Humanities (Audio)

Humans are unusual in that we depend on shared foods, especially among families and friends and between potential mates. Food sharing occurs between healthy individuals and those that are infirm or elderly. We also differ from other great apes in our early ages at weaning, late ages at maturity, short birth intervals and survivorship decades past menopause. The emergence of these patterns was crucial to early human development. In light of observations among modern East African hunter-gatherers, University of Utah professor James O’Connell evaluates two alternatives. He discusses one hypothesis that focuses on males acquiring big game meat and marrow to provide for mates and offspring. The other hypothesis surrounds how certain kinds of savanna plant food set up the forager interdependence which propelled all aspects of life history change. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37384]

In December 2020, Jennifer Doudna received her Nobel Prize in Chemistry during a small, socially-distanced ceremony at her home - followed by takeout. The traditional celebration will have to wait until next year. A videographer and photographer captured the intimate gathering and presentation of the gold medal by Barbro Osher, Sweden’s Honorary Consul General in San Francisco, with Anna Sjöström Douagi representing the Nobel Foundation. Doudna, the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences at UC Berkeley, was joined by her husband, Jamie Cate, UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cell biology, son, Andrew, and sister Ellen Doudna of Berkeley. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 37398]

As Wendell Bass explains, when you see children as brilliant, the possibilities are endless. Bass has spent a lifetime in education working towards an equitable future for all of his students. In this wide ranging interview, he shares what he has learned while emphasizing love, compassion, and connection during all parts of the school day. Series: "Education Channel" [Humanities] [Education] [Show ID: 37250]

Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles prides itself on being the world’s first LGBTQ mariachi band. Their tight, energetic, and intricate sound has been honed by the work they’ve had to do to navigate the typically hypermasculine and heteronormative world of mariachi as gay and trans musicians. The band has performed at numerous gay and transgender pride events as well as in the #SchoolsNotPrisons tour for the California Endowment. They have been featured multiple times on Univision morning shows, and in the Smithsonian Folklife magazine. Series: "Critically Human" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 37330]

Ilan Stavans of Amherst College, discusses The Seventh Heaven: Travels through Jewish Latin America (2020). In this travelogue, Stavans talks to families of the desaparecidos in Buenos Aires, to “Indian Jews,” and to people affiliated with neo-Nazi groups in Patagonia. He also visits Spain to understand the long-term effects of the Inquisition, the American Southwest habitat of “secret Jews,” and Israel, where immigrants from Latin America have reshaped the Jewish state. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37322]

This short film showcases two community-engaged graduate student research projects related to California Indian baskets. Learning about basket traditions from local Yokuts basket weavers connects to an exploration of how 3D digitization of baskets can assist with cultural revitalization. These projects were funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Series: "Critically Human" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 37331]

Despite the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in health research, too many investigators face challenges in recruiting diverse study participants. Using current examples, Jesse Nodora, DrPh highlights some of those challenges and the implications for interpreting and applying results. He also explores how community-engaged research can address these deficits and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in health research. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Health and Medicine] [Humanities] [Show ID: 36638]

Filmmaker and author Cheryl Foggo joins moderator Stephanie Batiste for a virtual discussion of Foggo’s new documentary, John Ware Reclaimed. The film follows Foggo’s quest to recover the story of John Ware, a Black cowboy and rancher who settled in Alberta, Canada prior to the turn of the twentieth century. In conversation with Batiste, Foggo addresses how Ware’s story illuminates histories of Black settlement and anti-Black racism in the Canadian west, touching on questions of national myth-making, intergenerational kinship, and identity across borders. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37195]

Who was Josef Mengele? After the end of the Holocaust, the German physician has been increasingly viewed as the personification of supreme evil both in the minds of survivors and the public at large. In this lecture based on his highly acclaimed book “Mengele,” David Marwell untangles history and myth surrounding the man known variously as the Angel of Death and the good uncle, suggesting that Mengele was not so much a uniquely monstrous perpetrator, but more a willing part of a monstrous machine of destruction.

Marwell has had a distinguished career as chief of investigative research at the US Department of Justice, associate museum director at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and director and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. Series: "Library Channel" [Humanities] [Show ID: 36713]

Writer/director Sourav Sarangi discusses his 2012 documentary, Char...The No Man's Island, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of working in the India/Bangladesh borderlands. Joined by moderator Bhaskar Sarkar, Sarangi recounts his inspiration for making the film, the struggles he faced during production, and the importance of telling this unique story of life on the border. Char...The No Man's Island follows Rubel, a fourteen-year-old boy who makes a living for his family working as a smuggler around the border island of Char. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 37072]