Nearly four years have passed since COVID swept the globe, infecting millions and bringing society to a grinding halt. The ensuing months saw strict mask mandates, revolutionary vaccines, new viral strains, and—finally—a return to some sort of normal. With the end of the public health emergency and a sudden disappearance of the once-ubiquitous masks, it’s easy to feel like the pandemic is, well, over. But some would strongly disagree with that prognosis—and one group in particular: people suffering from the lasting effects of long COVID. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kim Rhoads, a Berkeley grad and associate professor at UCSF, about the challenge of diagnosing this post-viral illness, its wide-ranging and often mysterious symptoms, and why you might not want to throw out your mask just yet.

Support the show

Roughly every second, a star explodes. Beyond treating astronomers to a radiant light display, these dramatic supernova events contain vast amounts of information about the origin, behavior, and ultimate demise of our universe. UC Berkeley astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance, has dedicated her life to studying really big exploding stars and what they tell us about our ever-expanding universe. She joins us this episode to talk about her own path to star-gazing and the big, existential questions that keep her eyes to the sky.

Support the show

We’re back with something a little different this month. In the wake of this year’s historic floods, wildfires, and hurricanes, we asked ourselves: What would it look like to take a more optimistic attitude towards slowing climate change? In that spirit, we’re sharing an episode of The Science of Happiness, a podcast co-produced by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center and PRX. The first in a miniseries the center is airing called “Climate, Hope and Science,” this episode features an interview with author Rebecca Solnit in which she explores how embracing uncertainty enables people to move beyond climate anxiety and despair to hope and action.

Support the show

For centuries, doctors have medically treated people differently according to their race because they believed that race was biological. But in recent years, medical professionals and activists have argued that this is both wrongheaded and can be dangerous to people’s health. In this episode, we talk to UC Berkeley grad Stephen Richmond, a primary care physician and assistant professor at Stanford, about the movement to abolish biological race from medicine and how race and biology do and do not intersect. 

Support the show

Car-free streets are no longer just an urban fantasy. In cities across the nation, a movement is growing to return the streets to the people. In this episode, we talk to two advocates from UC Berkeley about their quest to ‘pedestrianize’ Telegraph Avenue and their grand vision for a more walkable, bikeable future.

Support the show

The teens are not alright! In fact, they’re experiencing a sleep crisis. In this episode, we talk to journalist and UC Berkeley grad Lisa Lewis about why teens have different sleep needs than the rest of us and how she worked to get more sleep for all Californian teens. We explore sleep hygiene and what it means to restructure society around a vital health need. 

Support the show

Today, we’re featuring the audio version of California magazine’s recent cover story, “Into the Ishi Wilderness.” In 1911, a Yahi Native American man walked out of the wilderness near Oroville, California. The famed anthropologist Alfred Kroeber brought him to UC Berkeley’s campus. What happened next is still being hotly debated almost 100 years later. 

For audio text, please see the feature article, Into the Ishi Wilderness. 

This episode was written and hosted by Laura Smith and Leah Worthington, and produced by Coby McDonald. Special thanks to Pat Joseph. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal.

Support the show

These days, kids want to be social media influencers when they grow up. But is it a viable career? And what does our ever-growing social media obsession mean for society? In this episode, we talk to TikTok star and UC Berkeley grad Talia Lichtstein about her day-to-day routine, how she makes money, and the future of work in the era of social media. 

Support the show

How is it possible to be blind and able to see at the same time? In this episode, we explore a bizarre, paradoxical neurological condition called blindsight, which challenges everything we think we know about vision—and offers insight into the nature of human consciousness. Leah is joined by a UC Berkeley researcher and Simon Lewis (JD ‘80), a film producer and survivor of a traumatic brain injury, to discuss how blindsight works and its implications for understanding the origin of consciousness. 

Support the show

It’s not easy coming up with the perfect opening line on Tinder. Should you play it cute? Ask a thought-provoking question? Woo them with a witty remark? One entrepreneur thinks he has the answer: robot-generated text. Artificial intelligence is already helping us compose emails and complete sentences, so why stop there? Laura and Leah talk to UC Berkeley grad and the founder of Keys about the possibilities—and dangers—of letting robots do the talking for us. 

Support the show