UC Berkeley (Audio)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Professor V.S. Ramachandran, Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, University of California, San Diego, for a discussion of his research on the brain. Professor Ramachandran describes his formative experiences, the richly textured methodology that forms his approach to the study of the brain, insights he has gained from studying phantom limbs, mirror neurons and synesthesia. He concludes with speculation on the origins of creativity and consciousness. Series: "Conversations with History" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 30562]

John Aubrey Douglass discusses his book that explores pathways for universities to re-shape their missions and academic cultures, shifting from global rankings to national relevancy. Douglass is Senior Research Fellow in Public Policy and Higher Education at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC Berkeley. Series: "Center for Studies in Higher Education" [Education] [Show ID: 30680]

Hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller and Geoffrey Canada, President of the Harlem Children's Zone, explore 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. Presented by the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Business] [Show ID: 30682]

Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences,reviews up-to-date data on temperatures of air and water, rates of ice losses and of sea-level rise and illustrate the driving forces of greenhouse gases in an energy-balance model of Earth. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 30556]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Berkeley’s 2016 HarvEst Distinguished Women Lecturer, Frances Dinkelspiel, for a discussion of her work as an author and journalist. Dinkelspiel reflects on the skills and temperament required in journalism and highlights the particular challenges posed by online journalism. She describes the history of Berkeleyside, the online news site she founded to cover the city of Berkeley. The conversation includes a discussion of her book on her great grandfather Isaias Hellman, an important banker in the founding of the California economy. Tangled Vines, her book on the California wine industry is also discussed. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 30560]

Michael Nacht, former defense advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama, and now public policy professor with expertise in nuclear arms control and national security, assesses global threats with Henry E. Brady, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 30578]

William Dabars, Senior Research Fellow, Office of the President & Research Professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Arizona State University describes a new model for research universities. Series: "Center for Studies in Higher Education" [Education] [Show ID: 30201]

Mark Suster is a Partner at Upfront Ventures. He joined the firm in 2007 after having previously worked with Upfront Ventures for nearly 8 years as a two-time entrepreneur. Before joining Upfront Mark was Vice President, Product Management at Salesforce.com following its acquisition of Koral, where Mark was Founder and CEO. Prior to Koral, Mark was Founder and CEO of BuildOnline, a European SaaS company that was acquired by SWORD Group. Earlier in his career, Mark spent nearly ten years working for Accenture in Europe, Japan and the U.S.

Series: "Innovator Stories: Creating Something from Nothing" [Business] [Show ID: 30339]

UC Berkeley economist Robert Reich reveals how power and influence have created a new American oligarchy, a shrinking middle class, and the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity in 80 years. Citing his latest book, “Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few,” Goldman School of Public Policy Professor Reich lays out what he argues must be done to restore democracy and rebuild the US economy. Reich is the featured speaker for the 7th annual Michael Nacht Distinguished Lecture in Politics and Policy. Series: "Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 30462]

A new study by Saul Geiser, published by the Center For Studies in Higher Education, looks at the population of California residents who applied for admission to the University of California from 1994 through 2011, a sample of over 1.1 million students. The UC data show that socioeconomic background factors – family income, parental education, and race/ethnicity – account for a large and growing share of the variance in students’ SAT scores over the past twenty years. More than a third of the variance in SAT scores can now be predicted by factors known at students’ birth, up from a quarter of the variance in 1994. Of those factors, moreover, race has become the strongest predictor. Rather than declining in salience, race and ethnicity are now more important than either family income or parental education in accounting for test score differences. Series: "Center for Studies in Higher Education" [Education] [Show ID: 30203]