UC Berkeley (Audio)

Ann Swidler first inquires as to what makes institutions good before questioning how such institutions might be achieved given our current political, social, and economic conditions. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31680]

Thomas Jefferson had a vision for the United States of America but race and slavery complicated his views of what kind of society was possible on the American continent. One of the foremost scholars on Jefferson, Pulitzer prize winner Annette Gordon-Reed is a professor of American Legal History at Harvard University.

Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31530]

California State University East Bay President Leroy Morishita discusses the challenges facing public higher education in California today. With over three decades of experience in the California State University system, President Morishita traces the evolution of the Master Plan for Higher Education, shrinking state support for these institutions and the opportunity gap this has created for California's most vulnerable populations. He also shares the strategies and solutions Cal State East Bay has instituted to lessen that gap. Series: "Center for Studies in Higher Education" [Education] [Show ID: 31531]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes historian Niall Ferguson of the Hoover Institution who is the 2016 Underhill Lecturer at Berkeley. After discussing the importance of Anglo-American Studies and the wave of populism sweeping the West, including Brexit and the Trump phenomena, the conversation turns to an in depth look at Ferguson’s recent book, “Kissinger, 1923-1969, The Idealist.” Ferguson details the evolution of Kissinger’s thinking about international affairs up until the time he assumes the position of national security advisor to President Nixon. He chronicles the influence of mentors (Kraemer and Elliot), the impact of experience (service in military intelligence and Harvard education) and the evidence of Kissinger’s writings on international order and on nuclear weapons. The conversation concludes by highlighting the themes that emerge from Kissinger’s intellectual evolution in the period before he assumes power. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 31595]

Van Gogh's doctor's note found at UC Berkeley. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Show ID: 31636]

With the help of UC Berkeley mentors, Bay Area high school students gather at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science to pit the robots they had built against one another. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Education] [Show ID: 31639]

Geoffrey Canada, President of the Harlem Children's Zone, explores how to motivate young citizens to engage in politics so that they can create and support the same economic opportunities as those enjoyed by previous generations. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Business] [Show ID: 31612]

Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton proposed that all public colleges and universities be made tuition-free for students from families with incomes of up to $85,000 initially, rising to $125,000 by 2021. Clinton also promised a three-month moratorium for all federal student loan borrowers on repaying their debt, during which time borrowers would get help refinancing their loans or moving into income-driven repayment plans. According to her campaign, 80 percent of American families would be able to avoid tuition at public colleges and universities under the plan. Series: "Center for Studies in Higher Education" [Education] [Show ID: 31657]

“Vision & Light: Extending the Senses,” is a UC Berkeley art exhibit featuring works of microscopy, multimedia, digital sound and sculpture created by artists and scientists. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31631]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Harvard Professor Annette Gordon-Reed for a discussion of her work as a lawyer/historian focusing on the contradictions in the life of Thomas Jefferson. Topics covered in the conversation include how her training as a lawyer empowered her to overturn the conventional historical view of the relationship between Jefferson and Sally Hemings. Professor Gordon-Reed highlights the racism embedded in Jeffersonian historiography; ignoring, for example, factual evidence, which confirmed that Jefferson was the father of Sally Heming’s children. In examining the evolution of Jefferson’s ideas on slavery, Professor Gordon-Reed emphasizes how Jefferson’s theory of slavery evolved as he adapted to the reality of American social and political life. She concludes with an the implications of her work for understanding the present turmoil over black/ white relations in the U.S. today. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31519]