According to poll results from the American Psychological Association last November, 89 percent of adults in the United States were overwhelmed as the holidays approached by concerns such as not having enough money, missing loved ones and anticipating family conflict.

The goal of this episode of The UCI Podcast is to help you develop some strategies to manage the added stressors of this time of year – particularly when it comes to having challenging conversations with loved ones. Our guest today is Naomi Tabak, a licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist and director of UC Irvine’s Psychological Services Center. She’ll share tips to help listeners mitigate holiday stress and prioritize their well-being at a time of year when self-care is crucial.

Community members over 18 who are interested in learning more about the UC Irvine’s Psychological Services Center can check out its webpage at https://sites.uci.edu/psychologyclinic.

The center is NOT affiliated with UCI Health or the UCI Counseling Center. If you’re currently enrolled as a student at UC Irvine and are seeking campus counseling and clinical services, please visit the Counseling Center website at https://counseling.uci.edu.

“Soft Feeling,” the music for this episode, was provided by Cheel via the audio library in YouTube Studio.

The much-loved and eclectic campus radio station KUCI, 88.9 FM, turns 55 this year, and it has been quite a ride. What started as an underground station was among the first to embrace the internet. With an audience that now spans the globe, KUCI continues to air a diverse schedule of music and voices.

Chang Liu, UC Irvine professor of biomedical engineering, is a leader in the field of directed evolution, an effort to train genes to evolve in a laboratory in order to perform desired functions. Through this method of gene engineering, researchers hope to create new biological substances for use in pharmaceuticals and as cheaper and more environmentally responsible industrial catalysts. The work is also helping the scientific community build genetic knowledge for the benefit of bioengineering.

Liu's research group has a new paper out in the journal Science in which they discuss improvements to their OrthoRep gene evolution platform. The system allows mutations to happen a million times faster than natural evolutionary time frames. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, speaks with UC Irvine communicator Brian Bell about the findings detailed in the paper.

Musical accompaniment to this podcast episode is Bach’s E Major Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2, played by Professor Liu.

Research released in June by the Berkeley Institute for Young Americans revealed that younger voters had a broad, decisive impact on the 2020 presidential election and on congressional elections in 2018 and 2022 – with the same being expected this year.

In the latest episode of The UCI Podcast, we’ll speak with Kylie Jones, Khushi Patel and Evelyn Rodriguez – three UC Irvine undergraduates who are passionate about participating in the political process. They’ll tell us why voting is important to them, offer their thoughts on voter turnout and share key issues that younger voters are focusing on in this election cycle.

“Believe (Instrumental),” the music for this episode, was provided by NEFFEX via the audio library in YouTube Studio.

On the UCI Podcast, the law professor shares how the Korematsu Center and his students can make a difference

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the U.S. from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year. The theme for 2024 is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.”

Belinda Campos relishes that idea. Between her work as chair of UC Irvine’s Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and a faculty member with the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community in the School of Medicine, Campos takes the future of the Latino population very seriously. She helps lead a network of colleagues who endeavor to foster in students an understanding of Latino history – and how to apply that knowledge in building a brighter future.

Campos’ research examines how people develop the high-quality relationships associated with better health and longer life. Her team’s work has revealed that some classic Latino cultural components, such as an emphasis on positivity and tight-knit families, create a connectivity that can help individuals endure difficult, stressful times. Some of their findings are shared in a recent article in "Greater Good" magazine titled “How to Fully Appreciate Your Loving Relationships,” a collaboration with Jessica Borelli, UC Irvine professor of psychological science.

This multifaceted episode of The UCI Podcast includes detailed descriptions of Campos’ research and other undertakings in the Department of Chicano/Latino Studies and discussions on the history and future of PRIME-LC and its new offshoot, UC PRIME Pre-Health Pathways; how culture can influence our interpretation of social support in times of stress; and why connecting to our families and communities is good for one’s health.

“Pioneers,” the music for this episode, was provided by Audionautix via the audio library in YouTube Studio. “Pioneers” is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Mark Deppe goes on The UCI Podcast to talk about the program he built and his new team of superstar gamers.

According to a 2023 analysis by the Pew Research Center, new school years across the United States begin from as early as late July until after Labor Day. Regardless of when families prepare for the academic year, the process often looks the same: purchasing needed supplies, finishing a summer reading list, adjusting sleep schedules and adapting to a new routine.

The phrase “back to school” can catalyze a spectrum of emotional responses for both students and parents. In the latest episode of The UCI Podcast, Jessica Borelli, UC Irvine professor of psychological science, offers insight on the array of reactions that accompany this time of year, and she shares tips on how families can embrace the change together and make it as smooth as possible for all involved.

“For Time to Disappear,” the music for this episode, was provided by Ocean/Ryan McCaffery via the audio library in YouTube Studio.

On Thursday, June 27, in Atlanta, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off in the first debate of the 2024 presidential election. The event marked the first debate in U.S. history between a sitting and former president and was the first time the presumptive nominees for their respective parties had been on a debate stage since 2020. Held months earlier than the usual tradition, it was also the first not coordinated by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, bringing with it a new set of rules and guidelines. No studio audience was present for the 90-minute affair, which featured a pair of commercial breaks – another first. Candidates’ microphones were muted unless they were directed to speak by a moderator, and they were not allowed to bring any prewritten notes or props to their lecterns.

What debate moments stood out, what happened that wasn’t expected, and where do the campaigns go from here? These are some of the questions asked of UC Irvine political scientists Louis DeSipio and Tony Smith in this episode of The UCI Podcast.

“American Frontiers,” the music for this episode, was provided by Aaron Kenny via the audio library in YouTube Studio.

Every June, the United States celebrates Pride Month, commemorating the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn that inspired a global movement toward LGBTQ+ equality. The rich history of gay bars leading up to and since the Stonewall Riots is thoroughly explored in "The Bars Are Ours: Histories and Cultures of Gay Bars in America, 1960 and After," written by Lucas Hilderbrand, UC Irvine professor and chair of film and media studies.

The combination of a dearth of books investigating the history of gay bars and the closure of many gay bars around the nation catalyzed Hilderbrand’s motivation to tackle what he calls an “ambitious project” to “look at the role of gay bars in shaping community politics, subcultures and the ways in which we imagine what queer public life could be in the United States.”

In this episode of The UCI Podcast, Hilderbrand shares how bars are powerful community cornerstones; what he learned on his extensive research journey examining archival accounts in all corners of the U.S.; and why he chose to inform this unique history with anecdotes, stories and even musical references. Playlists to accompany the book can be found on both YouTube and Spotify.

The music for this episode, titled “The Gentlemen,” was provided by DivKid via the audio library in YouTube Studio.