Podcasts about urbana champaign

Treating yourself to a Chicago staycation can include a downtown luxury hotel with a great pool, skyline views - and enjoying everything the city offers right in your own backyard. Mark Wolters, Wolters World Travel and Culture YouTube channel host and Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois' Gies College of Business in Urbana-Champaign, joins Rob Hart on the WBBM Noon Business Hour with the details…

Episode 055: Architecture, And: MBAWhat is the value of an MBA paired with an education in architecture?This week's episode is a group discussion between our co-hosts and two fellow MBAs in the profession. Each participant has a foundation in architecture education and training, and is at a different stage in the process of pursuing an MBA. Three of our guests are licensed architects, with the last guest through IDP. Together they'll demystify the MBA and discuss how they pursued and use their business education in their careers. Learn from these personal experiences to better understand what they've gained, what they wish they knew, and their recommendations to others who are considering going to school for business. We also discuss how architects can leverage the talents of someone with an MBA to improve their business operations and performance.Guests:Korey White is driven by her zest for the built environment, bringing open-mindedness and creativity to her role as an architect and urban planner. She applies her dual master's degrees in architecture and urban and regional planning to an interdisciplinary approach that creates impactful outcomes for her clients and the community. Korey currently works for DLR Group in the Chicago office, focused primarily on educational facility master planning for K-12 school districts. Korey is recognized for her leadership within architecture by her recent election to the AIA Strategic Council as 2022 Moderator-elect and has been awarded the AIA Young Architects Award, the BD+C 40 under 40 and the AIA Colorado Leadership Award. She is currently enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the iMBA program. She is a Forte Fellow and will graduate with her MBA in Fall 2022.Keith Kato is an architect and MBA based in Honolulu, Hawai'i. He's worked on a variety of project types including small & large custom homes, K-12, and higher education. Keith is interested in how business innovations can expand the market for architecture and how our communities can grow stronger by unleashing hidden potential. While in school, he was fortunate to participate and then lead the AIAS club Freedom by Design that delivered projects that served seniors and houseless individuals. Keith is currently participating in the great resignation and exploring possibilities aligned with his values.Show Links:

The episode is sponsored by The Eye Vets and was recorded on site during the 2025 Fetch Nashville conference. Watch the full video here. Benjamin Bergstrom, DVM, MS, DACVO, is originally from the rural, small town of Rockton, Illinois. He received his bachelor's degree in 2009 followed by his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2013 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then completed a one-year Small Animal rotating internship at the University of Georgia in Athens. Immediately following his rotating internship, he traveled back to the Midwest where he completed a three-year residency in Comparative Ophthalmology at Purdue University in 2017. As a board-certified Veterinary Ophthalmologist, Bergstrom began practicing in Nashville in 2017. In 2023, Bergstrom pursued a dream of becoming an independent practice owner and opened The Eye Vets in Nashville. Through a combination of in-person consultations and telecollaboration, Bergstrom aims to provide compassionate, innovative veterinary eye care to the greater Nashville area and beyond.

listener comments? Feedback? Shoot us a text!Aztec Dinosaurs w/ Dr. David Anderson! In July 1944, in the Mexican city of Acambaro, Guanajuato, a German businessman named Waldemar Julsrud came across a series of bizarre ceramic figurines said to resemble dinosaurs. These figurines have been promoted by young-Earth creationists as evidence for the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans! But what are these figurines, really? Today we are joined by Dr. David Anderson to talk about the infamous Acambaro figurines!Our Guest:Dr. David Anderson is an Instructor with Radford University, and holds his degrees from Tulane University (Ph.D.) and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  His research interests include public archaeology and the conceptions of heritage, the Formative Period of Maya and Mesoamerican culture, the origins and development of sociopolitical complexity, and academic engagement with pseudoscience and pseudoarchaeology.  Dr. Anderson's current publication projects include Weirding Archaeology: Unearthing the Strange Influences on the Popular Perception of Archaeology (forthcoming, Routledge), and “The Preclassic Settlement of Northwest Yucatán: Recharting the Pathway to Complexity”co-authored with F. Robles C. and A.P. Andrews, in Pathways to Complexity in the Maya Lowlands: The Preclassic Development, (K.M. Brown and G. J. Bey III, eds., University of Florida Press, 2018).Ruthless Truth--Episode 10: Steve Jobs, the iPhone and Me...The Untold StoryIs an opinion platform hosted by Marvin “Truth” Davis. My life and career...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showYour Hosts:Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at the University of New Mexico, Harvard University, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He most recently released his documentary short film "Guardians of the Purple Kingdom," and is a cultural consultant for Nickelodeon Animation Studios.@kurlytlapoyawaRuben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. Other areas of research include Aztlan (US Southwest), Anawak (Mesoamerica), and Native North America. He has presented and published widely on these topics and has taught courses at various institutions. He currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus. Find us: Bluesky Instagram Merch: Shop Aztlantis Book: The Four Disagreements: Letting Go of Magical Thinking

The health of the world's oceans is a growing concern but measuring ocean health is a complicated undertaking. Some people studying the issue focus on pollution, while others look at the health of corals or marine mammals. One project attempts to take a comprehensive picture of the health of oceans in order to provide information about Oceanic vital signs to stakeholders. The Ocean Health Index is the focus of this episode of Stats+Stories with guests Lelys Bravo and Julia Stewart Lowndes. Lelys Bravo is a Statistics Professor at the Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before that she was a member of the Science Steering Committee of the Biospherical Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle project from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) and Lead author of the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment report. Her research interests include spatial and temporal analysis of environmental data, including the development of risk assessment methods to evaluate the impacts of natural hazards under potential climate change. Julia Stewart Lowndes (@juliesquid) is a marine ecologist, data scientist, and Senior Fellow at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California Santa Barbara. She champions kinder, better science in less time through open data science and teamwork. As a marine data scientist, Mozilla Fellow, and Senior Fellow at NCEAS, she has 7+ years designing and leading programs to empower science teams with skillsets and mindsets for reproducible research, empowering researchers with existing open tools and communities. She has been building communities of practice in this space since 2013 with the Ocean Health Index.

Muscle health isn't just about how much protein you eat—it's about how your body uses it. And for people with obesity or advancing age, that process can become less effective, even with optimal nutrition. In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Nick Burd, one of the world's leading researchers in muscle metabolism, to unpack the concept of anabolic resistance—when muscle doesn't respond normally to protein and/or exercise. Together, we explore how aging, obesity and even the way foods are combined on your plate can impact muscle remodeling, recovery, and growth. Dr. Burd also shares why plant-based proteins often fall short, why protein efficiency matters more than quantity, and how endurance and resistance training affect nutrient use differently.You'll learn:What anabolic resistance is—and why it matters How to improve protein efficiency and muscle quality over timeWhy food matrix, and timing can change your resultsKey differences in nutrition strategies for endurance vs. strength athletesWhether you're focused on longevity, performance, or helping someone break through a plateau, this episode delivers the research-backed information you've been looking for.Who is Dr. Nick Burd? Dr. Nick A. Burd is a muscle-metabolism scientist and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he leads the Nutrition & Exercise Performance Research Group. Originally from the Midwest, he trained under renowned experts around the world before focusing his research on how protein and exercise influence muscle health across the lifespan. His work uses advanced tracer methods and muscle biopsies to explore optimal protein intake, plant vs. animal protein quality, and strategies to combat anabolic resistance. This episode is brought to you by: LMNT - Get your free LMNT Sample Pack → https://drinklmnt.com/DRLYONCozy Earth - Use code DRLYON for up to 40% off - https://cozyearth.comTimeline - Get 20% off your order of Mitopure - https://timeline.com/LYONOneSkin - Get 15% off with code DRLYON → https://oneskin.coFind Dr. Nick Burd At: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: https://ahs.illinois.edu/burd X (Twitter): https://x.com/Nicholas_BurdGoogle Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BMvk_GMAAAAJ&hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-burd-5972b783/ Find Me At: Instagram:@drgabriellelyon TikTok: @drgabriellelyonFacebook: facebook.com/doctorgabriellelyonYouTube: youtube.com/@DrGabrielleLyonX (Twitter):

As part of the US HUPO sponsored "Alt Proteomics" series highlighting alternative proteomics things, Ben and Ben sit down to talk with Dr. Aleksei Aksimentiev, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.(Elevator music by Mykola Odnoro from Pixabay. We had some tech issues and lost about 2 minutes... so be glad our professional editor didn't fill with 2 minutes of elevator jazz to jam to.)Keywords: nanopore; biophysics; single molecule detection

Brittney Goodrich, Ph.D. joined the Journey to discuss the recent almond cost and return studies. Dr. Goodrich is an assistant professor in the department of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her previous position as a cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Davis is where she got involved in performing cost and return studies for a variety of crops. Goodrich highlights some of the key findings of the studies performed last year, and what it means to growers, lenders, regulators and others. “ Total costs per pound: those increased by anywhere from 47% to 53% between 2019 and 2024.” - Brittney Goodrich, Ph.D.In today's episode: Meet Brittney Goodrich, assistant professor in the department of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-ChampaignUnderstand the significance of cost and return studies to almond growers, lenders, regulators, policy makers, insurance providers and others.Reflect on the key findings of the most recent cost and return studiesConsider the changes in the farm economics of almonds over the past five years since the last studies were conductedThe Almond Journey Podcast is brought to you by the Almond Board of California. This show explores how growers, handlers, and other stakeholders are making things work in their operations to drive the almond industry forward. Host Tim Hammerich visits with leaders throughout the Central Valley of California and beyond who are finding innovative ways to improve their operations, connect with their communities, and advance the almond industry.ABC recognizes the diverse makeup of the California almond industry and values contributions offered by its growers, handlers, and allied industry members. However, the opinions, services and products discussed in existing and future podcast episodes are by no means an endorsement or recommendation from ABC. The Almond Journey podcast is not an appropriate venue to express opinions on national, state, local or industry politics. As a Federal Marketing Order, the Almond Board of California is prohibited from lobbying or advocating on legislative issues, as well as setting field and market prices.

In this episode, Conor and Bryce chat with Jared Hoberock about the NVIDIA Thrust Parallel Algorithms Library and more!.Link to Episode 242 on WebsiteDiscuss this episode, leave a comment, or ask a question (on GitHub)SocialsADSP: The Podcast: TwitterConor Hoekstra: Twitter | BlueSky | MastodonBryce Adelstein Lelbach: TwitterAbout the GuestJared Hoberock joined NVIDIA Research in October 2008. His interests include parallel programming models and physically-based rendering. Jared is the co-creator of Thrust, a high performance parallel algorithms library. While at NVIDIA, Jared has contributed to the DirectX graphics driver, Gelato, a final frame film renderer, and OptiX, a high-performance, programmable ray tracing engine. Jared received a Ph.D in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a two-time recipient of the NVIDIA Graduate Research Fellowship.Show NotesDate Generated: 2025-05-21Date Released: 2025-07-11ThrustThrust DocsCUB LibraryCCCL LibrariesIntro Song InfoMiss You by Sarah Jansen https://soundcloud.com/sarahjansenmusicCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-miss-youMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/iYYxnasvfx8

The story of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation and its Historical Committee—and its fifty-year fight to recover and rewrite its history—is the focus of Rose Miron's award-winning book Indigenous Archival Activism. Miron's research and writing are shaped by materials found in the tribal archive and ongoing conversations as part of her more-than-a-decade-long reciprocal relationship with the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation. Miron is not Mohican and is careful to consider her own positionality and reflects on what it means for non-Native researchers and institutions to build reciprocal relationships with Indigenous nations in the content of academia and public history, offering a model both for tribes undertaking their own reclamation projects and for scholars looking to work with tribes in ethical ways. Here, Miron is joined in conversation with Jennifer O'Neal.Rose Miron is vice president of research and education at Newberry Library in Chicago and author of Indigenous Archival Activism: Mohican Interventions in Public History and Memory, winner of the National Council for Public History Book Award and the Book of Merit Award from the Wisconsin Historical Society.Jennifer O'Neal is assistant professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon.Praise for the book:“A necessary volume on the intersection of Indigenous knowledge loss, recovery, and production in the context of settler colonialism.” —Jacki Thompson Rand, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign“a must-read for archivists, researchers, and tribal historians working with/in Indian Country.”—Shannon Martin, Lynx Clan, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians; former director, Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and LifewaysIndigenous Archival Activism: Mohican Interventions in Public History and Memory by Rose Miron is available from University of Minnesota Press.

In this episode, Conor and Bryce chat with Jared Hoberock about the NVIDIA Thrust Parallel Algorithms Library, specifically scan and rotate.Link to Episode 241 on WebsiteDiscuss this episode, leave a comment, or ask a question (on GitHub)SocialsADSP: The Podcast: TwitterConor Hoekstra: Twitter | BlueSky | MastodonBryce Adelstein Lelbach: TwitterAbout the GuestJared Hoberock joined NVIDIA Research in October 2008. His interests include parallel programming models and physically-based rendering. Jared is the co-creator of Thrust, a high performance parallel algorithms library. While at NVIDIA, Jared has contributed to the DirectX graphics driver, Gelato, a final frame film renderer, and OptiX, a high-performance, programmable ray tracing engine. Jared received a Ph.D in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a two-time recipient of the NVIDIA Graduate Research Fellowship.Show NotesDate Generated: 2025-05-21Date Released: 2025-07-04ThrustThrust DocsNumPyRAPIDS cuDFthrust::inclusive_scanC++98 std::rotatethrust::permutation_iteratorthrust::gatherthrust::adjacent_differenceIntro Song InfoMiss You by Sarah Jansen https://soundcloud.com/sarahjansenmusicCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-miss-youMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/iYYxnasvfx8

Retro road trips are back - travelers are hitting the road for kitschy motels - vintage diners and quirky roadside attractions in search of nostalgia and Americana charm. Mark Wolters, of the Wolters World Travel and Culture YouTube channel and Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois' Gies College of Business in Urbana-Champaign, joins Rob Hart on the WBBM Noon Business Hour to discuss…

Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., A.T.S. is the former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Toxicology Program (NTP). After retirement, she was granted scientist emeritus status and still maintains a laboratory. As a board-certified toxicologist, Birnbaum served as a federal scientist for 40 years. Prior to her appointment as NIEHS and NTP Director in 2009, she spent 19 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she directed the largest division focusing on environmental health research. Birnbaum has received many awards and recognitions. In 2016, she was awarded the North Carolina Award in Science. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. She was also elected to the Collegium Ramazzini, an independent, international academy comprised of internationally renowned experts in the fields of occupational and environmental health and received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Rochester and a Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Illinois. She has also received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Rhode Island, Ben-Gurion University, Israel, and Amity University, India; the Surgeon General's Medallion 2014; and 14 Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards, which reflect the recommendations of EPA's external Science Advisory Board, for specific publications. Dr. Birnbaum recently received the Winslow Award, the highest honor from the Yale School of Public Health and was elected an AAAS Fellow. She has also received numerous awards from professional societies and citizen's groups. Birnbaum is an active member of the scientific community. She was vice president of the International Union of Toxicology, the umbrella organization for toxicology societies in more than 50 countries, and former president of the Society of Toxicology, the largest professional organization of toxicologists in the world. She is the author of more than 1000 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, abstracts, and reports. Birnbaum's own research focuses on the pharmacokinetic behavior of environmental chemicals, mechanisms of action of toxicants including endocrine disruption, and linking of real-world exposures to health effects. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, the School of Public Health of Yale University, the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Curriculum in Toxicology, and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as in the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program at Duke University where she is also a Scholar in Residence. A native of New Jersey, Birnbaum received her M.S. and Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In this episode, Conor and Bryce chat with Jared Hoberock about the NVIDIA Thrust Parallel Algorithms Library, Rust vs C++, Python and more.Link to Episode 240 on WebsiteDiscuss this episode, leave a comment, or ask a question (on GitHub)SocialsADSP: The Podcast: TwitterConor Hoekstra: Twitter | BlueSky | MastodonBryce Adelstein Lelbach: TwitterAbout the GuestJared Hoberock joined NVIDIA Research in October 2008. His interests include parallel programming models and physically-based rendering. Jared is the co-creator of Thrust, a high performance parallel algorithms library. While at NVIDIA, Jared has contributed to the DirectX graphics driver, Gelato, a final frame film renderer, and OptiX, a high-performance, programmable ray tracing engine. Jared received a Ph.D in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a two-time recipient of the NVIDIA Graduate Research Fellowship.Show NotesDate Generated: 2025-05-21Date Released: 2025-06-27ThrustThrust Docsiota Algorithmthrust::counting_iteratorthrust::sequenceMLIRNumPyNumbaIntro Song InfoMiss You by Sarah Jansen https://soundcloud.com/sarahjansenmusicCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-miss-youMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/iYYxnasvfx8

The U.S. workforce landscape is changing as technologies advance and Artificial Intelligence continues to impact job and education territories. The education technology company, YouScience, is keeping up with the times, guiding students on how to prepare for college and advanced careers, while re-skilling and up-skilling a workforce for industries needing to fill jobs. On this episode, YouScience Co-founder Edson Barton and Joseph Watt, Vice President of ECMC Group, discuss how the two organizations are building on the education to workforce movement.  Edson Barton, Founder and CEO of YouScience and founder of Industry CertificationsAs a 25-year EdTech veteran, he leads YouScience as it revolutionizes the personalization of career education—bridging the edtech and talent tech markets and solving critical education-to-workforce issues such as the skills gap and program equity and diversity. By providing students a more direct and tangible way to connect their education to their future careers, YouScience improves academic outcomes including high school graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment and completion rates.As a leader in the education technology industry, Edson has been quoted in numerous reports and media articles, most notably in Forbes, US World & News Report, MSN, and eSchool News.Prior to leading YouScience, Edson was the CEO and co-owner of ProCert Labs, a standards alignment and validation organization, and served as a senior director with Certiport where he oversaw client activities for Adobe, Autodesk, Intuit, and Microsoft, including worldwide publisher channels. Additionally, he was a sales vice president for Imergent and the executive director for Kids Voting Utah.Joseph Watt, Vice President at ECMC Group and Managing Director of EIFJoe grew up in the rural Midwest, where he was inspired daily by his mother's commitment to educating others, going above and beyond to reach her students, especially those who came from difficult family circumstances. After graduating high school with a class of 40 students, then joining a student body of more than 40,000 at the University of Illinois, and finally completing graduate school at Duke University, he has experienced firsthand the wide variations, challenges and ultimately, the transformative impact of education across a multitude of learning environments.Shortly after joining ECMC Group, Joe co-led the creation of the Education Impact Fund, driven by the opportunity to utilize patient, impact-aligned capital to propel transformative educational outcomes. By investing in scalable ventures that are addressing educational inequities and empowering underserved and overlooked groups, Joe aims to further demonstrate the strong correlation between long-term impact and outsized financial returns, thereby, inspiring increased investment in impactful educational change.Before ECMC Group, Joe's experience spans corporate strategy, M&A, private equity and investments within the technology and education sectors. He is a graduate of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, where he was an Impact Investing Fellow, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He lives outside of Durham, North Carolina, with his wife, son and dog.

Visiting favorite childhood vacation spots can be a ton of fun - from Wisconsin Dells to Myrtle Beach - and a chance to relive the magic with your own family... Mark Wolters, Wolters World Travel and Culture - YouTube channel and Teaching Associate Professor Of Business Administration at the University of Illinois - Gies College of Business in Urbana-Champaign joins Rob Hart on the WBBM Noon Business Hour to discuss...

Geoffrey Challen is a Computer Science Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.With some professors, there's a before and after in your reality as a student—you see things differently. For me, that was Challen's CS 125 (now called CS 124).After I picked up my phone and called the head of physics, he said I couldn't take Physics 211 because my transcript didn't show calculus. Even though I knew it and had taught myself, he didn't let me take it and hung up on me. I found myself with an open spot, and it was this class I'd heard so much about—CS 125 with Geoffrey Challen. I'd heard it was tough, but he was unique and idiosyncratic, and that was interesting, so I took the bait.And it changed me. Not necessarily because of anything I learned, although it helped my understanding of how technology worked, but because of how he saw the world. He spoke openly, questioned norms, and never just went through the motions. Unlike typical professors—front-row nerds and teacher's pets—Challen is a hacker, a rebel. He fell asleep in classes, sat in the back, resisted authority, and now builds his courses around that spirit.His iconic cap reads τέχνῃ—the ancient Greek root of the word technology—which means "the art and skill of making." For Challen, teaching technology isn't just about tools or code; it's about guiding students to become creators. After all, perhaps we shouldn't be called Homo sapiens (the wise ones), but Homo technologicus—those who craft, build, and innovate through τέχνῃ.Challen might not be considered the wisest by some of his colleagues, but the future—reflected in today's students—seems to know better. They don't call him “professor” as much as they call him “dope” or “based.”That's what you get with Challen—not just a professor, but someone who shows you a different way to see the world, to resist conformity, to build things that you want. Someone who proves that being yourself, even when it costs you, is worth it.EPISODE LINKS:Geoffrey Challen's Website: https://www.geoffreychallen.com/Geoffrey Challen's Learn CS Website: https://www.learncs.online/Geoffrey Challen's Society and Technology Class: https://archive.is/SdNAnGeoffrey Challen's Reddit Account: https://www.reddit.com/user/geoffreychallen/comments/?sort=topBooks MentionedWhen Things Go Missing by Kathryn Schulz: https://archive.is/J5ztkLincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders: https://amzn.to/4k0FdbPBeing Wrong by Kathryn Schulz: https://amzn.to/43Umit4Coders by Clive Thompson: https://amzn.to/4jJk1GSThe Overstory by Richard Powers: https://amzn.to/4mUCG5gBewilderment by Richard Powers: https://amzn.to/446zYSSThe Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie: https://amzn.to/45fxEdx

In this episode, Conor and Bryce chat with Jared Hoberock about the NVIDIA Thrust Parallel Algorithms Library.Link to Episode 237 on WebsiteDiscuss this episode, leave a comment, or ask a question (on GitHub)SocialsADSP: The Podcast: TwitterConor Hoekstra: Twitter | BlueSky | MastodonBryce Adelstein Lelbach: TwitterAbout the GuestJared Hoberock joined NVIDIA Research in October 2008. His interests include parallel programming models and physically-based rendering. Jared is the co-creator of Thrust, a high performance parallel algorithms library. While at NVIDIA, Jared has contributed to the DirectX graphics driver, Gelato, a final frame film renderer, and OptiX, a high-performance, programmable ray tracing engine. Jared received a Ph.D in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a two-time recipient of the NVIDIA Graduate Research Fellowship.Show NotesDate Generated: 2025-05-21Date Released: 2025-06-06ThrustThrust DocsC++98 std::transformthrust::reduceMPI_reduceNVIDIA MatXCuPyRAPIDS.aiThrust Summed Area Table ExampleADSP Episode 213: NumPy & Summed-Area TablesIntro Song InfoMiss You by Sarah Jansen https://soundcloud.com/sarahjansenmusicCreative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/l-miss-youMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/iYYxnasvfx8

In this week's episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin welcomes sales strategist and expert Maria Bayer for an insightful conversation on mastering the art of sales in the wedding and events industry. Maria shares her signature approach, Irresistible Selling, which reframes sales as a skill rooted in empathy and client understanding. Drawing from her journey from finance to high-level sales, Maria emphasizes the importance of setting clear expectations, qualifying leads early, and responding promptly to inquiries. She offers actionable advice for venue owners, including how to define and communicate their unique value, build pricing confidence, and streamline their sales process to consistently attract ideal clients.About Our Guest: Maria Bayer is a renowned sales and mindset strategist who helps wedding and event professionals attract high-paying clients and scale their businesses with authenticity and confidence. With over $25 million in personal sales to companies like Target and Best Buy, Maria brings real-world expertise to her clients. She is the creator of Irresistible Selling, a powerful coaching program that blends digital training, group coaching, and mindset work to help creative entrepreneurs book premium clients—without using pushy sales tactics. Her proven strategies have helped clients increase their sales by 2–10x in just one year.In addition to her coaching, Maria is a sought-after speaker who has shared her expertise at top industry events such as WIPA, ILEA, and The Wedding Pro CEO Summit. She leads a thriving community of creative entrepreneurs through her Learn Collaborate Flourish Facebook group, offering support, inspiration, and practical advice. Maria holds a Finance degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and lives in the Chicago area with her husband, Tim, and their dog, Gia. Find Her Here: Email: maria@mariabayer.comWebsite: https://www.mariabayer.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariaBayerFan/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MariaBayer1Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mebayer/

A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, in 1969 quickly became a landmark in the history of American environmentalism, helping to inspire the creation of both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day. But what role did the history of Santa Barbara itself play in this? In Natural Attachments: The Domestication of American Environmentalism, 1920–1970 (U Chicago Press, 2025), Pollyanna Rhee shows, the city's past and demographics were essential to the portrayal of the oil spill as momentous. Moreover, well-off and influential Santa Barbarans were positioned to “domesticate” the larger environmental movement by embodying the argument that individual homes and families—not society as a whole—needed protection from environmental abuses. This soon would put environmental rhetoric and power to fundamentally conservative—not radical—ends. Pollyanna Rhee is assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and affiliate faculty in history, sustainable design, and theory and interpretive criticism. Twitter.  Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

Henry has a background in ecology and conservation with a strong focus on quantitative, data-driven science and practice. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology and nearly 15 years' experience as a wildlife biologist and academic researcher. He is dedicated to gaining ground for prairie […] Read full article: Episode 149: Rewilding The American Serengeti With Henry Pollock from Southern Plains Land Trust

Today's episode is the second part of my conversation with Rajmohan Gandhi, a historian and biographer involved in efforts for trust-building and reconciliation and author of more than fifteen books, of which the most recent is Fraternity: Constitutional Norm and Human Need. He taught history and politics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1997 until he retirement in 2022. His most recent initiative is We Are One Humanity (WAOH), a writers collective responding to the worldwide thrusts against democracy and equality. We spoke about his reflections on communal violence between Hindus and Muslims, revenge and reconciliation in South Asia, Sikhs and Buddhists, differences between north and south India, constitutional values, and much more.  Recorded April 17th, 2025. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Connect with Ideas of India Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox.

Kelvin Droegemeier, a longtime leader in science policy, joins host Megan Nicholson for this installment of Science Policy IRL. Droegemeier began his career as a research meteorologist and went on to serve in many different leadership roles in state and federal government. He directed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2019–2021, served on the National Science Board from 2004–2016, and served on the Oklahoma Governor's Science and Technology Council from 2011–2019. He is currently a professor and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science and Policy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On this episode, Droegemeier shares what it's like to work on science policy at the state and federal levels, discusses what he sees as the pressing science policy issues of our time, and reflects on his leadership roles in academia and government. Resources:Read Kelvin Droegemier's book, Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise: Becoming a Successful Scholar in a Complex and Competitive Environment, to gain a better understanding of how the academic research enterprise works. Check out the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine project on Improving the Regulatory Efficiency and Reducing Administrative Workload to Strengthen Competitiveness and Productivity of US Research. Read Science, the Endless Frontier by Vannevar Bush and Issues's project marking the anniversary of that report, The Next 75 Years of Science Policy, to learn more about the structure of scientific research in the United States. The National Science Board's Science and Engineering Indicators provide important metrics to understand the current state of science and engineering. What is the future of American science and technology? Check out Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST) for a potential roadmap. 

When you're renting a vacation property like an Airbnb, there are some things you should consider before booking. Mark Wolters - of the Wolters World Travel and Culture YouTube channel and Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois' Gies College of Business in Urbana-Champaign - joins Rob Hart on the WBBM Noon Business Hour with some tips.

This episode is rated a 5 (on my Serious Crime Scale). In June 2017, Yingying Zhang — a 26-year-old Ph.D. student and visiting scholar from China — vanished after being seen at a campus bus stop at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What followed was a heartbreaking search, a chilling investigation, and a devastating truth – that Yinying Zhang was no longer alive. While a suspect was identified and convicted, Yingying's body has never been found, and her final resting place still remains a controversial mystery. Listen now to hear the full story. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/campus-crime-chronicles/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Luvell Anderson (Philosophy prof. at U of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign) joins Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al to discuss Ryan Coogler's new vampire siege/black studies film starring Michael B. Jordan. We talk about the film's comments on black freedom, black music, the church, why the film needed twins, whether the vampires were even necessary, the film's humor and structure, and more. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, in 1969 quickly became a landmark in the history of American environmentalism, helping to inspire the creation of both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day. But what role did the history of Santa Barbara itself play in this? In Natural Attachments: The Domestication of American Environmentalism, 1920–1970 (U Chicago Press, 2025), Pollyanna Rhee shows, the city's past and demographics were essential to the portrayal of the oil spill as momentous. Moreover, well-off and influential Santa Barbarans were positioned to “domesticate” the larger environmental movement by embodying the argument that individual homes and families—not society as a whole—needed protection from environmental abuses. This soon would put environmental rhetoric and power to fundamentally conservative—not radical—ends. Pollyanna Rhee is assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and affiliate faculty in history, sustainable design, and theory and interpretive criticism. Twitter.  Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Dr. Josh Levy is a historian of science and technology at the Library of Congress. In this episode of AMSEcast, he highlights key figures and artifacts from all across America's innovation history. From Samuel Morse's early telegraph designs to George Washington Carver's advocacy for sustainable farming, Levy reveals stories of invention and resilience. He also discusses aviation pioneer Lt. Thomas Selfridge and Claude Shannon's groundbreaking work in information theory. Josh and Alan finish with Gladys West, whose geoid calculations became foundational for GPS. Her later recognition reflects how major technological advances often depend on unsung, collaborative contributions across generations.     Guest Bio Dr. Josh Levy is the historian of science and technology in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, where he helps uncover and share the stories behind key figures in American innovation. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois and brings years of teaching experience at both high school and college levels, including the University of South Florida, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the College of Micronesia. Since joining the Library of Congress in 2020, Dr. Levy has curated collections that illuminate the complex, collaborative nature of scientific and technological breakthroughs.     Show Highlights (1:50) What led Samuel Morse to invent the telegraph (4:03) Morse's letter regarding the telegraph (7:36) Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver (8:47) Carver's letter to John Washington, Booker T. Washington's brother (12:02) Alfred Graham Bell's interest in aviation (15:02) Thomas Selfridge (17:28) Claude Shannon, the Father of the Information Age (18:46) Shannon's schematic of Theseus, the maze-solving robotic mouse (20:11) Gladys West's impact on GPS technology     Links Referenced Library of Congress website: https://loc.gov For specific questions about manuscripts at the Library of Congress: https://ask.loc.gov/manuscripts

A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, in 1969 quickly became a landmark in the history of American environmentalism, helping to inspire the creation of both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day. But what role did the history of Santa Barbara itself play in this? In Natural Attachments: The Domestication of American Environmentalism, 1920–1970 (U Chicago Press, 2025), Pollyanna Rhee shows, the city's past and demographics were essential to the portrayal of the oil spill as momentous. Moreover, well-off and influential Santa Barbarans were positioned to “domesticate” the larger environmental movement by embodying the argument that individual homes and families—not society as a whole—needed protection from environmental abuses. This soon would put environmental rhetoric and power to fundamentally conservative—not radical—ends. Pollyanna Rhee is assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and affiliate faculty in history, sustainable design, and theory and interpretive criticism. Twitter.  Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, in 1969 quickly became a landmark in the history of American environmentalism, helping to inspire the creation of both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day. But what role did the history of Santa Barbara itself play in this? In Natural Attachments: The Domestication of American Environmentalism, 1920–1970 (U Chicago Press, 2025), Pollyanna Rhee shows, the city's past and demographics were essential to the portrayal of the oil spill as momentous. Moreover, well-off and influential Santa Barbarans were positioned to “domesticate” the larger environmental movement by embodying the argument that individual homes and families—not society as a whole—needed protection from environmental abuses. This soon would put environmental rhetoric and power to fundamentally conservative—not radical—ends. Pollyanna Rhee is assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and affiliate faculty in history, sustainable design, and theory and interpretive criticism. Twitter.  Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, in 1969 quickly became a landmark in the history of American environmentalism, helping to inspire the creation of both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day. But what role did the history of Santa Barbara itself play in this? In Natural Attachments: The Domestication of American Environmentalism, 1920–1970 (U Chicago Press, 2025), Pollyanna Rhee shows, the city's past and demographics were essential to the portrayal of the oil spill as momentous. Moreover, well-off and influential Santa Barbarans were positioned to “domesticate” the larger environmental movement by embodying the argument that individual homes and families—not society as a whole—needed protection from environmental abuses. This soon would put environmental rhetoric and power to fundamentally conservative—not radical—ends. Pollyanna Rhee is assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and affiliate faculty in history, sustainable design, and theory and interpretive criticism. Twitter.  Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-west

A massive oil spill in the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California, in 1969 quickly became a landmark in the history of American environmentalism, helping to inspire the creation of both the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth Day. But what role did the history of Santa Barbara itself play in this? In Natural Attachments: The Domestication of American Environmentalism, 1920–1970 (U Chicago Press, 2025), Pollyanna Rhee shows, the city's past and demographics were essential to the portrayal of the oil spill as momentous. Moreover, well-off and influential Santa Barbarans were positioned to “domesticate” the larger environmental movement by embodying the argument that individual homes and families—not society as a whole—needed protection from environmental abuses. This soon would put environmental rhetoric and power to fundamentally conservative—not radical—ends. Pollyanna Rhee is assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and affiliate faculty in history, sustainable design, and theory and interpretive criticism. Twitter.  Brian Hamilton is chair of the Department of History and Social Science at Deerfield Academy. Twitter. Website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign computer science professor Dr. Sheldon Jacobson joins John Williams to talk about his Crain’s Op-ed that suggests that the U.S use tariffs on offshore customer service centers.

Today my guest is Rajmohan Gandhi, a historian and biographer involved in efforts for trust-building and reconciliation and author of more than fifteen books, of which the most recent is Fraternity: Constitutional Norm and Human Need. He taught history and politics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1997 until his retirement in 2022. His most recent initiative is We Are One Humanity (WAOH), a writers collective responding to the worldwide thrusts against democracy and equality. We spoke about his reflections on his biographies of the founding fathers, Vallabhai Patel, Mohandas Gandhi, C Rajagopalachari, and Gaffar Khan, their competing visions, debates with others like Ambedkar and Nehru, constitutional values, the civil rights movement, his faith, and much more.  Recorded April 18th, 2025. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links. Connect with Ideas of India Follow us on X Follow Shruti on X Click here for the latest Ideas of India episodes sent straight to your inbox. Timestamps Intro - 00:00:00 Patel - 00:01:34 Rajaji - 00:31:20 Ghaffar Khan - 00:51:53  Gandhi - 01:05:53 Competing Visions - 01:17:32 Biographies of Family Members - 01:18:54 Serendipity in the Research Process - 01:23:40 Civil Rights in the US - 01:27:23 Pessimistic or Optimistic? - 01:35:16 Role of God and Faith - 01:36:27 Outro - 01:38:20

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign computer science professor Dr. Sheldon Jacobson joins John Williams to talk about his Crain’s Op-ed that suggests that the U.S use tariffs on offshore customer service centers.

Who really succeeds in a changing freight market environment? Find out by listening to Harish Abbott's journey in logistics! Harish explains the impact of innovation and adaptability in the industry's unpredictability, how AI tools transform operational efficiency and enable small businesses to scale without excessive headcount increases, and highlights persistence and learning from failures as crucial aspects of entrepreneurial success!   About Harish Abbott Harish Abbott is the Co-Founder and CEO of Augment, an AI-driven logistics platform transforming freight operations. In 2025, Augment secured $25 million in seed funding led by 8VC to develop its flagship product. Prior to launching Augment, Harish co-founded Deliverr, a fast-growing e-commerce fulfillment platform acquired by Shopify for $2.1 billion in 2022. His career includes pivotal roles at Amazon, where he contributed to building global fulfillment infrastructure. Harish holds degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.   Connect with Harish Website: https://www.goaugment.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/habbott/ X (Twitter): https://x.com/habbott   

Learn about some more of the Baal Shem Tov's foundational teachings, as well as the story of his Histalkus.-This episode is dedicated to the Tzeirei Hashluchim of the Rebbe to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.Menachem & Mussia Sheyichyu Tiechtel.

In this episode of The Crop Science Podcast Show, Dr. Emerson Nafziger from the University of Illinois breaks down decades of nitrogen research. From the evolution of N rate guidelines to how soil health and hybrid genetics influence nitrogen use efficiency, this conversation unpacks the science behind smarter fertilization. Improving how we set nitrogen fertilizer rates for rainfed corn is a key focus. Discover why the MRTN model matters more than ever, and how shifting mindsets and better data can boost yields and environmental outcomes. Tune in now on all major platforms!"The nitrogen that comes from soil mineralization is the first nitrogen the plant sees, and its role is underestimated."Meet the guest: Dr. Emerson Nafziger is Professor Emeritus of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with degrees in agronomy from Ohio State, Purdue, and Illinois. His research has focused on nitrogen rate strategies and crop productivity. He co-developed the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) model, which is widely used across the Midwest. His research spans N response trials, hybrid interactions, crop rotation effects, and yield stability.Liked this one? Don't stop now — Here's what we think you'll love!What you will learn:(00:00) Highlight(00:58) Introduction(02:08) Dr. Nafziger background(07:13) Soil nitrogen variability(10:28) Nitrogen rate strategies(13:08) Root development factors(26:58) MRTN historical changes(31:10) Closing thoughtsThe Crop Science Podcast Show is trusted and supported by the innovative companies:- S&W Seed Co.- KWS- CNH Reman

  Lyssa Rome is a speech-language pathologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, where she facilitates groups for people with aphasia and their care partners. She owns an LPAA-focused private practice and specializes in working with people with aphasia, dysarthria, and other neurogenic conditions. She has worked in acute hospital, skilled nursing, and continuum of care settings. Prior to becoming an SLP, Lyssa was a public radio journalist, editor, and podcast producer. In this episode, Lyssa Rome interviews Dr. Suma Devanga about collaborative referencing, gesture, and building rich communicative environments for people with aphasia.   Guest info Dr. Suma Devanga is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, where she also serves as the director of the Aphasia Research Lab. She completed her PhD in Speech and Hearing science from the University of Illinois. Urbana Champaign in 2017. Dr. Devanga is interested in studying aphasia interventions and their impacts on people's everyday communication. Her recent work includes investigating a novel treatment called the Collaborative Referencing Intervention for Individuals with aphasia, using discourse analysis methods and patient reported outcome measures, studying group-based treatments for aphasia, and studying the use of gestures in aphasia. Additionally, she is involved in teaching courses on aphasia and cognitive communication disorders to graduate SLP students at Rush. She also provides direct patient care and graduate clinical supervision at Rush outpatient clinics.   Listener Take-aways In today's episode you will: Understand the role of collaborative referencing in everyday communication. Learn about Collaborative Referencing Intervention. Describe how speech-language pathologists can create rich communicative environments.   Edited transcript   Lyssa Rome Welcome to the Aphasia Access Aphasia Conversations Podcast. I'm Lyssa Rome. I'm a speech language pathologist on staff at the Aphasia Center of California, and I see clients with aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders in my LPAA-focused private practice. I'm also a member of the Aphasia Access podcast Working Group. Aphasia Access strives to provide members with information, inspiration, and ideas that support their aphasia care through a variety of educational materials and resources.   I'm today's host for an episode that will feature Dr. Suma Devanga, who is selected as a 2024 Tavistock Trust for Aphasia Distinguished Scholar, USA and Canada. In this episode, we'll be discussing Dr. Devanga's research on collaborative referencing, gesture, and building rich communicative environments for people with aphasia.   Suma Devanga is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, where she also serves as the director of the Aphasia Research Lab. She completed her PhD in Speech and Hearing science from the University of Illinois. Urbana Champaign in 2017. Dr. Devanga is interested in studying aphasia interventions and their impacts on people's everyday communication. Her recent work includes investigating a novel treatment called the Collaborative Referencing Intervention for Individuals with aphasia, using discourse analysis methods and patient reported outcome measures, studying group-based treatments for aphasia, and studying the use of gestures in aphasia. Additionally, she is involved in teaching courses on aphasia and cognitive communication disorders to graduate SLP students at Rush. She also provides direct patient care and graduate clinical supervision at Rush outpatient clinics. Suma Devanga, thank you so much for joining us today. I'm really happy to be talking with you.   Suma Devanga Thank you, Lyssa, thank you for having me. And I would also like to thank Aphasia Access for this wonderful opportunity, and the Tavistock Trust for Aphasia and the Duchess of Bedford for recognizing my research through the Distinguished Scholar Award.   Lyssa Rome So I wanted to start by asking you how you became interested in aphasia treatment.   Suma Devanga I became interested in aphasia during my undergraduate and graduate programs, which was in speech language pathology in Mysore in India. I was really drawn to this population because of how severe the consequences were for these individuals and their families after the onset of aphasia. So I met hundreds of patients and families with aphasia who were really devastated by this sudden condition, and they were typically left with no job and little means to communicate with family and friends. So as a student clinician, I was very, very motivated to help these individuals in therapy, but when I started implementing the treatment methods that I had learned, what I discovered was that my patients were showing improvements on the tasks that we worked on in therapy. Their scores on clinical tasks also were improving, but none of that really mattered to them. What they really wanted was to be able to easily communicate with family, but they continued to struggle on that, and none of the cutting-edge treatment methods that I learned from this highly reputable program in India were impacting my patients' lives.   So I really felt lost, and that is when I knew that I wanted to do a PhD and study this topic more closely, and I was drawn to Dr. Julie Hengst's work, which looked at the bigger picture in aphasia. She used novel theoretical frameworks and used discourse analysis methods for tracking patient performance, as opposed to clinical tests. So I applied to the University of Illinois PhD program, and I'm so glad that she took me on as her doctoral student. And so that is how I ended up moving from India to the US and started my work in aphasia.   Lyssa Rome I think that a lot of us can probably relate to what you're describing—that just that feeling of frustration when a patient might improve on some sort of clinical tasks, but still says this is not helping me in my life, and I know that for me, and I think for others, that is what has drawn us to the LPAA.   I wanted to sort of dive into your research by asking you a little bit more about rich communicative environments, and what you mean by that, and what you mean when you talk about or write about distributed communication frameworks.   Suma Devanga So since I started my PhD, I have been interested in understanding how we can positively impact everyday communication for our patients with aphasia. As a doctoral student, I delved more deeply into the aphasia literature and realized that what I observed clinically with my patients in India was consistent with what was documented in the literature, and that was called the clinical-functional gap. And this really refers to the fact that we have many evidence-based aphasia treatments that do show improvements on clinical tasks or standardized tests, but there is very limited evidence on these treatments improving the functional use of language or the everyday communication, and this remains to be true even today.   So I think it becomes pretty important to understand what we are dealing with, like what is everyday communication? And I think many aphasia treatments have been studying everyday communication or conversational interactions by decontextualizing them or reducing them into component parts, like single words or phrases, and then we work our way up to sentence structures. Right? So this approach has been criticized by some researchers like Clark, who is an experimental psychologist, and he called such tasks as in vacuo, meaning that they are not really capturing the complexity of conversational interactions. So basically, even though we are clinicians, our ultimate goal is improving everyday communication, which is rich and emergent and complex, we somehow seem to be using tasks that are simplified and that removes all of these complexities and focuses more on simple or specific linguistic structures. So to understand the complexities of everyday communication, we have shifted to the distributed communication framework, which really originates from the cultural historical activity theories and theories from linguistic anthropology.   Dr. Julie Hengst actually proposed the distributed communication theory in her article in the Journal of Communication Disorders in 2015, which highlights that communication is not just an individual skill or a discrete concept, but it is rather distributed. And it is distributed in three ways: One is that it is distributed across various resources. We communicate using multiple resources, not just language. We sign, we use gestures, or facial expressions. We also interpret messages using such resources like dialects and eye gaze and posture, the social context, cultural backgrounds, the emotional states that we are in, and all of that matters. And we all know this, right? This is not new, and yet, we often give credit to language alone for communication, when in reality, we constantly use multiple resources. And the other key concept of distributed communication theory is that communication is embedded in socio- cultural activities. So depending on the activity, which can be a routine family dinnertime conversation or managing relationships with your co workers, the communicative resources that you use, their motives, and the way you would organize it, all of that would vary. And finally, communication is distributed across time. And by that we mean that people interpret and understand present interactions through the histories that they have experienced over time. For example, if you're at work and your manager says you might want to double check your reports before submitting them based on prior interactions with the manager and the histories you've shared with them, you could interpret that message either as a simple suggestion or that there is a lack of trust in your work. So all in all, communication, I think, is a joint activity, and I think we should view it as a joint activity, and it depends on people's ability to build common ground with one another and draw from that common ground to interpret each other's messages.   Lyssa Rome I feel like that framework is really helpful, and it makes a lot of sense, especially as a way of thinking about the complexity of language and the complexity of what we're trying to do when we are taking a more top-down approach. So that's the distributed communication theory. And it sounds like the other framework that has really guided your research is rich communicative environments. And I'm wondering if you could say a little bit more about that.   Suma Devanga Absolutely. So this work originates from about 80 years of research in neuroscience, where rodents and other animals with acquired brain injuries showed greater neuroplastic changes and improved functions when they were housed in complex environments. In fact, complex environments are considered to be the most well replicated approach to improve function in animal models of acquired brain injury.   So Dr. Julie Hengst, Dr. Melissa Duff, and Dr. Theresa Jones translated these findings to support communication for humans with acquired brain injuries. And they called it the rich communicative environments. The main goal of this is to enrich the clinical environments. And how we achieve that is by ensuring that there is meaningful complexity in our clinical environments, and that you do that by ensuring that our patients, families, and clinicians use multimodal resources, and also to aim for having multiple communication partners within your sessions who can fluidly shift between various communicative roles, and to not just stay in that clinician role, for example.   Another way to think about enriching clinical environments is to think about ensuring that there is voluntary engagement from our patients, and you do that by essentially designing personally meaningful activities, rather than focusing on rehearsing fixed linguistic form or having some predetermined goals.   And the other piece of the enrichment is, how do we ensure there is a positive experiential quality for our patients within our sessions. And for this rather than using clinician-controlled activities with rigid interactional roles, providing opportunities for the patients to share stories and humor would really, you know, ensure that they are also engaging with the tasks with you and having some fun. So all of this put together would lead to a rich communicative environment.   Lyssa Rome It sounds like what you're describing is the kind of speech therapy environment and relationship that is very much person-centered and focused on natural communication, or natural communicative contexts and the kinds of conversations that people have in their everyday lives, rather than more sort of strict speech therapy protocol that might have been more traditional. I also want to ask you to describe collaborative referencing and collaborative referencing intervention.   Suma Devanga Yes, absolutely. So traditionally, our discipline has viewed word-finding or naming as a neurolinguistic process where you access semantic meanings from a lexicon, which you use to generate verbal references. And that theoretical account conceptualizes referencing as an isolated process, where one individual has the skill of retrieving target references from their stores of linguistic forms and meanings, right? So in contrast to that, the distributed communication perspective views referencing as a process where speakers' meanings are constructed within each interaction, and that is based on the shared histories of experiences with specific communication partners and also depending on the social and physical contexts of the interaction as well.   Now this process of collaborative referencing is something that we all do every single day. It is not just a part of our everyday communication, but without collaborative referencing, you cannot really have a conversation with anyone. You need to have some alignment, some common ground for communicating with others. This is a fundamental feature of human communication, and this is not new. You know, there is lots of work being done on this, even in childhood language literature as well.   Collaborative referencing was formally studied by Clark, who is the experimental psychologist. And he studied this in healthy college students, and he used a barrier task experiment for it. So a pair of students sat across from each other with a full barrier that separated them so they could not see each other at all, and each student had a board that was numbered one through 12, and they were given matching sets of 12 pictures of abstract shapes called tangrams. One participant was assigned as the director, who arranged the cards on their playing board and described their locations to the other, who served as the matcher and matched the pictures to their locations on their own board. So the pair completed six trials with alternating turns, and they use the same cards with new locations for each trial. And what they found was that the pairs had to really collaborate with each other to get those descriptions correct so that they are placed correctly on the boards.   So in the initial trials, the pairs had multiple turns of back and forth trying to describe these abstract shapes. For example, one of the pictures was initially described as “This picture that looks like an angel or something with its arms wide open.” And there had to be several clarifying questions from the partner, and then eventually, after playing with this picture several times, the player just had to say “It's the angel,” and the partner would be able to know which picture that was so as the pairs built their common ground, the collaborative effort, or the time taken to complete each trial, and the number of words they used and the number of turns they took to communicate about those pictures declined over time, and the labels itself, or the descriptions of pictures, also became more streamlined as the as time went by.   So Hengst and colleagues wanted to study this experiment in aphasia, TBI, amnesia, and Alzheimer's disease as well. So they adapted this task to better serve this population and also to align with the distributed communication framework. And surprisingly, they found consistent results that despite aphasia or other neurological conditions, people were still able to successfully reference, decrease collaborative effort over time and even streamline their references. But more surprisingly, people were engaged with one another. They were having really rich conversations about these pictures. They were sharing jokes, and really seemed to be enjoying the task itself.   So Hengst and colleagues realized that this has a lot of potential, and they redesigned the barrier task experiment as a clinical treatment using the principles of the distributed communication framework and the rich communicative environment. So that redesign included replacing the full barrier with a partial barrier to allow multimodal communication, and using personal photos of the patients instead of the abstract shapes to make it more engaging for the patients, and also asking participants to treat this as a friendly game and to have fun. So that is the referencing itself and the research on collaborative referencing, and that is how it was adapted as a treatment as well.   And in order to help clinicians easily implement this treatment, I have used the RTSS framework, which is the rehabilitation treatment specification system, to explain how CRI works and how it can be implemented. And this is actually published, and it just came out in the most recent issue in the American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, which I'm happy to share.   Lyssa Rome And we'll put that link into the show notes.   Suma Devanga Perfect. So CRI is designed around meaningful activities like the game that authentically provides repeated opportunities for the client and the clinician to engage in the collaborative referencing process around targets that they really want to be talking about, things that are relevant to patients, everyday communication goals, it could be things, objects of interest, and not really specific words or referencing forms.   So the implementation of the CRI involves three key ingredients. One is jointly developing the referencing targets and compiling the images so clinicians would sit down with the patients and the families to identify at least 30 targets that are meaningful and important to be included in the treatment. And we need two perspectives, or two views, or two pictures related to the same target that needs to be included in the treatment. So we will have 60 pictures overall. An example is two pictures from their wedding might be an important target for patients to be able to talk about. Two pictures from a Christmas party, you know, things like that. So this process of compilation of photos is also a part of the treatment itself, because it gives the patients an opportunity to engage with the targets.   The second ingredient is engaging in the friendly gameplay itself. And the key really here is the gameplay and to treat it as a gameplay. And this includes 15 sessions with six trials in each session, where you, as the clinician and the client will both have matching sets of 12 pictures, and there is a low barrier in between, so you cannot see each other's boards, but you can still see the other person. So you will both take turns being the director and the matcher six times, and describe and match the pictures to their locations, and that is just the game. The only rule of the game is that you cannot look over the barrier. You are encouraged to talk as much as you like about the pictures. In fact, you are encouraged to talk a lot about the pictures and communicate in any way.   The third ingredient is discussing and reflecting on referencing. And this happens at the end of each session where patients are asked to think back and reflect and say what the agreed upon label was for each card. And this, again, gives one more opportunity for the patients to engage with the target.   The therapeutic mechanism, or the mechanism of action, as RTSS likes to call it, is the rich communicative environment itself, you know, and how complex the task is, and how meaningful and engaging the task has to be, as well as the repeated engagement in the gameplay, because we are doing this six times in each session, and we are repeatedly engaging with those targets when describing them and placing them.   So what we are really targeting with CRI is collaborative referencing and again, this does not refer to the patient's abilities to access or retrieve those words from their stores. Instead, we are targeting people's joint efforts in communicating about these targets, their efforts in building situated common ground. That's what we are targeting. We are targeting their alignment with one another, and so that is how we define referencing. And again, we are targeting this, because that is how you communicate every day.   Lyssa Rome That sounds like a really fascinating and very rich intervention. And I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit about the research that you've done on it so far.   Suma Devanga Absolutely. So in terms of research on CRI thus far, we have completed phase one with small case studies that were all successful, and my PhD dissertation was the first phase two study, where we introduced an experimental control by using a multiple-probe, single-case experimental design on four people with aphasia, and we found significant results on naming. And since then, I have completed two replication studies in a total of nine participants with aphasia. And we have found consistent results on naming. In terms of impact on everyday interactions, we have found decreased trouble sources, or communicative breakdowns, you can call it, and also decreased repairs, both of which indicated improved communicative success within conversational interactions. So we are positive, and we plan to continue this research to study its efficacy within a clinical trial.   Lyssa Rome That's very encouraging. So how can clinicians target collaborative referencing by creating a rich communicative environment?   Suma Devanga Yeah, well, CRI is one approach that clinicians can use, and I'm happy to share the evidence we have this far, and there is more to come, hopefully soon, including some clinical implementation studies that clinicians can use. But there are many other ways of creating rich communicative environments and targeting referencing within clinical sessions. I think many skilled clinicians are already doing it in the form of relationship building, by listening closely to their patients, engaging with them in authentic conversations, and also during education and counseling sessions as well.   In addition to that, I think group treatment for aphasia is another great opportunity for targeting collaborative referencing within a rich communicative environment. When I was a faculty at Western Michigan University, I was involved in their outpatient aphasia program, where they have aphasia groups, and patients got to select which groups they want to participate in. They had a cooking group, a music group, a technology group, and so on. And I'm guessing you do this too at the Aphasia Center of California. So these groups definitely create rich communicative environments, and people collaborate with each other and do a lot of referencing as well. So I think there is a lot that can be done if you understand the rich communicative environment piece.   Lyssa Rome Absolutely. That really rings true to me. So often in these podcast interviews, we ask people about aha moments, and I'm wondering if you have one that you wanted to share with us.   Suma Devanga Sure. So you know how I said that getting the pictures for the CRI is a joint activity? Patients typically select things that they really want to talk about, like their kids' graduation pictures, or things that they are really passionate about, like pictures of their sports cars, or vegetable gardens, and so on. And they also come up with really unique names for them as well, while they are playing with those pictures during the treatment. And when we start playing the game, clinicians usually have little knowledge about these images, because they're all really personal to the patients, and they're taken from their personal lives, so they end up being the novices, while the patients become the experts. And my patients have taught me so much about constructing a house and all about engines of cars and things like that that I had no knowledge about. But in one incident, when I was the clinician paired with an individual with anomic aphasia, there was a picture of a building that she could not recognize, and hence she could not tell me much at all. And we went back and forth several times, and we finally ended up calling it the “unknown building.” Later, I checked my notes and realized that it was where she worked, and it was probably a different angle, perhaps, which is why she could not recognize it. But even with that new information, we continue to call it the “unknown building,” because it became sort of an internal joke for us. And later I kept thinking if I had made a mistake and if we should have accurately labeled it. That is when it clicked for me that CRI is not about producing accurate labels, it is about building a common ground with each other, which would help you successfully communicate with that person. So you're targeting the process of referencing and not the reference itself, because you want your patients to get better at the process of referencing in their everyday communication. And so that was my aha moment.   Lyssa Rome Yeah, that's an amazing story, because I think that that gets to that question sort of of the why behind what we're doing, right? Is it to say the specific name? I mean, obviously for some people, yes, sometimes it is. But what is underlying that? It's to be able to communicate about the things that are important to people. I also wanted to ask you about another area that you've studied, which is the use of gesture within aphasia interventions. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?   Suma Devanga Yes. So this work started with my collaboration with my friend and colleague, Dr. Mili Mathew, who is at Molloy University in New York, and our first work was on examining the role of hand gestures in collaborative referencing in a participant who had severe Wernicke's aphasia, and he frequently used extensive gestures to communicate. So when he started with CRI his descriptions of the images were truly multimodal. For example, when he had to describe a picture of a family vacation in Cancun, he was, you know, he was verbose, and there was very little meaningful content that was relevant in his spoken language utterances. But he used a variety of iconic hand gestures that were very meaningful and helpful to identify what he was referring to. As the sessions went on with him, his gestural references also became streamlined, just like the verbal references do, and that we saw in other studies. And that was fascinating because it indicated that gestures do play a big role in the meaning-making process of referencing.   And in another study on the same participant, we explored the use of hand gestures as treatment outcome measures. This time, we specifically analyzed gestures used within conversations at baseline treatment, probe, and maintenance phases of the study. And we found that the frequency of referential gestures, which are gestures that add meaning, that have some kind of iconics associated with them, those frequencies of gestures decreased with the onset of treatment, whereas the correct information units, or CIUS, which indicate the informativeness in the spoken language itself, increased. So this pattern of decrease in hand gestures and increase in CIUS was also a great finding. Even though this was just an exploratory study, it indicates that gestures may be included as outcome measures, in addition to verbal measures, which we usually tend to rely more on. And we have a few more studies coming up that are looking at the synchrony of gestures with spoken language in aphasia, but I think we still have a lot more to learn about gestures in aphasia.   Lyssa Rome It seems like there that studying gestures really ties in to CRI and the rich communicative environments that you were describing earlier, where the goal is not just to verbally name one thing, but rather to get your point across, where, obviously, gesture is also quite useful. So I look forward to reading more of your research on that as it comes out. Tell us about what you're currently working on, what's coming next.   Suma Devanga Currently, I am wrapping up my clinical research grant from the ASH Foundation, which was a replication study of the phase two CRI so we collected data from six participants with chronic aphasia using a multiple-probe, single-case design, and that showed positive results on naming, and there was improved scores on patient reports of communication confidence, communicative participation, and quality of life as well. We are currently analyzing the conversation samples to study the treatment effects.   I also just submitted a grant proposal to extend the study on participants with different severities of aphasia as well. So we are getting all the preliminary data at this point that we need to be able to start a clinical trial, which will be my next step.   So apart from that, I was also able to redesign the CRI and adapt it as a group-based treatment with three participants with aphasia and one clinician in a group. I actually completed a feasibility study of it, which was successful, and I presented that at ASHA in 2023. And I'm currently writing it up for publication, and I also just secured an internal grant to launch a pilot study of the group CRI to investigate the effects of group CRI on communication and quality of life.   Lyssa Rome Well, that's really exciting. And again, I'm really looking forward to reading additional work as it comes out. As we wrap up. What do you want clinicians to take away from your work and to take away from this conversation we've had today?   Suma Devanga Well, I would want clinicians to reflect on how their sessions are going and think about how to incorporate the principles of rich communicative environments so that they can add more meaningful complexity to their treatment activities and also ensure that their patients are truly engaging with the tasks and also having some fun. And I would also tell the clinicians that we have strong findings so far on CRI with both fluent and non-fluent aphasia types. So please stay tuned and reach out to me if you have questions or want to share your experiences about implementing this with your own patients, because I would love to hear that.   Lyssa Rome Dr. Suma Devanga, it has been great talking to you and hearing about your work. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.   Suma Devanga It was fantastic talking about my work. Thank you for giving me this platform to share my work with you all. And thank you, Lyssa for being a great listener.   Lyssa Rome Thanks also to our listeners for the references and resources mentioned in today's show. Please see our show notes. They're available on our website, www.aphasiaaccess.org. There, you can also become a member of our organization, browse our growing library of materials, and find out about the Aphasia Access Academy. If you have an idea for a future podcast episode, email us at info@aphasiaaccess.org. Thanks again for your ongoing support of aphasia. Access. For Aphasia Access Conversations. I'm Lyssa Rome.       References   Devanga, S. R. (2025). Collaborative Referencing Intervention (CRI) in Aphasia: A replication and extension of the Phase II efficacy study. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-24-00226   Devanga, S. R., Sherrill, M., & Hengst, J. A. (2021). The efficacy of collaborative referencing intervention in chronic aphasia: A mixed methods study. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 30(1S), 407-424. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJSLP-19-00108    Hengst, J. A., Duff, M. C., & Jones, T. A. (2019). Enriching communicative environments: Leveraging advances in neuroplasticity for improving outcomes in neurogenic communication disorders. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 28(1S), 216–229. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0157   Hengst, J. A. (2015). Distributed communication: Implications of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) for communication disorders. Journal of Communication Disorders, 57, 16–28. Https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2015.09.001   Devanga, S. R., & Mathew, M. (2024). Exploring the use of co-speech hand gestures as treatment outcome measures for aphasia. Aphasiology. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2024.2356287   Devanga, S. R., Wilgenhof, R., & Mathew, M. (2022). Collaborative referencing using hand gestures in Wernicke's aphasia: Discourse analysis of a case study. Aphasiology, 36(9), 1072-1095. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2021.1937919    

Dr. Amato is a biological anthropologist studying the influence of gut microbes on host ecology and evolution. Her research examines how changes in the gut microbiota impact host nutrition, energetics, and health. She uses non-human primates as models for studying host-gut microbe interactions in selective environments and for providing comparative insight into the evolution of the human gut microbiota. Her main foci are understanding how the gut microbiome may buffer hosts during periods of nutritional stress and how the gut microbiome programs normal inter-specific differences in host metabolism. In this realm, she is also interested in global variation in the human gut microbiome and its implications for local human adaptation. Dr. Amato obtained her A.B. in Biology from Dartmouth College and her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She completed a postdoc at the University of Colorado Boulder. She joined the Department of Anthropology in 2015. She is also affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program and sits on the Executive Committee of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems. Dr. Amato is the President of the Midwest Primate Interest Group, an Associate Editor at Microbiome, an Editorial Board member at Folia Primatologica, and a Fellow for the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research's ‘Humans and the Microbiome' Program. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Mallott, E., Kuthyar, S., Lee, W., … & Amato, K. R. (2024). The primate gut microbiota contributes to interspecific differences in host metabolism. Microbial genomics, https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001322 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host. Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Guest Co-Host, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer. Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu, Twitter:@CristinaGildee Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow. E-mail: aniruderman@gmail.com, Twitter: @ani_ruderman

It's a common refrain: AI is neither good nor bad because that depends on how its used. Professor Anita Say Chan begs to differ. Chan is the author of Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future (U California Press, 2025). Chan is Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences and Department of Media and Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as the author of a prior book Networking Peripheries on tech movements among craftwork communities in Peru. In her current book, Chan documents how the Big Data on which AI are trained are based on long-standing data infrastructures—sets of practices, policies, and logics—that remove, imperil, devalue, and actively harm people who refuse to conform to racialized patriarchal power structures and the priorities of surveillance capitalism—most pointedly immigrant, feminist, and low-income communities. Centered mostly in the United States as well as Latin America, Predatory Data shows how the eugenicist data practices of the past now shape our present. But her approach is fundamentally a politics of pluralism. Chan dedicates half of the book to amplifying and praising the small-scale, community-led projects of the past and present—from the legendary Hull House's data visualizations to community data initiatives in Champaign, Illinois. There is much fuel for political outrage in this book and also fodder for solidarity and hope. This interview was a collaborative effort among Professor Laura Stark and students at Vanderbilt University in the course, “The Politics of AI.” Please email Laura with any feedback on the interview or questions about how to design collaborative interview projects for the classroom. email: laura.stark@vanderbilt.edu . Student collaborators on this interview were Emma Bufkin, Keyonté Doughty, Natalie Dumm, Karim Elmehdawi, Lauren Garza, Eden Kim, Michelle Kugel, Kai Lee, Sam Mitike, Hadassah Nehikhuere, Shalini Thinakaran, Logan Walsh, and Wesley Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

It's a common refrain: AI is neither good nor bad because that depends on how its used. Professor Anita Say Chan begs to differ. Chan is the author of Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future (U California Press, 2025). Chan is Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences and Department of Media and Cinema Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as the author of a prior book Networking Peripheries on tech movements among craftwork communities in Peru. In her current book, Chan documents how the Big Data on which AI are trained are based on long-standing data infrastructures—sets of practices, policies, and logics—that remove, imperil, devalue, and actively harm people who refuse to conform to racialized patriarchal power structures and the priorities of surveillance capitalism—most pointedly immigrant, feminist, and low-income communities. Centered mostly in the United States as well as Latin America, Predatory Data shows how the eugenicist data practices of the past now shape our present. But her approach is fundamentally a politics of pluralism. Chan dedicates half of the book to amplifying and praising the small-scale, community-led projects of the past and present—from the legendary Hull House's data visualizations to community data initiatives in Champaign, Illinois. There is much fuel for political outrage in this book and also fodder for solidarity and hope. This interview was a collaborative effort among Professor Laura Stark and students at Vanderbilt University in the course, “The Politics of AI.” Please email Laura with any feedback on the interview or questions about how to design collaborative interview projects for the classroom. email: laura.stark@vanderbilt.edu . Student collaborators on this interview were Emma Bufkin, Keyonté Doughty, Natalie Dumm, Karim Elmehdawi, Lauren Garza, Eden Kim, Michelle Kugel, Kai Lee, Sam Mitike, Hadassah Nehikhuere, Shalini Thinakaran, Logan Walsh, and Wesley Williams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In The Promise of Beauty (Duke UP, 2024), Mimi Thi Nguyen explores the relationship between the concept of beauty and narratives of crisis and catastrophe. Nguyen conceptualizes beauty, which, she observes, we turn to in emergencies and times of destruction, as a tool to identify and bridge the discrepancy between the world as it is and what it ought to be. Drawing widely from aesthetic and critical theories, Nguyen outlines how beauty—or its lack—points to the conditions that must exist for it to flourish. She notes that an absence of beauty becomes both a political observation and a call to action to transform the conditions of the situation so as to replicate, preserve, or repair beauty. The promise of beauty can then engender a critique of social arrangements and political structures that would set the foundations for its possibility and presence. In this way, Nguyen highlights the role of beauty in inspiring action toward a more just world. Mimi Thi Nguyen is Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her first book, called The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt, and Other Refugee Passages, focuses on the promise of “giving” freedom concurrent and contingent with waging war (Duke University Press, 2012; Outstanding Book Award in Cultural Studies from the Association of Asian American Studies, 2014). She is also co-editor with Fiona I.B. Ngo and Mariam Lam of a special issue of positions: asia critique on Southeast Asian American Studies (20:3, Winter 2012), and co-editor with Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu of Alien Encounters: Pop Culture in Asian America (Duke University Press, 2007). Her papers have been solicited for the Feminist Theory Archive at Brown University. Her second book is called The Promise of Beauty, and she is part of an editorial collective with Patty Ahn, Michelle Cho, Vernadette Vicuna Gonzalez, Rani Neutill, and Yutian Wong for Bangtan Remixed: A Critical BTS Reader; both books are being published with Duke University Press in 2024. She has also published in Signs, Camera Obscura, The Funambulist, Women & Performance, positions, Radical History Review, and ArtForum. Najwa Mayer is an interdisciplinary cultural scholar of race, gender, sexuality, and Islam in/and the United States, working at the intersections of politics, aesthetics, and critical theory. She is currently a Society of Fellows Postdoctoral Scholar at Boston University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In The Promise of Beauty (Duke UP, 2024), Mimi Thi Nguyen explores the relationship between the concept of beauty and narratives of crisis and catastrophe. Nguyen conceptualizes beauty, which, she observes, we turn to in emergencies and times of destruction, as a tool to identify and bridge the discrepancy between the world as it is and what it ought to be. Drawing widely from aesthetic and critical theories, Nguyen outlines how beauty—or its lack—points to the conditions that must exist for it to flourish. She notes that an absence of beauty becomes both a political observation and a call to action to transform the conditions of the situation so as to replicate, preserve, or repair beauty. The promise of beauty can then engender a critique of social arrangements and political structures that would set the foundations for its possibility and presence. In this way, Nguyen highlights the role of beauty in inspiring action toward a more just world. Mimi Thi Nguyen is Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her first book, called The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt, and Other Refugee Passages, focuses on the promise of “giving” freedom concurrent and contingent with waging war (Duke University Press, 2012; Outstanding Book Award in Cultural Studies from the Association of Asian American Studies, 2014). She is also co-editor with Fiona I.B. Ngo and Mariam Lam of a special issue of positions: asia critique on Southeast Asian American Studies (20:3, Winter 2012), and co-editor with Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu of Alien Encounters: Pop Culture in Asian America (Duke University Press, 2007). Her papers have been solicited for the Feminist Theory Archive at Brown University. Her second book is called The Promise of Beauty, and she is part of an editorial collective with Patty Ahn, Michelle Cho, Vernadette Vicuna Gonzalez, Rani Neutill, and Yutian Wong for Bangtan Remixed: A Critical BTS Reader; both books are being published with Duke University Press in 2024. She has also published in Signs, Camera Obscura, The Funambulist, Women & Performance, positions, Radical History Review, and ArtForum. Najwa Mayer is an interdisciplinary cultural scholar of race, gender, sexuality, and Islam in/and the United States, working at the intersections of politics, aesthetics, and critical theory. She is currently a Society of Fellows Postdoctoral Scholar at Boston University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Justin Dyer is a Professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. He received his Ph.D. in human and community development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University. He teaches classes on... The post Personal Scripture Study for the Win – 913 appeared first on The Cultural Hall Podcast.

In this episode of The Poetry Vlog (TPV), author and artist Jessica Tanck reads from her book Winter Here (UGA Press, 2024) to lead a discussion on the beauty of contrast, the battle to resist conformity, and the importance of queer community.Jessica Tanck is the author of Winter Here (UGA Press, 2024), winner of the 2022 Georgia Poetry Prize. She holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she completed a B.A. in English Literature - Creative Writing and Comparative Literature and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing - Poetry. Her work appears or is forthcoming in The Adroit Journal, Alaska Quarterly Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Blackbird, Colorado Review, DIAGRAM, Gulf Coast, Kenyon Review, The Los Angeles Review, Meridian, New England Review, New Ohio Review, Ninth Letter, Waxwing, and others. Jess was born in Chicago, IL, but grew up in Sheboygan, WI, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The recipient of a Vice Presidential Fellowship and a Clarence Snow Memorial Fellowship, Jess lives and writes in Salt Lake City, where she is a Ph.D. candidate in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Utah. She served as the 2022-2023 Editor of Quarterly West, where she is currently guest-editing a special issue on “Extreme Environments”— a central concern of hers, as well as the focus of her doctoral dissertation and the reading for her qualifying exams.Learn more about Jess at:✔︎ https://www.jessicatanck.com/

Justin Dyer received BA in Marriage and Family from Brigham Young University and a Master's and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also has expertise in statistics. Justin is a professor of religion at BYU, teaching religion and family classes, and focuses his research on religion and mental health. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed studies in scholarly journals. Justin has served in various Church callings including full-time missionary in Brazil, Primary teacher, early morning Seminary teacher, Young Men leader, and bishop. He currently serves as a ward missionary. Most importantly, Justin has been married for 22 years and has six children whom he loves to inundate with the most recent, intriguing research graphs he has created. Links Share your thoughts in the Leading Saints community Transcript coming soon Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights Justin talks about toxic perfectionism, particularly within the context of Latter-day Saints. He shares his research findings, which challenge the common belief that Latter-day Saints are inherently more prone to toxic perfectionism than individuals from other religious backgrounds. He explains that while 12% of Latter-day Saint youth exhibit high levels of toxic perfectionism, this figure is lower than the 20% found among atheists and agnostics, suggesting that toxic perfectionism is a broader human tendency rather than a specific issue tied to religious beliefs. The conversation delves into the nuances of perfectionism, distinguishing between healthy striving for high standards and the detrimental effects of toxic perfectionism, which can lead to feelings of worthlessness and shame. Justin emphasizes the importance of fostering a secure attachment to God, which can mitigate feelings of toxic perfectionism. He highlights the role of parents and leaders in creating an environment of love and support, rather than shame, to help youth navigate their identities and self-worth. The episode also addresses the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth within religious contexts, advocating for a compassionate approach that maintains the value of religious teachings while providing necessary support. The conversation underscores the significance of identity and the need for leaders and parents to remind youth of their inherent worth as children of God, encouraging them to strive for high standards without the burden of toxic perfectionism. 01:41 - Introduction of Justin Dyer and Research Focus 02:56 - Exploring Toxic Perfectionism 03:41 - Research Intent and Methodology 05:12 - Understanding Toxic Perfectionism 06:48 - Healthy vs. Toxic Perfectionism 09:46 - Impact of Perfectionism on Identity 10:33 - Balancing Standards and Self-Worth 12:06 - The Role of Perfectionism in Religious Context 13:13 - Addressing Youth and Leadership Dynamics 14:03 - The Challenge of Leadership Messaging 16:44 - Data Insights on Toxic Perfectionism 20:06 - The Role of Religion in Mental Health 22:44 - Encouraging a Positive Gospel Experience 24:33 - Parenting and Toxic Perfectionism in Youth 27:01 - The Importance of Love in Parenting 28:51 - The Impact of Parental Relationships on Identity 30:41 - Navigating Adolescence and Identity 32:27 - The Dangers of Silent Suffering 34:13 - Encouraging Healthy Standards in Youth 36:36 - Addressing LGBTQ Dynamics in Religious Context 38:10 - The Importance of Individualized Support 40:06 - Adult Experiences with Toxic Perfectionism 42:29 - Building a Secure Relationship with God The award-winning Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway,

What does it mean for a university to become a battleground against deep-seated prejudices and historical tensions? In today's episode, we dive into these challenging questions with our distinguished guest, Cary Nelson, a celebrated scholar and ardent advocate for academic freedom.Nelson shares his insights on the intersection of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism in academia, a topic explored in his new book, "Mindless: What Happened to Universities?" The conversation examines how the lines between critique of Israel and hostility towards Jewish students blur, becoming toxic and divisive forces across campuses, from historical shifts that turned post-1948 anti-Zionism into a rejection of Israel's existence to the phenomenon of hatred and the campus protests that undermine foundational academic values. Nelson calls for reclaiming the core purpose of academia as a community of imperfect learners where dialogue and understanding prevail. In This Episode:Historical context of anti-Zionism and its transformation into anti-SemitismThe unique pressures faced by Jewish students on campusesThe role of social media in spreading campus protestsDistinctions between psychological and intellectual safety in AcademiaThe undermining of the university's role as a space for diverse perspectives About Cary:Cary Nelson is Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an affiliated faculty member at the University of Haifa. He holds an honorary doctorate from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Over his distinguished career, Nelson has authored or edited 36 books and published over 400 essays, focusing on modern poetry, critical theory, the politics of higher education, and issues related to antisemitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. From 2006 to 2012, he served as president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), advocating for academic freedom and shared governance. Nelson's latest work, “Mindless: What Happened to Universities?”, published on March 6, 2025, examines how universities have deviated from their commitment to shared intellectual principles, leading to environments where extremism and intolerance can flourish. Follow Heterodox Academy on:Twitter: https://bit.ly/3Fax5DyFacebook: https://bit.ly/3PMYxfwLinkedIn: https://bit.ly/48IYeuJInstagram: https://bit.ly/46HKfUgSubstack: https://bit.ly/48IhjNF

This is the first part of a two part conversation with Maryam Kashani on her book Medina By The Bay: Scenes of Muslim Study and Survival It's a cool book that weaves Maryam's scholarly ethnographic work with her talents as a filmmaker and a DJ to examine and illuminate various strains of Islam in the San Francisco Bay Area from the Black Power Movement to the so-called war on terror and the rise of the surveillance state. She dubs her approach an “ethnocinematic.”  We discuss legacies of anti-imperialist Islam on Turtle Island as well as more assimilative ways of being. We'll dig into this more in part 2, but we wanted to make sure to get this part out during Ramadan.  Kashani is an associate professor in Gender and Women's Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is in the leadership collective of Believers Bail Out, a community-led effort to bailout Muslims in pretrial and immigration incarceration towards abolition. We'll include a lengthier bio in the show description. Believers Bail Out has a fundraiser to bail out Muslims during Ramadan which we will link in the show description. We really encourage folks to kick in what they can to support that initiative.  The other thing I wanted to make sure to mention is we do talk a little bit about Imam Jamil Al-Amin in this episode. I'm including a couple of links to projects and campaigns related to Imam Jamil Al-Amin in the show description. According to Students for Imam Jamil he has received a medical transfer thanks to the support and calls of many folks. But there are other ways people can continue to support Imam Jamil Al-Amin (see below).  And lastly, we have a Samir Amin Accumulation on a World Scale Study Group for patrons only. It will start Wednesday the 12th of March and run through June. I'll include a link with more details in the show description, but space is limited on that so if you want to reserve a spot make sure to sign up today at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism which is also the best place to support our work on this podcast. Links: Purchase Medina By The Bay through Massive Bookshop, the bookstore that bails people out of jail. For Maryam's essay on Hajja Dhameera Ahmad check out the book Black Power Afterlives For more on Imam Jamil Al Amin: https://www.imamjamilactionnetwork.org/ and freeimamjamil.com and support the fundraiser for the "What Happened to Rap" film. Samir Amin Accumulation on a World Scale Study Group (7:30 PM Eastern Time US on Wednesdays) Believers Bail Out use Zakat to bail Muslims out of jail or immigrant detention Full bio: Maryam Kashani works from a deep commitment to the aesthetic and political possibilities of experimental filmmaking, music, and the essay form, whether as 16mm films and videos, text/sound/image installations and live performance, DJing, or written monograph. Her work explores the relationships between physical landscapes and the sociopolitical, material, and spiritual histories and forces that emerge with and against them and is concerned with narration and description, archive, and knowledge production with a particular focus on collective study and struggle in and against colonial racial capitalism across local and global geographies. She recently published Medina by the Bay: Scenes of Muslim Study and Survival (Duke University Press, 2023), which is an ethnocinematic examination of how multiracial Muslim communities in the San Francisco Bay Area survive within and against racial capitalist, carceral, and imperial logics. Her films and video installations (http://www.maryamkashani.com/) have been shown at film festivals, universities, and museums internationally, including the Sharjah Biennial, MoMA, Hammer Museum, Chelsea Museum, and the Pacific Film Archive. Kashani is an associate professor in Gender and Women's Studies and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is in the leadership collective of Believers Bail Out, a community-led effort to bailout Muslims in pretrial and immigration incarceration towards abolition.    

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with entrepreneur and software pioneer, Marc Andreessen. They discuss the timeline of the woke institutional takeover, the ruinous effects it has had on Western ideology and business, the ways in which AI will shape society, and the immense responsibility we have to instill the future with an ethos and morality that serves human flourishing. Marc Andreessen is a cofounder and general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He is an innovator and creator, one of the few to pioneer a software category used by more than a billion people and one of the few to establish multiple billion-dollar companies. Marc co-created the highly influential Mosaic internet browser and co-founded Netscape, which later sold to AOL for $4.2 billion. He also co-founded Loudcloud, which as Opsware, sold to Hewlett-Packard for $1.6 billion. He later served on the board of Hewlett-Packard from 2008 to 2018. Marc holds a B.S. in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Marc serves on the board of the following Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies: Applied Intuition, Carta, Coinbase, Dialpad, Flow, Golden, Honor, OpenGov, Samsara, Simple Things, and TipTop Labs. He is also on the board of Meta. This episode was filmed on December 18th, 2024.  | Links | For Marc Andreessen: On X https://x.com/pmarca?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Substack https://pmarca.substack.com/ “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto” (Book) https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/