University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

Preproduction collaboration on spatial design and character development, the value of bending rules in a supernatural narrative, and the potential for on-set innovation all arise in this freewheeling discussion about the critically-acclaimed Netflix series Russian Doll between production designer Michael Bricker and Carsey-Wolf Center assistant director Wesley Jacks. In the video, Bricker talks hidden easter eggs in set construction and the joy of finding the right construction material at the right moment. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Show ID: 35396]

Advances in film restoration technology, the challenges of matching black and white footage with shades of military khaki, and the depth of Peter Jackson’s passion for all things World War I arise in this conversation about They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) between assistant editor Elliot Travers and Ross Melnick (Film and Media Studies, UCSB). Travers describes the convoluted path the film took from its initial conception as a 30-minute museum commission for England’s Imperial War Museum to an internationally-distributed feature-length film. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Show ID: 35411]

Equitable and effective CS instruction is essential for broadening participation in computing, responding to the growing demand for computer scientists, and guiding the expansion of CS at the K12 level. Harvey Mudd College's Colleen Lewis shares a brief background of her work in this area and current projects from two newly-funded five-year NSF grants focused on understanding and optimizing CS learning, and understanding and removing barriers to CS. Series: "Computer Science Channel" [Show ID: 35381]

In modern humans, an exquisite cognitive ability has evolved that enables mental time travel, the ability to mentally travel back in time and re-experience a personal event from the past that is no longer physically present. Faraneh Vargha-Khadem (University College London) explores how certain neonatal or early childhood pathological events, most commonly hypoxic/ischaemic episodes, target the immature hippocampus, leading to the later emergence of the syndrome of Developmental Amnesia, often without evidence of any neurological or other cognitive impairment. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35288]

A short summary of one of Discover Magazine's top-ten most significant science achievements of 2019 - the discovery of complex neural signals emerging in brain organoids by Alysson Muotri's lab at UC San Diego's Stem Cell Program. Series: "Stem Cell Channel" [Show ID: 35392]

Around the world, individuals and families are fleeing their countries of origin because of war, violence, natural disasters, and climate change. As their numbers swell, host countries face calls to exclude them. Two prominent local religious leaders of especially targeted and vulnerable populations Bishop Robert McElroy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and Imam Taha Hassane of the Islamic Center of San Diego speak about a common path forward for our society, based on the wisdom of their respective traditions. In the United States, recent political decisions and governmental policies have worsened the prospects of both those seeking to immigrate legally as well as the millions of undocumented immigrants already here or those still coming. Series: "Burke Lectureship on Religion and Society" [Show ID: 35228]

At the CSE Celebration of Diversity, attendees were invited to participate in a Red Chair Event, which is part of the National Center for Women in Technology’s SitWithMe campaign. Dozens of people sat down in a red chair to say a few words about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through this symbolic gesture, they took a stand for diversity, equity and inclusion in Computer Science & Engineering and beyond. Series: "Computer Science Channel" [Show ID: 35448]

The brain is the central organ of stress and adaptation to stress because it perceives and determines what is threatening, as well as the behavioral and physiological responses to the stressor. The healthy brain is resilient and responds to experiences over the lifecourse that produce epigenetic changes. The lifecourse is a “one way stress” in which there is no true reversal but redirection that occurs in response to positive or negative experiences that may be unique to each stage of life. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35291]

The question of what is learned, which is innate, and how the two relate is at the heart of 2,000 years and more of the 4,000 reports of feral children. Douglas Candland offers his knowledge of two such living persons known to him. The first is John Ssabyuna of Uganda and the second, known as CauCau, of southern Argentina. He compares these to the publications regarding studies of Victor, the "Wild boy of Avignon," and the so-called "Wolf-Girls of India," raised at the Singhs’ orphanage in the early 20th century. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35284]

Our ability to learn languages fully and fluently changes over age. Young children are remarkable in learning languages so well – often much better than adults. Elissa Newport (Georgetown University) discusses how we have evolved to have such outstanding language learning abilities during childhood which do not continue throughout life. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 35286]