University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

Health data affects artificial intelligence in important ways. Camille Nebeker, Ed.D., M.S., UC San Diego, explains why ethically sourced data is foundational to building trustworthy, AI-ready health data repositories. Nebeker examines how ethical sourcing applies across the full data lifecycle, including consent, governance, transparency, data quality, privacy, stewardship, and community engagement. She also shows how ideas from supply chain management and value sensitive design help teams identify ethical tensions and improve decision-making. This work helps explain why ethics cannot be added at the end of AI development and points toward more accountable data practices that support public trust and stronger downstream performance. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Science] [Show ID: 41368]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Steven Seyedin discusses radiation therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41558]

Pre-cancer and cancer can begin when stressed blood-forming stem cells lose their normal controls. Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how inflammation-linked editing enzymes, repetitive elements in the genome, and stem cell stress shape the progression from myeloproliferative neoplasms to acute myeloid leukemia. Jamison examines how spaceflight accelerates stem cell aging, how some astronauts mobilize a resilient regenerative stem cell population, and how tumor organoids in space help reveal drug responses by activating the enzyme ADAR1. This work helps explain how cancer starts, why it can return, and how space-based research may speed the development of therapies that stop malignant stem cells before disease advances. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41473]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Spencer Behr discusses PSMA PET and functional imaging. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41557]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Jonathan Chou discusses targeted therapies. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41563]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. David Oh discusses immunotherapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41562]

What does it mean to rethink religion from the ground up? University of Colorado's religious studies professor Sam Gill draws on biology, philosophy, and decades of research and dance practice to argue that we are moving, whole organisms before we are divided into mind and body. Gill proposes that humans possess a biologically enabled capacity to hold together what we know to be different as if it were the same—a dynamic that underlies the powers of metaphor, masking, dancing, ritual action, symbol, and language. Through vivid examples from Hopi initiation, Javanese shadow puppetry and dance, and Navajo prayer ceremonials, Gill shows how religious actions create worlds, identities, and enduring cultural coherence. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 41541]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Stacey Kenfield, ScD, discusses diet and exercise. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41555]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Will Chen discusses PET-directed radiation for Oligometastatic Disease. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41559]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Arpita Desai discusses metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41560]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Robin Wilson-Beattie, Disability and Sexual and Reproductive Health Educator, discusses sexual health. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41469]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Ivan de Kouchkovsky discusses radioligand therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41561]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Julian Hong discusses radiation therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41551]

Space healthcare depends on connected health data that can follow people wherever care happens. Peter DeVault, Epic, explains how electronic health record tools built for hospitals, labs, and patients can also support healthcare in space. DeVault describes patient-facing tools like MyChart, interoperability across health systems, structured genomics and pharmacogenomics in the patient record, and Cosmos, Epic's patient data aggregation platform with about 300 million longitudinal records. He also examines AI capabilities that can generate possible future health scenarios and expand to telemetry and molecular data collected before, during, and after a mission. This work helps explain how records, data sharing, and predictive tools could support astronaut health and resilience and why those capabilities may be necessary for the future of space medicine. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41481]

Understanding the causes of autism matters for families, public health, and public trust in science. Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains what research actually shows about the causes of autism and how scientists separate strong evidence from misleading correlations. Sebat examines genetics, de novo mutations, twin studies, developmental regression, and the interplay of genes and environment, helping clarify why autism cannot be reduced to a single trigger. He also addresses why rising diagnoses do not necessarily reflect a simple rise in symptoms and why better research design is essential when studying environmental influences. This work helps explain what science does and does not support and points toward a more rigorous understanding of autism. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41177]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Samuel Washington discusses active surveillance of prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41549]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, the UCSF Patient Services Committee and California Prostate Cancer Coalition present a panel discussion on resources. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41554]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Peter Carroll discusses biochemical recurrence. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41556]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Hari Srinivasan, Rishi Jena, and Héctor Manuel Ramírez discuss mental health and self advocacy. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41456]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Carissa Chu discusses surgery for prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41550]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Terence Friedlander discusses optimizing bone health. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41540]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. I-Chow (Joe) Hsu discusses brachytherapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41552]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Matthew Cooperberg discusses focal therapy. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41553]

Autism research affects how autistic people and families receive support, care, and opportunities to participate in daily life. A panel with autistic, family, clinical, and research perspectives discusses the world of autism research and how it can better serve the people it is meant to support. The program examines quality of life priorities, co-occurring conditions, accessible study design, community trust, fair compensation, and the need to include people often left out of research. Panelists also consider how researchers can communicate more clearly, involve autistic people and families earlier, and move beyond theory toward work with real-world value. Their perspectives help clarify why autism research must be shaped by the needs, experiences, and priorities of autistic people and families. Series: "Autism Tree Project Annual Neuroscience Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41176]

Brain aging and disease research can gain new insights from space. Aline M.A. Martins, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how neuroscience studies in space use brain organoids, proteomics, and single-cell analysis to understand cognition decline, space-induced neurosenescence, and disease-related changes. Martins examines molecular markers of senescence, mitochondrial impairment, and neuroinflammation in organoid models, including Rett syndrome, while also comparing how space affects organoids of different ages. She shows that space can accelerate aging-related changes and affect cell types differently, helping clarify how space biology may speed drug discovery and reveal biomarkers for disease. This work helps explain how space research can inform treatments on Earth and points toward faster preclinical testing and broader understanding of brain disease. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41478]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Benjamin Breyer discusses sexual wellness. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41537]

Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben has helped shape how the world understands climate change. In this conversation with Marco Werman, host of The World, McKibben offers a clear-eyed look at the climate crisis and the solutions that could help reduce the damage of a warming planet. As part of the Burke Lectureship at UC San Diego, McKibben also explores the moral and spiritual questions at the heart of climate change. More than three decades after The End of Nature brought climate change to a broad audience, his work continues to connect science, ethics, and grassroots action, including the global climate campaign 350.org and the fossil fuel divestment movement. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41265]

How does global warming connect to the extreme weather people experience close to home? Drawing on the work of the Weather Extremes and Climate Impacts Analytics group, Sasha Gershunov of Scripps Institution of Oceanography outlines the accelerating warming trend, the role of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide, and the greenhouse effect, and how it relates to extreme weather. He also traces key milestones in climate science, including the long-term carbon dioxide measurements begun by Charles David Keeling. The discussion then turns to how climate change may affect heat waves, floods, droughts, storms, wildfires, and sea level rise. Series: "Osher UC San Diego Distinguished Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41412]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Cornelia Ding what to look for on the prostate cancer biopsy report. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41533]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, UCSF's Dr. Joan Jeung discusses trauma informed care. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41457]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Javid Moslehi discusses managing the cardiovascular effects of ADT. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41539]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Lindsay Hampson discusses managing lower urinary tract symptoms. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41536]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Michael Rabow discusses how to manage ADT-related adverse effects. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41538]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Matthew R. Cooperberg discusses when and how to biospsy for prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41532]

Microgravity can change biological systems in ways that may open new paths for biomedical research and commercialization in space. Twyman Clements, Space Tango, explains how “middleware” helps connect research use cases with space infrastructure by adapting terrestrial processes and supply chains for a spaceflight environment. Clements examines how long-duration microgravity creates different physical conditions, how Space Tango packages experiments into flight-ready lab systems, and how commercial space stations and reentry systems could help increase scale, throughput, and production value. He also points to more robotic systems that could support on-orbit sampling, imaging, and experiment assembly. This work helps explain how space-based biomedical research could move beyond small experimental missions and toward more practical, scalable platforms for discovery and development Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 41480]

As part of the 2026 UCSF Patient Conference on Prostate Cancer, Dr. Matthew R. Cooperberg discusses the latest on prostate cancer. Series: "Prostate Cancer Patient Conference" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41531]

Award-winning historian Jules Gill-Peterson examines transgender identity and politics through the lens of American liberalism, arguing that anti-transgender politics cannot be understood by analyzing conservatism alone. She traces the emergence of transgender identity from middle-class cross-dressing cultures, the development of transgender medicine, and the class tensions surrounding transition. Gill-Peterson connects this history to U.S. v. Skrmetti, the vulnerability of transition-related health care, and what she describes as liberal discomfort with dysphoria and changing sex. She calls for a politics centered on defending transsexual people and a right to transition. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 41447]

Stem cell health in space matters for astronaut health and cancer research. Jessica Pham, UC San Diego, explains how spaceflight shapes normal hematopoietic stem cells and cancer stem cells through nano bioreactor studies, astronaut blood analysis, and tumor organoid work in low-Earth orbit. Pham examines increased cycling and reduced dormancy in space, reduced self-renewal after return, and ongoing research on cancer stem cells and their microenvironment, helping clarify how stem cells respond to spaceflight. This work helps explain how space conditions may change stem cell fitness over time and points toward a better understanding of astronaut health, long-duration missions, and cancer stem cell behavior. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 41477]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Dr. Dean Blumberg, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children's Hospital, discusses vaccine skepticism and public policy. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41461]

Privacy-preserving computation can help hospitals and researchers use sensitive health data without exposing it. Farinaz Koushanfar, Ph.D., UC San Diego, explains how secure computation and distributed learning make it possible to collaborate on medical data while protecting patient privacy. Koushanfar examines secure multi-party computation, zero-knowledge proofs, and federated and split learning, helping clarify how health systems can work together despite data silos, incompatibility, security threats, and re-identification risk. This work helps explain how medical AI can learn from private data more safely and points toward more secure, robust, and trustworthy healthcare systems. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 41367]

Computer-based assessment can change how students practice, test, and learn. Craig Zilles, Ph.D., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explains how PrairieLearn supports mastery-oriented teaching through immediate feedback, auto-grading, randomized question generators, and repeat practice. Zilles examines asynchronous exams, frequent small tests, retake opportunities, and question banks designed around specific learning objectives, helping clarify how assessment systems can reduce administrative overhead while giving students more chances to demonstrate learning. He also discusses fairness in randomized exams, the balance between auto-grading and manual grading, and the emerging role of AI in formative feedback. This work helps explain how digital testing tools can support flexible assessment without forcing instructors to simplify what they teach. Series: "Computer Science Channel" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 41409]

As part of the 2026 Developmental Disabilities Conference, Maria Town, President and CEO, American Association of People with Disabilities, discusses Medicaid. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 41454]