University of California Audio Podcasts (Audio)

Smartfin is a surfboard fin that allows scientists to collect data about the ocean with the help of surfers around the world. The project brings together engineers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and students from the Computer Science and Engineering department at UC San Diego. Traditionally, it has been difficult to collect data near the shore because waves damage any instruments researchers place in the water. But, Smartfin turns that challenge into an advantage by enlisting the help of the surfing community. Series: "Computer Science Channel" [Science] [Show ID: 34350]

Everyone who is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes has the gene(s) associated with it. In the general population the risk is 1 in 300. UCSF pediatric nurse practitioner Maureen McGrath describes the progression of the disease and treatments. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34562]

After meeting Laurie San Martin, one this country’s most important ebullient composers, we experience the lightness of a classical great — the seldom-heard 8th Symphony of Beethoven — and conclude with Leonard Bernstein’s extraordinary and poignant Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish), with chorus, soprano soloist and narrator. The Bernstein piece, named for the Jewish prayer for the dead, was dedicated to the late President John F. Kennedy and premiered in the days after of his assassination in 1963. It is a reflection simultaneously on the loss of a president and the loss of a generation of European Jews. It is powerful music, but also hopeful. Series: "La Jolla Symphony & Chorus" [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 34005]

Sooner or later, the food requirements of nine billion people with increasing appetites for seafood must be addressed. Although aquaculture may supply the majority of the global ‘seafood’, most aquaculture is fed meal from wild caught fish, such as sardine and anchovy. To estimate the distributions and abundance of these and other small fish off the west coast, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center routinely conducts “acoustic-trawl” surveys. David Demer will briefly describe the vessels, instrumentation and methods that are used to conduct these surveys, and provide a virtual tour of the world-class facilities in La Jolla that are used to develop the next generation of autonomous, ocean-sampling technologies. Join us to learn more about this exciting technology and be part of a discussion about possible ethical challenges. Series: "Exploring Ethics" [Humanities] [Science] [Agriculture] [Show ID: 34378]

There are several classifications of diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes affects 24 million people in the US. UCSF endocrinologist Dr. Umesh Masharani goes over the risks, prevalence and treatment of disease. He also explores what pre-diabetes means and what you can do if you have received that diagnosis. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34561]

Documentary filmmaking risks, the technical challenges of solar-powered flight, and attuning to the human struggle behind a quest to fly around the world without a drop of fuel are all central topics in this discussion between UCSB instructor Chris Jenkins and Point of No Return co--directors Quinn Kanaly and Noel Dockstader. The three talk frankly about the difficulty of earning trust as documentarians and how the crew adjusted filming plans when the Solar Impulse 2 mission began to falter.

  Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34593]

Yale University's Daniel Colon-Ramos discusses in-vivo imaging of brain synapses assembling and functioning. Series: "Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind" [Science] [Show ID: 33290]

Dr. Gregory Marcus demonstrates how to take one's pulse, or heart rate. Series: "Mini Medical School for the Public" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34720]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Samuel Bowles, Research Professor and Director of the Behavioral Sciences Program at the Santa Fe Institute, for a discussion of his intellectual odyssey and his most recent book The Moral Economy. Topics covered include the influence of parents, his encounters with Nehru and Martin Luther King, and his education. He addresses the necessary changes in the agenda of economics as it grapples with the limits of incentives and the opportunities for bringing in a focus on community and altruism in order to confront global problems. He also offers advice to students entering the discipline of economics. Finally, he discusses his involvement in an online global effort to reform the economics curriculum through the creation of an online textbook, curriculum, and a community of economists from around the globe focusing on the economics of inequality, innovation, environmental sustainability and more. https://www.core-econ.org Series: "Conversations with History" [Show ID: 34594]

Joseph Sullivan, MD, Neurology and Pediatrics, UCSF. Series: "Developmental Disabilities Update" [Health and Medicine] [Education] [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 34673]