education in confronting hate. Drawing on lessons from the Holocaust and other historical atrocities, they discuss the urgent need for courage and action to combat antisemitism. Series: "Education Channel" [Humanities] [Education] [Show ID: 40249]

The risk for many chronic diseases is directly linked to metabolic changes in the body. In this program, Dr. Natalie Marshall focuses on the role of antioxidants and how they work against oxidative stress in the body. Series: "Osher WISE: Well-being and Integrative Science for Everyone" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 40682]