UC Santa Barbara (Video)

Christina Bellantoni, the assistant managing editor of politics at the Los Angeles Times, discusses her experience in journalism, mainly covering politics, in her current position and as a reporter in Washington, D.C., for more than a decade. She argues that ethical journalism is more important than ever because a strong democracy depends on a free press. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32212]

Actress/Producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Writer/Executive Producer/Director David Mandel and Actor Tony Hale talk about realizing the HBO series Veep - an American political satire. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32412]

Kelly Fremon Craig made her directorial debut in 2016 with The Edge of Seventeen. The film received widespread critical praise and numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe nomination for the film’s lead actress, Hailee Steinfeld, a Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Achievement of a First Time Filmmaker, the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best First Film, and three Critics Choice Awards nominations. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32372]

Historian Yuval Noah Harari has taken the world on a tour through the span of humanity, from apes to rulers of the world. Harari became an international sensation when he argued in his best-selling book Sapiens that humans conquered the world through our ability to believe in collective myths about gods, money and freedom. In the highly-anticipated sequel Homo Deus, Harari looks to the future, exploring how godlike technologies such as artificial intelligence and genetic engineering will define what we become. Series: "SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32146]

Yusef Komunyakaa, an internationally renowned poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for “Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems," reads and discusses his work while writer-in-residence at UC Santa Barbara. Series: "Voices" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 32148]

Scientists spend their entire lives collecting data, doing methodical research, and publishing scientific papers. But is that research really getting out in the world and making a difference? Jonathan Foley, an environmental scientist, discusses his transition from academic research on the environment (at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota) to science communication on sustainability (at the California Academy of Sciences), and the lessons he has learned along the way. Series: "Bren School of Environmental Science & Management" [Science] [Show ID: 32097]

We are a country in which a majority of people who voted for one candidate in 2016 don’t know anybody who voted for the other. We have a president who divided the country in a way that lost him the popular vote but gave him an electoral college victory. At the same time, many different kinds of Americans feel shortchanged by an economy that treats different groups in different regions very differently. Are we becoming a nation in which some of us find it impossible to empathize with others among our fellow citizens — not only when the problems involved are different, but also when they’re similar? And are our religious institutions helping to heal these divides, or are they deepening them? Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne explores these and other questions. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 32147]

Shaunak Sen discusses his first feature length documentary which explores the world of insurgent sleepers' communities and the infamous "sleep mafia" in Delhi, where just securing a safe sleeping spot often becomes a question of life and death. Sen joined UCSB Professor of Film & Media Studies Bhaskar Sarkar. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32227]

Documentary filmmaker David Osit discusses his film "Thank You For Playing," that follows Ryan Green, a video game programmer, who creates an unusually beautiful and poetic video game (That Dragon, Cancer) based on his family's journey when the discover that their young son has cancer. David is joined by Alenda Chang, UCSB Professor of Film & Media Studies. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32226]

Who can forget the increasingly violent attacks by wild birds in Hitchcock's 1963 horror-thriller? Actress Tippi Hedren discusses the process of filming The Birds with moderator Ross Melnick of the UCSB Film and Media Studies Department. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32217]