John Bell is an associate professor in the Department of Dramatic Arts, the director of the Ballard Institute & Museum of Puppetry, and one of the most fun guests we've ever had. He stopped by to tell us about the astonishing diversity of puppeteering traditions, the everyday objects that serve as puppets without being thought of that way, and even why some people are creeped out by puppets. He also fills us in on some great opportunities to watch live performances on campus by the world-famous Bread and Puppet Theater in April.

This week we return to the fabled UConn 360 Studio for a talk with Victoria Kostour '22, a first-generation Ukrainian-American and the president of the Ukrainian Student Association. She tells us what it's been like to watch the war in Ukraine from here in the United States, how she and her fellow students have responded with activism and organizing, and how the UConn community has supported her. We also find a very old copy of the Daily Campus, which helps us learn about a bygone campus protest and a mysterious restaurant with a gruesome name.

This week we're joined by Jason Oliver Chang, Associate Professor of History and Asian American Studies, to talk about the pop-up course on anti-Asian racism he helped create for UConn; the increase in anti-Asian racist incidents and attacks since the start of the pandemic; and the role of scholarship in maintaining a strong democracy. We also take a stroll on Tom's History Sidewalk (real name pending) to the first visit by a foreign head of state to UConn. 

This week, we sit down with Tanya Rhodes Smith, director of the Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work in the UConn School of Social Work. She tells us about how social work is inherently political, how social workers can help make positive changes for individuals and society, and how research indicates that higher rates of voter participation correlate with better overall health in people. Also, back by semi-popular demand, we journey into the mists of UConn's past for a new installment of something we're not calling Tom's History Corner. 

This week, we talk with Milton Levin '04 Ph.D., Associate Research Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, about his research work, but also about the thing UConn's roughly 90,000 Instagram followers will recognize instantly: his breathtaking pictures of campus locations, especially Horsebarn Hill. Professor Levin tells us how he got interested in photography, what it's like to teach yourself to pilot a drone, and what he looks for when he goes for a walk and brings his camera along.

This week, we welcome Fany Hannon, Director of the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center, which is celebrating its golden anniversary this year. Fany talks about how the Center emerged from the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, what it's been like trying to keep a student-oriented organization running during a global pandemic, and why so many generations of Latinx Huskies consider PRLACC a home away from home.

In this episode, Matt Necci '03 (CLAS), an attorney and UConn Twitter all-star, talks about what it means to be really involved with a community, his work with the Husky Ticket Project, why he's optimistic about Hartford, and more. He also talks about what it was like to be in the scalding, vinegary center of the Hot Sauce Challenge phenomenon of spring 2021. 

Every year, UConn sends out a video celebrating the arrival of the holiday season - creative, funny, moving, and surprising, these videos are produced by the talented team at University Communications. On this week's episode, we interview videographer Angelina Reyes, the producer of the 2021 holiday video, to learn about what goes into turning a barn into a movie set, and what it's like to work with an actor named Geno Auriemma. 

It's been a minute! But now your favorite UConn-centric podcast is back-ish! Join Tom and Julie as we catch you up on what's been happening at UConn over the last six months, and talk about what comes next for UConn 360. 

In our last episode before the big summer hiatus, we talk with Prof. Bart Roccoberton Jr. about his work using the puppet arts to build bridges between artists in the US and China; we hear from Sage Phillips '22 about her activism and scholarship on behalf of her fellow Native American students; and we go all the way back to 1881 to experience what a semester was like when UConn first opened its doors (hint: more compulsory prayer than would typically get today).