Humanities (Audio)

The challenge of representing global environmental change on screen, the complex process of documentary editing, and the difficulties of location shooting in sensitive areas all arise in this conversation between UC Santa Barbara film and media professor Alenda Chang and co-director Jennifer Baichwal about Anthropocene: The Human Epoch. In this video, Baichwal reflects on the conflicts environmental media makers face between the desire to produce films to raise awareness and the need to limit their own carbon footprints. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35807]

The narrative engine of Hill Street Blues, lessons in brevity from writing for advertising, and structural differences between Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU arise in this conversation between executive producer/writer Dick Wolf and Carsey-Wolf Center director Patrice Petro. In this video, Wolf describes his first experiences in a TV writing room and the foundations of the record-breaking run of Law & Order: SVU. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35772]

The possibilities of the Nicaraguan revolution, the refusal of current government officials to speak on the record, and the importance of recording the stories of an aging generation all arise in this conversation between director/producer Jenny Murray and moderator Bianka Ballina about ¡Las Sandinistas!. In this video, Murray discusses the reemergence of Nicaraguan protests in 2018 and her film’s uncertain future in the Central American nation. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 35764]

An internationally celebrated American novelist, short story writer, poet, and activist, Walker’s work has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and her books have sold more than fifteen million copies. She wrote The Color Purple, for which she won the National Book Award for hardcover fiction, and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Walker’s collected work includes poetry, novels, short fiction, essays, critical essays, and children’s stories. She was the recipient of a Rosenthal Foundation award and an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters award for In Love and Trouble. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35143]

In her book, Ecopiety, Sarah McFarland Taylor offers an absorbing examination of the intersections of environmental sensibilities, contemporary expressions of piety and devotion, and American popular culture. Ecopiety evidences the important "work" taking place as mediated popular culture plays an integral role in framing contemporary American environmental moral and ethical sensibilities. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35620]

Bo Peep’s fierce leadership, modeling a character on a puppy, and the differences between writing for animation and live action all arise in this conversation about the Pixar legendary franchise between Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4) and Pollock Theater Director Matt Ryan. In this video, Folsom and Ryan explore her career, the process of writing Toy Story 4, and her work in the Pixar universe. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35766]

Social media and big data can have important practical applications in public health, disaster management, transportation, and urban planning. Data scientists are using machine learning algorithms, computer vision, and natural language processing to collect and analyze social media data (such as Facebook and YouTube) and environmental sensor/camera data to study human communications and movements. These big data technologies can be powerful tools to predict short-term future events, such as flu outbreaks, severe air pollution, traffic congestion, the weather, and patterns of disaster evacuation. At the same time, these technologies monitor users’ digital footprints, opinions and geolocations. Ming-Hsiang Tsou, PhD discusses the challenges in social media analytics, including data noise and biases, fake news, and data privacy. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 35460]

Adapting a novel to television, episodic storytelling structure, and staying centered when fan feedback turns bitter arise in this conversation about You and The Magicians between the series' co-creator/showrunner Sera Gamble and Carsey-Wolf Center assistant director Wesley Jacks. In this video, Sera describes the long journey that scripts make, from brainstorming in the writers room, through a barrage of notes, and finally onto the television screen. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35661]

Pico Iyer was named “arguably the world’s greatest living travel writer,” by Outside, and is the author of over a dozen books and countless essays. The New Yorker called Iyer an “intellectual and spiritual adventurer.” Iyer explores these two intertwined spheres—the inner and the outer—in his writings and in three recent TED Talks, which have racked up some eight million views. Iyer is the author of two novels and ten works of nonfiction, including such perennial favorites as Video Night in Kathmandu, The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto, and The Global Soul. His best-selling 2008 book, The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, was drawn from decades of talks and travels with the Tibetan leader. Iyer's newest book, Autumn Light, out in April 2019, is a far-reaching meditation on impermanence, mortality, and grief that draws extensively on his more than 30 years of living in Japan. Series: "Writer's Symposium By The Sea" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35142]

The privilege and challenge of extending Margaret Atwoods source novel, the unexpected opportunities arising from a new location, and writing scenes that feel like a horror film all arise in this lively conversation about The Handmaid's Tale between writer/producer Kira Snyder and Carsey-Wolf Center associate director Emily Zinn. In this video, Snyder discusses breaking down the story arcs for season two and the choice to isolate Junes character when she gives birth. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 35695]